UN John J. Metzler(*) Reversing the trend of economic mismanagement, ending a fifteen year debt impasse with foreign lenders, calming a percolating political crisis over the disputed Falkland/Malvinas islands in the South Atlantic, and overcoming the image of unpredictability, Argentina’s new conservative government faces serious obstacles in reintroducing Argentina to an often skeptical world.
Analysts expect Brazil's economy to contract by 3.33% this year, with the outlook worsening from last week, the Central Bank said Monday. Last week, analysts said they expected Brazil's economy to contract by 3.21% this year.
Ocean Rig UDW Inc. has officially announced that two of its drilling contracts have been terminated, one of them in the Falkland Islands where its Eirik Raude was working for Premier Oil as the main operator. Ocean Rig is demanding a termination fee of several million dollars and in case Premier Oil contests the payment, we intend to commence arbitration proceedings.
Scientists say an estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins have been wiped out on Antarctica's Cape Denison in the five years since a giant iceberg blocked their main access to food. A study recently published in the journal Antarctic Science says the B09B iceberg crashed with the Mertz Glacier Tongue and got stuck in Commonwealth Bay, an area that was rarely covered by sea-ice, making it ideal for Adelie penguin colonies.
Argentine box-office hit and Oscar nominated picture Wild Tales (“Relatos Salvajes”) won Best Non-English Language Film at the BAFTA Awards. The British Film Academy also showered a lot of love on The Revenant, awarding Best Picture to Alejandro González Iñárritu and Best Actor to Leonardo DiCaprio.
Elton John has often given his fellow rock legends unsolicited advice over the years, and the Rolling Stones, once again, are the recipients. In a new interview, he said the Stones should return to their roots and stop following current trends.
More than 200,000 troops fanned out across Brazil over the weekend to raise awareness about the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus, which has been linked to a surge in birth defects.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro would take place despite the Zika virus, at a time when various athletes have expressed their fears about competing.
Falkland Islands based company, Argos Resources Ltd. said it has received notification from Noble Energy, the operator of license PL001 in which Argos holds a 5% overriding royalty interest, that it is exercising its rights to declare Force Majeure on the well.
Chile's flag carrier Lan is celebrating this week the seven decades of its first commercial flight between Santiago and Punta Arenas, extreme south of the country, opening the region to closer trade, tourism and investment opportunities. Actually Lan in the thirties and forties, when the company was first starting did in effect make regional flights from Punta Arenas to nearby places mostly on rough landing strips.