Stories for May 2011

Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 22:22 UTC
DSK granted bail and formally indicted; will appear in court June 6

Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday was granted bail by a judge in a New York court, after being formally charged with trying to rape a hotel maid. Strauss-Kahn had earlier resigned as the International Monetary Fund's boss.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 22:19 UTC
England decides to abstain from voting for FIFA presidency

England’s Football Association's board has decided to abstain in the vote for the presidency of Fifa. Sepp Blatter, the current head of football's world governing body, is being challenged by Qatari Mohamed Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 21:47 UTC
Central banks in ‘gold rush’ to diversify reserves

Mexico, Russia and Thailand added gold now valued at about 6 billion US dollars to their reserves in the first quarter of 2011 as metal prices advanced to a record, the dollar weakened and US Treasuries lost investors money.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 19:22 UTC
Ecuador’s Correa wins vote for judicial and media reforms

President Rafael Correa won Ecuador's vote on judicial and media reforms, but by a smaller margin than forecast, near-final results showed on Wednesday evening.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 17:28 UTC
Japan falls into recession following March’s triple blow

Japan's economy shrank much more than expected in the first quarter and slipped into recession after the triple blow of the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis hit business and consumer spending and tore apart supply chains.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 17:23 UTC
Spanish opposition anticipates “changes” in dealings with Gibraltar

The Foreign Affairs spokesman for Spain’s conservative Popular Party, Gustavo de Arístegui, said that his party would continue to seek dialogue with Gibraltar if it wins national elections in Spain next year. But he also warned that “there will be changes” in Spain’s dealings with Gibraltar.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 17:17 UTC
After shock in Japan force Honda Brazil to cut 400 jobs and halve production

Japanese car maker Honda Motor Co on Wednesday said it will leave redundant 400 workers and halve production at a factory in Brazil beginning next month because of a shortage of parts from earthquake-affected plants in Japan.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 17:08 UTC
Pillars of Argentina’s productive model and re-industrialization process are “solid”

Economy Minister Amado Boudou said that the pillars of the ‘productive model’ and re-industrialization process implemented by the Argentine government are solid consolidating social inclusion and distribution.
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 10:45 UTC
Brazil creates Financial Stability Committee to reduce ‘systemic risk’ and support the currency

Brazil’s Central Bank announced Wednesday the creation of a Financial Stability Committee to improve supervision of the nation's financial industry and reduce “systemic risk.”
Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 10:40 UTC
Opposition call for disclosure of twenty-fold increase in Brazil’s chief of staff assets

Revelations of a several times surge in the personal wealth of Brazilian government's influential chief of staff have triggered controversy and could drag on and become a major headache for President Dilma Rousseff.