Economy

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 16:04 UTC

  China changes policy: eases credit and lowers bank reserves ratio

  

  China's central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio for its commercial lenders on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years to ease credit strains and shore up an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 09:04 UTC

  China becomes Peru’s main trade partner and a leading investor

  

  Peruvian Prime Minister Salomon Lerner said that China’s direct investments in the country would increase between 30% and 40% in the next two years. China became this year Peru’s main trade partner.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 06:03 UTC

  Improved transparency for IDB loan operations and activities

  

  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) became a signatory of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, a voluntary, multi-stakeholder effort to make information about aid spending easier to find, use and compare.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 06:00 UTC

  Euro zone ministers looking to the IMF to help boost rescue fund

  

  Euro zone ministers agreed on Tuesday to ramp up the firepower of their rescue fund but couldn't say by how much and raised the possibility of asking the IMF for more help after Italy's borrowing costs hit a Euro lifetime high of nearly 8%.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 05:53 UTC

  S&P reduces credit ratings of big US/EU banks following overhaul of criteria

  

  Standard & Poor's reduced on Tuesday its credit ratings on several big banks in the United States and Europe as the result of a sweeping overhaul of its ratings criteria.

• Wednesday, November 30th 2011 - 00:55 UTC

  US Judge rejects settlement between Citigroup and Wall Street regulators

  

  US judge rejected this week a 285m dollars settlement between Citigroup and Wall Street's regulator, the SEC, over the sale of toxic mortgages.

• Tuesday, November 29th 2011 - 23:05 UTC

  Poverty in Latam at lowest level in 20 years; but 174 million are still below the line

  

  Poverty and indigence in Latin America and the Caribbean are at their lowest in twenty years according to the latest report from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, released on Tuesday in Chile.

• Tuesday, November 29th 2011 - 17:28 UTC

  Price Index new weightings should help Brazil with inflation target and rate cuts

  

  Brazil’s statistics agency released Monday new weightings for items in its benchmark IPCA price index, adapted to changing family consumption patterns, which should help policymakers fine-tune complying with targets and keep cutting interest rates.

• Tuesday, November 29th 2011 - 17:21 UTC

  UNASUR considers strengthening emergency fund for balance of payments problems

  

  The Union of South American Nations, Unasur, may decide this week to strengthen an emergency fund to help countries in balance of payments problems, the Brazilian Finance Ministry’s international affairs secretary said.

• Tuesday, November 29th 2011 - 17:11 UTC

  American Airlines files for bankruptcy; plans to cut drastically labour costs

  

  American Airlines and its parent company AMR Corp filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday after failing to win a labour deal with pilots and suffering from mounting fuel costs.