Economy

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 00:53 UTC

  Dubai World promises investors will get their money back (in eight years)

  

  Investors in Dubai World have been told they will get their money back - but may have to wait up to eight years. The Dubai government has pledged more than £6bn of new funding for the restructuring plans of its flagship investment vehicle, whose assets include the QE2 and Turnberry golf course.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 00:43 UTC

  Former KGB agent buys The Independent and Independent on Sunday for £ 1

  

  Former KGB agent and London’s Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev is buying The Independent and Independent on Sunday for £1, it has been confirmed. The Russian oligarch has snapped up the titles for the same price as a single copy of The Independent.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 00:37 UTC

  Uruguay outperformed other regional economies, expanding 2.9% in 2009

  

  Uruguay outperformed all other Latinamerican countries last year, according to the latest available data on 2009 economic growth. The data shows the Uruguayan economy expanded 2.9% in 2009, compared to 1.2% for Peru and 0.9% in Argentina.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 03:20 UTC

  Latinamerica, “winning region of the financial crisis”, says optimistic IDB

  

  Latin American countries' banking and financial officials were optimistic Tuesday about their future development, saying most economies in the region were strengthened after the global financial crisis.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 03:18 UTC

  Mercosur-Israel free trade agreement becomes effective

  

  The free trade agreement between Mercosur and Israel, the first out of the region for the South American block, became effective this week for Paraguay. For the rest of Mercosur full members, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay the official date is April first.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 03:05 UTC

  UN report points to “clear inequities” in province, class and gender in Argentina

  

  Argentina is confronting “clear inequities” as reflected by the incidence of “avoidable” maternal deaths during childbirth, the frequency of abortion among poor women and the concentration of new HIV infections in the most marginalized sector of the population, according to a U.N. report presented this week.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 02:47 UTC

  China seals long term energy agreements with Australia and Shell

  

  China National Offshore Oil Corporation, (CNOOC), signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Australia's BG Group to buy millions of tons of gas. Under the deal, which still needs government approval, CNOOC will buy 3.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas a year for the next 20 years.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2010 - 22:27 UTC

  Portugal credit rating downgrade sank the Euro and Wall Street

  

  The Euro sank to a 10-month low against the dollar and US stocks fell on Wednesday after a downgrade of Portugal's credit rating raised worries about Europe's growing debt burden.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2010 - 05:24 UTC

  Crisis lesson: better to rely on international reserves than IMF credit says Brazil

  

  Brazil’s Central Bank believes it is better for the country to hold its own foreign exchange reserves than to rely on credit lines from international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

• Wednesday, March 24th 2010 - 05:21 UTC

  Argentina’s default restructure: 9.5% dollar bonds due in 2017

  

  Argentina will offer 9.5% dollar bonds due in 2017 in its plan to restructure 20 billion USD in defaulted debt, Ambito Financiero newspaper reported Tuesday. The bonds will be issued to compensate for past-due interest and the most recent past-due payment on warrants linked to economic growth, the Buenos Aires newspaper said.