Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, November 21st 2024 - 22:15 UTC

Stories for February 2018

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 15:23 UTC

    Powell becomes chairman of the Fed in a turbulent trading day

    President Donald Trump picked Powell after deciding to break with recent tradition by not offering Yellen a second four-year term.

    Jerome Powell was sworn as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve on what turned out to be a turbulent day for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging by more than 1,100 points. Powell, 65, was given the oath of office by Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, in a ceremony that took place before stock trading opened on Wall Street.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 14:41 UTC

    Oil Prices Ravaged By Financial Turmoil

    “The stock market and interest rates can really affect oil a lot,” told Mark Waggoner

    By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

    Oil prices fell back suddenly over the last few trading sessions, dragged down by some forces beyond the oil market.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:56 UTC

    Brazil's second largest private bank names new CEO in a major shakeup

    Lazari has four decades of experience at the bank, beginning his career as a teenager in 1978 and is expected to take the helm next month

    Banco Bradesco SA, Brazil's second-largest private-sector lender, appointed a new chief executive who told journalists that demand for credit has already improved in the first month of 2018. Octavio Lazari, 54, head of Bradesco's insurance unit, was appointed as the bank's next CEO amid a broader management shakeup with younger executives joining the board and upper management ranks to tackle increasing competition from all-digital banks.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    Another Temer minister appointment on the cliff

    Cristiane Brasil, the government’s would-be labor minister, has twice had her appointment blocked by courts over her conviction for violating labor laws.

    With Brazil’s unpopular government battling to hold together a congressional coalition, President Michel Temer has been unlucky with his pick of cabinet ministers. Seven quit or were fired in his first year in office, four of them following allegations of wrongdoing. Among them, Geddel Vieira Lima, who was eventually arrested after police identified his fingerprints in an apartment filled with US$16 million in cash.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:27 UTC

    Get ready: International Scotch Day on Thursday 8 February

    International Scotch Day will also see various Scotch whisky distilleries – including Lagavulin, Oban, Dalwhinnie and Talisker, to list a few – open to the public

    Plans have been unveiled for the second International Scotch Day – a worldwide celebration of all things Scotch whisky – on Thursday, 8 February this year. As part of the festivities, world-leading Scotch whisky producer Diageo will open up its Archive at Menstrie, near Alloa – a liquid library of more than 5,000 bottles and claimed as the biggest of its kind in the world.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:17 UTC

    Trump manages to unite the UK political system in praise of the healthcare system

    Trump's tweet came after ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage appeared on Fox And Friends, one of the president's favorite shows, talking about the weekend march.

    United States president Donald Trump has sparked a backlash from UK politicians by attacking the National Health Service. In a tweet criticising US Democrats pushing for a universal health system, he said “thousands of people are marching” in the UK because the NHS is “going broke and not working”. This was believed to be a reference to a Save the NHS march on Downing Street on Saturday, demanding more funding.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 09:08 UTC

    German industrial labor win the right to reduced working flexible hours

    The deal covers one million workers in Baden-Württemberg state and also gives them a pay rise. It could be extended to 3.9 million industrial workers in Germany

    Industrial workers in south-western Germany have won the right to reduced working hours as part of a deal that could benefit millions of employees across the country. Workers will be able to reduce their weekly hours from 35 to 28 for up to two years to look after their families.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 08:55 UTC

    EU draft proposes strict conditions for UK in the post-Brexit transition period

    It is revealed in a draft section of the UK and EU's withdrawal agreement, which has yet to be finalized. UK says the document reflects the EU's “stated directives”.

    The European Union wants to be able to restrict the UK's access to the single market if there is a dispute after Brexit, a leaked document suggests. The power to suspend “certain benefits” would apply during the post-Brexit transition phase before the final arrangements come into force.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 08:44 UTC

    Algorithmic trading accelerated Black Monday markets plunge, speculate analysts

    Such automated trading almost certainly accelerated the sell-off on Monday, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashing 800 points in ten minutes.

    Robot trading has accelerated this week's market dive and may have sparked the sell-off, experts say. Financial firms use computers programmed with complex sets of instructions known as algorithms, which identify trading opportunities and then strike faster than any human could.

  • Wednesday, February 7th 2018 - 08:03 UTC

    Francis sends sex-crimes expert bishop to investigate Chilean clergy

    “The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,” Francis said outside the northern Chilean city of Iquique on Jan. 19.

    Pope Francis is sending a representative, a sex crimes expert, to Chile to investigate whether a bishop there covered up years of abuse, the Vatican announced. The announcement comes after the pope faced backlash earlier this month during a visit to Chile.