Economy

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 05:16 UTC

  U.S. and Europe talks advance towards liberalizing bilateral trade

  

  A week of trade talks in Brussels have taken the European Union and the United States a little closer to a deal to liberalize bilateral trade. EU officials say the trade relationship with the US is already the biggest in the world, worth more than 2bn Euros a day, but barriers remain, and removing them could make it even bigger. If it happens, the agreement would be huge, capable of changing the shape of global trade.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 05:06 UTC

  Brazil agriculture in state of emergency following infestations of Helicoverpa caterpillar

  

  Infestations of the Helicoverpa caterpillar in Brazil's grain belt prompted the agriculture ministry this week to declare a state of emergency in the leading soy state of Mato Grosso, highlighting the potential risk to large parts of the crop.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 04:55 UTC

  Uruguay confirms third pulp mill project, but to the east of the country close to Brazil

  

  Finland's UPM/Botnia plant, which is an ongoing motive of dispute with Argentina is planning a second pulp mill but to the east of Uruguay, announced Vice-president Danilo Astori, confirming a previous statement from the First Lady and Senator Lucia Topolansky.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2013 - 04:38 UTC

  JP Morgan agrees to pay record 13bn settlement for misleading investors

  

  US bank JP Morgan has agreed to a record 13 billion dollars settlement with US regulators for misleading investors during the housing crisis. It is the largest settlement ever between the US government and a corporation. The bank acknowledged it made “serious misrepresentations to the public”, but said it did not violate US laws.

• Tuesday, November 19th 2013 - 09:08 UTC

  US government sides with Repsol in the YPF assets seizure with Argentina

  

  United States sided with Spain's Repsol position in the dispute over the seizure of a majority stake in YPF by the administration of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez last year, a dispute which remains unresolved over compensation for the assets.

• Tuesday, November 19th 2013 - 08:43 UTC

  Argentina vs. hedge funds: Appeals court latest ruling opens the way to the US Supreme Court

  

  A United States appeals court on Monday declined to reconsider an order requiring Argentina to pay 1.33 billion dollars, ruling in favor of bondholders who refused to participate in two debt restructurings spinning out of the country's 2002 default.

• Tuesday, November 19th 2013 - 00:24 UTC

  Falklands established national minimum wage and legislation: £ 5.05 per hour

  

  Sunday 1st December 2013 marks the introduction of the new National Minimum Wage legislation for the Falkland Islands. From this date, employers are required by law to pay their workers aged 18 years and over a minimum of £5.05 per hour, equivalent to approximately 8.13 dollars (or £3.10 per hour for workers aged 16 or 17 years).

• Monday, November 18th 2013 - 22:25 UTC

  Argentina's annual economic activity grew 4.7% in September, says Indec

  

  Argentina's economic activity grew 4.7% in September compared with the same month last year, according to the government's much questioned stats office, INDEC. Market expectations were in the range of 3.9%.

• Monday, November 18th 2013 - 18:33 UTC

  Astori forecasts Uruguay's inflation in the range of 3 to 7% in the next two years

  

  Vice-president Danilo Astori confirmed that Uruguay will continue with its current flexible foreign exchange policy, because “this has helped us reduce volatilities”, but also admitted concern about inflation, the third highest in South America and fourth in Latin-American and the Caribbean.

• Friday, November 15th 2013 - 16:15 UTC

  Deliver or Die: Financial Survival Challenges for Today’s Junior Oil Companies

  

  Long gone are the days of easy money, so it seems. Junior energy companies are finding today’s capital to be more expensive and harder to access. In the current market, juniors are fighting an ongoing battle just to balance sustainable growth, manage debt, and to compete with peers for dollars that just aren’t there. When assessing a junior, one must look at how they put their budgets together and maintain them if they’re to survive out there in the wild.