Stories for 2016

Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 11:16 UTC
Petrobras cuts 5-year budget by 25% and will focus on core oil and gas business

Brazil’s Petrobras announced it will be spending US$74.1 billion over the next five years, 25% reduction on the US$98.4 billion for the previous five years capital expenditure. This is also the company’s lowest five-year budget since 2006.
Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 11:10 UTC
Heavy fire from Obama, if blacks don't turn out to vote, “I will consider it an insult to my legacy”

President Barack Obama, in one of his final presidential addresses to a predominately black audience of Capitol Hill lawmakers and guests, made a plea to his Democratic base: African-Americans must vote en masse in November's presidential contest to help his legacy or he will be personally insulted.
Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 10:55 UTC
An Argentine family to remain above the poverty line needs US$ 820 a month

An Argentine average household made up of a couple with two children 6 and 8 years old needs 12.489 Pesos (approx US$ 820) to remain above the poverty line according to the stats office, Indec estimate for the month of August. The same household will have to pay 5.176 Pesos (approx US$ 340) for the Basic food basket, not to drop to indigence.
Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 09:32 UTC
Argentina's economy further contracts in 2Q; government insists recovery is round the corner

Argentina’s recession deepened in the second quarter as President Mauricio Macri’s efforts to implement free-market reform exacerbated an already flagging economy. GDP fell 3.4% from the same period a year earlier, the largest year-on-year contraction in almost two years, the refurbished statistics agency said in a report published on Thursday.
Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 09:28 UTC
Brazilian lawmakers in late night vote fail “to neutralize” Petrobras investigation

President Michel Temer criticized a surprise move by Brazilian lawmakers, including some members of his party and even a cabinet minister, to wipe the slate clean on illegal donations they allegedly received.
Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 22:18 UTC
FAO forecasts higher harvest prospects for maize, wheat and rice

Staple food prices rose in August even as grain prices fell and the outlook for global cereal production improved. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 165.6 points in August, up 1.9% from July and almost 7% from a year earlier. The monthly jump was mostly driven by cheese and palm oil quotations, while those for wheat, maize and rice all fell.
Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 22:08 UTC
BIS warns Chinese banking sector stress gauge three times above danger level

Risks of a Chinese banking crisis are mounting, according to a warning indicator from the banking industry's global watchdog. A key gauge of stress in the banking sector is now more than three times above the danger level, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in its latest quarterly review.
Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 17:00 UTC
St Helena airport “too dangerous to use” opens prospect of £285m compensation claim

Britain faces the prospect of compensation claims over a disastrous overseas aid project to build an airport on the remote island of St Helena, according to reports in the UK media. The £285million flop became a symbol of Britain’s aid waste this year after experts warned it might never open because of severe problems with wind conditions on the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 15:56 UTC
US National Guard sent to Charlotte to quell violent rioting after shooting of black man

Violence flared in the southern US city of Charlotte, North Carolina, in a second night of unrest ignited by the fatal police shooting of a black man. Charlotte officials appealed for calm on Thursday, hours after violent riots stemming from a controversial police shooting of a black man injured several police officers and civilians and resulted in 44 arrests.
Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 15:40 UTC
Rousseff back on the political trail in defence of Lula da Silva

Former President Dilma Rousseff called the prosecution of her predecessor on corruption charges another attack on Brazil's democracy, speaking just weeks after the Senate removed her from office in an impeachment trial.