Economy

• Friday, October 22nd 2010 - 02:34 UTC

  Brazil keeps benchmark interest rate at 10.75% in spite of inflation peak

  

  Brazil’s central bank kept its benchmark overnight rate unchanged Wednesday as policy makers gauge whether a peak in inflation is temporary. The policy committee, led by bank President Henrique Meirelles in a unanimous decision, left the rate at 10.75% for a second straight meeting.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 11:14 UTC

  Qatar sovereign wealth fund buys 5% of Banco Santander Brazil

  

  Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest bank, said this week that it will sell 5% of its Brazilian unit to Qatar Holding LLC for 1.95 billion Euros (Approx. 2.7 billion US dollars).

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 11:06 UTC

  Chilean companies become aware of business impact on freshwater resources

  

  Some companies in Chile have recently become involved in a movement to measure the impact of businesses on freshwater resources.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:30 UTC

  Lula da Silva promises to defend currency from further appreciation

  

  Brazil’s Lula da Silva said that the G-20 group must address the issue of the “currencies war” in direct reference to the forced depreciation by some rich countries of their currencies which negatively affects the competitiveness of its trade partners, particularly in the developing world.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:19 UTC

  With frozen income BBC has to fund World Service and Welsh language TV

  

  The TV licence fee, which funds Britain’s BBC, is to be frozen for six years at £145.50, the Chancellor has confirmed. The BBC will also take over the cost of the Foreign Office-funded World Service, BBC Monitoring and some of the costs of Welsh language TV channel S4C.

• Thursday, October 21st 2010 - 07:11 UTC

  UK unveils biggest spending cuts in decades; half a million public jobs to go

  

  Chancellor George Osborne has unveiled the biggest UK spending cuts for decades, with welfare, councils and police budgets all hit. The pension age will rise sooner than expected, some incapacity benefits will be time limited and other money clawed back through changes to tax credits and housing benefit.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 22:58 UTC

  Argentina to declare wine “a national drink” helping promote the industry

  

  Argentina will soon declare wine “a national drink” given its growing quality production and long rooted consumption dating back to the time of the colony several centuries ago.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 22:46 UTC

  Uruguay and Switzerland sign a Double Taxation Agreement

  

  The governments of Uruguay and Switzerland agreed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) on October 18. The document was signed by the Uruguay’s Economy Minister, Fernando Lorenzo, and his Swiss counterpart, Hans-Rudolf Merz.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 03:14 UTC

  Strong recovery in Latin America but eye on overheating warns IMF

  

  With many Latin American and Caribbean economies recovering faster than anticipated, the challenge for policymakers is ensuring a moderation in domestic demand to avoid overheating, the IMF said.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2010 - 03:06 UTC

  US Treasury launches fourth sale of Citigroup common stock

  

  The US Treasury Department said it has launched a fourth sale of 1.5 billion shares of Citigroup Inc common stock under a prearranged trading plan.