Economy

• Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:51 UTC

  “Falklands much closer to Brazil after the second flight”, UK ambassador

  

  The British ambassador to Brazil, Vijay Rangarajan, this week said the second flight will bring the Falkland Islands closer to Brazil, describing it as a potential engine to help drive links between the two countries.

• Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:46 UTC

  China halves punitive tariffs on US$ 75 billion of US imports next week

  

  China said on Thursday it will halve punitive tariffs on US$75 billion in US imports from Feb 14, a month after Beijing and Washington signed a truce in their long-running trade war.

• Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:45 UTC

  UK expanding fisheries protection to police territorial waters in a no-Brexit trade-deal scenario

  

  The British government is hiring additional ships for the Royal Navy amid growing Brexit tensions - with reports as many as 24 extra boats could be drafted into service. The Times reports that “Ministers are getting ready to triple the number of boats in Britain’s fisheries protection squadron to police territorial waters in the event of a no-trade-deal Brexit”.

• Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:39 UTC

  Fishing subsidies battle at WTO speared by the US

  

  The United States said on Thursday it was pushing hard for the World Trade Organization to reach agreement on cutting fishing subsidies in coming months and viewed those talks as a test of whether the global body can still achieve multilateral deals.

• Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:35 UTC

  Brazil's development bank BNDES sells shares in Petrobras

  

  Brazil's development bank BNDES sold US$5.2 billion in common shares it owned in state-controlled oil company Petrobras. The company priced the offering at 30 Reais per common share, a discount of 1.57% relative to Wednesday's closing price. BNDES sold 22 billion reais in shares.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 09:05 UTC

  Argentina tells IMF it can't continue servicing unsustainable debt

  

  Argentina on Wednesday told the International Monetary Fund that Buenos Aires cannot continue servicing unsustainable debt, as the IMF encouraged it to enact efficient restructuring policies.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Pope Francis calls for debt sustainability to alleviate the suffering of people

  

  Pope Francis staged a surprise visit to admonish the International Monetary Fund chief and several finance ministers to help alleviate the debt burden of struggling countries, calling for “a new financial architecture” to ensure social justice.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:44 UTC

  Statement by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Argentina

  

  Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement after meeting with Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzmán in Rome:

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:24 UTC

  Argentina industrial production up 1.2% in December, first time in 20 months

  

  Argentina's industrial output rose 1.2% in December versus the same month a year earlier, the government statistics agency said on Wednesday, returning to positive territory for the first time in 20 months as the country grapples with the recession.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:17 UTC

  Brazilian central bank cuts interest rate to 4.25%, but the easing cycle could be coming to an end

  

  Brazil’s central bank intends to hold interest rates going forward to consider the impact of the record-breaking monetary easing cycle it concluded on Wednesday with a quarter-point cut.