Stories for February 2017

Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:14 UTC
UK's “exit bill” £ 48 billion? “It would be like leaving a bar without paying for your drinks”

The European Commission has refused to discuss the size of the “exit bill” to be handed to the UK when it withdraws from the EU, amid reports the demand has been fixed at around £48 billion.
Friday, February 10th 2017 - 18:49 UTC
Goldman Sachs hedge fund closing London operations and moving to New York

A Goldman Sachs hedge fund is closing its London operations and moving staff to New York, the firm has confirmed. About eight staff members who were part of the Goldman Sachs Investment Partners (GSIP) Team in London have been told to move. The decision follows the departure of the team's managing director, Nick Advani.
Friday, February 10th 2017 - 18:38 UTC
Greenpeace calls on Mitsubishi not to move salmon farms to Magallanes region in Chilean Patagonia

Greenpeace has urged Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi to stop expanding its salmon farming operations in Magallanes, as part of its new global campaign focused on protecting the seas of Chilean Patagonia. The launch of the campaign, “Save the seas at the end of the world,” brought together people and activists who gathered in lighthouses along Chile's nearly 4,000 kilometres coastline to claim protection for ecosystems of the southern seas.
Friday, February 10th 2017 - 11:33 UTC
Strike at world's largest copper mine in Chile; long conflict forecasted

Workers at BHP Billiton's Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world's largest, walked off the job on Thursday in a strike that threatens to disrupt the international supply of the widely used metal. It said no miners arrived for morning work aboard buses that normally carry upwards of 1,200 workers per shift to the vast deposit, which accounted for about 6% of global production in 2015.
Friday, February 10th 2017 - 11:28 UTC
Spain must act intelligently in its approach to Gibraltar, says foreign minister

Spain’s Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis, said that he believed Gibraltar should be Spanish, though he added Spain must be intelligent in its approach to the Rock. He was speaking during a wide-ranging interview on the morning politics show Los Desayunos, on state broadcaster TVE1.
Friday, February 10th 2017 - 10:24 UTC
Appeals Court rejects Trump's reinstatement of travel ban

US appeals court has rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to reinstate his ban on visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not block a lower-court ruling that halted the order.
Thursday, February 9th 2017 - 20:41 UTC
Uruguay's budget deficit 4% of GDP in 2016, worst performance since 1989

Uruguay's budget deficit reached 4% of GDP during 2016, equivalent to US$ 2.043bn, the worst performance since 1989, according to the latest figures released by the government's stats office, INE. The previous year, 2015 ended with a budget deficit of 3.6% of GDP, which also set a record only comparable to 2002 (3.7%), when Uruguay underwent one of its most challenging financial meltdowns in decades.
Thursday, February 9th 2017 - 15:45 UTC
Cereal prices continue to rise despite improved supplies, says FAO

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 173.8 in January, its highest value in almost two years, marking a 2.1% increase from its revised December value and 16.4% above its 2016 January level. The FAO Sugar Price Index surged 9.9% in the month, driven by expectations of protracted supply tightness in Brazil, India and Thailand.
Thursday, February 9th 2017 - 11:54 UTC
Attacks on judiciary “demoralizing” says Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has said he found the president’s attacks on the judiciary “disheartening” and “demoralizing,” according to a Democratic senator. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut disclosed the comments from Judge Neil Gorsuch after meeting with the nominee on Wednesday, as the candidate for the high court vacancy paid a series of courtesy visits to senators.
Thursday, February 9th 2017 - 11:47 UTC
New outbreak of toxic algae in south Chile kills causes massive death of smolt

An estimated 149,000 salmon that were being transported to a site of Nova Austral located in the Magallanes Region of Chile, to be stocked, presumably died because of a toxic microalga.The company's general manager, Nicos Nicolaides, said that the death of 105,000 fish of 210 grams that were transported by the ship Don Pedro and another 44,000 fish of 420 grams carried by the ship Maria Ines, occurred near Gulf Penas.