Economy

• Tuesday, March 27th 2012 - 03:31 UTC

  Argentine economy expands 5.5% in January but activity index is down 0.4% over December

  

  The Argentine economy grew 5.5% in January compared to the same month last year, according to a release from the Indec national statistics bureau. Official data also reported that the monthly economic activity index (EMAE) fell 0.4% against the previous month.

• Tuesday, March 27th 2012 - 03:21 UTC

  US remembers Argentina debts must be honoured and suspends trade benefits

  

  Buenos Aires released a statement on Monday “regretting” US President Barack Obama's decision to suspend Argentina from the US Generalized System of Preferences program, which waives import duties on thousands of goods from developing countries.

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 09:40 UTC

  US supports competition but confident its nominee will lead the World Bank

  

  Jim Yong Kim, the US nominee to lead the World Bank, will win broad international support despite an unprecedented challenge by candidates from emerging economies, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview.

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 09:23 UTC

  Relief for Dublin? Ireland on the verge of becoming significant producer of oil

  

  The euphoria around a small-to-medium oil discovery off the southwest coast of Ireland may be overblown but the country could yet become a significant producer if it can replicate the drilling success in much deeper waters to the west

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 08:59 UTC

  Printing money does not lead to inflation, argues Argentine central bank president

  

  The president of Argentina’s Central Bank (BCRA), Mercedes Marcó del Pont, stressed the importance of the recently approved bank’s charter reform and denied that printing currency leads to the creation of an inflationary state “since inflation is rooted in other causes”.

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 08:30 UTC

  Argentina to raise oil export price to 63 dollars per barrel from the current 42

  

  Argentina’s Energy Secretary Daniel Cameron will propose that oil prices for export be raised to 63 dollars per barrel from the current 42 dollars, the Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported Sunday on its website.

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 08:25 UTC

  A majority of Brazilian (54%) joined the ranks of middle class in eight years

  

  The number of Brazilians categorized as middle class has risen rapidly in recent years, climbing from 34% of the population in 2004 to 54% in 2011, according to a study released by consumer finance firm Cetelem BGN and the Ipsos research institute.

• Monday, March 26th 2012 - 08:18 UTC

  Argentine province of Salta joins the pack and revokes YPF oil concessions

  

  As was anticipated yet another Argentine province, Salta, announced Sunday its decision to revoke a concession from Spanish held oil company YPF. The governor from the north-west province of Salta, Juan Manuel Uturbey, and a close ally of President Cristina Fernandez, announced his decision to revoke oil company YPF concession of the Tartagal Oeste area and his intention to include it in a list of areas that will be put out to tender.

• Sunday, March 25th 2012 - 22:34 UTC

  African swine fever out of control in areas of Russia, admit officials

  

  The outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has recently been reported at a hunting farm in Zamurovskoe, Volgograd region in the south of Russia, according to the representatives of the Regional Office of Rosselkhoznadzor.

• Sunday, March 25th 2012 - 10:32 UTC

  Italy fears about Spain; Madrid says: ‘total nonsense to make comparisons with Greece”

  

  Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti expressed concern about Spain's public finances and said it would not take much to reignite the Euro zone debt crisis and revive the risk of it spreading to Italy.