Stories for May 8th 2009
April car sales in Brazil fall 13.7% from the previous month
Automobile sales in Brazil fell 13.7% in April from the previous month as consumer demand waned after four straight months of gains, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Friday. Sales also fell 10.3% from April 2008 to 234.400 and automobile output dropped 6.9% month-on-month in April and was down 15.8% from a year earlier to 254.700 units.
FAO proposals to tackle abandoned fishing gear lost at sea
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO and the UN Environment Program, UNEP have made a number or recommendations for tackling the problem of abandoned fishing gear lost at sea and which are severely hurting the marine environment.
Oil companies’ delegation visits Falklands in anticipation of drilling
Representatives of oil companies intending to drill in North and South basins around the Falkland Islands say they are, “…as confident as they can be in an exploration setting,” that they will be successful in their endeavour to recover oil in commercial quantities.
Dismal Ilex Season in Falklands; All Jiggers Leave Zone
Weekly Penguin News Update. Headlines: Fun trials create new challenges; Dismal Ilex season; Firearm stolen from vehicle at Goose Green; BFBS 3 will be available to Falkland’s viewer; Swine flu pandemic is less likely.
Lula da Silva and Lugo suspend signing of bilateral agreements
Visiting Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo and his counterpart host Brazil’s Lula da Silva ended Thursday evening their first private meeting with out any statements or having signed several bilateral agreements which were ready to be stamped.
Montevideo, best quality of life; Santiago leads in infrastructure
Uruguay’s capital Montevideo remains the best city for quality of life for foreign executives in Latinamerica, while Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince is the worst, according to the latest survey from Mercer.
Chavez agrees to pay 1.97 billion USD for nationalized steelmaker
Ternium, Latin America’s second- largest steelmaker, agreed to sell its Sidor unit to the Venezuelan government for 1.97 billion US dollars, ending a yearlong price dispute. The government holding company, Corp. Venezolana de Guayana, or CVG, paid 400 million in cash today for Ternium’s 59.7% stake in Sidor, the Luxembourg-based company said Thursday in a statement. CVG said it will pay the rest in two separate payments.
Brazil central bankers see margin to further cut interest rates
Brazilian central bank policy makers said the global economic slump may favour the ongoing reduction of interest rates without jeopardizing the inflation target, according to the minutes of the April 28-29 monetary policy meeting posted on the bank’s Web site.
Chavez to begin taking over oil industry contractors
State owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. PDVSA, will begin Friday taking over control of some oil-field services currently being provided by private firms, President Hugo Chávez said.
European Parliament supports “politically persecuted Venezuelans”
The European Parliament (EP) approved on Thursday a resolution in solidarity with “all those people suffering political persecution in Venezuela,” currently embodied in former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who was granted political asylum in Peru.
