Stories for December 2015

Tuesday, December 22nd 2015 - 14:57 UTC
Israel invites Macri and calls on Argentine judiciary to speed up AMIA investigation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made an official invitation to Argentine President Mauricio Macri to visit his country, Israel’s ambassador to Buenos Aires Dorit Shavit confirmed.
Tuesday, December 22nd 2015 - 14:49 UTC
Brazil's new minister promises the same Levy targets, but fails to convince investors

Brazil's new finance minister sought to reassure investors on Monday as he took the reins of the recession-hit economy, but the Sao Paulo stock market and the Brazilian real both fell. In his first full business day on the job, Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa held a teleconference with international investors, promising to practice the same fiscal discipline as his predecessor, Joaquim Levy.
Tuesday, December 22nd 2015 - 14:37 UTC
Rousseff's impeachment support score almost a tie, but 60% prepared to remove speaker Cunha

An estimated 42% of Brazilian Lower House lawmakers (513) are prepared to support the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff, which is equivalent to 215 votes. But the impeachment motion requires at least 342 votes, two thirds of the total number, which means supporters are still 127 votes short. These numbers belong to a Congress members survey from Datafolha, which was taken between December 7 and 18.
Tuesday, December 22nd 2015 - 14:31 UTC
Brazil welcomes and supports Macri's policies regarding the dollar and trade

The Brazilian government has welcomed Argentina's realistic foreign exchange policy unifying the Argentine peso exchange rate, saying the latest economic measures taken by the Mauricio Macri administration will be “very positive” for the commercial relationship between the two countries.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 07:59 UTC
PM Cameron asks for flexibility from EU leaders; confirms 2017 referendum

Britain's David Cameron has urged EU leaders to show “flexibility” and “work together” to help him reduce migration numbers. The PM said “unprecedented” levels of immigration were “undermining support for the European Union” in the UK. Cameron presented his bid to reform the EU for over half-an-hour at dinner at the European Council summit in Brussels.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 07:44 UTC
Chile announces end of airport strike: Lan promises additional flights but does not discard delays

Chile's Defense Minister announced the government and workers tied to the civil aviation authority reached an agreement Sunday, ending a four-day strike that forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 07:37 UTC
Groundbreaking WTO agreement on elimination of agriculture export subsidies

World Trade Organization, or WTO, reached a groundbreaking accord in Kenya on Saturday which obliges developed countries to eliminate subsidies for their agricultural exports as requested by the least developed nations to protect their farmers.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 07:14 UTC
Spain's left-right draw ends two-party system and marks time of coalitions

Spain is heading for a period of difficult coalition-building after Sunday’s elections in which Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservatives came first, but were far short of a majority and with no obvious coalition partner after the centrist Ciudadanos (Citizens) did worse than expected, finishing fourth.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 07:00 UTC
Mercosur summit agenda includes trade, energy, human rights; Venezuela's Maduro absent

Paraguay foreign minister Eladio Loizaga advanced some of the issues that will addressed on Monday's Mercosur presidential summit, when all of the members of the group's heads of state have confirmed their attendance, except Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, plus leaders from associate members.
Monday, December 21st 2015 - 06:50 UTC
Mercosur identifies 80 intra-trade non tariff barriers and discuss their elimination

Mercosur members have identified over eighty non tariff barriers currently effective in intra-trade and have agreed on their gradual elimination, a proposal to be considered by the group's presidential summit when they meet Monday in Asuncion, Paraguay.