Economy

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:46 UTC

  UK tourism profits hit by soaring costs and fierce competition

  

  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.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:39 UTC

  Arab tourists spend £1.3 billion in London

  

  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.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:30 UTC

  US aquifer supplying 30% of irrigated groundwater and stretching under eight states rapidly depleting

  

  Almost 70% of the groundwater stored in parts of the United States' High Plains Aquifer, a vast underground reservoir that stretches through eight states, from South Dakota to Texas, and supplies 30% of the US irrigated groundwater, could be used up within 50 years unless current water use is reduced, a new study finds

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:24 UTC

  Time for investors to hunker down: ‘markets look terrible’

  

  It's time to step out from my 'normal' role as the 'energy expert' and make a comment or two on the markets in general, just as a professional trader who's seen quite a bit in his almost 3 decades of daily experience with capital markets and the way they act. Patterns emerge that aren't foolproof, but they've served well over the years and they are making some very visceral noises to me, even observing the action at longer range on vacation.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 01:13 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez sends bill to reopen third debt swap and calls on God to illuminate US Supreme Court

  

  Argentina will send a bill to Congress this week to reopen a debt restructuring for those creditors who haven’t accepted previous swaps after the nation’s 2001 default, said President Cristina Fernandez Monday evening on national television.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 03:10 UTC

  Royal Bank of Canada raid incident in Uruguay continues to be controversial

  

  Uruguay’s Deputy Economy minister Alejandro Antonelli denied any ‘short-circuits’ in the government regarding the Royal Bank of Canada’s raid incident, just a ‘matter of differences’, but insisted that the whole issue is positive for Uruguay since it shows the country’s commitment in combating money laundering and other possible financial crimes.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 03:01 UTC

  Argentina defiant of bonds‘case latest ruling: ‘they want to take us back to 2001’

  

  Argentine Economy minister Hernán Lorenzino said that the New York appeals court ruling supporting Judge Thomas Griesa decision in favour of paying the hedge funds the 1.3bn dollars they are demanding, was an “attempt to take the country back to 2001”.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 02:49 UTC

  Some 60% of Argentine children in urban areas suffer deficit of basic rights

  

  Almost 60%, more precisely, 59.1%, of Argentine children in urban areas suffer lack of coverage in their basic rights, according to a release from the Argentine Catholic University referred to infancy rights and included in the latest Social Debt Barometer report.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 02:38 UTC

  Germany top of the class in budget surplus and sustained economic growth

  

  Official figures show Germany's budget surplus rose to 0.6% of GDP in the first half of the year, boosted by higher tax income. The government pulled in 321.4bn Euros in taxes, 3.8% more than a year ago thanks to its steady employment rate. The German Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, said the surplus was 8.5bn Euros in the period between January and June.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 02:22 UTC

  Brazil's current account deficit doubles in July from a year ago

  

  Brazil's current account deficit more than doubled in July from a year ago, according to the latest Central bank data. The gap reached 9.08 billion dollars in July, while a year ago the deficit was 3.75bn dollars.