
President Dilma Rousseff said Monday that her administration plans to invest 30 billion Reais (17 billion dollars) in urban transportation projects across Brazil.

Spain’s Abengoa has announced that it will construct a bio-ethanol plant in the department of Paysandu, Uruguay, for Alcoholes de Uruguay, or ALUR. The contract, which includes the construction of an adjoining power cogeneration plant, is worth 120 million dollars.

Brazil could experience a flight of capital should the European sovereign-debt crisis worsen, and the country may use interest rates and US dollar reserves to combat contagion, an International Monetary Fund director said.

Chile’s central bank and government have monetary and fiscal instruments to respond if growth moderates faster than forecast amid concern over the European debt crisis, bank board member Rodrigo Vergara said.

The luxury sector is set to post double-digit growth this year to 191 billion Euros driven by the appetite of the Great China consumers for top-quality goods, according to a study by Bain & Company released on Monday

Not a single major European bank is providing enough transparency and detail on staff pay, and disclosure needs to improve, Europe's banking watchdog said on Monday.

Germany lowered expectations of a breakthrough in the Euro zone's sovereign debt crisis next weekend, saying Sunday's EU summit will not produce a final solution, and kept up pressure on banks to accept bigger write-downs on Greek debt.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the European Union's treaty should be changed to prevent one member state from destabilizing the rest of the bloc, and urged stronger governance of the Euro zone.

With nearly one billion people still suffering from food shortages around the globe, the world must take a united stand against hunger, the United Nations said on Sunday 16 October, marking World Food Day.

Argentina and Uruguay suspended flights at major airports Sunday due to dangerous ash from neighbouring Chile's Puyehue volcano, which has disrupted global travel since it erupted earlier this year.