Economy

• Tuesday, August 19th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Leading economist forecasts collapse of large US bank

  

  The global financial crisis is set to get worse, with a large US bank likely to collapse in the next few months, a former IMF chief economist warned on Tuesday. Kenneth Rogoff's comments came as shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sank on a report that the home lenders would, in effect, be nationalized.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Russian tycoon denies buying world's dearest villa

  

  Russia's fifth richest man has denied reports originally from the French press that he has bought the world's most expensive home. (Nickel King) Mikhail Prokhorov worth about 22 billion US dollars said he was not the mystery buyer of the southern France property.
  
  The Villa Leopolda in Villefranche-sur-Mer, on the CÃ'te d'Azur, sold for 496m euros ($730m; £392m).

• Monday, August 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  BHP Billiton: record profits and upbeat about commodities

  

  BHP Billiton Ltd. which is the world's largest mining company has reported a record annual net profit for the year ended June 30 of 15.39 billion US dollars, up 14.7% from the 13.42 billion of the previous year.

• Monday, August 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  June trade figures confirm EU economy slowing down

  

  The trade deficit of the 15-nation Euro zone shrank sharply in June to 101 million Euros, but failed to meet forecasts, according to data released Monday by Eurostat.

• Sunday, August 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  NY prosecutors make banks repay billions for misselling

  

  New York State's attorney general has threatened to sue Merrill Lynch for misrepresenting certain debt investments as safer than they were. Andrew Cuomo said that legal action against the US bank was “imminent” after it failed to settle charges of mis-selling with regulators.

• Sunday, August 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay's meat exports in seven months: 983 m. USD

  

  During the first seven months of this year Uruguay meat exports totaled 983 million US dollars, 54% higher than the same period in 2007, of which beef represents 84% and lamb 4%, according to the country's Nacional Institute of Meats, INAC.

• Sunday, August 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Japanese economy sliding downwards to recession

  The Japanese economy contracted by 0.6% between April and June, prompting fears that it is sliding towards recession. Declining exports and consumer demand were behind the fall - the first for more than a year - which came after a rise of 0.8% in the previous quarter.

• Sunday, August 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Russian tycoon pays 300 million Euros for French Riviera villa

  

  Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov paid 300 million Euros for a villa in the French Riviera built in 1902, so grand that it takes a reputed 50 gardeners to tend its gardens, according to the Paris daily Le Monde.

• Friday, August 15th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Relief: USDA hikes world grains production estimates

  The US Department of Agriculture corrected upwards its estimate of world production of grains for 2008/09 which should total 2.190,61 million tons, up from the previous 2.164,97 million tons.

• Friday, August 15th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Contradicting data about Magallanes economic activity

  Economic activity in Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile, has fallen dramatically during the second quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago according to the latest data from the country's official Statistics Office.