Economy

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 17:14 UTC

  Six out of ten Brazilians belong to the middle class, says report

  

  The middle class in Brazil during the last decade expanded to reach 90 million out of a population of almost 200 million, according to paper from consultants Datafolha.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 16:32 UTC

  Spain’s central banks says economy forecasted to shrink 1.5% in 2012

  

  Spain’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter and will shrink 1.5% this year, the Bank of Spain estimated, undermining government efforts to cut the budget deficit amid the second recession in two years.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 16:28 UTC

  China admits “big distribution challenges” in the Year of the Dragon

  

  China will face “bigger challenges” in the Year of the Dragon its Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned Saturday, as he pledged economic reforms to improve wealth distribution, state media reported.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 04:27 UTC

  Chavez announces purchase of Brazilian aircraft for Venezuela’s state airline

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that his government plans to buy new Embraer jets from Brazil as well as used Airbus jets to expand his country's state airline Conviasa.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 04:12 UTC

  Foreign airlines in Argentina told to privilege local service-contractors and suppliers

  

  Fifteen foreign airlines operating from Argentina will have to report to the powerful Home Trade Secretary Guillermo Moreno a proposal to reduce their US dollars overseas remittances particularly to suppliers and services contracted overseas. It is estimated that these airlines remit a billion US dollars annually.

• Saturday, January 21st 2012 - 05:52 UTC

  Russia ‘far advanced’ to host the World Cup (in 2018) than Brazil

  

  Russia is already better prepared to host the 2018 World Cup than Brazil, which will stage the 32-team soccer competition in 2014, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Friday.

• Saturday, January 21st 2012 - 05:43 UTC

  US to make visa applications easier for Brazil and China nationals

  

  The US Department of State is committed to improving the visa process, decreasing interview wait times in key tourism markets such as Brazil and China and increasing the number of visas issued, reported an official release.

• Saturday, January 21st 2012 - 05:36 UTC

  Italian cabinet approves legislation to deregulate services and professions

  

  Italy's cabinet on Friday approved legislation to deregulate service sectors and professions in an effort to increase competition, cut costs to consumers and boost chronically weak growth in the Euro zone's third largest economy.

• Saturday, January 21st 2012 - 05:32 UTC

  Kodak given a year to reshape business out of bankruptcy

  

  Eastman Kodak Co. has a little more than a year to reshape its money-losing businesses and deliver a get-out-of-bankruptcy plan. Girded by a 950 million dollar financing deal with Citigroup Inc., the photography pioneer aims to keep operating normally during bankruptcy while it peddles a trove of digital-imaging patents.

• Saturday, January 21st 2012 - 05:26 UTC

  GM regains in 2011 title as the world’s top selling automaker

  

  General Motors Co regained its title as the world's top-selling automaker in 2011, less than three years after its 2009 taxpayer-funded bankruptcy under the Obama administration.