Economy

• Tuesday, January 14th 2014 - 00:08 UTC

  Bad years and non encouraging prospects for Uruguay fisheries exports

  

  Following on two years of poor performance and results, Uruguay's fishing industry is expected to face similar conditions in 2014, with ongoing labor disputes and tougher international markets particularly the European Union and Nigeria in Africa, which absorbed most of the country's hake, croaker and sea trout.

• Tuesday, January 14th 2014 - 00:00 UTC

  Foreign Office stretched “almost to the limit”, warns Parliament: “a more realistic approach needed”

  

  The Foreign Office is being stretched “almost to the limit” as it attempts to cut spending at a time of international turbulence while having to cope with additional demands such as the London Olympics, MPs have said.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:35 UTC

  A frustrated Mujica calls for a readjustment of Mercosur legal framework

  

  Uruguayan president José Mujica said that members of Mercosur must readjust the block's legal framework ‘to make it work’ so that differences among its partners can be resolved in an institutional framework. He insisted on a review and amendment of mechanisms with greater flexibility and more adapted to current circumstances.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:27 UTC

  Nicaragua announces that construction of inter-ocean canal begins this year

  

  President Manuel Ortega said on Saturday that the construction of a massive inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua that could significantly alter global trade would start at the end of 2014. Ortega gave a Chinese group a concession to manage the future shipping channel for 50 years, with the possibility to renew the contract for another 50.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:09 UTC

  Paraguay plans to climb from eighth to world's fifth exporter of beef by 2018

  

  One of Paraguay's priorities is to make the country the world's fifth exporter of beef by 2018, according to Industry and Trade minister Gustavo Leite. The land locked member of Mercosur currently holds the eighth position.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 11:04 UTC

  President Obama names Stanley Fischer vice-chair of the Federal Reserve

  

  US President Barack Obama Friday nominated former Israeli central bank governor and renowned economist Stanley Fischer as vice chair of the Federal Reserve, completing a shakeup of the board's leadership.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:24 UTC

  Argentina denies it is blame for delay in Mercosur/European Union trade talks

  

  Argentina's Foreign Ministry refuted an article by Brazilian newspaper Valór Económico reporting that negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union had been delayed by the failure to reach agreement with Argentina over a joint proposal of goods to include in a free trade agreement

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:20 UTC

  Number of US jobs created last December was the lowest for three years

  

  The US economy created only 74,000 jobs in December, with many Americans giving up looking for work, latest figures show. The number of jobs created was the lowest for three years and was well under half the number expected by analysts.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 08:08 UTC

  China claims to have become the world's top trading nation in 2013

  

  China has claimed that it is “very likely” that it overtook the US as the world's top trading nation, a title the US has held for decades. According to the latest data, China's total trade grew at an annual rate of 7.6% to 4.16 trillion dollars last year.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 07:54 UTC

  UK launches scheme to protect Scotch whisky industry from fake products

  

  A new scheme has been launched to protect the Scotch whisky industry from fake or sub-standard products. The Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme has been set up by the UK government to help consumers identify genuine UK-made products.