Stories for March 26th 2011
Uruguay admits concern over inflation raises benchmark interest to 7.5%
Uruguay's central bank this week surprised local economists and raised its benchmark interest rate 100 base points, one percentage point to 7.5%, in an attempt to help combat accelerating inflation which is beyond the government's target range.
Billionaire Buffet advice: avoid long term fixed-income investment in US dollars
Billionaire Warren Buffet who urged United States in 2009 to guard against inflation, said investors should avoid long-term fixed-income bets in US dollars because the currency’s purchasing power will decline.
Second Fed governor in a week against extending US stimulative policies
The Federal Reserve has less need to support an improving US economy beyond the 600 billion dollars Treasury purchase plan already in place, and any changes to the central bank’s stimulative policies should be considered some time after the program ends, said Charles Evans, , president of the Fed’s regional bank in Chicago.
Unrest extends across Syria including Damascus; security forces shoot on protestors
Protests have been staged in towns and cities across Syria, including the capital Damascus, a day after the government announced limited changes. Unconfirmed reports said a number of people had been killed in at least three separate protests.
BBC changes 70 year Mandarin service for BBC Chinese language websites
BBC Chinese Service has made its final radio broadcast in Mandarin after nearly 70 years. Shortwave programming in Mandarin is a casualty of spending cuts announced by the BBC World Service in January.
Brazil expected to raise benchmark interest rate as inflation “worsens”
Brazilian Central bank President Alexandre Tombini admitted inflation forecasts may “worsen”. Consumer prices in the 12 months through mid-March rose 6.13%, the biggest jump in more than two years.
WTO rules US is illegally taxing imported Brazilian frozen orange juice
The World Trade Organization ruled Friday that the United States is illegally taxing about 2 billion US dollars a year of imported Brazilian frozen orange juice.
Repsol divests another 6.67% of its stake in Argentina’s YPF
Spain’s main oil company Repsol has listed 26.21 million shares of YPF on the New York Stock Exchange for 1.08 billion US dollars as part of a plan to divest its stake in its Argentine unit.
Swiss ambassador denies “any plot or anything of the sort” against Moyano
Swiss Ambassador in Argentina Johannes Mattyasy said that “there was no complot, pressure or anything of the sort” in the request of information on CGT Labour Confederation leader Hugo Moyano in connection to a case of money laundering.
Brazil’s UN vote on Iran marks first great difference between Dilma and Lula da Silva
Brazil’s vote in the UN Human Rights Council in support of a rapporteur to monitor human rights in Iran, proposed by the US, signals the first great divergence in foreign policy between the current administration of President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor and mentor Lula da Silva.
