Economy

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 14:02 UTC

  Argentine chief banker resigns but foreign reserves remain frozen

  

  Argentina's embattled central bank chief, Martin Perez Redrado, resigned Friday amid a bitter dispute with President Cristina Kirchner over control of the bank’s foreign currency reserves.

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 13:43 UTC

  Argentine government admits official inflation statistics are controversial

  

  Argentina's government filed amended documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to its economy and upcoming debt swap. Argentina is in the process of reopening a 2005 debt swap in an effort to attract investors holding some 20 billion US dollars of defaulted bonds that weren't included the first time.

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 08:23 UTC

  Unemployment in Magallanes softens but remains double the 2008 rate

  

  Unemployment in Magallanes region, extreme south of Chile reached 5.3% during the last quarter of last year which represents an improvement over the previous quarter, 6.6%, but is double over the same period a year ago when it stood at 2.8%.

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 08:21 UTC

  US economy rebounds 5.7% in last quarter but overall 2009 was down 2.4%

  

  The world's largest economy is back in business after growing 5.7% at the end of last year, smashing all expectations. It was the quickest pace of economic expansion in the United States for six years.

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 08:18 UTC

  Euro zone unemployment hits 10%; Spain tops the list with 19.5%

  

  Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the Euro hit 10% in December for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999. It had been reported that the rate hit 10% in November, but this has subsequently been revised down to 9.9%.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 12:01 UTC

  China confirms commitment as leading economy for world recovery

  

  China reaffirmed its economic goals of raising domestic incomes and consumption while reducing its reliance on exports and investment. For this purpose China is pursuing a “proactive fiscal policy” and “moderately easy monetary policy” said Vice Premier Li Kegiang in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 11:59 UTC

  Bernanke reappointed but “Main Street America” is not satisfied

  

  Ben Bernanke has been approved to serve a second four-year term as chairman of the US Federal Reserve, the country's powerful central bank. The US Senate voted 70-30 in favour of Mr Bernanke, handing him the narrowest victory margin in decades.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 11:53 UTC

  Sweet-sour conflict: EU plants to export extra 500.000 tons of sugar

  

  The European Union plans to export an extra 500,000 tonnes of sugar because world sugar prices have soared and European beet farmers have surpluses. The European Commission says the export of extra, unsubsidised sugar will not violate international trade rules. It says the measure is temporary.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 09:58 UTC

  Uruguay 2009 competitiveness erodes 10.2% compared to main trade partners

  

  Uruguay’ competitiveness eroded 10.2% during the twelve months of 2009, which represents the third consecutive annual loss. The data was extracted from Uruguay’s Central Bank Real Exchange Rate index (TCR) which measures variations with the country’s main trade partners.
  In 2008 TCR lost 7.4% and the previous year, 7%.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 06:48 UTC

  Bill Clinton asks Davos forum for money and distribution trucks

  

  Former US President Bill Clinton appealed for global business leaders to help Haiti rebuild after the earthquake which devastated its coastal capital and killed as many as 200,000 people.