Economy

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 12:24 UTC

  Some positive signs for Argentine industrial activity in spite of poor data

  

  Argentine industrial activity during July plunged for the tenth month running going down 9.5% compared to a year ago, and accumulates so far this year a contraction of 8.7%, according to a private financial consultant group based in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 12:10 UTC

  Catholic Church insists 40% of Argentines live in poverty

  

  The Argentine Catholic Church insisted on Tuesday that 40% of the population is poor or living below the poverty line and the gap between rich and poor is “scandalous”. The statement comes when Argentine bishops are meeting in Buenos Aires,

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 12:06 UTC

  UK key inflation measure remains unchanged at 1.8%

  

  A key measure of inflation in the UK has unexpectedly remained at 1.8%. Economists had expected the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to decline to 1.5% in July. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure, which includes mortgage interest payments also unexpectedly increased to -1.4%, from -1.6%.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 12:03 UTC

  Swedish hand built car maker takes over Saab from ailing GM

  

  Koenigsegg Automotive, the Swedish maker of luxury 1.2-million US dollars sports cars, agreed to buy Saab Automobile from General Motors by the end of the year, potentially moving the company into the automotive mass market.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 12:01 UTC

  China reduces holdings of US government debt

  

  China reduced its holdings of US Treasury bills in June by the largest amount in nearly nine years in what economists viewed as a bid to diversify the country's foreign reserves and increase returns.

• Wednesday, August 19th 2009 - 04:54 UTC

  US/Colombia free trade treaty “heading for approval”

  

  The free trade treaty between United States and Colombia, pending US congressional approval, is on route to be confirmed said US ambassador in Bogotá William Brownfield.

• Tuesday, August 18th 2009 - 13:03 UTC

  US media sets eyes on Argentina’s “manipulation of numbers”

  

  Argentina’s Statistics Institute controversy was joined Sunday by a most reputable newspaper, the Washington Post that called Indec numbers a ”manipulation (...) done under pressure from above”.

• Monday, August 17th 2009 - 12:31 UTC

  It is official: Argentina’s economy contracted in May and June

  

  Argentina's economy officially contracted in May and June for the first time since the economic crisis in 2001 and 2002 which led to a massive default, according to the latest release from the official statistics office, Indec.

• Monday, August 17th 2009 - 12:26 UTC

  Brazilian government and private sector differ on rates and strong Real

  

  Brazilian private banks should follow state lenders and lower interest rates to help drive a rebound of the economy, said Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles during a seminar last week in Sao Paulo. He also stated that the Central Bank policy is geared to an accumulation of reserves “to improve the country’s resistance to the crisis”.

• Monday, August 17th 2009 - 12:04 UTC

  Biggest bank failure in the US; 77 so far this year

  

  The United States has seen the biggest bank failure of 2009 with Colonial Bank, which had assets worth 25 billion US dollars as on June 30, closing operations last week after hit by the financial turmoil.