Economy

• Wednesday, March 10th 2010 - 05:49 UTC

  Argentina’s YPF imports fuel to meet demand for the first time in 30 years

  

  Argentine-Spanish oil company YPF said on Tuesday that it plans to import 50 million litres of gasoline as demand outstrips supply. Argentina, an oil-producing country where fuel is subject to government price controls, has not imported gasoline in 30 years.

• Wednesday, March 10th 2010 - 05:46 UTC

  Brazil expects second best crop this year with 145.1 million tons

  

  Brazil will harvest a grain crop of 145.1 million tons this year, a volume very close to the record 145.8 million tons of 2008, said the government’s statistics office, IBGE on the basis of February field data.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 19:03 UTC

  Immediate infrastructure reconstruction cost for Chile, 1.2 billion USD

  

  Chilean Public Works Minister Sergio Bitar estimated that the reconstruction and reparation of sidewalks, airports, canals, and other infrastructure works will cost around 1.2 billion US dollars, after the earthquake that devastated the nation. The quake was an 8.8 on the Richter scale.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 18:59 UTC

  “European Monetary Fund” to cope with Greece type crises

  

  The European Union is considering creating a rescue fund that could anticipate fundamental changes in the 27-country bloc and bring closer economic cooperation following Greece's debt crisis.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 18:50 UTC

  Sir Edward Elgar £ 20 notes out of circulation from June 30

  

  The Bank of England has announced that the £20 banknotes depicting composer Sir Edward Elgar are to be removed from circulation from 30 June. The Elgar notes are presently being used alongside the new Adam Smith £20 note, and will remain legal tender up to and including 30 June.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 18:43 UTC

  US advertising on digital media higher than on print in 2010

  

  United States advertisers are spending more this year on digital media than on print according to the latest study by Outsell. Long predicted, the Madison Avenue milestone has finally arrived thanks to a 9.6% boom in digital advertising in 2010.

• Tuesday, March 9th 2010 - 07:32 UTC

  Brazil/US WTO cotton retaliatory dispute takes off

  

  Brazil announced Monday it would levy a total of 591 million US dollars in retaliatory tariffs on US goods under a ruling against US cotton subsidies granted by a World Trade Organization last year. However Brazil also sent a conciliatory message.

• Monday, March 8th 2010 - 09:22 UTC

  Latinamerica forecasted to expand 3% or more, this year

  

  The Latinamerican economy is poised to expand 3% or more in 2010, the year that will signal the beginning of recovery for the region according to the Inter American Development Bank, (IDB), President Luis Alberto Moreno.

• Monday, March 8th 2010 - 07:48 UTC

  Argentine government tells Congress it will pay debts with reserves

  

  Argentine government officials reiterated over the weekend that despite efforts from the opposition to stop the Government, it would service the public debt with the Central Bank foreign reserves.

• Monday, March 8th 2010 - 07:44 UTC

  Brazil cutting liquidity but preparing plan to promote exports

  

  Brazil is preparing a package of incentive but this time to promote exports which suffered significantly last year because of the global slowdown, announced Finance minister Guido Mantega in an inteview with Folha de Sao Paulo.