The budget committee of Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Wednesday approved with a large majority the bills on the European permanent bailout fund ESM and the EU fiscal compact, it was reported in the Berlin media quoting a source who attended the committee meeting.
The Brazilian government plans to buy over a third of the country’s output of buses and reduce borrowing costs for state-funded investments to a record as part of a new round of measures to revive stalled growth.
The Greek government has appointed a new finance minister after its first choice resigned due to ill health less than a week after being appointed. Economist Yannis Stournaras has now been appointed, the government said.
Bolivia's police ended a violent mutiny and went back to work on Wednesday after reaching an accord with government ministers and the police leadership on pay and disciplinary rules, satisfying lower-ranking officers who had rejected a previous deal.
The head of Argentina’s Supreme Court Ricardo Lorenzetti played down the possibility of a parliamentary system in the country because it would represent an “upturn of 180 degrees”, besides there is no clear initiative to reform the constitution.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth shook the hand of former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander Martin McGuinness for the first time on Wednesday, drawing a line under a conflict that cost the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians, including that of her cousin.
Risk rating agency Standard & Poor’s praised Uruguay’s fiscal moderation in the last eight years since the budget’s fiscal deficit has been below 2% of GDP but criticized the “political limitations” which impede the achievement of a better performance.
The new Paraguayan government claimed before the Organization of American States, OAS, that Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are again involved in a “Triple Alliance” to have the country ousted from the inter-American organization as is happening with Mercosur and Unasur.
London AIM listed Falkland Oil & Gas (FOGL) said Italian utility Edison International Spa was its new partner, bringing in a large, non-British company to help it look for hydrocarbons in the Falkland Islands.
Italy offered up to 2 billion Euros on Tuesday to plug a capital gap in the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the second time in three years the cash-strapped state has had to bail out the world's oldest bank.