Economy

• Friday, December 20th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  World Bank warns on wave of growing debt in emerging and developing nations

  

  A wave of debt in emerging and developing nations has grown faster and larger than in any period of the last five decades and could end with another crisis, the World Bank warned on Thursday.

• Friday, December 20th 2019 - 09:46 UTC

  IMF releases loan tranche to embattled Ecuadorean government

  

  The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved a delayed loan tranche for Ecuador, releasing nearly US$500 million under a three-year aid program. The IMF board gave the go-ahead for a US$4.2 billion loan in March to help support the oil-rich nation's economic reforms, but massive protests led by indigenous groups erupted in October when President Lenin Moreno scrapped fuel subsidies, causing gasoline prices to soar.

• Friday, December 20th 2019 - 09:43 UTC

  UK Parliament ready to vote the Brexit divorce deal with the European Union

  

  Britain's freshly-elected parliament prepared on Friday to move past years of partisan wrangling and initially approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with the European Union.

• Friday, December 20th 2019 - 09:40 UTC

  US Lower House overwhelmingly approves the new North America trade deal

  

  The United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a new North American trade deal on Thursday that includes tougher labor and automotive content rules but leaves US$1.2 trillion in annual United States-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely unchanged.

• Friday, December 20th 2019 - 08:56 UTC

  Brazil central bank raises 2020 growth forecast to 2.2%

  

  Brazil’s central bank on Thursday raised its 2020 gross domestic product growth forecast to 2.2% in its quarterly inflation report from 1.8% previously but cautioned it was conditional on continued progress on economic reforms.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

  Argentina emergency bill in Congress: 30% tax on dollar purchases and six month freeze on public utilities rates

  

  Argentina's new government announced on Tuesday a 30% tax on foreign currency purchases and a six-month freeze on public utility prices as part of a raft of measures to boost growth. The government of President Alberto Fernandez, who took office last week, had already announced increases in taxes on agricultural exports over the weekend.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Riots, turmoil and the Argentine Peso, a tremendous toll for tourism in Chile

  

  Research undertaken by ForwardKeys, the travel analytics firm, which analyses 17 million flight bookings and 7 million flight searches a day, has revealed that the recent riots in Chile have taken a tremendous toll on tourism to the country.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 09:10 UTC

  Queen opens Parliament and will announce the Conservative government agenda

  

  The Queen is to set out the Conservative government's agenda for the year ahead following their decisive election win last week. Legislation to take the UK out of the EU on 31 January will be among more than 20 bills announced during Thursday's State Opening of Parliament. Other measures include guarantees on extra health service funding and longer sentences for violent criminals.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 09:02 UTC

  Fiat/Chrysler and Peugeot's PSA confirm merger creating world's fourth largest carmaker

  

  Fiat Chrysler and rival PSA Group, owner of Peugeot and Vauxhall, have confirmed a US$ 50bn merger deal. The merger is aiming for annual cost savings of US$ 4bn through shared purchasing agreements and combined technologies, will create the world's fourth-largest carmaker.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  UK will suffer more than the EU if it quits with no deal, von der Leyen warns

  

  Britain will suffer more than the European Union if it quits the bloc with no deal next year, a Brussels chief warned on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen, who has taken over from Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president, also stressed the timetable to reach an agreement was “extremely challenging” after London decided to put into law that the UK must leave by the end of December 2020.