Stories for April 20th 2015

Monday, April 20th 2015 - 23:59 UTC
China makes effective 5bn dollars loan to Venezuela for 'development plans'

China has awarded Venezuela 5 billion dollars for unspecified “development plans,” President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday, approximately three months after an official visit to China. According to published reports, the loan is part of a 10 billion deal to be completed in the following months.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 23:41 UTC
Uruguay insists with the EU trade accord, even leaving Mercosur aside

Uruguay's president Tabare Vazquez announced that when he meets with Brazil's Dilma Rousseff next month, they will consider as a priority how to get the Mercosur-European Union talks for a trade agreement rolling again.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 23:36 UTC
Hapag-Lloyd orders five 10.500 box-ships to boost South American operations

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has clinched a new order for five 10,500 boxships to boost its South American operations. The vessels will be built by Hyundai Samho in South Korea for delivery between October 2016 and May 2017.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 23:12 UTC
Rajoy admits the Rato case impacts on his party's support ahead of elections

Voters in Spain's Valencia region, a bastion of conservatism for two decades, are likely to desert Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's party in droves in May's regional election, a poll published on Sunday found, in a taste of nationwide politics to come.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 07:05 UTC
Cristina Fernandez leaves for Russia in the midst of energy controversy

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez is leaving this week for an official visit to Russia and controversy over the agreements to be signed has erupted following the publication of a letter in a Sunday newspaper signed by a group of former Energy secretaries who claim the accords compromise Argentina with a foreign country in the execution of highly costly works, like it was done with China”.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:57 UTC
Has the U.S. reached “peak oil” at current price levels?

The United States Energy Information Agency once again capitulated on the myth that rig counts don't matter and the productivity of wells would largely offset, leaving the industry on a continuous path to higher output. The current consensus of 500,000 B/D additional growth in 2015 US production now appears very much at risk.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:51 UTC
Brazil tells IMF it's working with Congress to restore fiscal balance and structural change

Brazil is working with Congress on a broad agenda of structural changes to improve the business climate, increase productivity and set price signals correctly to stimulate investment, announced Finance minister Joaquim Levy in his speech to the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) this weekend.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:42 UTC
Brazilian leading contractor admits paying 36m dollars in bribes to Petrobras officials

A vice president of construction company Camargo Correa told Brazilian prosecutors that he paid 36 million dollars in bribes to officials of state-controlled oil company Petrobras, the press reported, citing a document prepared by prosecutors.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:31 UTC
IMF warns “lower growth” becoming a relevant challenge over the medium term

The International Monetary Fund warned in a communiqué that while economic growth in developed countries had strengthened, some emerging nations were being hit by weaker commodity prices and exports.
Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:24 UTC
China cuts banks' reserve ratio to bolster lending and a weak economy

China's central bank is to cut its bank reserve requirement ratio by one percentage point. The People's Bank of China said that the new reserve requirement would take effect from Monday. The aim is to stimulate more lending into the nation's slowing economy.