Stories for August 16th 2013

Friday, August 16th 2013 - 18:00 UTC
Canadian bank abandons Uruguay following raid on its office on request from Argentine judge

The Royal Bank of Canada, RBC, is abandoning Uruguay following a raid in its offices at Zonamerica ordered by a Uruguayan magistrate on request from Argentina during which computers, documents on clients and even cell phones from staff were seized by the intervening party which included on-watching Argentine treasury police.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 17:46 UTC
Ecuador ‘forced’ to drill for oil in pristine Amazon rainforest; ‘rich countries have failed us’

Ecuador has abandoned a conservation plan that would have paid the country not to drill for oil in previously untouched parts of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest. President Rafael Correa said rich nations had failed to back the initiative, leaving Ecuador with no choice but go ahead with drilling.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 17:42 UTC
World Cup 2014 exposes Brazil’s lack of non-commercial aircraft infrastructure

Non-commercial aircraft are expected to carry as many as one in nine international visitors to the World Cup in Brazil next year by some estimates, but industry leaders say the country is unprepared for the oncoming swarm.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 16:31 UTC
UK asks EU to ‘urgently’ send a team to gather evidence on Gibraltar/Spain ‘borders’ row

Britain has asked the EU to “urgently” send a team to Gibraltar “to gather evidence” on extra border checks at the centre of a growing row with Spain. PM David Cameron spoke to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to raise “serious concerns” that Spain's actions are “politically motivated”.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:37 UTC
Argentina will pay bonds maturing in September with Central bank reserves

Argentina's central bank approved on Thursday the use of 2.5 billion dollars to pay public debt through the rest of 2013, a move that will further diminish reserves already stretched by heavy state spending ahead of the October midterm election.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:27 UTC
South American defense ministers meet to improve monitoring of Amazon region

South American defense ministers gathered in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus on Thursday to discuss how to improve monitoring of the huge Amazon region. Attending the seminar which runs through Friday are Brazil's Celso Amorim, Colombia's Juan Carlos Pinzón and Ecuador's María Fernanda Espinosa.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:22 UTC
Brazilean congress clears the way for sale of giant Libra offshore oil prospect

The Brazilian congress rejected an amendment to an oil-royalty bill that threatened to derail the world's largest-ever sale of rights to develop offshore oil resources scheduled for October 21. The amendment had sought to set the Brazilian government's minimum share of “profit oil” from the sale of the giant Libra offshore prospect and other fields in Brazil's most productive oil area at 60%.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:18 UTC
Argentina’s official July inflation 0.9%, less than half private estimates

Argentina's Consumer Price Index (IPC) was up 0.9% in July, 5.7% in the first seven months of the year and 10.6% in the last twelve months, the official statistics bureau Indec reported on Thursday.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:15 UTC
Chief coordinator of Rio’s 2016 Olympics resigns triggering fears about Brazil’s ability to stage the games

The head of the public body coordinating planning for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has resigned, raising concerns about the city's ability to stage the first games in South America. Resignation of Marcio Fortes, who headed the Olympic Public Authority, was confirmed Wednesday by the organization.
Friday, August 16th 2013 - 03:04 UTC
Brazil's June economic activity picked up, but recovery remains fragile

Brazil's economic activity grew at a slightly slower pace than expected in June despite strong industrial output, data showed on Thursday. The central bank's IBC-Br index climbed 1.13% in June from May in seasonally adjusted terms, up from a decline of 1.50% in the previous month.