Greek Cyprus finance minister resigns

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

Michalis Sarris. AFP Photo

Greek Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris resigned today, saying one of the reasons was that he had been chairman of Laiki Bank, whose failure was a major contributor to the island's near financial meltdown.
 
His resignation was accepted by President Nicos Anastasiades, presidential spokesman Christos Stylianides said.
 
Earlier on Tuesday, the government launched a judicial probe into how the island was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy before having to agree a crippling eurozone bailout.
 
For its part, the Phileleftheros newspaper's website reported that he had quit and was to be replaced by Labour Minister Haris Georgiades.
 
Georgiades's former job is to be taken by commerce ministry civil servant Zeta Emilianidou, the report added.

Oil prices rise on easing Greek Cyprus concerns

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as concerns over the Greek Cyprus bailout eased, analysts said.
 
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May rose 34 cents to $111.42 a barrel in London midday deals.
 
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light sweet crude for May, edged up six cents to $97.13 a barrel. "Crude oil prices rebounded... on Tuesday with Brent oil climbing toward $112 per barrel area, as concerns about the crisis in [Greek] Cyprus have somewhat faded," said analyst Myrto Sokou at Sucden brokers in London.
 
Greek Cyprus eased capital controls imposed to avoid a run on banks as the government launched a judicial probe on Tuesday into how the island was pushed to the verge of bankruptcy before having to agree a crippling eurozone bailout.
 
After talks in Nicosia with international creditors, the central bank announced that it was raising the limit on business transactions from 5,000 euros to 25,000 and was allowing people to issue cheques of up to 9,000 euros.