Economy

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 07:04 UTC

  Setback for Argentina in New York court defaulted sovereign bonds case

  

  Argentina suffered a setback over its US$100 billion debt default in 2002 when New York's highest court said the country should keep paying interest on some bonds even after they mature or investors demand their principal back early.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:59 UTC

  Qatargas will provide Argentina with LNG on a 20 year supply agreement

  

  Qatar’s leading corporation Qatargas has signed an agreement with Argentina’s government owned oil and gas company, ENARSA for the long-term supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:39 UTC

  Philip Morris launches legal action against Australia; similar to Uruguayan case

  

  Tobacco giant Philip Morris International launched legal action this week against the Australian government over the country's plans to strip company logos from cigarette packages and replace them with grisly images of cancerous mouths, sickly children and bulging, blinded eyes.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:29 UTC

  Australian MPs plant to limit purchase of prime farmland by foreigners

  

  Australian lawmakers are demanding a review of foreign investment rules to stop foreign mining companies, including those from China, buying up prime farmland.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:23 UTC

  EU farm budget frozen for next seven years and conditioned to ‘greening’

  

  The European Union has published its long-awaited budget, which will see spending on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) frozen for the next seven years and make 30% of direct support conditional on ‘greening’.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 06:20 UTC

  EU paymasters reject point blank proposal for a 5% budget hike

  

  The European Commission’s request for a 5% hike in member states’ contributions in the next EU budget met immediate resistance from big countries such as Germany, France and Britain yesterday.

• Friday, July 1st 2011 - 03:14 UTC

  Brazil exceeds primary budget surplus target and keeps net debt under control

  

  Brazil’s primary budget surplus exceeded expectations in May, providing additional support for the central bank in its efforts to cool the fastest inflation since 2005. The bank also revealed that net debt for May was 39.8% of GDP.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 21:07 UTC

  French food giants battle over Brazil’s number one retailer

  

  Two French food giants are locked in a battle to take over Brazil's number one retailer, Grupo Pao de Acucar. Proposals to merge Pao de Acucar with the local operations of Carrefour are opposed by rival Casino, which already has a stake in the Brazilian group.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 20:10 UTC

  Relief in financial markets: Greece approves austerity and privatization package

  

  The Greek parliament approved on Thursday detailed austerity and privatization bills in a crucial vote to secure emergency funds and avert imminent bankruptcy, but longer-term dangers still lurk.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 20:06 UTC

  Pickets take to the streets of Britain to protest pension reforms

  

  Teachers and civil servants marched through the streets and picketed government buildings across Britain today in protest at planned pension reforms, launching what could be a long period of labour unrest over austerity measures.