Stories for March 13th 2015

Friday, March 13th 2015 - 14:35 UTC
Iceland drops EU membership request; it had suspended the bid in 2013

The government of Iceland has announced it is no longer seeking EU membership for the North Atlantic state. Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said he had already informed current EU president Latvia and the European Commission about the cabinet's move.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 13:24 UTC
Brazil's meats giant JBS plans no further acquisitions; about 80% of debts in dollars

Brazilian meats giant JBS SA plans to focus on Australia, U.S. pork operations and its processed foods division under a 2015 strategy focused on “organic expansion” rather than acquisitions, CEO Wesley Batista said on Thursday, and estimated that between 2.5 billion to 3 billion reais (806 million/967 million dollars) in capital investment will be needed this year to support the strategy.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 13:15 UTC
Scientists in China announce genetically engineered cows resistant to bovine TB

Scientists in China have said they produced a herd of genetically engineered cows that are better able to ward off bovine TB infection. The long-term goal of the research is to avoid the need to cull livestock by breeding disease resistant cattle.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 13:06 UTC
Santander and Deutsche banks fail a US Fed Reserve “stress test”

Spain's Santander and Deutsche Bank have failed a US “stress test” designed to assess whether lenders can withstand another financial crisis. The review, carried out by the Federal Reserve, gauges whether the biggest banks operating in the US have the “ability to lend to households and businesses even in times of stress”.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 12:03 UTC
Brazil's Levy says austerity measures are more important than a weak currency

Brazil's economic growth depends more on the approval of austerity measures needed to rebuild investor confidence than on a weaker currency, Finance Minister Joaquim Levy told O Globo newspaper.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 11:53 UTC
Brazil's economic difficulties are cyclical argues President Rousseff

President Dilma Rousseff said here Thursday that Brazil's economic woes are cyclical in nature that the austerity measures her administration has adopted to rectify the situation will begin to bear fruit late this year.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 11:38 UTC
Uruguay looks to Paraguay in support of a more open and dynamic Mercosur

Fresh from an incident with Venezuela which delayed and displaced a Unasur meeting, the Uruguayan government is looking for closer relations with the conservative administration of Paraguay, putting the emphasis on regional integration but also in making Mercosur a more open and dynamic trade and cooperation block.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 11:28 UTC
Brazil central bank admits interest policy has not been effective in fighting inflation

Brazil's Central Bank appears likely to continue raising interest rates in the short-term, saying in its most recent meeting that its inflation-fighting effort in recent months has been insufficiently effective. The view was reflected in the minutes, published on Thursday, of its monetary policy committee's March 4 meeting, when the bank raised its benchmark Selic interest rate by 50 basis points to 12.75%.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 11:18 UTC
Griesa blocks Citigroup from paying interest on Argentine bonds; group will appeal

A United States federal judge on Thursday said Citigroup Inc cannot process interest payments by Argentina on some bonds issued under that country's law. U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan said letting Citigroup process the payments on so-called dollar-denominated exchange bonds would violate a requirement that Argentina treat bondholders equally.
Friday, March 13th 2015 - 11:02 UTC
Argentine Judge elected by peers head of the International Criminal Court

An Argentine has been elected by her peers to lead the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Judges of the ICC, sitting in a plenary session, elected Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi as president of the court for a three-year term with immediate effect, the organization said in a news release.