Cecilia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, will be heading the mission tasked with examining border controls imposed on Gibraltar by Spain while a second mission will address the ‘customs dimension’ issue, the European Commission has confirmed. British authorities will be involved in the EC probe of the Gibraltar frontier as will Spanish officials but no date for the visit has been set though it is expected within a few weeks.
British Prime Minister David Cameron office has highlighted the significance of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s visit to No 10 Downing Street as an indication of the relationship and support of UK for Gibraltar.
The sovereignty issue should be left aside and talks should concentrate on the business opportunities offered by the oil industry in the Falkland Islands, said lawmaker Dick Sawle during an interview with AP in Brazil where he is on a week long visit of business and political contacts.
Argentina’s central bank international reserves pierced the psychological barrier of 37bn dollars and ended Tuesday at 36.9bn dollars, which is the lowest in over six years and will continue to drain since next month the country must repay in full 2bn of a 2007 sovereign bond.
The opening of a new sovereign debt swap announced by Argentine President Cristina Fernández on national television on Monday has received strong support from allies, pledges of neutrality from the main opposition party but also criticisms.
Argentina bonds in dollars, protected by local legislation fell the most in four months after President Cristina Fernandez announced she’s sending a bill to Congress to reopen the debt swap so that holders of the 7% of pending non restructured debt can normalize their situation in similar conditions.
Brazil's economy is going through a mini crisis stemming from global markets turbulence made worse by confusing messages from the US Federal Reserve, complained Finance Minister Guido Mantega.
The US Federal Reserve must consider when and how fast it unwinds its economic stimulus to avoid harming emerging market economies, senior Chinese officials said on Tuesday. Financial markets are uneasy because the US Fed might decide to reduce its monthly bond buying when it meets on Sept 17 and 18.
The unexpected warm summer boosted trading at Britain’s hotels, pubs and restaurants as holiday makers took advantage of the soaring temperatures, a new report shows. But profits were hit due to the double whammy of rising raw materials costs and fierce competition that kept prices low, says the CBI’s quarterly service sector survey.
Initial estimates on foreign tourist purchases in London during this summer season are estimated to be worth £4 billion. Official statistics have not yet been disclosed. The contribution of Arab citizens to this figure is estimated to be worth £1.3 billion, says the British Commercial Association.