The Group of 20 nations pledged to put growth before austerity, seeking to revive a global economy that remains too weak and adjusting stimulus policies with care so that recovery is not derailed by volatile financial markets.
The G20 group of countries has officially supported plans to fight against international tax evasion by multinational companies. In a statement, the G20 countries agreed to exchange tax information and support the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its plans to prevent multinational companies from avoiding tax by moving their profits across borders.
Chinese authorities have given the banking industry greater freedom by allowing banks to set their own lending rates. Previously they were not allowed to lend at rates below a certain level set by the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
A few hours before Francis started his first overseas tour to Brazil, the Vatican’s ‘gay lobby’ was back in the headlines after the alleged exposure of a homosexual prelate appointed by the pope to a key position at the Vatican bank, IOR.
The IMF decision to side with Argentina in its dispute with the US hedge funds has triggered strong criticism in the UK and the issue was brought up in Parliament, according to a piece in the Daily and Sunday Express under the heading: “The British cash cow: Fury as UK money helps Argentina fight £66bn debt”.
A contest for English language teachers in the city of Buenos Aires is part of 'English Week' that will run from 23 to 28 September. The “English Week contest” has been launched by the Buenos Aires City Foreign Language Operational Office (Dirección Operativa de Lenguas Extranjeras GCBA) and the English Teachers Association of Buenos Aires (APIBA, in Spanish) to enable teachers in the city to share the intercultural experiences of their students.
A group of Argentine sovereign defaulted bond-holders have blasted the IMF for its announced intention of filing an amicus brief in support of Argentina before the US courts stating that “there is no role for direct involvement by the IMF in this matter” and any intervention by the IMF “favouring Argentina's request would also clearly violate the Fund's strict commitment to neutrality”.
Argentina's economic activity jumped 7.8% in May from a year earlier, according to the country’s questioned stats office, Indec. President Cristina Fernandez had anticipated the news earlier in the week in a televised speech.
The Barack Obama administration won’t file a brief next week urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Argentina’s appeal in a clash with implications for tens of billions of dollars in defaulted debt, according to a Justice Department spokesman.
More than one million people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2011, making it the world’s seventh-most violent country, according to the Map of Violence survey. In that period the homicides soared 132% to claim 1,145,208 lives, from a rate of 11.5 murders for 100,000 inhabitants in 1980 to 27 per 100,000 in 2011.