Stories for April 4th 2013

Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:24 UTC
“The old lady is worse than the cross-eyed man” says President Mujica

Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica, speaking without realizing a microphone was on, referred to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as that ‘old lady’ saying she is “worse” than her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:20 UTC
“If the Euro is to survive”, centralized banking supervision and unlimited liquidity are crucial

Creating an EU banking union with a centralized supervisory and restructuring board plus telling the European Central Bank to provide unlimited liquidity to maintain the payments system are crucial if the Euro is to survive, according to a leading German economist from the European Bruegel think-tank analyzing the ongoing banking and confidence crisis triggered by Cyprus.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:15 UTC
Falklands-related protests are common, warns the UK travel advice on Argentina

Most visits to Argentina are trouble-free, but you should keep a close eye on your personal belongings in public places and there have been occasional Falklands-related protests against British interests in Argentina.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:13 UTC
ECB monetary policy ‘accommodative’ but governments need to play their share

The European Central Bank cannot step into the breach left by a lack of political action to solve the region's debt crisis, but is ready to do whatever it can to help, ECB chief Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:11 UTC
BoE ready to pump liquidity if first quarter confirms UK back in recession

The Bank of England has decided not to expand its stimulus program of quantitative easing and has also kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5%. The decision had been widely expected, despite concerns over the strength of the UK economy. The rate has been at that level since March 2009.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:05 UTC
France and Spain rocked by corruption scandals in the political system

French President Francois Hollande has promised sweeping new anti-corruption measures, a day after his former budget minister admitted having had a secret foreign bank account containing hundreds of thousands of Euros.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 22:03 UTC
Japan plans to double money supply to pull the country out of deflation and 2% inflation in two years

The Bank of Japan announced on Thursday the world's most aggressive monetary stimulus today, promising to inject about 1.4 trillion dollars into the economy in less than two years, a radical gamble that sent the Yen reeling and bond yields to record lows.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 21:55 UTC
Argentina honours coupon and interest payments on sovereign bonds

Argentina has made on Wednesday a scheduled coupon payment on its 2038 Par bonds and paid interest on its 2015 Boden bonds, the Economy Ministry’s spokeswoman said. Investors are worried Argentina could trigger a technical default if a US appellate court rules against it in a case brought by “holdout” creditors suing for full repayment on bonds in default since 2002.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 21:36 UTC
Principle of self-determination

The following column was published in The Malta Times - After her first meeting with Pope Francis, Argen¬tina’s President, Cristina Fernandez, admitted that she tried to recruit the newly-elected Argentine-born Pontiff to support her efforts to gain control of the Falkland Islands. In spite of this predictable move, the Vatican is unlikely to intervene publicly in this conflict.
Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 18:37 UTC
Falkland Islands’ oil industry associate begins offshore production from Israel’s major gas deposits

Houston based Noble Energy which also has interests in the Falkland Islands oil industry announced this week that the Tamar natural gas field offshore Israel has been successfully brought online with all five of the sub-sea wells now producing at stable rates totalling approximately 300 million cubic feet per day.