Stories for January 15th 2014

Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 19:33 UTC
Second Brazilian airline promises to cap fares for the coming World Cup

Avianca Brasil has joined Azul in becoming the second Brazilian airline to promise to cap prices for the upcoming football World Cup, which opens June 12 in Sao Paulo. Avianca said it would match Azul and limit one-way fares to a maximum of 999 Reais (425 dollars).
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 19:29 UTC
GM will pay its first dividend since 2008; sales jump in China and United States

US carmaker General Motors (GM) said it will resume dividend payments, capping a remarkable turnaround since its 2009 bailout by the US government. It will pay a dividend of 30 cents per share, the first since July 2008.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 19:24 UTC
Uruguay among the world's ten countries with highest inflation

Uruguay is ranked among the world's ten countries with the highest inflation, having climbed from position 15 to 10 last year, only surpassed in Latin America by Venezuela and Argentina. Last year Uruguay ended with an inflation of 8.52%, well above the 4% to 6% target, and according to Central bank officials “it remains the main challenge for the country's economic policy”.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 18:54 UTC
The Dutch beat French and Swiss in healthy affordable diet, says Oxfam

The Netherlands is No. 1 in the world for having the most plentiful, nutritious, healthy and affordable diet, beating France and Switzerland into second place. Chad is last in 125th spot behind Ethiopia and Angola, according to a new food database by worldwide development organization Oxfam.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 18:50 UTC
Argentine annual inflation: 28.38%, according to the Congressional index

Argentine annual inflation for 2013 was 28.38% after soaring 3.38% in the month of December alone, according to the Congressional consumer price index, which is a survey that takes the average of several consultancy firms.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 07:11 UTC
New EPA rule requires chemical disclosure for offshore fracking

$Governor Jerry Brown does not support a ban on fracking and insists the new law is rigorous.$

By. Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a rule on January 9, 2014 requiring oil and gas companies using hydraulic fracturing off the coast of California to disclose the chemicals they discharge into the ocean. Oil and gas companies have been fracking offshore California for perhaps as long as two decades, but they largely flew under the radar until recently.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 07:03 UTC
Obesity problem in UK 'underestimated' and 'hard-hitting' campaigns are needed

Predictions that half the British population will be obese by 2050 “underestimate” the scale of the obesity crisis, a report suggests. The UK is in danger of surpassing predictions of a 2007 report which estimated that 50% of the nation would be obese by 2050, the National Obesity Forum said.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 06:50 UTC
Argentine case of possible money laundering with mutilated US dollar bills

US federal agents who seized more than 4 million dollars in US banknotes shipped from a famous money exchange house in Buenos Aires, Alfredo Piano, uncovered what they claimed was a cache of dirty money. Piano, 82, said many of the 100 dollar-bills were filthy and others had been ravaged by fire, water and even dogs.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 00:09 UTC
Fears in Brazil: police group apparently involve on vengeance killing rampage

Twelve people were killed in the Brazilian city of Campinas, the second biggest in São Paulo state, on Sunday night with police investigating if the murders were linked. All of the murders occurred during a three-hour period in the Ouro Verde area, in the city’s periphery, and were followed by the torching of three buses and a car by hooded men.
Wednesday, January 15th 2014 - 00:03 UTC
Argentine baggage handlers delay Aerolineas flights and cruise vessels in Buenos Aires port

Flights to and from Argentina's capital Buenos Aires’ international airport were delayed on Tuesday after a union offshoot that represents baggage handlers for the national carrier, Aerolíneas Argentinas, went on strike to protest the company’s proposal to hire handlers for six-hour shifts.