Economy

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 07:21 UTC

  Over 100 injured in Barcelona as police takes protestors with rubber bullets and tear gas

  

  Over 100 people were injured on Friday when police forcibly evicted protesters who have been camped out for two weeks in the main square of Barcelona as part of a nationwide mobilization against youth unemployment, austerity, corruption and the country’s political class

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 07:18 UTC

  Tough prospects for Japan: car output down; credit rating lowered and recession

  

  A complicated week for Japan: car production in April plunged as manufacturers continue to face a shortfall in parts supply and credit rating agencies downgraded the outlook on the country’s debt to negative from stable.

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 07:03 UTC

  Mexico strikes major gas deposit in Gulf of Mexico deep water drilling

  

  State-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, Pemex, announced this week it had struck between 400 billion and 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas and condensates at a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico.

• Saturday, May 28th 2011 - 00:36 UTC

  Uruguay successfully floats Samurai bonds; warnings of economy over-heating

  

  Interest for Uruguayan ten-year bonds in Yens more than doubled the issue equivalent to 490 million US dollars. The bonds are guaranteed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation with a 1.6% yield.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:42 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina relations not contaminated by trade spat, in spite of industry worries

  

  Robert da Fonseca, director of the Sao Paolo Industry Federation, FIESP admitted on Friday that Brazilian businessmen are “worried” with the commercial conflict that Argentina and Brazil face.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:37 UTC

  Chile’s pulp giant Arauco trebles profits in first quarter of 2011

  

  Chile’s Arauco the forestry and pulp unit belonging to the Copec group, trebled profits in the first quarter boosted by higher international prices and sale volumes particularly pulp, according to the company’s latest financial report.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:21 UTC

  Brazilian government promises tax breaks in support of industry

  

  Brazil will respond to the requests from industry and unions to reduce taxes to help boost local manufacturing and thus cut into the growing impetus of imports, promised Vice-President Michel Temer during a seminar sponsored by the powerful São Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, together with the two main organized labour unions.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 18:37 UTC

  Lagarde too committed to the Euro to be nominated IMF chief, says top economist

  

  Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is the wrong choice to head the International Monetary Fund as it gets deeper into the Euro-zone rescue, a former IMF chief economist said this week.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 12:38 UTC

  Impact investment fund targeting low-cost housing in Brazil launches in London

  

  Origen Private Equity Ltd., a boutique investment firm headquartered in London, is launching in June what is set to be the first impact investment fund developing low-cost housing in north-east Brazil in conjunction with the Brazilian government's Minha Casa Minha Vida programme.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 09:26 UTC

  Defence minister denies Argentina is “obstructing” the Falklands economy

  

  Defence minister Arturo Puricelli denied Thursday that Argentina was obstructing the economy of the Malvinas Islands as claimed by Falklands’ governor Nigel Haywood in his state of the nation speech to the elected Legislative Assembly of the Islands.