Cyprus Economy Outperforms EU Benchmarks With 4.5% Quarterly Growth

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

February 16, 2026

The Cypriot economy recorded an impressive 4.5% year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to preliminary estimates from the Statistical Service. This performance represents a notable acceleration, with a seasonally adjusted quarterly increase of 1.4% compared to the previous period.

Quarterly Performance Surpasses Expectations

Based on Eurostat data, Cyprus has significantly outpaced its European counterparts. While the Eurozone achieved an average growth rate of 1.3% and the European Union registered 1.5%, Cyprus clearly outperformed both. Such robust quarterly performance underlines the nation’s strategic economic positioning amid global market uncertainties.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Full-Year Projections And Fiscal Discipline

For the entire year 2025, growth is forecasted at 3.75%, exceeding earlier predictions from the Ministry of Finance and several domestic and international agencies, which had estimated an increase between 2.9% and 3.5%. This optimistic projection is supported by a low inflation environment and conditions of near-full employment.

Sustainable Growth Amid Global Uncertainty

Despite increased international volatility, Cyprus continues to demonstrate a resilient economic dynamic. Experts assert that a commitment to prudent and disciplined fiscal policies will bolster the nation’s ability to maintain medium-term growth rates above 3%. This strategic approach offers a strong competitive edge, much like other success stories in high-growth markets where sound economic management has proven vital.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Google Cloud Outage Disrupts Banking And Digital Services Across The UK

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 20, 2026

A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.

Breaking news