Economy

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 07:30 UTC

  US second largest shopping mall owner files for bankruptcy protection

  

  General Growth Properties, United States second-largest shopping mall owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday after failing to reach an out of court consensus on how to restructure its 27 billion US dollars debt. The Chicago based corporation which owns more than 200 malls in 44 states said shoppers at its malls will not be affected by its bankruptcy filing.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 12:08 UTC

  Brazil slashes primary budget surplus to stimulate economy

  

  Brazil's government cut its 2009 primary budget surplus target to 2.5% of GDP from 3.8% and set a target of 3.3% of GDP for the next three years, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Wednesday speaking at a Congressional hearing.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:22 UTC

  US March consumer prices mark new annual declination record

  

  United States consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first annual drop in more than half a century, according to official figures from the Labour Department. The consumer price index fell 0.1% last month after energy prices declined. In February prices had risen 0.4%.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:15 UTC

  World Bank plans to loan 14 billion USD to Latinamerica

  

  The World Bank expects to loan some 14 billion US dollars to Latinamerica this fiscal year, or almost three times what it lent in 2008, the bank's Vice-President for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Pamela Cox told a conference call with reporters.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 04:47 UTC

  Prime Minister Brown warns UK offshore tax havens

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has written to the UK’s offshore tax havens – including Gibraltar – warning them to meet international transparency standards within six months or face sanctions, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 04:18 UTC

  Panama Canal transit falls modestly in spite of global crisis

  

  Transits of the Panama Canal slipped 1.4% in the Canal’s second fiscal quarter, according to the Panama Canal Authority (PCA). A total of 3,914 ships passed through the Canal from January through March.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 10:45 UTC

  Lower House approves Brazil’s Sovereign Wealth Fund

  

  Brazil’s Congress Lower House approved on Tuesday night approved legislation making an existing Sovereign Wealth Fund into a permanent fixture. The Chamber of Deputies voted 274-102 to approve a government bill making the fund permanent and approving an initial total for it of 14.2 billion Brazilian Reales, approximately 6.5 billion US dollars.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 10:43 UTC

  Kirchner denies recession and insists Argentina continues to expand

  

  Two reliable private consultants and advisors confirmed that the Argentine economy has gone through two consecutive negative quarters, thus in recession. However former president Nestor Kirchner denies any recession and insists that the Argentine economy keeps expanding.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 08:38 UTC

  Ecuador grew 6.5% in 2008; forecasts 2.5% in 2009

  

  Ecuador President Rafael Correa said that his country’s economic growth in 2008, which according to the latest estimates was 6.5%, was among Latin America’s highest despite the international financial crisis -- and despite defaulting on a portion of the nation's international debt.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2009 - 05:21 UTC

  Study reveals UK cities most hit by recession unemployment

  

  Job losses during the current British recession have impacted most on large cities, mainly Birmingham, outside London, according to research. The biggest jump in total numbers of people claiming unemployment benefit were found in the North, West Midlands, Scotland, and areas linked with traditional manufacturing and heavy industry, a study by The Work Foundation found.