Economy

• Tuesday, March 15th 2011 - 23:38 UTC

  EU chief negotiator admits ‘complications’ but confident of a trade accord with Mercosur

  

  A strongly worded resolution from Members of the European Parliament earlier this month outlining their concerns over agriculture does not represent a setback for EU-Mercosur trade talks, the EU chief negotiator said in Brussels.

• Tuesday, March 15th 2011 - 10:16 UTC

  China became world’s top manufacturing nation, ending 110 year US leadership

  

  China has ended a 110-year-long US leadership, overtaking the country as the world's top manufacturing nation in 2010, reports quoting a research report by US-based consultancy IHS Global Insight said.

• Tuesday, March 15th 2011 - 10:09 UTC

  FAO organizing seminars world wide to help respond to the escalating food prices

  

  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, is running a series of seminars in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Near East to help governments to make informed decisions on how to respond to high food prices which are becoming increasingly destabilizing.

• Tuesday, March 15th 2011 - 10:04 UTC

  North Korea with FAO and OIE aid combating trans-boundary FMD outbreaks

  

  North Korea has accepted a team of animal health specialists from FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to assist veterinary authorities in combating outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth disease among pigs and cattle, which seem to be endemic in the country.

• Monday, March 14th 2011 - 06:50 UTC

  Brazil preparing plan to stimulate industry and cut knick-knack Chinese imports

  

  Brazil imports too many knick-knacks from China complained Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, who next month makes an official state visit to the Asian giant, according to reports in the Sao Paulo press

• Monday, March 14th 2011 - 03:52 UTC

  Russian oligarchs turn Moscow to the world’s billionaire capital

  

  Russian oligarchs are back with a bang, making Moscow officially the world’s billionaire capital. Profiting from the recent commodity boom, the number of the country’s billionaires — most of whom built their empires during Russia’s anarchic 1990s — grew two thirds to 101, from last year’s 62, according to Forbes.

• Monday, March 14th 2011 - 03:48 UTC

  Chile record sales of cars and computers (over a million in 2010)

  

  The acceleration of the Chilean economy and the increased purchasing power of Chileans have lead to record sales of cars and computers this year.

• Monday, March 14th 2011 - 01:52 UTC

  Under monitoring from EU Parliament, EU/Mercosur resume trade talks

  

  The European Union and Mercosur begin Monday a new round of negotiations in Brussels to reach an association and trade agreement although proposals for market access will not be on the table yet.

• Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 23:39 UTC

  Euro-zone tightens budget rules; bail-out facility will buy bonds directly from governments

  

  European leaders widened the scope of the Euro’s rescue fund, authorized it to buy government bonds and eased the terms of Greek bailout loans as they unexpectedly pushed through fresh measures to end the bloc’s debt crisis.

• Saturday, March 12th 2011 - 06:05 UTC

  Head of Bovespa warns about capital controls to stem currency gains

  

  Emerging markets face a “definitive danger” from accelerating inflation and should resist the temptation to impose capital controls to stem currency gains, said Arminio Fraga, the head of Brazil’s stock exchange and a former central bank president.