Stories for September 5th 2012

Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 01:01 UTC
Tax cuts and lower rates help record car sales in Brazil during August: 400.00 units

Brazil car sales rose to a record 400,000 units in August as tax cuts and lower borrowing costs spur consumer spending. Fiat, the country’s biggest automaker, said that tax cuts that took effect in May and were extended last week through October spurred industry sales of cars and light vehicles last month.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:52 UTC
Brazilian industrial production up 0.3% in July, but still unconvincing

Brazilian industrial production rose a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in July from June, government statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday. July was the second positive number following three straight months of declining output.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:44 UTC
Antarctica could hold large volumes of methane, warn British scientists

Large volumes of methane - a potent greenhouse gas - could be locked beneath the ice-covered regions of Antarctica, according to a new study. Methane could be released into the atmosphere as ice retreats, contributing to climate warming.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:40 UTC
Moody’s lowers EU outlook to ‘negative’: fears big countries will prioritize their own debts

Moody's has lowered its outlook for the European Union's AAA credit rating to “negative” and warned that the bloc's rating could be downgraded. The move reflected the negative outlook for the ratings of the EU key budget contributors.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:35 UTC
Tourist arrivals in Chile keep growing but concentrated on Argentina and Brazil

International arrivals in Chile in the first half of the year showed a significant growth of 15% compared to the same period a year before, having totalled 1.850.048 tourists, according to the Chilean Tourism Barometer compiled by Fedetur, the Federation of Tourism companies from Chile.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:30 UTC
Unification Church forecasted to survive as an economic rather than religious group

The death of Sun Myung Moon deprives the Unification Church of a charismatic leader, the engine behind the business and religious success, and now faces an uncertain future when the number of followers has been falling since the eighties.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:14 UTC
EC regrets stances of “protectionism” and “populism” in some Mercosur members

The president of the European Commission Jose Durao Barroso said on Tuesday that the EU 27 members still want to reach a free trade agreement with Mercosur, but warned that the “protectionist stances” from some of its members makes it difficult.
Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:05 UTC
Argentina files third trade complaint challenging US laws that block fresh lemons

Argentina has filed its third trade complaint in two weeks, the World Trade Organization said on Monday, challenging US laws that it says have blocked imports of fresh lemons from north-west Argentina.