Economy

• Wednesday, December 22nd 2010 - 05:15 UTC

  Ernst & Young accused of helping Lehman Brothers hide financial problems

  

  New York prosecutors sued Ernst & Young, accusing the accounting firm of helping to hide Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's financial problems, the first major government legal action stemming from the Wall Street bank's 2008 downfall.

• Wednesday, December 22nd 2010 - 05:06 UTC

  Portugal on notice for possible credit rating cut in next three months

  

  Portugal was put on notice that its credit rating could be cut and fellow Euro zone debtor Spain had to pay more to issue new debt, suggesting the currency bloc's crisis will rage unabated in 2011.

• Wednesday, December 22nd 2010 - 05:05 UTC

  OECD says Spain needs urgent labour market and tax reforms

  

  Spain is slowly emerging from recession but needs to cut spending further and introduce labour market reforms, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said.

• Tuesday, December 21st 2010 - 19:40 UTC

  Chile’s government determined to make oil company ENAP “economically viable”

  

  Chile's government wants to make state-owned oil and gas company Empresa Nacional del Petroleo SA, (ENAP) “economically viable” through a management overhaul and streamlining of production.

• Tuesday, December 21st 2010 - 19:34 UTC

  Brazilian exports set to increase 12% in 2011 reaching 220 billion US dollars

  

  Following the 30% expansion in 2010, Brazilian exports are forecasted to grow 12%, in 2011 according to Foreign Trade Secretary Weber Barral. He added that in 2010 the recovery was quite strong compared to the downturn of 2009, but in 2011 global trade growth rate is expected to slow down.

• Tuesday, December 21st 2010 - 19:32 UTC

  Toyota expects strong showing from production and sales overseas

  

  Toyota, the largest car-maker in the world is forecasting a 2% rise in global production across Toyota, Daihatsu and Hino models to 8.69 million units, compared to this year’s expected global output of 8.55 million units. Overseas production next year is expected to rise 6% to 4.81 million units, offsetting a 4% drop in domestic output to 3.89 million units.

• Tuesday, December 21st 2010 - 05:43 UTC

  Unemployment is going down in Latam but job-quality has become the challenge

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean experienced rapid employment recovery in 2010 to pre-crisis levels, according to data provided by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, the quality of jobs now being offered to those made jobless in the contracted worldwide recession over the past two years is fast becoming a problem in itself.

• Tuesday, December 21st 2010 - 05:14 UTC

  Argentina’s current account balance down to 900 million USD in third quarter

  

  Argentina's current account balance--the broadest measure of a country's transactions with the rest of the world—posted a 900 million US dollars surplus in the third quarter, but was down slightly from expectations and the performance from a quarter earlier.

• Monday, December 20th 2010 - 22:06 UTC

  Brazilian lawmakers among the best paid in the world

  

  With the recent 62% increase Brazilian lawmakers (Lower House and Senate) will be among the best paid in the world, ahead of European and US peers and from other emerging economies.

• Monday, December 20th 2010 - 06:09 UTC

  Which are the countries most effective in reducing poverty and inequality?

  

  Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela are the countries which most reduced inequality and poverty during the last decade in Latinamerica, according to Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cepal.