Stories for 2013
Petrobras completes record bond offering and collects 11 billion dollars
Brazil’s state-controlled oil firm Petrobras sold 11 billion dollars of global debt on Monday in the largest-ever bond offering by a Latin American company. The deal was split in six tranches comprised of fixed- and floating-rate debt with maturities ranging from three to 30 years, according to a report from Thomson Reuters.
Watch out for the new dollars bills: Treasury bans loopy signatures
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who was mocked for his loopy signature, has offered a more legible version. His new sign-off, on a recent Treasury report, showed an attempt to lay out the letters more clearly.
Tougher regulations and responsibilities for credit rating agencies in Europe
Credit rating agencies (CRA) such as Moody’s, Fitch or Standard & Poor’s will have to work under more strict regulations in the European Union where they could face claims if investors suffer a loss due to an infringement committed by the agency intentionally or with gross negligence, according to a European Council directive approved on Monday.
Venezuela’s only opposition television network sold to a group close to the government
Globovision, Venezuela's only opposition television network which had a long history of clashes with the populist government of deceased President Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution, was sold Monday and will change its critical coverage, network officials said.
“This channel already has been sold off,” the network's website said in a statement.
FAO suggests farming and feeding on insects can address global food insecurity
While insects can be slimy, cringe-inducing creatures, often squashed on sight by humans, a new book released by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says beetles, wasps and caterpillars are also an unexplored nutrition source that can help address global food insecurity.
Falklands’ linked scientist who helped identify ozone layer hole has died
The British Antarctic Survey scientist Joe Farman, who helped identify the “hole” in the ozone layer over the southern pole, has died. Dr Farman who was also a scientific officer at the Falkland Islands Dependency Survey, published the discovery with Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin in the Journal Nature in 1985.
China to the rescue of Argentina with a 10 billion dollars equivalent swap
Argentina is negotiating with China a new 10 billon dollars equivalent swap of international reserves support based on the experience of 2009 when the global financial crisis. The new accord should theoretically help Argentina strengthen its international position vis-à-vis the run on the dollar (or the flight from the Peso) and which has cost the Central bank 4 billion dollars so far this year.
Falklands: MPs blast Spanish MEP for comments on the Islands sovereignty
A senior British member of Parliament blasted as ‘outrageous’ claims that the European Parliament does not recognize British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. The case first surfaced when MercoPress reported that a Spanish member of the European parliament on a recent visit to Argentina said that “British sovereignty over the Islands as such is not accepted”.
Malvinas' globe in UK stores triggers strong reactions from Falklands’ veterans
It’s not the first time it has happened mainly in Argentina where maps, stationery, climate and navigational charts and even school books related to the Islas Malvinas have been found referred and printed as the Falkland Islands to the fury of the Kirchner ‘Penguin’ governments.
Positive reaction in Japanese markets to G7 ‘silent’ endorsement of Yen policy
Tokyo stocks opened 1.02% higher on Monday as the Yen's fall accelerated after Japan avoided open criticism about its forex policy at the weekend meeting of Group of Seven financial chiefs. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shot up 149.05 points to 14,756.59 at the start of trade.
