Economy

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 23:14 UTC

  German banks fear tough EU recapitalization standards could backfire

  

  Germany's banks have said that they should not be pushed to increase their financial cushions beyond existing law under the European Union's effort to shore up the financial system against the debt crisis.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 07:53 UTC

  Uruguayan First Lady described Vazquez ‘war hypotheses as absurd and a kids’ anecdote

  

  Uruguay’s First Lady Lucia Topolansky described statements from former president Tabare Vazquez referred to a possible ‘war hypotheses’ with Argentina over the paper mill conflict as ‘absurd’ and recommended those words shouldn’t be considered more than a simple kids’ anecdote.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 07:51 UTC

  Argentina denies any ‘war hypothesis’ with Uruguay over controversial pulp mill

  

  Argentine officials reacted strongly to remarks from former Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez who revealed that during the prolonged diplomatic conflict with Argentina over the construction of the Botnia-UPM pulp plant, he feared the situation could have led to an armed confrontation.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 07:50 UTC

  Colombian president praises US congress for ratifying free trade agreement

  

  President Juan Manuel Santos praised US Congress ratification of a long-stalled free trade agreement with the United States and said it was a historic day for Colombian business and workers.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 07:44 UTC

  Blackberry problems spread to the US and main users in South America

  

  Problems with the Blackberry smart-phone system appear to have spread to the United States and several South American countries. Users began to report loss of services on Wednesday, with many turning to Twitter to complain about their lack of email.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 06:00 UTC

  US Congress approves free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and S Korea

  

  The United States Congress voted Wednesday on a bipartisan basis to pass long delayed free-trade bills with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 05:56 UTC

  Argentina calls on Mercosur to promote inter-trade and cut out of region imports

  

  Argentina called on Latin America to promote inter-trade among the region’s countries replacing the almost 460 billion dollars of manufactured goods from the rest of the world imported in 2010.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 05:54 UTC

  Massive demonstration in Brasilia against corruption and impunity

  

  Over 200.000 people took to the streets of the Brazilian capital to protest against corruption and impunity. The Wednesday rally was convened through the social networks and responds to citizens’ organizations with no political affiliation.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 05:53 UTC

  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania becomes first US state capital to file for bankruptcy

  

  The US city of Harrisburg - capital of the state of Pennsylvania - has filed for bankruptcy, making it the first state capital to do so. Harrisburg faces debts of 300 million dollars and has struggled to pay for services.

• Thursday, October 13th 2011 - 05:50 UTC

  Obama celebrates contributions of Latinos to US culture and heritage

  

  United States President Barack Obama celebrated the contributions of Latinos to American culture and heritage Wednesday in an event that paid tribute to the US Hispanic leaders, scholars and soldiers, including those from Texas.