Stories for December 2010

Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:44 UTC
Hillary Clinton rings Cristina Fernandez and apologizes for the cables

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Thursday afternoon to apologize in relation to the WikiLeaks release of confidential diplomatic documents, including one in which the US Embassy in Buenos Aires is requested to gather information on the personality and mental health of the Argentine leader.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:33 UTC
Putin flies to Zurich to thank FIFA for trusting Russia the 2018 World Cup

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin thanked FIFA President Sepp Blatter for the trust the association deposited in Russia that was chosen to host in 2018 football’s major event, the World Cup.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:29 UTC
Uruguay headed for a record year in exports; Brazil main trade partner

Uruguay’s exports jumped 23.3% during the first eleven months of 2010, anticipating a new value record for the year. Exports totalled 6.1 billion US dollars between January-November compared to 4.95 billion in the same period a year earlier and are higher than the twelve month previous record of 6.1 billion in 2008, according to Uruguay’s Exporters’ Union.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:24 UTC
Mexican top officials admit loosing control of parts of the country to drug cartels

Several top Mexican officials admitted the government was in danger of losing control of parts of the country to powerful drug cartels, according to U.S. State Department documents made public by WikiLeaks.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:21 UTC
Havana launches debate on neo-capitalism and “the future of the Cuban Nation”

Cuba began this week a public debate over landmark plans to lift the island's struggling economy and “preserve the revolution’s victories” by liberalizing some private enterprise, admitting small farmers private property, streamlining the vast state bureaucracy by leaving redundant a half-million workers.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:18 UTC
IMF chiefs rules out double-dip recession, praises South American countries

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn ruled out any possibility of an impending double-dip recession even as he warned against downward risks posing the countries while they were recuperating, albeit languidly.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:13 UTC
IMF prepares for crisis scenario: plans to double lending capacity to 450 billion

IMF expects to double its lending capacity to 450 billion US dollars over the next few months, giving it additional firepower to deal with the sovereign-debt crisis engulfing Europe, according to IMF officials and documents.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:10 UTC
Mercosur economies forecasted to grow between 7.5% and 10.1% this year

Spanish bank BBVA Studies Group increased its 2010 growth forecast for Latinamerica to 5.8% (from 5.2%) mainly because of the strong showing of domestic economies boosted by stimuli packages. The report also praised the performance of all four Mercosur full members (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay) with their economies expanding over 7.5%.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:06 UTC
Brazilian congress tightens grip on oil industry and new ‘strategic’ fields

Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved this week new oil regulations that will increase government control over the energy industry and reduce competition against government managed Petrobras.
Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:02 UTC
Brazil’s Vale targets a million tons copper production annually in Chile by 2015

Brazil’s Vale Doce, the world’s largest iron-ore producer, is aiming to boost copper output more than fivefold by 2015 as it seeks to diversify sales and catch up with rivals, announced top officials from the company during the inauguration of a project in Chile.