Economy

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:40 UTC

  Bad, but good news from the UK economy: decline easing

  

  The rate of contraction of the UK economy in the three months from April to June has been reduced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) has been revised to a fall of 0.7% from 0.8% compared with the previous quarter.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:48 UTC

  Spanish economy keeps contracting in the second quarter: down 1.1%

  

  The Spanish economy shrunk more than expected in the second quarter in contrast with signs of recovery in France and Germany, according to the latest release from the Statistics Institute. Second quarter GDP contracted 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, a slight improvement on the first quarter when the economy shrunk 1.6%, mostly due to a hefty state stimulus spending plan.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:45 UTC

  Number of problem US banks the highest in 15 years

  

  The number of problem US banks rose to the highest level in 15 years between April and June, the industry's regulator has revealed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said 416 banks had failed its test criteria during the quarter, up 111 from January to March.
  It added that 81 US banks had now been forced to close this year.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 15:43 UTC

  Latam foreign trade forecasted to plunge a record 13% this year

  

  Latin American and Caribbean countries total volume of trade is expected to fall 13% in 2009 from the previous year due to the impact of the global economic crisis, according to a report from the United Nations' economic commission for the region, Cepal.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:45 UTC

  China has come to the rescue of Latinamerican exports, says Cepal

  

  China’s sustained demand for food, energy and minerals has helped Latinamerican countries to stimulate their economies and contain the negative impact of the current global recession, according to the latest report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:30 UTC

  British households suffering from “worklessness” soars to 3.3 million

  

  The British government was accused of “deserting” millions of people after official figures showed the number of households in the UK with no one over the age of 16 working has increased by 240,000 in the past year to 3.3 million.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 08:57 UTC

  Argentina’s finances increasingly in the red

  

  The Argentine Central Bank helped the Treasury with 3 billion Pesos (approximately 790 million US dollars) during June to cover the gap caused by exceptional outlays because of the mid term elections.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 02:01 UTC

  Skyrocket US budget deficit: tax rise once recession is over

  

  The US budget deficit will soar to almost 1.6 trillion US dollars this year, the highest on record, both the White House and Congress have warned. Fuelled by President Obama's 787 billion stimulus package and reduced tax revenues due to the recession, it compares with a 455 billion US dollars deficit in 2008.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 22:08 UTC

  Obama confirms nomination of Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve

  

  President Barack Obama confirmed Tuesday that he has nominated Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. The president took a break from his summer holiday to make the announcement.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 15:12 UTC

  Uruguayan operators optimistic about the coming cruise season

  

  Uruguayan cruise operators believe the coming season could unveil some interesting surprises in spite of the global recession. The fall in value of the US dollar compared to the strength of the Euro and Latinamerican currencies could see a drastic change in the nationality of visitors with Europeans and Latinamericans compensating the US deficit.