Stories for September 19th 2018

Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:07 UTC
Cristina Fernandez denies any hidden cash or values: “they can dig up all of Patagonia”

Argentina's ex-President Cristina Fernandez said on Tuesday that she never received corrupt payments and challenged investigators to scour her home region of Patagonia if they believed she had hidden cash, a day after she was indicted on graft charges.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:06 UTC
Haddad pledges no pardon for imprisoned Lula da Silva, if he is elected president

Brazil's leftist presidential candidate Fernando Haddad on Tuesday ruled out pardoning the jailed former head of state and his own party's iconic leader Lula da Silva should he triumph in October's elections.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:05 UTC
EU ready to address UK concerns over a “hard border” in post Brexit

The European Union is ready to address key British concerns over Northern Ireland, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday, in a clear push to get a Brexit deal effectively done in the next month.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:05 UTC
Argentine Peso slid on Tuesday but the Merval stock market climbed a strong 3%

Argentina’s central bank sold US$ 261 million in reserves on Tuesday, the monetary authority said in a statement announcing its latest intervention in the foreign exchange market aimed at easing the fall of the local currency.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:03 UTC
Peruvian president in standoff with congress: fresh elections if reforms are not approved

Peru's president is facing a standoff with lawmakers over his call for a referendum on anti-corruption measures and constitutional reforms.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:59 UTC
Apple pays €14.3bn to the Irish treasury, an EU tax Dublin does not want to collect

Apple has paid the Irish government €14.3bn (£12.7bn), money that the European Commission ruled the tech giant owed due to illegal tax breaks. Ireland's Finance ministry said the payment was a “significant milestone”, although Dublin insists Apple was not given any special tax treatment. In 2016 the Commission ruled the below 1% effective tax rate the firm paid in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:56 UTC
Mini factory in Oxford will shut down for a month in April 2019 in case of a no deal Brexit

Mini factory in Oxford will shut down for a month after Brexit at the end of March to minimize disruption in case of a no-deal outcome. Owner BMW said its summer maintenance shutdown had been brought forward to 1 April to reduce any “possible short-term parts-supply disruption”.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:50 UTC
Record US$ 27.5 million settlement with New York Catholic church regarding sex abuses

The Catholic church in New York has reached a record US$ 27.5 million settlement with four men who said they were sexually abused as children, attorneys said on Tuesday. The Diocese of Brooklyn, one of the city's boroughs, agreed to make the payments to the four, who were sexually abused between 2003 and 2009 by their religion teacher, their lawyers said.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:50 UTC
Tit for tat: China adds US$ 60bn of US imports to its tariff retaliation list

China and the United States plunged deeper into a trade war on Tuesday after Beijing added US$60 billion of US products to its import tariff list in retaliation for President Donald Trump's planned levies on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:44 UTC
Brazilian farmers encouraged by moisture conditions to plant soy and corn

Brazilian farmers sped up soy and corn plantings this week for the country’s next grain crop, under favorable weather conditions and a positive market outlook, despite a sharp fall in soybean futures in Chicago on Tuesday. Soybean planting in Brazil’s second-largest producing state of Paraná reached 9% of the expected final area this week, up 8 percentage points from last week and compared to only 1 percent at this time last year, as ample soil moisture allowed for a quick start of fieldwork.