Stories for November 8th 2008
APEC says risks have shifted to global economic activity
Finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping pledged to instrument reforms as economies in the region seek to mitigate the impact of global economic crisis.
US unemployment in Oct. 6.5%; peak since 1994 and climbing
Unemployment in the United States during October rose to 6.5%, totalling 10 million jobless and the highest rate since March 1994, according to the latest release from the US Labour Department.
EU leaders reach common position for Washington summit
The summit of European Union leaders in Brussels on Friday reached a common position on reforming the world financial system, announced French President Nicolas Sarkozy. EU countries agreed on “the need to take firm and ambitious operational decisions at the Washington summit” on 15 November, Mr Sarkozy told reporters
Obama pledges to confront crisis “head on”, but no specifics
US president-elect Barack Obama, vowed on Friday to confront the current economic crisis “head on” in his first news conference since his victory in Tuesday's election.
Brazil admits pre-salt oil deposits could hold 80 billion barrels
Brazil's pre-salt oil reserves already under concession could reach as much as 80 billion barrels of oil equivalent, said the head of Brazil's National Petroleum Agency (ANP), Haroldo Lima, on Friday.
Credit pinch reaches Brazil: inflation up, car sales down
Brazil's annual inflation rate rose to a three-year high in October as the currency's significant plunge against the US dollar pushed up costs, according to the latest release from the government's statistics and geography office.
Jobless in Argentina down, but unions think differently
Unemployment in Argentina dropped 0.2 points in the third quarter of this year and stood at 7.8%, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner revealed this week during a visit to a factory in Buenos Aires province
Economics Nobel Prize Stiglitz and the “next Bretton Woods”
The world is sinking into a major global slowdown, likely to be the worst in a quarter-century, perhaps since the Great Depression. This crisis was “made in America,” in more than one sense.
Argentina: private pension funds take over advances
Argentina's lower house approved President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's controversial plan to nationalize an estimated 30 billion US dollars in private pensions, a proposal that raised concern of a default and has further divided the ruling party.
Difficult choices for Falklands' “strained” public finances
THE strain on Falkland Islands' public finances is “greater than at any time since the commencement of fisheries licensing in 1986”.
