Stories for 2011

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Brazilian oil giant Petrobras has withdrawn from an offshore oil exploration block in Cuba's waters that it leased amid great fanfare in 2008, a Brazilian official said on Thursday, citing poor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.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 21:20 UTC
Rare trade deficit in China; conflicting opinions as to the reasons

Chinese trade figures released Thursday show a surprising deficit for February, as export growth slowed and import numbers remained strong. Chinese statistics released Thursday show that the country registered a trade deficit in February of 7.3 billion US dollars.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 20:30 UTC
China rules out multi-party democracy and western style political reforms

A senior Chinese leader says his country will not become a multi-party democracy or adopt other Western-style political reforms. Wu Bangguo - officially number two in the leadership structure - warned that China could face civil disorder if it abandoned its current system.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 20:16 UTC
Brazilian markets expect further tightening to bring inflation to target

Brazil's central bank said Thursday it remained cautious about the outlook for prices due to uncertainties in the global economy, and hinted that more than just interest rates may be needed to bring inflation back into line with targets.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 17:56 UTC
Moody’s downgrades Spain’s sovereign debt rating

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday slashed Spain's sovereign debt rating by a notch to Aa2 with a negative outlook, saying it was uncertain about the country's ability to improve its finances.
Thursday, March 10th 2011 - 17:43 UTC
Qatar set to have this year the highest per capita income in the world

Qatar is set to become the country with the world’s highest per capita income following on a breathless 16% growth in 2010 and a forecasted 20% this year according to the latest estimates from the IMF.