A 30-day public consultation for the opening of the electricity market in Cyprus was kicked off during a recent presentation of a study commissioned by the Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA).

An €80m loan signed recently with the European Investment Bank (EIB) was the first step towards building a university for 10,000 students, 600 academics, 2,000 young researchers and 400 administrative personnel by 2020, University of Cyprus Rector Constantinos Christofides said.

Hellenic Bank, one of the four Cypriot lenders supervised by the European Central Bank’s single supervisory mechanism, said it raised €201m in fresh capital through a rights issue and may raise additional €20m before the end of January 2015 if deemed necessary, as some of its shareholders refrained to exercise their rights.

The House of Representatives plenary begins a two-day debate on the 2015 state budget.

Cyprus and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an agreement to allocate over €75m to small and medium sized enterprises in new loans from four banks.

The Central Bank of Cyprus said the Cypriot economy will contract this year 2.6% compared to 2013 mainly on a better than expected course of private consumption which is expected to fall by 1.7%.

Paphos has been awarded a gold medal for the quality of its coast and has been included in the top 20 most clean, green and in harmony with nature, sustainable destinations for holidays.

Bank of Cyprus said that its share will commence trading a total of 8,904,425,940 of its outstanding shares on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and Athens Exchange from Tuesday, 16 December 2014 at a starting price of €0.24 per share.

The holiday season is typically one of the busiest times of year and this is true for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Whether you are a small start-up company or a large multinational corporation, the seasonal period is always likely to place a heavier strain on your current team who are under immense pressure to meet additional obligations and tight deadlines.

Investments aimed at boosting growth and creating jobs is the only way to tackle unemployment, Minister of Labour Zeta Aimilianidou told the EU Council of Labour and Social Policy, which convened in Brussels recently.