Stories for March 2011

Friday, March 11th 2011 - 04:43 UTC
How Argentina torpedoed Uruguay’s FTA with the US, according to Wikileaks

Although in public former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner was supportive of Uruguay’s negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, members of his cabinet warned the US embassy in Buenos Aires that Argentina would block such an initiative in Mercosur, according to the contents of several Wikileaks cables published in Montevideo and Buenos Aires.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 04:12 UTC
Setback for Timerman: judge files case involving US Air Force aircraft

A new delicate situation has emerged for Argentina’s Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman after a judge decided to file the case involving the seizing of allegedly “sensitive material” from a US Air Force aircraft that landed in Buenos Aires main airport last month.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 01:48 UTC
In spite of inflation, Bank of England leaves interest rates at record low 0.5%

UK interest rates have been held again at their record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. There has now been no change to the Bank rate for two years, despite the fact that inflation is currently twice the Bank's target rate.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 01:23 UTC
European Parliament casts uncertainty over EU/Mercosur trade talks

This week’s strong statement from the European Parliament warning about concessions that ‘can adversely affect European farmers’, precisely a week before Mercosur and EU delegates meet in Brussels to advance trade discussions has caused a certain degree of uncertainty among the South American group delegates.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 00:53 UTC
Decline of bees’ colonies threatens pollination, essential for growing more crops

More than a dozen factors, ranging from declines in flowering plants and the use of memory-damaging insecticides to the world-wide spread of pests and air pollution, may be behind the emerging decline of bee colonies across many parts of the globe.
Friday, March 11th 2011 - 00:20 UTC
Unasur becomes effective with a ministerial meeting in Quito

Union of South American Nations Foreign Affairs ministers meet Friday in Quito to formally launch the group’s treaty and charter and begin discussions on a successor for deceased former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner who was the first Secretary General of Unasur.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 22:35 UTC
Petrobras abandons oil exploration in Cuba; all eyes set on Repsol-YPF

Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has withdrawn from an offshore oil exploration block in Cuba's waters that it leased amid great fanfare in 2008, a Brazilian official said on Thursday, citing poor prospects.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 22:32 UTC
Massive inflow of foreign capital into Brazil during first two months of 2011

The inflow of US dollars to Brazil so far this year (Jan-March 4) marks a surplus of 24.3 billion USD over outflows, which helped to further appreciate the Brazilian Real, according to the latest figures released by the Central Bank.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 22:26 UTC
New Zealand cuts basic interest rate to help with earthquake recovery

New Zealand's central bank has cut the cost of borrowing to try to reduce the economic impact of the earthquake in Christchurch, the country's second largest city. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the key interest rate 0.5 points to 2.5%.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 21:25 UTC
US trade deficit soars to 46.3 billion in spite of record exports

Stock markets have fallen after figures showed the US trade deficit had widened much more than expected in January. The US Commerce Department said the deficit had widened to 46.3 billion US dollars from 40.3 billion USD in December.