Economy

• Friday, January 16th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Citigroup to split and more fresh aid for Bank of America

  

  The struggling US banking giant Citigroup has announced plans to split the firm in two, as it reported a quarterly loss of 8.29 billion US dollars. It said it would realign into two new firms, Citicorp and Citi Holdings.

• Friday, January 16th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Spain admits 2009 recession deepest in half a century

  

  Spain faces its deepest recession in half a century admitted Finance Minister Pedro Solbes anticipating the economy will contract 1.6% this year. In July, the minister had predicted a 1% expansion.

• Thursday, January 15th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Chinese slowdown, serious risk for the global economy

  A severe economic slowdown in China is one of the biggest risks faced by the world this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned. The WEF report said a hard landing for China's economy could create domestic social tensions and put stress on the global financial system.

• Thursday, January 15th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Calderon willing to address NAFTA issues with Obama

  

  Mexican President Felipe Calderon said he is willing to cooperate with incoming US president Barack Obama to address aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, which links the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada and has boosted trade several times.

• Wednesday, January 14th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazilian 2008 farm exports up 23%, total 71.9 billion

  

  Brazilian farm exports totalled a record 71.9 billion US dollars in 2008, up 23% over 2007, according to the latest reports from the Ministry of Agriculture. Farm exports also reported a surplus of 60 billion US dollars last year while agro-business represented 36.3% of all of the country's shipments.

• Wednesday, January 14th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  China's imports dropped a record 21.3% in December

  

  China's exports and imports have suffered their biggest decline in a decade. Exports in December were down 2.8% from the same time last year, a bigger decline than November's 2.2% drop, while imports were down 21.3% (17.9% in November), the China Daily said.

• Wednesday, January 14th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  The importance, for Italian bankers, of not knowing English

  

  Italian banks were saved from the US subprime mortgage originated crisis that has become global because they barely speak or understand English confessed the Italian Minister of Economy Giulio Tremonti during an interview published this week in the French newspaper Les Echos and picked up by global news agencies

• Wednesday, January 14th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Rio Tinto “delays” massive iron ore port project in Uruguay

  

  Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has decided to halt a project planned for western Uruguay for at least one year due to the global financial crisis, the Uruguayan government admitted this week.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Lula da Silva warns Brazilians of “tough” first quarter

  Brazilian president Lula da Silva warned of a “worrisome and tough” first quarter but promised the government is prepared to inject more resources to the economy to help combat the effects of the global crisis and stimulate activity.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Uruguay: emergency aid for drought striken farmers

  Uruguay declared on Monday an “agriculture emergency” and announced measures to help farmers address the very serious “rain deficit” which is threatening crops, livestock and the provision of fresh produce. The package includes importing fodder and cow feed for dairy farms as well as postponing tax and social security payments, and energy bills.