Economy

• Thursday, March 7th 2013 - 00:46 UTC

  Uruguay’s central bank acts to contain inflation out of target for three years running

  

  Uruguay's central bank announced on Wednesday it will raise marginal reserve requirements on local and foreign currency deposits from April 1 as part of its effort to bring inflation within the official target range, which has been missed in the last three years.

• Wednesday, March 6th 2013 - 11:47 UTC

  Iberia strike cancels 1.300 flights; further industrial action planned for Easter Week

  

  Unions at Spain's flagship airline Iberia began a second week of strikes on Monday, with 1.300 flights canceled and most passengers re-assigned to other flights. Iberia and three smaller airlines that it provides with ground services -- Iberia Express, Vueling and Air Nostrum --- have been impacted by the action, an Iberia spokesman said.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 21:43 UTC

  UK outgunned in EU bankers’ bonus cap debate; Germany could come to the rescue

  

  Britain was left isolated in Europe on Tuesday after it failed to secure backing to water down new EU rules limiting bankers' bonuses, a measure that could threaten London's dominance as a financial centre.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 17:00 UTC

  Singapore wealth fund boosts Spain’s Repsol, recovering from YPF nationalization

  

  Singapore wealth fund Temasak has bought a 5% stake in Spanish oil group Repsol for just over one billion Euros, raising its total stake in the company to 6.3%, Repsol said in a release. The operation involves the entire portfolio of Repsol treasury stock at 16.01 Euros per share for a total of 1.036 billion Euros (1.35bn dollars).

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 16:52 UTC

  Libor rate-rigging: UK regulator failed to act on warnings of “low-balling”

  

  The UK Financial Services Authority repeatedly failed to act on warnings that banks were trying to rig inter-bank lending rates (mainly Libor) at height of the financial crisis, according to an internal review published Tuesday by the regulator.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 05:33 UTC

  An estimated one million dollars ‘trickled’ per day from Argentina to Uruguayan banks

  

  The dollar ‘clamp’ in Argentina had led to a ‘dollar trickle’ to Uruguayan banks, which according to official data from the two central banks can be estimated at a million dollars per day.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 05:29 UTC

  February inflation in Uruguay again above target: 8.89% in the last twelve months

  

  The Consumer Price Index, CPI, in Uruguay climbed 0.99% during February, accumulating 2.91% in the first two months of the year, and 8.89% in the last twelve months, far above the government’s target of 4% to 6%, according to the National Institute of Statistics, INE Monday release.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 05:18 UTC

  Brazil’s “competitiveness cliff” and commodities dependency exposed in World Bank report

  

  Brazil is not only the biggest country in Latinamerica but also has the largest economy and expects to play a leading role in the global economy in the near future, however a report from the World Bank is not so enthusiastic and points out to a series of challenges the country must address if it wishes to effectively become a super star.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 04:38 UTC

  Pescanova with serious financial problems: shares down 60% in Monday trading

  

  Spain’s Pescanova SA (PVA), Europe’s second- biggest fish processor, plunged 60% after it started the initial phase of seeking creditors’ protection and delayed results pending asset sales and a debt renegotiation.

• Tuesday, March 5th 2013 - 00:29 UTC

  Mexico’s Slim, world richest billionaire; Spanish fashion chain owner leaps to third place

  

  Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim has topped Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest billionaires for a fourth year. The magazine estimates that Mr Slim, whose business interests range from telecommunications to construction, is worth 73bn dollars.