Stories for May 2014

Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 07:22 UTC
Maduro blames the World Cup for airlines decision to cut flights to Venezuela

President Nicolás Maduro said the World Cup is to blame for international airlines’ decision to cut flights to Venezuela and denied that the move had anything to do with his government's refusal to allow them to repatriate proceeds from ticket sales inside the country.
Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 07:13 UTC
British fans travelling to the Cup in Brazil warned about 'Argentine gangs'

If the recent protests and demonstrations across Brazil prior to the World Cup are any indication of the domestic and public violence that is expected to happen, fans, of all nationalities must be cautious, as the Brazilian military police has warned.
Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 00:37 UTC
The California shale bubble just burst

$Santa Cruz county and Los Angeles banned fracking$

The great hype surrounding the advent of a shale gas bonanza in California may turn out to be just that: hype. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) – the statistical arm of the Department of Energy – has downgraded its estimate of the total amount of recoverable oil in the Monterey Shale by a whopping 96%. Its previous estimate pegged the recoverable resource in California’s shale formation at 13.7 billion barrels but it now only thinks that there are 600 million barrels available.
Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 00:27 UTC
Argentina's auto sales record last year was fed on 'steroids', claims Fiat CEO

One of Argentina's main industry leaders, Fiat CEO Cristiano Rattazzi. said that the boost of auto manufacturing during 2013 and record sales was fed on 'steroids' and demanded more reliability in the rules to revitalize sales.
Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 00:16 UTC
Humpback whales in different oceans should be recognized as separate species, says genetic study

A new genetic study has revealed that populations of humpback whales in the oceans of the North Pacific, North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere are much more distinct from each other than previously thought, and should be recognized as separate subspecies.
Saturday, May 24th 2014 - 00:11 UTC
Pescanova Falklands operation could be targeted by Argentina, says Spanish media

Argentina’s government could at any stage now force Spanish seafood group Pescanova to divest its squid fishing operation based in the Falkland Islands, as it is reportedly breaching fishing legislation, said Spanish media.
Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 23:59 UTC
Strikes and protests in chaotic Sao Paulo move to the suburbs

Brazil faced new protests and strikes Friday as bus drivers continued their walkout in Sao Paulo's suburbs and Rio de Janeiro braced for demonstrations 20 days from the World Cup.
Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 23:50 UTC
Argentina with 'Vaca Muerta' won the 'geological lottery': 305 meters-thick shale oil and gas

Argentina has won the “geological lottery” with its 305 meters-thick Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field in Patagonia, a spokesman for Chevron said on Thursday, as the U.S. energy giant increases its investments in the country. The company and state-owned oil firm YPF announced plans last month to invest an additional 1.6 billion to develop Vaca Muerta.
Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 23:42 UTC
ECLAC/ILO anticipate less job creation in Latam as the overall economy slows down

The economic scenario for 2014, with an estimated average growth rate of 2.7%, is far from encouraging for the evolution of the Latin American regional labor market and presents major challenges for labor market policy, said the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a new joint report released this week.
Friday, May 23rd 2014 - 23:38 UTC
Bye, bye Argentina: Spain's Repsol sells all assets and end operations in the country

Spanish oil company Repsol has ended its operations in Argentina, two years after the government seized its assets. Last month the Argentine congress gave final approval to pay 5bn dollars in compensation for Repsol's stake in Argentine oil firm YPF.