Economy

• Friday, March 28th 2014 - 06:31 UTC

  US Fed rejects Citigroup plans to boost dividends for shareholders

  

  US Federal Reserve has rejected plans by Citigroup to buy back shares and boost dividends for shareholders. It cited deficiencies in the bank's ability to plan for how stressful situations would hurt its business. The decision is a setback for Citigroup boss Michael Corbat who was brought in to bolster internal controls after the bank failed stress tests two years ago.

• Friday, March 28th 2014 - 06:26 UTC

  Bank of America agrees to pay 9.5bn to settle charges from US housing collapse

  

  Bank of America agreed to pay 9.5bn to settle charges it misled US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the housing crisis in 2008. The bank will pay 6.3bn in cash and buy back 3.2bn in mortgage securities.

• Friday, March 28th 2014 - 06:22 UTC

  Argentine economy expands 3%, thus saving 3.5bn in payments to bonds tied to GDP

  

  Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Census, Indec, announced that the country's GDP grew by 3% across the last calendar year, dropping short of the figure necessary to service bonds linked to the nation's economic activity.

• Thursday, March 27th 2014 - 08:38 UTC

  US Supreme Court confirms Argentina has friends in its litigation with hedge funds

  

  The US Supreme Court has confirmed that Brazil, Mexico and France have officially presented their opinions on an appeal currently being studied in the judicial authorities, which relates to the litigation held against Argentina by the hedge funds which the administration President Cristina Fernandez refers to as 'vulture funds'.

• Thursday, March 27th 2014 - 08:02 UTC

  Argentina issues 10bn Pesos in bonds to drain liquidity and contain inflation

  

  Argentina's government will issue as much as 10 billion pesos (1.25 billion dollars) in bonds on Friday as it seeks funding from local investors and tries to drain liquidity from the local market as the harvest season approaches when traders begin selling the dollars of overseas shipments of grains and oilseeds.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2014 - 07:44 UTC

  Brazil hits back at S&P; says economy is well positioned to new challenges in the global scenario

  

  Brazil's central bank on Tuesday said it will continue to respond to challenges in the international scenario after Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the country's credit ratings. This includes a rigorous set of macroeconomic policies, a flexible exchange rate regime and the use of liquidity buffers “to smooth out moves in asset prices” the bank said in a statement.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2014 - 05:54 UTC

  NML Capital targets Argentina's contract for satellite launches with private US company

  

  An Argentine bondholder seeking to collect on hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments stemming from the country's historic 2002 default filed a lawsuit on Tuesday aiming to take control of the country's rights under a contract for satellite launches with a private US firm.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2014 - 05:33 UTC

  Country and organizations support for Argentina's litigation with hedge funds increases

  

  Argentina underlined the support from Brazil, France, Mexico, (even the IMF), among other institutions in the country's long exhausting litigation with hedge funds, an issue which is “crucial for Argentina and the whole international financial system”.

• Tuesday, March 25th 2014 - 23:09 UTC

  China's manufacturing sector contracted in March, according to private survey

  

  China's manufacturing sector showed further contraction in March, according to a new report which mainly tracks activity in smaller factories. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) gave a reading of 48.1 for March, compared to 48.5 in February.

• Tuesday, March 25th 2014 - 08:51 UTC

  S&P downgrades Brazil’s sovereign debt rating to BBB minus

  

  Standard & Poor's cut Brazil's sovereign debt rating closer to speculative territory in a blow to President Dilma Rousseff administration. Brazil had its long-term debt rating downgraded to BBB minus, the agency's lowest investment-grade rating. S&P changed its outlook to stable from negative, meaning further downgrades are unlikely for now, which will come as a relief for both politicians in Brasilia and financial markets.The move was widely expected but the timing surprised some investors.