Economy

• Thursday, August 22nd 2019 - 09:56 UTC

  Bolsonaro suggests green groups started the blaze in the Amazon to blame him

  

  Wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil have ignited a firestorm on social media, with President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday suggesting green groups started the blazes. Images of fires purportedly devouring sections of the world's largest rainforest have gone viral on Twitter.

• Thursday, August 22nd 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Argentina default “possible”, but not “probable”, says credit rating agency Fitch

  

  Argentina could be downgraded again by Fitch Ratings if further weakness in the Peso boosts the risk of default, the agency’s head of sovereign ratings said in an interview. Argentina has issued billions of dollars worth of bonds denominated in U.S. currency.

• Thursday, August 22nd 2019 - 09:44 UTC

  IMF wants to lead the way in retirement and pensions reform

  

  The International Monetary Fund's board on Wednesday recommended a rule change that would scrap the age limit for its leader, clearing the path to the top job for Bulgaria's Kristalina Georgieva.

• Thursday, August 22nd 2019 - 09:03 UTC

  US professional diplomats question Trump/Pompeo policy focus and foreign aid cuts

  

  The ranks of the United States' foreign policy establishment are being roiled once again by resignations, reports of partisan intimidation in the midst of looming massive cuts in foreign aid that critics in Congress and elsewhere contend weaken American diplomacy worldwide.

• Wednesday, August 21st 2019 - 09:56 UTC

  Stabilizing the Peso, priority of the new Argentina finance minister; markets still unconvinced

  

  Argentina's new finance minister made stabilizing the country's battered currency his top priority on Tuesday, while still pledging to meet commitments made to the International Monetary Fund, which is sending a team to Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, August 21st 2019 - 09:52 UTC

  Brazil tightens controls over money laundering and illicit financial activities

  

  The Brazilian government on Tuesday issued a decree moving the Financial Activities Control Board (Coaf), which monitors nefarious financial activity such as money laundering, into a new Financial Intelligence Unit under central bank control.

• Wednesday, August 21st 2019 - 09:48 UTC

  The word that begins with “R” that scares Donald Trump

  

  United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that recession - a potentially dangerous blow to his re-election next year - is not in the cards. But he indicated he's preparing just in case.

• Wednesday, August 21st 2019 - 09:42 UTC

  UK program to help boost trade facilitation and export programs

  

  A new trade facilitation program will support Brazilian businesses to export, which will help boost trade with countries including the UK. The £20 million program will work with existing export promotion and trade facilitation programs across Brazil to help bring businesses of all sizes to international markets.

• Wednesday, August 21st 2019 - 08:52 UTC

  Argentina’s Economic Crisis: Who to blame?

  

  Argentines remember the role the IMF played in the last depression. They also remember the improvement in their lives under Kirchnerism. The following was published by The New York Times.

• Tuesday, August 20th 2019 - 20:07 UTC

  Brazilian bees decimated by pesticides which are banned in Europe

  

  More than half a billion bees dropped dead in Brazil within just three months, according to Bloomberg. Researchers say the main cause of death is pesticides, which could end up affecting more than the bees.