Stories for January 2010

Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 14:15 UTC
Honduras Lobo moving “in the right direction”, but no US aid restoration yet

Newly-inaugurated Honduran President Porfirio Lobo is taking his country “in the right direction,” but the United States has not decided whether to restore aid to Honduras, said Arturo Valenzuela, US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 14:09 UTC
NASA surveillance flights to anticipate quakes in Haiti

US space agency NASA will send surveillance flights over Haiti and the Dominican Republic to look for signs that more earthquakes may hit the area after a giant quake that killed as many as 200,000 people two weeks ago.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 14:03 UTC
Argentine financial markets waiting for outcome of Central Bank dispute

Argentine financial markets closed lower on Wednesday waiting for the outcome of the ongoing dispute between President Cristina Kirchner and Central bank governor Martin Redrado which is now under consideration in Congress.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:59 UTC
Air passengers traffic in 2009 experienced biggest decline in post-war era

The year 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era, according to the International Air Transport Association IATA. Passenger demand for the full year was down 3.5% with an average load factor of 75.6%. Freight showed a full-year decline of 10.1% with an average load factor of 49.1%.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:55 UTC
Fed leaves rates unchanged but will begin to wind down liquidity programs

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the U.S. economic activity has continued to “strengthen” and decided to keep a key interest rate unchanged at a record low of between zero to 0.25% to prop up the economy. However there was a dissenting vote.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:43 UTC
Soros backs Obama’s proposals to limit size of banks

Legendary investor George Soros has called for a radical break-up of banks that are “too big to fail”. He also backed US President Barack Obama's proposed reforms to limit the size of banks at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:41 UTC
Sarkozy raps bankers and calls for a fundamental rethink of capitalism

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a fundamental rethink of capitalism in the aftermath of the financial crisis. “We need deep profound change,” he said in his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:32 UTC
Six months facelift for Rio’s iconic Christ Redeemer statue

The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the seven new wonders of the world which receives annually 1.8 million visitors annually starting this week will undergo a facelift, according to Brazilian Catholic church sources.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 06:30 UTC
Chile completes modernization of air power with 44 F16s

Chilean Defence minister Francisco Vidal and Air Force Commander General Ricardo Ortega announced this week that Chile had completed the renovation of its air power with the purchase of 18 F-16s from Holland, 12 Brazilian Super Tucano for training purposes, three KC 135 transport aircrafts and 12 Bell 412 helicopters.
Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 05:59 UTC
Lula da Silva thinking of a banker for the October presidential ticket

Brazilian president Lula da Silva is considering supporting a renowned banker such as Central Bank governor Henrique Meirelles, to complete his Workers Party ticket for next October’s presidential election which is expected to be headed by cabinet chief Dilma Rousseff, according to press reports in Sal Paulo.