Stories for December 15th 2015

Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 08:36 UTC
Brazil in recession, but farming is booming with the 29% fall of the Real

Financial and political turmoil that have Brazil on the brink of a depression is also contributing to one of the best years ever for domestic farmers. Economic stress and a weak currency has facilitated export revenue for everything from soybeans to beef to coffee.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 08:32 UTC
Brazil's Central bank Focus weekly negative report

Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.62% this year, with inflation hitting 10.61%, the Central Bank said Monday. GDP and inflation estimates come from the Boletin Focus, a weekly Central Bank survey of analysts from about 100 private financial institutions on the state of the national economy.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 08:18 UTC
Macri slashes agriculture export duties; farmers promise 30% larger crop next year

Argentina's business friendly president Mauricio Macri, announced on Monday large tax cuts on agricultural exports and emphasizing that “the camp was essential to get Argentina back on its feet”. Macri, who took office Thursday, had promised to slash the steep taxes on agricultural exports, which triggered major protests by producers against former president Cristina Fernandez administration.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 08:09 UTC
Falklands: UK company to help construct soldiers' accommodation blocks

A construction firm from Grimsby, Fast-Form Systems has won a £200,000 contract with the British Ministry of Defense to support the construction of soldiers' accommodation blocks in the Falkland Islands.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 07:51 UTC
Latin American exports fall for third year running and 2016 prospects are not encouraging

Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean will drop about 14% in 2015 due to a steep decline in prices and weak demand for the region’s main exports from key trading partners, according to a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 07:41 UTC
Moody's raises Cuba's rating to positive as it moves away from Venezuela dependence and is closer to US

International ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has moved Cuba’s economic from stable to positive, citing its lessening dependence on Venezuela and the possibility of more improved relations with the United States.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 07:27 UTC
FIFA signs first sponsorship deal (since corruption scandal) with China's Alibaba Group

FIFA has signed its first sponsorship deal since the corruption scandal engulfed world football's governing body. The eight-year agreement with Chinese company Alibaba Group, the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, is for the Club World Cup spanning 2015 through 2022.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 07:09 UTC
Tragedy in north Argentina: bus runs off a bridge killing 43 gendarmes

At least 43 officers were killed and nine others injured when a National Gendarmerie bus went off a bridge Monday in Salta, a province in northwestern Argentina, officials said. The bus was carrying about 60 officers when it went off the bridge and plunged into the Seco River.
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 06:56 UTC
Spain's electoral debate dominated by corruption accusations

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was accused of being unfit to govern by his socialist challenger Pedro Sanchez on Monday night in an unusually ferocious election debate held before this week's general election. Sanchez performance makes him a first line contender for highest office in Spain, even if Rajoy's party as forecasted wins the election
Tuesday, December 15th 2015 - 06:41 UTC
Spain's Rajoy expected to win next Sunday's election but without a majority

The latest surveys on the Spanish legislative elections to be held next Sunday, predict a victory for the ruling center-right People's Party, or PP, but without an absolute majority, so the party will have to form a coalition to establish a government.