Portugal eases debt repayment scheduleOctober 3, 2012 - 15:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Bailed-out Portugal has lowered the financial hurdle it must clear next year when a hefty debt repayment falls due by exchanging bonds worth €3.76 billion ($4.86 billion) for longer-term bills, The Associated Press reports. Bonds valued at almost €10 billion are due to mature next September in the first major test of Portugal's financial health since it needed a €78 billion rescue in May last year. The government debt agency said Wednesday, Oct 3 it swopped 38.5 percent of that debt for bonds maturing in October 2015. That reduces the debt Portugal will have to cover in September to just under €6 billion, giving it some breathing space as it struggles to restore market confidence. The Bank of Portugal predicts an economic contraction of 3.3 percent this year. Unemployment is at a record 15.9 percent. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. |