Stories for 2015

Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 07:07 UTC
Brazil's mining disaster impacts BHP Billiton shares on fears of cleanup costs

Investors continued to dump shares in mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. following the deadly dam burst last week at its jointly owned iron-ore mine in Brazil, even as the company sought to clarify responsibility for the disaster that has already claimed the lives of three people.
Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 06:47 UTC
Argentina to purchase Israel fighter jets, according to defense media reports

After almost two years of negotiations and endless speculations surrounding the question of what fighter jet Argentina would go for, Argentine media report that a decision has been made to purchase the IAI Kfir jets to replace the Air Force’s Mirages. According to the report, in Interdefensa Militar Argentina, the decision is currently awaiting final approval from the Cabinet.
Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 06:34 UTC
Catalonia acting premier Mas rebuked by secession coalition partner

Catalan government’s partner in the secessionist drive, the small anti-capitalist CUP party, on Tuesday confirmed that its preferred candidate to head the region following the September 27 election is not acting premier Artur Mas.
Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 06:11 UTC
Argentina's Supreme Court orders YPF to publicly release 2013 contract with Chevron

Argentina's supreme court has ordered state-controlled YPF to publicly release all clauses of a 2013 contract with Chevron to develop shale oil in the country's vast Vaca Muerta formation. In a 3-1 ruling, the justices sided with opposition Socialist Senator Hector Ruben Giustiniani, ruling that the state's 51% stake in the firm effectively makes it a public company subject to transparency laws.
Wednesday, November 11th 2015 - 05:50 UTC
Germany mourns one of the architects of modern, unified Europe, Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Schmidt, who served as West German Chancellor from 1974 to 1982, has died aged 96, his office says. Mr. Schmidt, who was a Social Democrat, was an architect of the European Monetary System, which linked EU currencies and helped pave the way to the euro. He also helped to consolidate Germany's post-war economic boom.
Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 09:31 UTC
Sofia and its variants, is the most popular baby name in the world

A new study by naming expert Laura Wattenberg has found that Sophia, and its variants including Sofia, is the most popular baby name in the world. Wattenberg collected name statistics from 49 countries, and Sophia, which means “wisdom” topped lists in nine countries, including Italy, Slovakia, Russia and Mexico.
Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 08:40 UTC
Global temperatures are 1.02C above 1850/1900 average, and climbing, warns UK Met Office

Global temperatures are set to rise more than one degree above pre-industrial levels according to the UK's Met Office. Figures from January to September this year are already 1.02C above the average between 1850 and 1900.
Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 08:05 UTC
Brazil's mining disaster forces cities 300km downstream to cut drinking water supply

Mud and wastewater from burst dams at a Brazilian iron ore mine cut off drinking water and raised health and environmental concerns in cities more than 300 km downstream on Monday, amid increasingly dire search efforts in a village devastated by the mudslides.
Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 08:00 UTC
China imports drop for twelfth month running: 18.8% in October

China saw imports drop for the twelfth month in a row in October giving further cause for concern over the Chinese economy. Imports by the world's biggest trader of goods fell 18.8% from a year earlier to $130.8bn, a slight improvement on September's 20.4% decline.
Tuesday, November 10th 2015 - 07:39 UTC
Oil megaprojects won't stay on the shelf for long

One casualty of the oil price downturn could be the megaproject. For years, as conventional oil reserves depleted and became increasingly hard to find, oil companies ventured into far-flung locales to find new sources of production.