Economy

• Wednesday, April 30th 2014 - 09:14 UTC

  Latam and Caribbean forecasted to expand 2.7% on average this year

  

  Latin American and Caribbean countries are estimated to grow an average 2.7% in 2014 as the region's main economies have limited dynamism according to ECLAC's Updated Economic Review of Latam and the Caribbean 2013, released on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, April 30th 2014 - 08:57 UTC

  Poverty in Argentina stands at 27.5% of population, says Catholic University

  

  Poverty and indigence in Argentina in the last quarter of 2013 again increased and reached 27,5% of the population and 17.8% of households, according to the latest report from the Catholic University Social Debt Observatory, UCA.

• Wednesday, April 30th 2014 - 03:49 UTC

  Holdout hedge funds admit they prefer to negotiate with whoever succeeds Cristina Fernandez

  

  Elliot Management Hedge Fund claimed on Tuesday that President Cristina Fernández administration refuses to negotiate a solution over Argentine debt in default, stating that they would prefer to seek a solution with the head of state's successor in 2015.

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 21:24 UTC

  IATA calls on Venezuela to honor payment of airline funds, totaling 3.9bn

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on the Venezuelan government urgently to honor its commitment made in March to permit the repatriation of 3.9 billion dollars of airline funds at fair exchange rates. The funds are from sales of airline tickets in Venezuela and are being held in contravention of international treaties.

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 06:31 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil plan to prop economies by stimulating the auto industry

  

  Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof and Industry Minister Débora Giorgi fly to Brasilia on Tuesday in a bid to swing the automobile trade balance in Argentina’s favor, with the sector accounting for the majority of a total 3.15 billion dollars trade deficit. From Brazil Finance minister Guido Mantega confirmed bilateral discussions on the auto industry and exports.

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 06:03 UTC

  Three former Barclays employees charged with manipulation of Libor rate

  

  Three former employees of Barclays have been charged in connection with the alleged manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). The Serious Fraud Office, SFO, said Jay Vijay Merchant, Alex Julian Pabon and Ryan Michael Reich had been charged for “conspiracy to defraud”.

• Tuesday, April 29th 2014 - 06:00 UTC

  The Houblon £50 notes 20-year cycle ends next Wednesday says BoE

  

  The £50 note featuring the first governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Houblon, will be withdrawn on Wednesday after 20 years in circulation. From that time, only the £50 banknote featuring Matthew Boulton and James Watt, which was introduced in 2011, will hold legal tender status.

• Monday, April 28th 2014 - 23:53 UTC

  Coffee prices soar as Brazil's crop plummets because of adverse weather

  

  Because of adverse climate conditions Brazil’s Arabica coffee prices have recently surged 94%, to 2.144 dollars for half a kilogram ($2.30) on the New York futures market.

• Monday, April 28th 2014 - 23:40 UTC

  FIFA's Valcke downplays 'favelas' violence: “finally we will be talking about football”

  

  FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke downplayed recent violence in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro as a threat to the upcoming World Cup. The city was the scene of violent outbursts last week when a dancer was found dead with his friends and family blaming the killing on the police.

• Monday, April 28th 2014 - 08:42 UTC

  Brazil's current account deficit climbs to 3.6% of GDP during March

  

  Brazil's current account deficit narrowed in March after an improvement in the trade balance, but it was still the second largest on record for that month, central bank data showed. The country posted a current account deficit of 6.248 billion last month, down from 7.445bn in February.