Economy

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:29 UTC

  UK November inflation rose to 1.9%, pushed by fuel prices

  

  Higher petrol prices in the United Kingdom pushed inflation upward for the second month in a row in November, official figures have revealed. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 1.9% last month from 1.5% in October, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:26 UTC

  Poland delays adoption of the Euro until 2015

  

  Poland's adoption of the Euro in 2015 is very realistic and more likely than in 2014, but it isn't a target date, Deputy Finance Minister Ludwik Kotecki told reporters.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 04:11 UTC

  Soybeans bumper crop forecasted in Mercosur countries

  

  A soy bean bumper crop in South America in early 2010 will ease world reserves of grains, currently at very low levels, and will also have an impact on international prices according to Oil World.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 14:12 UTC

  Rio Tinto Alcan planning a 2.5 billion USD aluminium smelter in Paraguay

  

  Rio Tinto Alcan, a unit of global mining giant Rio Tinto said on Monday it could invest up to 2.5 billion US dollars in a potential aluminium smelter in Paraguay. Rio Tinto Alcan said it had begun negotiations on a possible power purchase agreement for the potential smelter.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 14:07 UTC

  S&P lowers Mexico’s foreign currency debt rating to BBB

  

  Mexico’s credit rating was cut one level by Standard & Poor’s after tumbling oil output and the worst recession since the 1930s swelled the budget deficit.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 11:10 UTC

  Argentina announces 6.5 billion USD guarantee fund for 2010 debt payments

  

  Argentina will set aside 6.5 billion US dollars of its foreign currency reserves to ensure the country meets its 2010 debt payments, the government said on Monday. The move is seen as an attempt to lower costs for issuing new debt, ahead of a complicated year.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 10:56 UTC

  Japan extends grant to Uruguay for solar power development

  

  Japan is extending Uruguay a grant of 8.5 million US dollars to finance a solar power project, according to official Japanese sources. Japan’s Foreign Affairs minister Katsuya Okada and his Uruguayan counterpart Pedro Vaz signed the document Monday.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 10:21 UTC

  Employment and industrial production in Euro-zone confirm shrinking tendency

  

  Employment in the Euro-zone shrank during the third quarter and October industrial production also contracted 0.6% on a month-on-month basis, according to the latest release from Eurostat, the European Community Statistics Office.

• Monday, December 14th 2009 - 13:19 UTC

  London could be pushed into third place by Shanghai as financial centre

  

  London could be pushed into third place as a global financial centre by Shanghai in the next decade, according to a report.

• Saturday, December 12th 2009 - 09:21 UTC

  Drastic budget cuts anticipated for UK Ministry of Defence

  

  The British Ministry of Defence is facing hundreds of millions of pounds in cuts - including the closure of at least one RAF base - as it struggles to balance its books, it was reported.