Economy

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 20:06 UTC

  Brazil, ‘world’s fifth largest economy’ is ready to face the crisis, says Rousseff

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff on Monday the country is ready to face the world’s economic crisis and reiterated Brazil’s prognosis as the world’s fifth economy.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 19:52 UTC

  Obama calls for ‘political will’ to address situation; ‘US will always be triple-A’

  

  Stock markets extended their heavy losses on Monday despite US President Barack Obama moving to try to reassure investors. In his first public reaction to Standard & Poor's downgrading the US, President Obama said markets continued to regard US government debt as being the highest possible grade.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 11:28 UTC

  European Central Bank expected to buy Italian and Spanish bonds

  

  The European Central Bank has said it will buy Euro zone bonds, following emergency talks on the debt crisis. ECB did not say which bonds it would buy but analysts expect them to be from Italy and Spain.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 04:48 UTC

  Chilean Patagonia districts in ‘agriculture emergency’ because of snow storms

  

  Four districts in the Chilean extreme south region of Magallanes were declared in “agricultural emergency” given the harmful effects of snow storms in the area.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 04:33 UTC

  Brazil remains faithful to the dollar and has no plans to sell US Treasuries

  

  Brazil has no plans to sell US Treasuries or change its foreign currency reserves holdings as a result of Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the US’s credit rating, a government official said.

• Monday, August 8th 2011 - 04:14 UTC

  China warns US on ‘debt addiction’; demands global supervision of dollar issues

  

  Beijing bluntly criticized the United States after the superpower's credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over. S&P cut the US long-term credit rating from top-tier AAA by a notch to AA-plus on yesterday, over concerns about the nation's budget deficits and climbing debt burden.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:47 UTC

  Unasur central bankers anticipate moderation in the region’s growth

  

  Unasur (Union of South American Nations) central bankers meeting on Friday to discuss global financial turbulence saw heightened risks and a moderation in the region's growth, they said in a joint statement published by Chile's central bank.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:41 UTC

  Canadian PM will visit Brazil, Colombia and Central America

  

  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras from August 8 to 12 to promote trade and investments, reinforce democratic governance and advance common security, according to a release from the PM’s office.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:21 UTC

  Unasur ready for potential balance of payments deficit caused by the North’s crisis

  

  The Union of South American nations (Unasur), meeting in Peru Friday the region is well-positioned to withstand a sharper global downturn but want to insulate their economies further from a crisis of confidence they blame on Europe and the United States.

• Saturday, August 6th 2011 - 08:10 UTC

  The unthinkable has happened: S&P downgrades the US credit rating

  

  One of the top credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, has downgraded the United States' top-notch AAA rating for the first time ever. S&P cut the long-term US rating by one notch to AA+ with a negative outlook, citing concerns about budget deficits.