Economy

Wednesday, December 8th 2010 - 05:07 UTC
Argentina discovers in Patagonia largest gas reserve in 35 years

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was in charge of leading the Tuesday ceremony in which Repsol-YPF announced the discovery of a massive shale gas reserve, the largest in 35 years that could help the country reduce its imports of the fuel.
Wednesday, December 8th 2010 - 04:56 UTC
IMF criticizes Europe’s disjointed response to the Euro debt crisis

The head of the International Monetary Fund criticized Europe's disjointed response to the Euro zone debt crisis after Germany and other states resisted his calls for bolder action.
Wednesday, December 8th 2010 - 00:58 UTC
Higher rates expected to dent into Brazil’s booming auto sales

Interest rates on financing car sales without a down payment have almost doubled in Brazil following last week’s liquidity tightening measures from the central bank, reports O Estado de Sao Paulo, adding that higher financial costs could dent automobile sales by as much as 20%.
Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 19:27 UTC
Lula da Silva promises to veto bill on oil royalties sharing plan

Brazilian President Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he would veto a plan to change the distribution of oil royalties among state governments, paving the way for the implementation of a legal overhaul of Brazil's oil sector.
Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 18:46 UTC
US Treasury admits making 12 billion profit with Citigroup rescue package

The US Treasury has sold its remaining stake in Citigroup, in a deal which it says will make a 12 billion USD profit on its overall investment. Citigroup was one of the worst victims of the financial crisis, and the US government stepped in with 45 billion bail-out cash in 2008 and 2009.
Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 08:29 UTC
Chinese credit rating agency gives Uruguay grade BB+ for local and foreign currency

A Chinese credit rating agency issued the sovereign credit ratings for Ireland and four other countries including Uruguay, assigning Ireland the BBB grade for both local currency and foreign currency with a stable outlook.
The other four countries rated are Finland, Uruguay, Kenya and Sudan.
Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 08:21 UTC
Bank of Nova Scotia confirms acquisition of leading institution in Uruguay

Bank of Nova Scotia, the Canadian bank that is aggressively expanding its presence in Latin America, is now pushing into Uruguay with the acquisition of private bank Nuevo Banco Comercial and consumer-finance company Pronto, it said on Monday.
Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 08:06 UTC
Mercosur and Syria scheduled to begin trade negotiations at next summit

Mercosur and Syria are scheduled to sign an agreement to begin trade negotiations at the group’s next summit in Brazil, December 15, according to official sources in Damascus. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad earlier this year visited South America to promote trade and political links, particularly with Brazil that has a large Syrian community.
Monday, December 6th 2010 - 05:23 UTC
EU governments’ support for financial sector 4.5 tr Euros; UK top of the list

European Union states have underwritten their financial sectors with 4.5 trillion Euros of aid since the banking crisis hit. Top of the league is the UK, which pledged 850.3bn Euros of support between October 2008 and October 2010.
Monday, December 6th 2010 - 05:17 UTC
Federal Reserve names banks that appealed to its emergency loans

The US Federal Reserve has named the companies that used its emergency loan facilities during the financial crisis and revealed how much they borrowed. Details of more than 21,000 transactions aimed at stabilising financial markets have been posted on the Fed's website.