
US Department of State Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Mike Hammer urged the Argentine Government to normalize its relations with the international financial community and confirmed President Obama’s administration intention of having “the best possible relations” with Argentina.

Cuba adopted a new tax code this week and said it would loosen regulations on some state companies while turning others into cooperatives, as one of the world's last Soviet-style economies moves in a more market-friendly direction.

President Jose Mujica said Uruguay was going through an ‘exceptional’ period vis-à-vis the world crisis but also warned that exceptionality has limits and is not forever.

Uruguay must adopt an attitude of “serene alert” given the “uncertainty and uncommon volatility” prevailing in the world said central bank president Mario Bergara, underlining the country has reduced “vulnerabilities” considerably.

Russian veterinary services have ordered the termination of 33.000 hogs following an outbreak of Africa swine pest, in the region of Tyer, in the neighbouring province of the capital Moscow.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the Euro zone from collapse, including acting to lower unreasonably high government borrowing costs.

The UN's food agency FAO and the OIE (Animal health organization) called on countries on to comply with a 2011 global moratorium and destroy potentially dangerous “rinderpest” virus samples or put them into safe storage.

A top official from the European Commission was particularly critical of the credit risk rating agencies in their handling of the Euro crisis and Germany brushed aside the latest rating agencies announcement saying the country is in a very sound economic and financial situation.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández unveiled a new 100 Pesos note featuring Eva Perón’s portrait to commemorate the 60th anniversary of her death in 1952. The Wednesday ceremony at Government House convened political allies and representatives from the banking and financial sectors.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the worsening debt crisis in the Euro zone poses a key risk to China's growth. IMF added that China also faces domestic risks, not least from a sharper-than-anticipated decline in the property market.