Cyprus recorded a general government fiscal surplus of €552.9 million during the first five months of 2026, according to preliminary figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat). Higher tax revenue and stronger social contributions helped offset continued growth in public spending.

Revenue Growth Outpaced Spending

The surplus for the January-to-May period amounted to 1.4% of gross domestic product, compared with €544.5 million, or 1.5% of GDP, in the corresponding period of 2025.

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Total government revenue increased by €282.5 million, or 4.8%, reaching €6.2 billion from €5.92 billion a year earlier.

Income Tax, VAT And Contributions Drive Gains

Taxes on income and wealth recorded the largest increase, rising by €115.2 million, or 8.4%, to €1.49 billion. Social contributions also posted solid growth, climbing by €102.2 million, or 5.2%, to €2.07 billion.

Revenue from taxes on production and imports rose by €93.1 million, or 4.9%, to €2.00 billion. Within that category, net VAT receipts increased by €138 million, or 11.0%, to €1.39 billion.

Additional support came from capital transfers, which rose to €38.8 million from €12.4 million, and from the sale of goods and services, which increased by €9.4 million to €433.2 million.

Those gains were partly offset by lower property income, which declined by €24.2 million to €68.5 million, and a €39.6 million fall in current transfers to €115.7 million.

Expenditure Continues To Expand

Government expenditure rose by €274.1 million, or 5.1%, to €5.65 billion, compared with €5.38 billion in the same period of 2025.

Intermediate consumption increased by €52 million to €590.3 million, while compensation of employees, including imputed social contributions and civil servants’ pensions, rose by €47.6 million to €1.64 billion.

Social benefits recorded the largest increase in absolute terms, climbing by €108.2 million, or 4.9%, to €2.31 billion. Interest payments also rose significantly, increasing by €32.3 million, or 15.7%, to €238.4 million.

Current transfers climbed by €70.5 million, or 19.6%, reaching €429.3 million.

Capital Spending Softens

Capital expenditure moved in the opposite direction, falling by €26.8 million, or 6.0%, to €418.7 million. Gross capital formation declined by €25.4 million to €327.7 million, while other capital expenditure edged down to €90.9 million. Subsidies also decreased, dropping by €9.6 million to €31.8 million.

Preliminary Data Carry Caveats

Cystat noted that the figures remain preliminary, with estimates used for several general government entities, particularly within the local government subsector, as complete data had not yet been submitted by the relevant authorities.

Hotel occupancy across the city and district of Paphos is running around 20% below the same period last year, according to Cyprus Hotels Association (PASYXE) President Thanos Michaelides.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Michaelides said the decline is particularly noticeable during the peak summer months of June, July and August, when hotels would normally expect occupancy to exceed 90%. This year, however, average occupancy is hovering at around 70%.

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Last-Minute Bookings Are Helping, But Not Enough

Michaelides said bookings have picked up in recent weeks, supported mainly by last-minute reservations. While the trend has eased some of the pressure on the sector, it has not been enough to restore occupancy to typical seasonal levels.

Industry Response Focuses On Local Demand And Value

Hotels are responding by placing greater emphasis on the domestic market, rolling out targeted promotional offers and maintaining high service standards to attract both local and international visitors.

Michaelides expressed confidence that these efforts will help sustain demand through the remainder of the summer as the sector continues working to recover from earlier losses.

Cyprus entered 2026 with a weaker external position, as the country’s current account deficit widened in the first quarter and its international investment position deteriorated, according to preliminary data released on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

Deficit Worsens Amid Softer Services Performance

The current account deficit widened to €1.27 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from €1.01 billion a year earlier, an increase of €263 million. Excluding special purpose entities (SPEs), the deficit reached €1.37 billion, compared with €1.12 billion in the first quarter of 2025.

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According to the CBC, the deterioration was driven mainly by a larger secondary income deficit and weaker net exports of services. Financial services, telecommunications, computer services and information services all weighed on the balance, although the impact was partly offset by an improved goods balance and a narrower primary income deficit.

Financial Flows Remain Positive

Despite the weaker current account position, Cyprus recorded net financial inflows of €1.14 billion during the quarter, exceeding the level reported a year earlier. The increase reflected a smaller net outflow in portfolio investment together with stronger net inflows under other investment, the CBC said.

External Balance Sheet Weakens

Cyprus’ international investment position also deteriorated during the quarter. The country’s net liability position widened to €28.31 billion at the end of the first quarter from €28.17 billion three months earlier.

After excluding SPEs, net liabilities increased to €10.03 billion from €8.93 billion at the end of 2025. Gross external debt rose to €226.66 billion from €225.19 billion, while external debt assets edged down slightly to €223.53 billion from €223.62 billion. As a result, net external debt increased by €1.57 billion to €3.14 billion.

Excluding SPEs, gross external debt stood at €59.94 billion, up from €59.18 billion at the end of 2025. Over the same period, net external debt improved slightly to minus €30.46 billion from minus €30.95 billion.

Trade Links Show Mixed Picture

The CBC reported current account surpluses with Germany and Russia during the first quarter, while deficits were recorded with Greece, the United Kingdom and the United States.

At the regional level, Cyprus narrowed its current account deficits with both the European Union and the euro area, providing a modest offset to the broader weakening in the country’s external balance.

Cursor is expanding its AI coding platform to mobile devices with the launch of Cursor Mobile, allowing users to prompt coding agents directly from their smartphones.

Announced on Monday, the app builds on the Cursor 2.0 redesign introduced in October, which shifted the platform’s focus toward autonomous coding agents rather than a traditional code editor. Users can launch new agents or continue conversations started on desktop.

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A Mobile Interface For A Changing Workflow

The launch reflects a broader shift in AI-assisted software development. As coding agents become increasingly capable of handling implementation tasks, developers are spending less time navigating large codebases and more time reviewing, guiding and supervising AI-generated work.

That evolution also makes mobile devices a more practical interface. They are well suited to reviewing progress, sending prompts and managing ongoing workflows, even when the underlying development is taking place remotely.

Cursor is not alone in moving in that direction. Anthropic and OpenAI have also introduced mobile experiences for their coding products, signalling that competition is extending beyond model performance and editor integration to the overall developer workflow.

The Shift From Editing To Orchestration

For years, professional development tools were built around the assumption that developers would spend most of their time writing and editing code on desktop computers. AI coding agents are beginning to change that dynamic by taking on more of the implementation work, allowing developers to focus increasingly on directing, reviewing and refining outputs.

Anthropic’s Claude Code lead, Boris Cherny, recently described how dramatically his own workflow has changed.

“Most of my coding now is on my phone,” Cherny said. “I would have said ‘you’re crazy’ if you told me that six months ago, but yeah, here we are.”

Why The Mobile Bet Matters

Cursor’s latest release expands access to its AI coding agents beyond the desktop, reflecting broader changes in how developers interact with AI-powered tools. As coding increasingly involves prompting, reviewing and coordinating AI-generated work, mobile devices are becoming another way to stay connected to software projects throughout the development process.

Google is expanding access to one of Gemini’s AI features, making personalized image generation powered by Nano Banana available free of charge to all eligible users in the United States. Previously, the capability was limited to Gemini Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Personalization Reaches A Wider Audience

The feature launched in April as part of Gemini’s Personal Intelligence offering, which is designed to generate images based on a user’s interests and preferences. Instead of relying solely on detailed prompts, Gemini can draw on information from a user’s Google ecosystem to tailor image requests.

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For example, users can ask Gemini to “create an illustration of me and my favorite things,” with the system using information from connected services such as Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube and Search to personalise the result.

Google Photos Expands Image Generation

The feature can also access images stored in Google Photos, allowing users to generate personalised content without uploading reference photos manually.

Google first introduced Personal Intelligence to U.S. users in March before expanding the feature to India and Japan. The rollout of Nano Banana-powered image generation extends those capabilities to a broader group of users.

Users Remain In Control

According to Google, Personal Intelligence is an opt-in feature, allowing users to decide which Google apps Gemini can access. Once enabled, it becomes the default setting for relevant prompts, although it can be turned off at any time through the Tools menu.

Gemini Expansion Continues

The latest update comes as Google continues to expand Gemini’s capabilities. Last month, the company announced several upcoming additions, including a Daily Brief feature, a redesigned interface, access to the Gemini Omni video model, and a personal AI agent called Gemini Spark.

Earlier this year, Google also said Gemini had surpassed 750 million monthly active users, highlighting the platform’s growing adoption.

Alpha Bank has confirmed a cash dividend for shareholders following approval at the lender’s annual general meeting held on June 26, 2026.

The board approved a total distribution of €148,005,238.21 from internal dividend reserves and other non-taxed profits. Based on the bank’s share count, shareholders will receive a gross dividend of €0.0655980839 per share, excluding the 59,018,043 treasury shares held by the bank.

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A Full-Year Payout Built On Stronger Capital Returns

The latest payment follows an interim dividend of €111,388,046.88 distributed in December 2025. Combined, the total profit distribution for the 2025 financial year stands at €259,393,285.09, underscoring Alpha Bank’s intent to return capital to investors in a structured, predictable way.

The dividend will be subject to a 5% withholding tax under Greek tax law, leaving a net cash payment of €0.0623181797 per share.

Key Dates For Investors

The bank has set July 1, 2026, as the ex-dividend date. From that session onward, shares will trade on the Euronext Athens without the right to the payout. The record date for identifying eligible shareholders is July 2, 2026, while payment is scheduled to begin on July 8, 2026.

Distributions will be processed through the bank’s designated paying agents and the participants in the Dematerialised Securities System.

Special Cases And Unclaimed Dividends

Alpha Bank also noted that legal heirs of deceased shareholders, as well as holders of securities linked to institutions under liquidation, should contact the bank directly to complete the necessary procedures.

The right to collect the dividend will expire five years after the end of the year in which the entitlement was established. Any unclaimed amounts will then revert to the Greek State.

Alpha Bank’s announcement reflects the disciplined capital-return approach increasingly favored by European lenders as they balance profitability, regulatory requirements and shareholder expectations.

For more information, visit Alpha Bank.

Global mergers and acquisitions are on track for a strong rebound, with annual deal value projected to reach $4 trillion in 2026, according to a new report from PwC. If realised, that would mark the market’s strongest performance since 2021.

Mega Deals Are Reclaiming The Market

PwC attributes the rebound largely to a surge in transactions valued at more than $5 billion. So far this year, those mega deals have accounted for nearly half of global deal value, up from 39% in 2025 and 26% in 2024.

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The firm expects the value of these transactions to grow by 40% annually through 2026 if current momentum continues.

“2026 is the year of super-sized mergers and acquisitions,” said Brian Levy, leader of PwC US’ global deals sector. He added that artificial intelligence is accelerating mega deals, reshaping capital flows and changing the competitive landscape across industries.

AI Emerges As A Key Acquisition Driver

According to PwC, companies are increasingly pursuing acquisitions to strengthen their artificial intelligence capabilities.

Recent transactions illustrate that trend. SpaceX has completed a $60 billion acquisition of the AI startup Cursor, while Salesforce has agreed to acquire the AI-powered customer service platform Fin for $3.6 billion. Qualcomm is also reportedly in discussions to acquire Modular in a deal that could value the AI chip company at around $4 billion.

Mid-Market Buyers Face A More Difficult Climate

While the largest transactions continue to gain momentum, PwC said many mid-market investors remain constrained by geopolitical uncertainty, valuation gaps, slower economic growth, higher inflation, elevated interest rates and a backlog of private capital exits.

Those factors continue to weigh on smaller and mid-sized transactions, even as larger companies pursue strategic acquisitions.

Private Markets May Become More Liquid

PwC also said artificial intelligence has the potential to improve liquidity in private markets by making asset evaluation and deal negotiations more efficient.

If global M&A activity reaches $4 trillion in 2026, it would represent an increase of at least 13% from 2025 and the second-highest annual deal value since 2021.

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) is encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in a European Commission survey on occupational safety and health, as well as the protection of workers’ rights across subcontracting chains.

A Consultative Step Toward New EU Employment Rules

The survey is being conducted through the Enterprise Europe Network as part of the European Commission’s preparations for the forthcoming Quality Jobs Act. The initiative aims to help align future employment standards with the evolving needs of the labour market.

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Why The Commission Wants Business Input

According to Keve, the Commission is collecting information on how businesses manage occupational health and safety, protect workers’ rights within subcontracting chains, and assess the costs and benefits of implementing those measures.

Why Participation Matters For SmEs

Keve said participation is important because the findings will help shape future European employment policy and influence standards related to job quality. For SMEs, the exercise offers an opportunity to ensure that new rules reflect operational realities rather than relying solely on top-down assumptions.

Businesses interested in contributing can complete the questionnaire online by July 27, 2026. The chamber noted that no EU Login account is required to take part.

Keve is encouraging eligible businesses to share their experience so that upcoming regulations can better reflect the specific needs of Europe’s SME sector.

Each new round of layoffs seems to deepen the same conclusion: artificial intelligence is not just changing how companies work, but how workers imagine their future. Through May 2026, employers had announced nearly 90,000 job cuts tied to AI, according to reporting from Yahoo Finance. Some projections suggest AI could eliminate as much as 15% of U.S. jobs over the next five years, intensifying concerns among workers, especially younger graduates entering a job market that already feels uncertain.

Yet a new report from Ramp and Revelio Labs adds a more nuanced layer to the debate. Drawing on enterprise AI spending data and workforce records from nearly 22,000 companies, the study suggests that firms investing aggressively in AI are not necessarily reducing staff. In many cases, they are hiring faster.

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High AI Spending, Higher Headcount

The report classifies “high-intensity adopters” as companies spending an average of $30 per employee each month on AI during the first three months of adoption. Among those businesses, headcount increased by 10.2%. Hiring expanded across engineering, sales, administration, customer service, finance, marketing and scientific roles.

The strongest growth was recorded in the information sector, which includes software, internet, media and other technology-related businesses.

AI Investment And Business Expansion

According to the report, AI can lower production costs and improve efficiency across software and technology companies by accelerating coding, debugging, internal tooling, technical documentation and product development.

The study suggests these productivity gains may allow some companies to expand operations while continuing to hire, rather than relying solely on workforce reductions.

Entry-Level Employment Shows Mixed Trends

The findings also differ from some broader labour market research.

Goldman Sachs has estimated that AI eliminated around 16,000 net jobs per month over the past year, with Gen Z workers and entry-level employees experiencing much of the impact. By contrast, Ramp and Revelio Labs found that entry-level headcount increased by 12% among high-intensity AI adopters.

The authors note, however, that the study focuses primarily on fast-growing, knowledge-based companies, many of which are backed by venture capital and were already positioned for expansion. As a result, the report does not conclude that AI itself caused the increase in hiring.

“This paper does not show that AI universally creates jobs, but it does counter claims that AI will lead to broad job losses,” the authors wrote.

Adoption Patterns Differ Across Companies

According to the report, companies with greater access to capital, technical expertise and organisational resources may be better positioned to turn AI investment into business growth.

The authors caution that organisations lacking those advantages could struggle to achieve similar results. “Firms without those channels may fall behind,” they said.

Hotel occupancy in Paphos has weakened significantly this summer, with rates running around 20% below the same period last year, according to Cyprus Hotels Association (Pasyxe) President Thanos Michaelides.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Michaelides said hotels and other tourist accommodation in Paphos would normally expect occupancy above 90% during the peak summer months of June, July and August. Average occupancy is currently around 70%, leaving a significant shortfall during what is traditionally one of the district’s busiest and most profitable periods.

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Last-Minute Demand Has Helped, But Not Enough

Bookings have improved in recent weeks, driven mainly by last-minute reservations. Michaelides said the increase has helped ease some of the pressure on the sector but has not been enough to restore occupancy to typical seasonal levels.

Hoteliers Turn To Domestic Travel And Promotions

Hotels in Paphos are responding by placing greater emphasis on the domestic market, introducing targeted promotional offers and maintaining a strong focus on service quality to attract both local and international visitors.

Michaelides said he expects those efforts to help sustain demand through the remainder of the summer as the sector continues working to recover from earlier losses.

A Key Test For The Season

The latest figures show that hotel occupancy in Paphos remains well below last year’s levels despite a recent improvement in bookings supported by last-minute demand.