Stories for January 7th 2010

Friday, January 8th 2010 - 06:48 UTC
Latinamerica’s 2009 trade contracts 24% in value, the worst since 1973

Latinamerica and Caribbean exports plunged 24% in value last year compared to 2008 because of the international crisis, according to the latest estimates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal, released Thursday in Santiago de Chile.
Friday, January 8th 2010 - 06:44 UTC
New Japan Finance minister wants weaker Yen to help recover economy

Japan's newly appointed finance minister Naoto Kan has called for a weaker yen in order to aid the recovery of the Japanese economy. Speaking the day after his appointment, Mr Kan said it would be “nice” to see the currency weaken.
Friday, January 8th 2010 - 06:28 UTC
Ample support for Bank of England’s decision to leave monetary policy unchanged

The Bank of England announced Thursday its decision to hold the base rate of interest at its current historic low of 0.5%. The Monetary Policy Committee also opted against altering its quantitative easing programme, under which it has already created £200 billion to pump into the economy.
Friday, January 8th 2010 - 06:22 UTC
Waters dispute with Spain, Gibraltar’s main challenge in 2009

Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana said this week that the biggest challenge of all in 2009 was that over the sovereignty of Gibraltar’s waters represented by Spain’s designation of areas of these as an EU environmental protection zone, and the EU Commission inclusion of it in the official EU list.
Friday, January 8th 2010 - 06:12 UTC
President Lula da Silva “will decide” on contract for huge fighter jet order

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Thursday that the government -- not the Air Force -- will determine which contractor to pick for a 4.4 billion US dollars fighter jet order, and that President Lula da Silva has not yet made his decision.
Friday, January 8th 2010 - 05:59 UTC
Chilean bottled wine sales soar 60% in November; UK and US main markets

Confidence is high among Chilean winemakers with information released this week showing a 60% increase in exports for November 2009, compared to the same month in 2008.
Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:32 UTC
Spain optimistic about an EU/Mercosur trade agreement this year

Spain’s Foreign Affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos is confident that the European Union will reach a trade understanding or road map with Mercosur during the first half of this year, since Spain holds the EU rotating presidency.
Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:27 UTC
Former Argentine ambassador in Montevideo praises Uruguay’s “three Joes”

The Argentine government accepted on Wednesday the resignation of its ambassador in Uruguay, Hernan Patiño Meyer who has been involved in a political controversy following comments praising Uruguayan president-elect Jose Mujica.
Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:24 UTC
Beaches in south Chile closed because of swarms of jelly fish

Beaches near the city of Osorno in southern Chile have closed due to swarms of jellyfish populating the shores. At least 40 people have reported being stung by the tiny jellyfish. According to health reports, the stings produce a painful skin inflammation.
Thursday, January 7th 2010 - 17:17 UTC
Political standoff in Argentina over sacking of Central Bank president

A political standoff over the head of Argentina's central bank materialized Wednesday after the bank's president declined to support a plan to use 6.5 billion US dollars in reserves to pay debt.