Economy

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 23:17 UTC

  Argentina writes to EU expressing “great concern” because of Spanish ban on bio-diesel

  

  The Argentine government expressed “great concern” on Monday following the decision from the Spanish government to ban bio-diesel “not produced within the European Union” from the country.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 19:16 UTC

  Spain's ‘indignados’ promise a great turnout on first anniversary, May 15

  

  Protests of “indignados” continue in Madrid and Barcelona in spite of arrests and members of the 15-M movement have promised they will not abandon streets and plazas until after the anniversary of the first protest in Puerta del Sol a year ago on Tuesday.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 18:43 UTC

  Falklands recognizes outstanding contributions to the Islands’ tourism development

  

  A gala ball was held on 12th May to highlight the achievements of the tourist industry in the Falkland Islands and to present awards for notable contributions to the development of tourism in the Islands.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 18:29 UTC

  China opens its market to Chilean beef and lamb plus avocados and berries

  

  China has opened its market to Chilean meat, avocados and blueberries following the visit of Agriculture minister Luis Mayol who anticipated further discussions for the sale of live cattle and dairy produce.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 05:38 UTC

  “Interest rate has been falling not to please Dilma”, says Brazil Central bank chief

  

  The central bank remains independent and the current interest-rate cutting cycle is driven by specific economic factors, not pressure from President Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s central bank President Alexandre Tombini said in an interview in the Sunday edition of O Estado de S. Paulo.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 05:34 UTC

  EC brighter outlook for 2013: UK expands 1.7% and Euro zone 1.3%

  

  The slow economic recovery is in sight across Europe, the European Commission said on Saturday, with the UK in line for 1.7% growth next year compared with an EU average of 1.3%.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 05:31 UTC

  Fuel costs and Spanish recession hit British Airways-Iberia with mounting losses

  

  Rising fuel costs and the impact of Spain’s economic crisis left the owner of British Airways and Iberia nursing big quarterly losses. International Airlines Group was also hit by industrial action by pilots at Iberia as it recorded losses of 263 million Euros for the three months to March 31, against a deficit of 47 million Euros a year earlier.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 05:21 UTC

  HSBC reports sale of affiliates in four countries to GNB Colombia for US 400m

  

  HSBC reported the sale of its affiliates in Uruguay, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay to the Colombian group Gilinski, an operation involving 400 million dollars, of which 80 million for the Montevideo assets.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 04:20 UTC

  Unasur defence spending one of the lowest in the world: average 0.91% of GDP

  

  Union of South American Nations (Unasur) member states released a report detailing each country’s military spending. Ministers and diplomats from the twelve nation regional bloc also pledged further military integration, proposing the creation of a Citizen Security Council.

• Monday, May 14th 2012 - 03:49 UTC

  Latam and Asia-Pacific plan closer; bilateral trade expanding 20% annually

  

  Fast-growing trade and investment between the Asia-Pacific area and Latin America and the Caribbean have transformed the two regions into powerful motors for the world economy, with two-way trade hitting 442 billion dollars last year. The time is right to deepen cooperation so as to ensure future growth and prosperity, according to a new study.