Stories for January 2009

Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
On his last days Bush turns advocate of maritime monuments

A vast swathe of the Pacific, including an area near New Zealand territory, has been declared part of a United States national maritime monument. President George Bush, in the dying days of his administration, made the startling declaration by saying in the White House “we're fixing to do some fabulous policy”.
Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Obama takes off with 1,2 trillion budget deficit, 8.3% of GDP

The sharp slowdown in the US economy will push the federal budget deficit to more than one trillion US dollars, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) announced Wednesday. The 1.186 trillion USD deficit for the fiscal year ending on 30 September would be the largest on record.
Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Chile's presidential election has two main candidates

A public opinion poll gauging the support of what are considered Chile's five main political leaders –and presidential hopefuls--, shows the head of the conservative opposition leading comfortably, but his runner up is closing in.
Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Uruguay, Peru, Brazil best performing economies

Brazil's economy, Latin America's largest, will likely end 2008 with an expansion of 5.9%, according to new estimates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Accounting fraud (Enron style) rocks Indian markets

A four-day relief rally on India's stock market ended abruptly on Wednesday after the chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd resigned with a confession of accounting fraud in India's biggest corporate governance scandal.

Satyam's shares collapsed 78%, leading the bellwether Sensex index on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) down 7.3%.
Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Chilean Congress investigates ENAP losses & gas projects

Chile's Lower House unanimously approved this week the naming of a special committee to investigate the financial performance of government owned hydrocarbons corporation ENAP, that suffered huge losses in 2008, and gas exploration projects in Tierra del Fuego which have been described as commercially “non viable”.
Tuesday, January 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Sir Alan Walters, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's personal economic advisor, dies aged 82

Professor Sir Alan Walters, former personal economic advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and credited with being an architect of the 1980's renaissance of the economy of the United Kingdom, died peacefully at home on Saturday at the age of 82.
Tuesday, January 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Chile's December inflation negative; twelve months, 7.1%

Consumer inflation in Chile during December was negative, 1.2%, the lowest since 1996, helping the overall consumers' prices index (CPI) to close 2008 at 7.1%, according to the latest release from the country's Statistics Institute, INE.
Tuesday, January 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Ecuador to beef up patrolling along Colombian border

Ecuador will implement this year a plan to reinforce its borders, particularly with Colombia, to eliminate the presence of guerrillas and irregular forces in its territory, announced the country's Defence minister Javier Ponce.
Tuesday, January 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Japan's Toyota to halt production 11 days in its 12 factories

Toyota is to halt production at all 12 of its Japanese factories for 11 days in February and March as it tries to reduce its stock of unsold cars. It had already announced a three-day halt for January, but before that it had not cut production since 1993, when it did so for one day.