Stories for January 9th 2010

Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 14:18 UTC
Chavez devalues Bolivar, establishes dual exchange rate

Venezuela devalued on Friday the official exchange rate of the Bolivar currency for the first time since March 2005, and created a second exchange rate for non-essential imports, to stimulate exports and close a fiscal deficit.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 14:15 UTC
Botnia dispute “possibly linked” to burglaries in Uruguayan embassy in Argentina

Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Pedro Vaz confirmed Friday that the embassy in Buenos Aires suffered several attacks, burglaries and threats during the last five year period and did not discard it could possibly be linked to the dispute with Argentina over the construction of a pulp mill on a shared border river.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 14:13 UTC
Argentine sovereign bond holdouts reject latest payment offer

Argentina's new debt-swap offer to US creditors is “unacceptable” and does not improve on a proposal it made five years ago, the president of the debt-holding group Argentina Task Force, Robert Shapiro, said on Thursday, quoted by French news agency AFP.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 14:01 UTC
Mr. Bean, the Spanish EU presidency and the next six months

Spanish diplomacy, authorities and the press have repeatedly insisted, with a certain degree of optimism, that with Madrid holding the six-month presidency of the EU, Latinamerica will be a priority.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:58 UTC
Peruvian president anticipates “electoral crisis” but promises stability

Peruvian president Alan García forecasted an “electoral crisis” in 2010 because of the political appetites of the opposition, but promised Peru will successfully overcome the situation it as it has done with the global economic turbulences.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:52 UTC
Chile to test first deep-water salmon farming project

A new system for deep-water salmon farming is planned to rock the waters of Chile and Latin America.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:48 UTC
Brazil anticipates second largest grain and oil seed crop in history

Brazil expects in 2010 the second largest grain and oil seed crop in history, closely linked to the success of soy beans, totalling 140 million tons, according to the latest release from the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:45 UTC
Morales chooses former Miss Bolivia to run for governor in opposition stronghold

Former Miss Bolivia Jessica Jordan, 24, accepted an invitation from President Evo Morales to run for governor of Beni province as a member of his Movement Toward Socialism party in April 4 regional elections.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:30 UTC
Almost 500 Cuban doctors defected to the US while serving in Venezuela

Around 500 Cuban doctors have defected to the United States while serving on aid missions in Venezuela, according to members of Cuban exile groups in Miami. The latest case occurred this week when seven Cuban physicians managed to leave Caracas’ Maiquetia International Airport, after being held there for several hours and after paying hundreds of dollars each to officials.
Saturday, January 9th 2010 - 13:27 UTC
Swiss regulators “violated” the law by handing bank information to the US

Swiss financial regulator FINMA violated the law by authorising UBS to hand over details of 300 clients to US authorities, a Swiss court has ruled.