
The slow economic recovery is in sight across Europe, the European Commission said on Saturday, with the UK in line for 1.7% growth next year compared with an EU average of 1.3%.

Rising fuel costs and the impact of Spain’s economic crisis left the owner of British Airways and Iberia nursing big quarterly losses. International Airlines Group was also hit by industrial action by pilots at Iberia as it recorded losses of 263 million Euros for the three months to March 31, against a deficit of 47 million Euros a year earlier.

HSBC reported the sale of its affiliates in Uruguay, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay to the Colombian group Gilinski, an operation involving 400 million dollars, of which 80 million for the Montevideo assets.

Union of South American Nations (Unasur) member states released a report detailing each country’s military spending. Ministers and diplomats from the twelve nation regional bloc also pledged further military integration, proposing the creation of a Citizen Security Council.

Fast-growing trade and investment between the Asia-Pacific area and Latin America and the Caribbean have transformed the two regions into powerful motors for the world economy, with two-way trade hitting 442 billion dollars last year. The time is right to deepen cooperation so as to ensure future growth and prosperity, according to a new study.

By Jorge Argüello (*) - What defines a protectionist country nowadays? Is it when a developing country takes precautions against a flood of products with plummeting prices due to an international crisis? Or, is it when an export powerhouse delivers large subsidies exclusively for domestic production? In a world economy like today’s can protectionism be measured solely by Customs measures or those targeting imports?

Just days after finalizing the hostile takeover of Spanish-owned oil and gas company YPF, the Argentine government got even more hostile, freezing imports of Spain’s signature delicacy: ham.

The Argentine Chamber of Integrated Fruit Exporters, CAFI reported that apple and pear exports continued a sharp decline in terms of exported volume, with a downfall of 30% (about 90.000 tons in total) compared to the previous year and 15% less in relation to 2010.

A top visiting German trade official appealed to Brazilian companies Thursday to invest in Europe's largest economy, particularly in the former East Germany taking advantage of the country’s know-how.

Spain told its banks on Friday to set aside another 30 billion Euros to cover potential losses on real estate and ordered an independent audit of their debts, an effort to restore confidence in a sector that is at the heart of the country's financial crisis.