Copper hit a record price of 10,000 USD per ton on Thursday on the back of growing worldwide economic optimism and concerns about the impact of an Australian cyclone on stretched global supplies.
The world is going into a period of food volatility and supply disruptions due in part to weather related problems and a backdrop of rising prices, the UN World Food Program's executive director said.
The collapse of the Spanish property prices helped pull annual profit down 8.5% at the Euro zone largest bank Santander. Solid results from Brazil and Britain, which each account for more profit than Spain at the diversified bank, failed to calm fears about exposure to a stagnant domestic economy, struggling to shake off the worst recession in half a century.
Competition with top trading partner China is costing Brazilian industry valuable market share, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) in South America's largest economy said on Thursday.
European Central Bank (ECB) has kept interest rates in the Euro zone unchanged at a record low 1%, despite fears of increasing inflation. Speaking at a press conference after the rate decision, the ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet claimed that inflation pressures remained contained.
FALKLAND Islands Tourist Board statistics showed a 90% satisfaction rate yesterday on the busiest day ever in Stanley’s cruise ship visitor history.
Air traffic increased 8.2% in the passenger business and 20.6% in freight according to the full 2010 report from the International Air Transport Association, IATA. Middle-East, Asia-Pacific and Africa regions were above average in passenger transport and Latinamerica led in cargo expansion.
World food prices surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, according to the updated FAO Food Price Index, a commodity basket that regularly tracks monthly changes in global food prices.
BBVA, Spain's second-biggest bank, reported on Wednesday a full year 9.4% net profit increase in 2010 as solid results from Latin America offset continued weakness in its domestic market.
Venezuela holds 297 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, most of it in tar sands but sufficient to be ahead of Saudi Arabia considered by world experts the number one country in reserves.