Economy

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 16:47 UTC

  Stiglitz calls on Euro zone governments to “burn the speculators”

  

  European governments should intervene in stock markets and “burn” the speculators one of the world's leading economists was quoted by European media. Professor Joseph Stiglitz said authorities in the Euro-zone should do what the Chinese authorities did in the late 1990s when the Hong Kong currency came under attack.

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 04:06 UTC

  Chavez ready “any time” to declare “electricity emergency”

  

  Venezuela is facing the worst drought in a century and needs to be placed under an “electricity emergency,” President Hugo Chavez said Monday in his new, “any-time” radio program “Suddenly With Chavez.”

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 04:03 UTC

  Unasur summit on Haiti could help ease regional tensions

  

  Union of South American Nations, Unasur, leaders meet Tuesday in Quito, Ecuador to discuss the continent’s response to the crisis in earthquake devastated Haiti. The extraordinary summit’s initiative was sponsored by Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa following his visit to Haiti where he met with President René Preval.

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 02:23 UTC

  Lula da Silva beefs up federal payroll with 46.000 new posts

  

  The administration of Brazilian president Lula da Silva increased the federal payroll since 2003 with 64.000 new posts and is planning another 46.000 in this the last year of his two four-year mandate, according to government sources.

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 02:18 UTC

  US-China trade dispute escalates to include chicken wings and feet

  

  China is to enforce anti-dumping duties on US chicken imports, accusing American poultry firms of exporting the meat at unfairly low prices. In just the latest in a series of trade disputes between the two countries, China's Commerce Department said the tariffs will start from 13 February.

• Tuesday, February 9th 2010 - 02:16 UTC

  Fitch says there is “no risk of contagion” from Greek debt crisis

  

  Euro-zone countries face no risk of “contagion” from the debt and deficit crises afflicting Greece, Portugal and Spain, the chairman of ratings agency Fitch said in an interview with Europe radio 1.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 20:29 UTC

  Bid to sell the Falkland Islands as gateway to Antarctica

  

  Informal talks began this week on a proposal to market the Falkland Islands to tourists as the “Gateway to Antarctica”, according to a report from the Penguin News latest edition.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:11 UTC

  Australia to supply 60 billion USD of coal to China in 20-year period

  

  Australian company Resourcehouse Ltd. announced Saturday that it had struck a 60 billion US dollars, 20-year agreement to supply coal to China Power International Development Ltd., calling it Australia's biggest export contract.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:04 UTC

  Brazil’s middle class is half the population, but destitute remain at 40%

  

  The Brazilian middle class has grown sustainedly since 2003, when President Lula da Silva first took office and now represents almost half of the country’s population according to a report from the Getulio Vargas foundation released over the weekend.

• Monday, February 8th 2010 - 02:00 UTC

  Former IMF economist has UK in the same bag as Greece, Portugal and Spain

  

  Britain should be seen in the same category of countries as Greece, Portugal and Spain, who are facing severe debt problems, a leading economist has said. Ex-IMF chief economist Simon Johnson, also described the G7 group of leading economies as “fundamentally useless”.