Stories for February 2013

Friday, February 15th 2013 - 18:48 UTC
Falklands issue collection of stamps to commemorate March Referendum

A collection of stamps to commemorate the Falkland Islands Referendum, due to take place on March 10 - 11, was released on Friday in Stanley. The four stamps have values of 3p, 40p, 75p and £1.76p. The colourful stamps show an image of a hand inserting a vote into a ballot box which carries a design displaying an outline of the Falkland Islands.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 18:39 UTC
A potentially harmful painkiller bute in the horsemeat chain scandal in the EU

Horse carcasses containing the painkiller bute could have been entering the food chain in significant numbers for some time, the head of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has admitted.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:51 UTC
Clear victory for Correa will have him in frontline to succeed Chavez

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, one of Latin America's most outspoken leaders is almost certain to win re-election on Sunday by an ample margin catapulting him as the most probable successor of Venezuela’s ailing Hugo Chavez and the populist movement in Latinamerica.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:45 UTC
Argentine Jewish community rejects point blank agreement with Iran; full Senate debate on 21 February

The heads of the AMIA and DAIA Jewish umbrella organizations, Guillermo Borger and Julio Schlosser, strongly rejected the memorandum of understanding signed between Argentina and Iran in order to create a truth commission looking to investigate the 1994 terrorist attack that left over 80 people dead and dozens injured.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:40 UTC
Apple fighting to recover “iPhone” trademark registered in Brazil by local company

Apple Inc, which lost the rights to its iPhone trademark in Brazil this week, is challenging the ruling by Brazil's copyright regulator to prevent local firm Gradiente Eletronica SA from using the “iphone” brand name.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:36 UTC
China became in 2012 the world’s biggest trading nation surpassing the US

China surpassed the US to become the world's biggest trading nation last year as measured by the sum of exports and imports of goods, a milestone in the Asian nation's challenge to the US dominance in global commerce.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:34 UTC
Germany and France poor performance plunge Euro zone into recession

The Euro zone slipped deeper into recession in the last three months of 2012 after its largest economies, Germany and France, shrank markedly at the end of the year. It marked the bloc's first full year in which no quarter produced growth, extending back to 1995.
Friday, February 15th 2013 - 05:29 UTC
G-20 Finance ministers to discuss effects of monetary stimuli and currency values

The finance ministers of the G20 group of nations are meeting in Moscow amid concerns that major trading powers may be heading towards a currency war. Japan's monetary stance has seen a big decline in the Yen, while the Euro has risen against a basket of currencies.
Thursday, February 14th 2013 - 23:35 UTC
Fitch Ratings downgrades Argentina and Venezuela prospects for 2013

Fitch ratings has lowered Argentina, Venezuela and El Salvador credit and growth prospects to negative, while for the rest of Latinamerica the situation remains stable, according to a seminar in Frankfort, on “Latinamerica opportunities and challenges”.
Thursday, February 14th 2013 - 23:29 UTC
IMF praises Venezuelan devaluation, but LechugaVerde/Bolivar gap close to 300%

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, praised Venezuela for the recent devaluation of its currency saying it is a positive attempt to reduce macroeconomic misbalances but also called on the government of President Hugo Chavez to continue eliminating the exchange rate distortions.