The wine used for the masses of Pope Francis will be made using grapes from small Argentine producers with 500 liters of the drink already in production, according to a report from the Project for the Integration of Small Producers in the Viticulture Chain (PROVIAR).
The Bank of England has agreed a deal with the People's Bank of China to make London a hub for Chinese currency dealing. The memorandum of understanding, to be signed next Monday, sets out settlement and clearing arrangements for the Renminbi, or Yuan, in London.
US Federal Reserve has rejected plans by Citigroup to buy back shares and boost dividends for shareholders. It cited deficiencies in the bank's ability to plan for how stressful situations would hurt its business. The decision is a setback for Citigroup boss Michael Corbat who was brought in to bolster internal controls after the bank failed stress tests two years ago.
Bank of America agreed to pay 9.5bn to settle charges it misled US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the housing crisis in 2008. The bank will pay 6.3bn in cash and buy back 3.2bn in mortgage securities.
President Barack Obama and Pope Francis focused publicly on their mutual respect and shared concern for the poor on Thursday during their meeting in the Vatican, but the lengthy private discussion also highlighted the deep differences between the White House and the Catholic Church on abortion and birth control.
The US Supreme Court has confirmed that Brazil, Mexico and France have officially presented their opinions on an appeal currently being studied in the judicial authorities, which relates to the litigation held against Argentina by the hedge funds which the administration President Cristina Fernandez refers to as 'vulture funds'.
The Government of Gibraltar and The New Statesman launched a six-month media partnership that will see New Statesman online host a Gibraltar micro-site featuring the latest news, interviews and insight from the Rock. The partnership also includes a monthly print feature published on the last issue of every month until August 2014.
The lower house of Brazil’s Congress has approved legislation meant to ensure the privacy of Internet users and to guarantee what is called “Internet neutrality”, that all content be treated equally by carriers. But it dropped a demand that all data on Brazilians be saved within the country.
Pope Francis showed an interest on the Falklands/Malvinas question negotiations during a meeting on Wednesday at the Vatican with Daniel Filmus chairman of Issues relative to the Malvinas Islands secretariat, according to Argentine sources which gave the event a great coverage. The meeting was in the framework of Wednesdays open audience at St Peter's square, when an estimated 50.000 people attend the ceremony.
US President Barack Obama has told the European Union it cannot rely on the United States alone to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, as relations with Moscow chill over its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.