Economy

• Tuesday, April 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil admits it must recover EU confidence regarding beef

  

  Agriculture minister Reinhold Stephanes admitted that Brazil must “recover the European Union confidence” regarding beef following the recent temporary suspension of shipments imposed by the 27 country block.

• Tuesday, April 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF blames credit crunch on “collective failure” & liquidity spiral

  

  The International Monetary Fund has warned that potential losses from the credit crunch will reach 945 billion US dollars and could be even higher as losses are spreading from sub-prime mortgage assets to other sectors, such as commercial property, consumer credit, and company debt.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile cuts taxes to fight highest inflation in decade

  Chile's consumer price index rose 0.8% in March, up from 0.4% in February, according to the latest release from the country's National Statistics Institute (INE). The March figure pushed 12-month inflation to 8.5%, up from the February 8.1%.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Paulson calls for more integration and trade with Latam

  

  United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson officially opened on Monday the 49th general assembly of the Inter American Development Bank, IDB, calling for greater integration of trade and openness between Latinamerica and the US and warned about what he defined as “protectionist interests”.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  UN recommends more natural production agriculture

  

  Modern agricultural practices have exhausted land and water resources, squelched diversity and left poor people vulnerable to high food prices, even though they are also highly productive, according to a report announced Monday by the United Nations scientific agency.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Credit crunch and hunger in WB and IMF spring meetings

  

  The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank open this week amid rising concerns about the impact of the credit crunch on the global economy and uneven progress towards such human development goals as wiping out hunger and malnutrition.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Food prices could lead to increased unrest warns “as in Haiti”

  

  The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called Monday on donors to respond to the agency's appeal for additional funds to deliver lifesaving assistance, warning that the global surge in food prices could lead to further tensions such as those witnessed recently in Haiti and other countries.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay expects record rice harvest and yield

  

  Uruguay rice harvest is expected to reach a record yield of 8.000 kilos per hectare, among the highest in the world announced Sunday Tabare Aguirre, president of the country's Rice Growers Association.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina after 8 billion in loans for infrastructure

  

  Argentina's Economy Ministry Martín Lousteau with a delegation of provincial governors and experts from his office traveled to Miami for the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss terms for a four year credit program totaling 8 billion US dollars in infrastructure and education.

• Monday, April 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  New Zealand breaks ground signing free trade pact with China

  

  New Zealand became on Monday the first developed nation to sign a free-trade agreement with China. Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, witnessed the signing of the pact in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.