Stories for December 2009

Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 12:18 UTC
Dear MercoPress subscribers and readers:

MercoPress wishes all subscribers and readers a very prosperous New Year, hoping 2010 will definitively help to lift the world out of global recession.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 12:08 UTC
Lula da Silva ends 2009 with a military crisis over reviewing the past

Brazilian president Lula da Silva praised as one of the most influential leaders of the world ends 2009 with a serious political crisis: the Minister of Defence and the commanders on the three services have threatened to resign over the creation of a “truth commission” to investigate human rights abuses during the military dictatorship that extended from 1964 to 1985.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 12:04 UTC
Argentine archbishop convicted for sexual abuse

Argentine cleric gets 8 years in sex abuse case. An Argentine judge convicted a former Roman Catholic archbishop Wednesday of sexually abusing a seminarian in 1992.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 11:12 UTC
Uruguayan economy forecasted to grow 4%; peso appreciated 25% in 2009

Uruguay’s peso achieved a record annual gain as neighboring Brazil’s economic recovery fueled demand for the country’s exports. The peso has jumped 25% this year, (9.4% in the last quarter) its biggest annual advance since the government created it in 1993 to replace the nuevo peso as part of an effort to stem surging inflation.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 11:07 UTC
Argentina’s stock market completes biggest annual gain in 18 years: 115%

Argentina’s main stock index completed its biggest annual gain in 18 years. The Merval index’s 115% rise this year is its best performance since 1991 and reverses a 50% drop in 2008.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 11:01 UTC
Chile’s share-index advanced 51% in 2009; Peso 26% stronger

Chile's leading share index ended 2009 with an annual gain of 51% as utility, retail and commodity stocks fuelled the biggest annual rise in 16 years. At the same time, Chile's currency, the peso ended with a 26% annual advance against the dollar, traders said.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 09:15 UTC
Brazil’s market soars 83% in 2009 and Real appreciates 34% against US dollar

The performance of Brazilian stocks in 2009 has been one of the highest in the world while the local currency, the Real reflected the recovery of Latinamerica’s largest economy by appreciating 34% against the US dollar this year.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 07:51 UTC
Ronaldo the most profitable player in Real Madrid’s history

The Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo purchased for the record sum of 94 million Euros is proving to be the most profitable player in Real Madrid’s history, generating as much as 80 million Euros annually in publicity revenue, according to the Spanish press.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 07:46 UTC
When Japan assigned 20 “karate-ladies” to protect Margaret Thatcher

Japan was asked not to greet Britain's first female prime minister with a security escort of 20 “karate ladies”, newly-released British government papers show. Margaret Thatcher visited Tokyo for an economic summit in June 1979 - a month after winning the general election.
Thursday, December 31st 2009 - 05:46 UTC
Spain names first director for the Instituto Cervantes in Gibraltar

Francisco Oda-Angel, the former director of the Instituto Transfronterizo will be officially assuming his post as the first director of the Gibraltar branch of the Instituto Cervantes (equivalent of the British Council) as from January 1st 2010, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.