Economy

• Tuesday, October 22nd 2013 - 22:59 UTC

  EU imposes punitive duties on biodiesel from Argentina alleging dumping

  

  European Union member states agreed to impose punitive duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, which are accused of selling it into the bloc at unfairly low prices, according to diplomats. Argentina has anticipated it will take the case to the World Trade Organization.

• Tuesday, October 22nd 2013 - 22:50 UTC

  Cuba to scrap two-currency system which helped creation of a two-tier class system

  

  Cuba is to scrap its two-currency system in the latest financial reform rolled out by President Raul Castro, official media report. Since 1994 Cuba has had two currencies, one pegged to the US dollar and the other worth only a fraction of that. The more valuable convertible peso (CUC) was reserved for use in the tourism sector and foreign trade. Now its value will be gradually unified with the lower-value CUP, ending a system resented by ordinary Cubans.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 22:14 UTC

  Cruise on world tour calls in Uruguay; season opens officially November

  

  Even when Uruguay's official cruise season is scheduled for November this last Sunday Montevideo received “Costa Neo Romantica” a vessel on a world tour. She was expected to call at the Atlantic seaside resort of Punta del Este, but adverse weather conditions cancelled the visit.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 21:41 UTC

  Brazil auctions 35-year production rights to giant offshore Libra oil area

  

  Brazil sold production rights to develop the giant offshore Libra oil area to a consortium led by Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA in an auction with a single bid on Monday. The auction in Rio do Janeiro took place amid strict security measures with hundreds of police forces clashing with protestors.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 21:30 UTC

  Argentine Central bank losing reserves at a rate of 47.5 million dollars per day

  

  Argentina's central bank is currently losing international reserves at an average of 47,5 million dollars per day or 8 million per hour, according to the latest figures on the bank's accounts which is increasingly used by the government of President Cristina Fernandez to honor foreign debt and finance the budget.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 07:47 UTC

  Barroso optimistic about coming 'events' in EU/Mercosur trade negotiations

  

  The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso anticipated that 'soon' there will be 'events' referred to the EU/Mercosur cooperation and trade agreement and underlined that Brazil is most interested in making possible such an accord.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 07:39 UTC

  Brazil's development bank to target infrastructure and less on corporations

  

  Brazil will inject less money next year into the country's development bank BNDES, (National economic and social development bank), its leading source of long-term corporate loans, to focus more on infrastructure financing as concerns mount over public debt.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 07:13 UTC

  Uruguay among the countries in Latam with the highest power costs

  

  Uruguay is among the Latin-American and Caribbean countries with the highest power costs according to a paper from the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, Bloomberg and New Energy Finance. This is extensive both for residential consumers and for manufacturing and large consumers.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 06:49 UTC

  EU and Canada sign agreement expected to increase bilateral trade by over 20%

  

  A landmark trade deal reached between the European Union (EU) and Canada, that will benefit the UK economy and businesses by over £1.3 billion a year, has been welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron.

• Monday, October 21st 2013 - 06:21 UTC

  Venezuela clamps down on 'currency tourism' with random checks at airports

  

  The 'dollar-scarce' Venezuelan government is trying to clamp down on what it calls “currency tourism” with random checks of passengers leaving the country. The officials at the country's main airports are not guards or police but bureaucrats at state currency board Cadivi investigating whether travelers' documents match their requests for hard-to-get dollars.