Economy

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.
Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
IMF needs another 150 billion to aid emerging markets

The International Monetary Funds may need up to 150 billion US dollars in additional funds to assist emerging markets and poorer countries suffering through the intensifying global economic slump, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Boiling kettles, Google search and carbon dioxide

Two search requests on the internet website Google produce “as much carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle”, according to a Harvard University academic. US physicist Alex Wissner-Gross claims that a typical Google search on a desktop computer produces about 7g CO2.
Tuesday, January 13th 2009 - 20:00 UTC
Uruguay raises basic rate to 10% to combat inflation

Uruguay's Central bank this week raised its reference interest rate by 2.25 percentage points to 10% in an attempt to contain inflation which last year closed at 9.19%, above government target and the highest since 2003.