Economy

• Monday, January 25th 2010 - 14:40 UTC

  White House confident of Bernanke’s confirmation at the Federal Reserve

  

  The White House says it is confident of Ben Bernanke's confirmation as Federal Reserve chairman for a second term.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:44 UTC

  Argentine courts ratify the freeze on use of Central Bank reserves

  

  Argentina’s Federal Contentious Administrative Court Friday ratified the suspension on the use of the Central Bank foreign currency reserves to payout public debt, according to judicial sources in Buenos Aires.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:29 UTC

  Record borrowing from UK government takes net debt to 67% of GDP

  

  The British Government borrowed £15.7 billion last month - an amount that was less than expected, but still the highest December figure on record. Borrowing for the whole of 2009 reached £142.6 billion, the highest since Office for National Statistics (ONS) records began in 1946.

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:13 UTC

  Brazilian bank plans to enter the Mexican retail banking market

  

  Brazil’s Banco Bradesco announced Friday that it plans to enter the Mexican retail banking market through the acquisition of Ibi Mexico

• Saturday, January 23rd 2010 - 15:02 UTC

  UK British car industry contracted 30% during 2009

  

  The damage wreaked by the recession on Britain's car industry was made clear as figures showed production in 2009 dropped almost a third on the previous year. Car production was down 30.9% compared to the previous year to 999,460 vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) announced.

• Friday, January 22nd 2010 - 14:53 UTC

  Stock markets fall sharply in response to Obama’s bank reform proposal

  

  World stock markets have fallen sharply in response to far-reaching plans by US President Barack Obama to curb the activities of the biggest US banks. The Dow Jones closed down 2%, its worst fall since October, while Japan's Nikkei closed at a three-week low.

• Friday, January 22nd 2010 - 05:15 UTC

  World Bank warns recovery will slow down as fiscal stimulus impact wane

  

  The global economic recovery that is now underway will slow later this year as the impact of fiscal stimulus wanes. Financial markets remain troubled and private sector demand lags amid high unemployment, according to a new report from the World Bank.

• Friday, January 22nd 2010 - 04:54 UTC

  East Asia and Pacific region growth rate forecasted to double Latinamerica’s

  

  According to the World Bank Global Economic Prospects 2010, regional outlook, the East Asia and Pacific region led the rebound in the global economy last year, reflecting robust fiscal policy steps and strong domestic demand.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 12:23 UTC

  Uruguay had a record tourism industry year in 2009

  

  Uruguay had a very good tourist year in 2009 when the number of visitors climbed to 2.1 million and income reached 1.5 billion US dollars which is considered a record, according to Tourism Minister Hector Lescano.

• Thursday, January 21st 2010 - 12:17 UTC

  According to Argentina’s two tier statistics system unemployment fell to 8.4%

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced Wednesday the unemployment rate had fallen from 9.1% to 8.4% in the last quarter of 2009.