Stories for February 5th 2013
Colombia reaches sustained production of over a million barrels of oil per day
Colombia announced that it produced an average of 1.01 million barrels of oil per day in January, marking the first time that average crude output for a month surpassed the one million-barrel mark that the government had set as a target for the country's oil industry.
Timerman meets Falklands’ lawmaker but dismisses any form of dialogue
Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman dismissed another attempt by Falkland Islands representatives to engage in dialogue and refused to accept a letter addressed to him and a newly published booklet on the Falklands History.
Osborne says with reform bill “no UK government would ever again bail-out an entire bank”
British Chancellor George Osborne has announced the Banking Reform Bill that will not only see savers’ deposits safeguarded but also enforce rules to make it easier for consumers to switch bank accounts.
“Falklands will be under Argentine control within 20 years”, Timerman tells UK media
The Falklands Islands will be under Argentine control within 20 years, Minister Hector Timerman said in an interview with The Guardian and The Independent in London insisting that not one single country in the world supports the UK governing the Falklands.
Petrobras still going strong but 2012 low profits and high debt pound on prospects
Brazil’s government managed oil and gas corporation Petrobras posted a net benefit of 21.182 billion Reais (approx 10.6bn dollars) in 2012, which is 36% below 2011, reported the company in a filing, but in the fourth quarter profits totalled 7.747bn Reais (approx 3.9bn dollars) 53% higher than in the same period in 2011.
France insists Euro is too strong; fears it could undermine exports
French President François Hollande called on the Euro zone on Tuesday to develop an exchange rate policy to help protect the common currency from “irrational movements”. His comments came amid growing concern that the Euro, now trading around 1.35 to the US dollar, is too strong and could undermine the country’s exporters and hence wider economic growth.
Ecuador: two killed in political rally; Correa leads comfortably re-re-election bid
A campaign rally for Ecuador's president Rafael Correa turned deadly Monday night when a man stabbed and killed two people, state media reported. At least four others were injured at the event that President Correa was expected to arrive at moments later, the state news agency ANDES said.
January inflation in Uruguay confirms strong hike tendency
Inflation in Uruguay climbed 1.9% in January totalling 8.72% in the last twelve months, according to the latest release from the government’s stats office, INE. Last year twelve month inflation reached 7.48% and for this year the government established a target of 4% to 6%.
Brazilian congress challenges Justice: votes graft suspects to key posts
The lower chamber of Brazilian Congress voted overwhelmingly on Monday for Henrique Alves to become its speaker, even though he is under investigation for graft. The selection of Alves came after the Senate chose a new leader who is also accused of corruption.
Widespread football match fixing and criminal network uncovered by Europol
A major investigation involving Europol and police teams from 13 European countries has uncovered an extensive criminal network involved in widespread football match-fixing. A total of 425 match officials, club officials, players, and serious criminals, from more than 15 countries, are suspected of being involved in attempts to fix more than 380 professional football matches.
