Stories for January 6th 2011

Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 20:16 UTC
Chile’s measures to weaken the Peso are working in the short term

Chile's peso was operating Thursday at 495 to the US dollar after depreciating around 6% in two sessions on a 12 billion US dollars central bank intervention program announced this week.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 20:09 UTC
Scarce rainfall forces Uruguay to buy power from Argentina

Uruguay facing a severe drought and insufficient rainfall began this week to receive electricity from the Argentine power grid. Uruguay’s electricity is mainly hydroelectric and in the country’s main dams the water level has been falling dramatically.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 18:48 UTC
WikiLeaks Falklands - US concerned about Chavez while UK worried about trade and environmentalists

The American Government kept a close eye on the dispute between Argentina and Britain over the Falkland Islands in 2010. Hitherto secret US State Department communications published by Wikileaks reveal that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton wrote to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires in early 2010, requesting analysis of the situation, which it was felt had been exacerbated by the British approval to search for oil in the seas off the islands, and by a revitalised and bitter diplomatic offensive by the government of President Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 13:36 UTC
US embassy Wikileak questions Chilean president Piñera’s business practices

United States Ambassador to Chile Alejandro D. Wolff apologized to Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera for Wikileak revelations that showed U.S. officials questioning the past businessman practices of Piñera during last year’s presidential runoff race between the Conservative coalition candidate and Senator Eduardo Frei, of the center-left Concertacion coalition
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 13:10 UTC
Woman mayor takes office in Lima, Peru’s most populated city

Susana Villaran took office this week as the first popularly elected female mayor of Lima, in a ceremony attended by Peruvian President Alan Garcia and former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 13:00 UTC
Uruguay exports soar 23.8% in value during 2010 over the previous year

Uruguayan exports soared 23.8% in value during 2010 compared to 2009 which represent a new record according to the country’s Union of Exporters. Sales totaled 6.76 billion US dollars while imports to the month of October (the latest Central Bank officially available data) reached 6.7 billion USD, which represent a 18.6% increase in the first ten months of last year.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 12:56 UTC
Cuban trade unions “guarantors” of the elimination of 500.000 state jobs

Layoffs planned to eliminate some 500,000 state jobs in Cuba this year got underway this week, according to the island’s only legal workers’ organization. The official weekly Trabajadores cited a speech by CTC chief Salvador Valdes in the eastern province of Holguin, in which he said it was the union’s responsibility to “be the guarantor” of the process of labour reorganization.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 12:46 UTC
Bolivia back steps and offers new deal to attract foreign oil companies

President Evo Morales’ government has offered to reimburse 100% of the cost of successful exploratory drilling in Bolivia by private oil and natural gas companies, state-owned energy company YPFB announced this week.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 12:42 UTC
Future Chinese PM promises full financial and economic support for Spain

China has confidence in the Spanish financial market and will continue buying bonds issued by Spain’s government, Beijing’s Deputy prime minister said in an op-ed published in Madrid daily El Pais.
Thursday, January 6th 2011 - 12:25 UTC
Korea resorts to vaccination to combat foot and mouth epidemic

Overwhelmed by the rapid spread of foot and mouth disease FMD the South Korean government announced that it will vaccinate pigs, cows and all other cloven hoofed animals. The decision came after the highly contagious virus has turned into a nationwide epidemic, with livestock farms in the eastern province of Gangwon falling victim to the deadly disease.