Economy

• Saturday, May 1st 2010 - 07:21 UTC

  China at the Centre of the World with the Opening of Shanghai World Expo

  

  The Shanghai World Expo has got underway Friday evening with a dazzling display of artistic performances, fancy fireworks and high technologies at the opening ceremony.

• Saturday, May 1st 2010 - 02:16 UTC

  Taxes in UK Must Rise Sharply Anticipates Think Tank

  

  Taxes in Britain must rise sharply over the next decade to bring down borrowing, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). In a report, the think tank said taxes would have to rise by the equivalent of 6p on the basic income tax rate to get the budget deficit below 3% by 2020.

• Saturday, May 1st 2010 - 02:13 UTC

  US Economy Expands 3.2%, Third Consecutive Quarter of Growth

  

  The US economy grew in the first three months of this year, but at a slower rate than the previous quarter. US consumer spending saw its biggest increase in three years in the first three months of 2010, which drove the country's overall economy to its third consecutive quarter of growth.

• Saturday, May 1st 2010 - 01:07 UTC

  Brazilian Central Bank Purchases Dollars to Limit Gains in the Real

  

  Brazil’s Real fell on Friday for the first time in three days as the government stepped up efforts to limit gains in the currency. The real lost 0.6% to 1.7384 per dollar at the end of the week after increasing 2.4% in April and 1.1% for the week.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 07:18 UTC

  Farm Exports Leading Latam Strong Recovery, Says FAO

  

  Latinamerica and the Caribbean are undergoing a strong recovery boosted mainly by agriculture exports, said José Graziano da Silva, head of FAO’s regional office in Panama, during the presentation of the Report on Agriculture and Rural Development 2010 Prospects for Latinamerica.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 07:03 UTC

  Fearing an Over-Heated Economy Brazil Hikes Basic Rate 75 Points to 9.5%

  

  Central Bank of Brazil increased on Wednesday the benchmark interest rate for the first time in 19 months in an effort to cool an economy forecast to expand 6% this year, one of the highest rates in two decades.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 06:59 UTC

  Obama Nominees for the Fed Support “Job Creation and Low Rates”

  

  US President Barack Obama is expected to announce this week his choice of Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen as vice-chairman of the Fed Board of Governors, according to congressional sources.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 06:50 UTC

  Argentina Opens Defaulted Sovereign Bonds’ Swap Next Monday

  

  Argentina filed with United States regulators the terms of its offer to swap up to 20 billion US dollars in defaulted debt, bringing the exchange a step closer to launching.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 06:34 UTC

  Europe’s Financial Seism Reaches Spain: S&P Downgrades Credit Rating

  

  International credit rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded on Wednesday Spain's credit rating from “AA+” to “AA” with a negative outlook. The move comes a day after S&P gave Greek bonds a junk rating and lowered Portugal's credit rating from “A+” to “A-”.

• Thursday, April 29th 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Santiago de Chile “Has Eased” but Stands at 10.8%

  

  The University of Chile reported Monday a Santiago unemployment rate of 10.8%. While this is higher than what it was before the international recession (when it stood at around 8%), it is two percentage points less than what it was in March of 2009.