Stories for July 4th 2011
Peruvian president-elect will meet Obama and Clinton in Washington
Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala will be meeting next Wednesday President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Humala is expected in Washington on Tuesday.
EU/Mercosur launch ‘timid’ sixth round of trade negotiations in Brussels
Mercosur/European sixth round of negotiations to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement took off Monday in Brussels, but rather timidly with no immediate prospects of an exchange of proposals for market access.
Redefining ‘default’ so that private banks can roll over Greek debt
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's warned on Monday that efforts to bailout Greece involving private banks could amount to a debt default even as Brussels sees progress being made in resolving the crisis.
OECD warns the Euro Central Bank about ‘aggressive’ hike of interest rates
The European Central Bank should not hike interest rates aggressively and wait for stronger Euro zone growth before increasing rates after this week's expected move, OECD head Angel Gurria said on Monday.
In a surprise return Chavez is back in Venezuela singing and saying he’s “fine”
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez made a surprise homecoming on Monday after cancer surgery in Cuba and declared himself “fine” despite speculation he may still require lengthy treatment.
Spanish-Chinese group discover oil in Brazil’s pre-salt cluster, 6.851 metres deep
Spanish oil and gas group Repsol YPF announced last week that its joint venture with China's Sinopec Group had made a new discovery of good quality oil in Brazilian ultra-deep water.
Uruguay confirms second round of offshore oil exploration for next September
Uruguay confirmed a second round of offshore lease bidding for hydrocarbons exploration next September. The country’s state run oil refining company ANCAP plans to offer 15 areas with sizes ranging from 2,300 sq km to 12,000 sq km, said sources from the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining.
Canadian bank concludes purchase of Uruguay’s fourth largest private bank
Canada’s Scotiabank announced it has closed the transaction to purchase Nuevo Banco Comercial S.A. (NBC), Uruguay's fourth largest private bank in terms of loans and deposits. The acquisition was announced on December 6, 2010. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Brazilian government continues to subsidize loans to big corporations
Brazil's state development bank, BNDES, is lending to companies at the lowest rate relative to the country's benchmark in two years, undercutting President Dilma Rousseff's efforts to curb inflation, revealed the Sao Paulo financial press.
Narrowest house in New York, (2.4 meters) on sale for 4.3 million USD
New York City's narrowest house, 75 ½ Bedford Street, Manhattan, is back on the market after selling in early 2010 for 2.175 million US dollars at the dramatically increased price of 4.3 million.
