Stories for March 21st 2011
Falklands’ 2010 land-based tourism ‘surprisingly good’ as opposed to cruise ships
Using the United Nations definition of tourism, 2010 was a surprisingly good year for land-based, as opposed to cruise ship tourism in the Falkland Islands, with numbers up from 4,241 in 2009 to 6,017 in 20010.
Ireland: EU agriculture commissioner supports strong position against Mercosur
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has pressed Ireland’s anxieties about ongoing trade talks with Mercosur with agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos who was most receptive to Ireland’s position, reports the Dublin media.
US farmers concerned with Mercosur expanding farm exports to Colombia
United States farmers have called on the US government to approve the free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama because Mercosur countries are taking a bigger share of US agriculture exports to those countries.
US Export-Import bank loans Brazil 3 billion USD for oil and World Cup
The US government's export credit agency has authorized $3 billion in financing for Brazil, including 2 billion US dollars for the Brazilian government-managed oil company Petrobras.
Speculation that Brazil’s s steel industry is in the process of consolidation
Brazil’s biggest maker of steel products for the auto and construction industries, Gerdau SA, plans to sell as much as 4.2 billion Real (2.5 billion USD) of stock, boosting speculation that it has plans to buy a stake in a Brazilian rival, most probably Usiminas.
EU farm ministers support strong CAP with “proportional financial resources”
European Union agriculture ministers at the weekend rejected capping subsidies to Europe's biggest farms but compromised on a fairer share-out of funds between farmers in Eastern and Western Europe.
Italy fears massive inflow of African refugees, asks for help from EU members
Italy is urging other European countries to take a greater share of the immigrants pouring across from North Africa. The tiny island of Lampedusa is just south of Sicily and only 150 kilometers from the Tunisian coast and has borne the brunt of the flood of refugees.
IATA warns of setback in the air travel industry while Japan recovers
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that fuel prices could increase and the global aviation industry will face a setback while Japan recovers from the earthquake.
Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental begins first successful flight test program
The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental successfully began its flight test program Monday taking off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington state, before more than several thousand employees, customers, suppliers and community leaders.
Fearing social unrest, Beijing bans “hedonistic, high-end” lifestyles advertising
China's capital has banned outdoor advertising that promotes hedonistic or high-end lifestyles as the government seeks to ease public concerns about the country's widening wealth gap.
