Economy

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:24 UTC

  Argentina denies it is blame for delay in Mercosur/European Union trade talks

  

  Argentina's Foreign Ministry refuted an article by Brazilian newspaper Valór Económico reporting that negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union had been delayed by the failure to reach agreement with Argentina over a joint proposal of goods to include in a free trade agreement

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:20 UTC

  Number of US jobs created last December was the lowest for three years

  

  The US economy created only 74,000 jobs in December, with many Americans giving up looking for work, latest figures show. The number of jobs created was the lowest for three years and was well under half the number expected by analysts.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:08 UTC

  China claims to have become the world's top trading nation in 2013

  

  China has claimed that it is “very likely” that it overtook the US as the world's top trading nation, a title the US has held for decades. According to the latest data, China's total trade grew at an annual rate of 7.6% to 4.16 trillion dollars last year.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 07:54 UTC

  UK launches scheme to protect Scotch whisky industry from fake products

  

  A new scheme has been launched to protect the Scotch whisky industry from fake or sub-standard products. The Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme has been set up by the UK government to help consumers identify genuine UK-made products.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 06:57 UTC

  US Supreme Court agrees to consider Argentina litigation case with hedge funds

  

  The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider a dispute over subpoenas in a case stemming from long-running litigation over Argentina's obligations to bond investors in the wake of its default on 100 billion dollars in sovereign debt in 2002.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 06:49 UTC

  Brazil's inflation off target in 2013 and prospects in election year not encouraging

  

  Brazilian consumer prices ended 2013 higher than expected at 5.91%, above the upper limit of the government target, after inflation surged in December, official statistics released Friday showed. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said last month's inflation figure of 0.92% was the highest for December since 2002, and compared with 0.54% a month earlier.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 06:30 UTC

  Airlines operating in Venezuela have 3.3bn dollars trapped by currency controls

  

  International airlines operating in Venezuela have 3.3 billion trapped because of currency controls, the International Air Transport Association, IATA, revealed. Airlines have to wait around 12 months for the government to convert their Bolivar earnings into dollars, with the time lag growing, according to the Venezuela Airline Association.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  The delayed Mercosur summit will have to address the EU new foreign aid policy

  

  When Mercosur finally holds its much delayed summit in Venezuela at the end of the month following two postponements (12 December and 17 January), besides its normal agenda of agreements and disagreements, it will have to address a new challenge, this time from the European Union which has redefined its development support policy, leaving all Mercosur members, except Paraguay out of its tariffs and market access benefits.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 06:46 UTC

  Falklands oil industry will have its 'Made in USA' dock facility in Stanley harbor

  

  The Falkland Islands budding oil and gas industry advanced a further step this week when the Falklands' Planning and Building Committee gave planning permission to a temporary dock facility (TDF) in Stanley harbor that will provide logistics support to exploration drilling.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 06:40 UTC

  Brazil treasury pays highest yield to launch new 10-year fixed-rate domestic bond

  

  Brazil's Treasury on Thursday paid the highest yield ever to launch a new 10-year benchmark fixed-rate domestic bond. The Treasury said it sold two million NTN-F bonds maturing in January 2025, worth 1.64 billion Reais (683 million dollars), at a yield as high as 13.3899%. The bond is expected to become Brazil's new 10-year benchmark paper.