Economy

• Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 10:22 UTC

  US/China trade talks take off in Beijing with much expectations

  

  United States and Chinese negotiators kicked off two days of official trade talks in Beijing on Thursday as the world's top two economies try to patch up their festering economic dispute. Pressure to seal an accord ahead of a March deadline lessened before the talks as US President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday in Washington he was open to extending a trade truce, depending on progress in Beijing.

• Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 09:19 UTC

  Brexit no-deal would be catastrophic, says Ford and warns it would do “whatever necessary” to protect the business

  

  Ford has said a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for the firm's manufacturing operations in the UK and that it would do “whatever is necessary” to protect its business. The comments come after a report the carmaker was stepping up preparations to move production out of the UK.

• Thursday, February 14th 2019 - 09:13 UTC

  UK January inflation at at two-year low and below target

  

  British annual inflation hit a two-year low point in January, undershooting the Bank of England’s 2.0 per cent target on falling oil and other energy costs, official data showed on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 09:41 UTC

  Stable low inflation and expansion forecasted by Brazilian financial market

  

  Brazil's financial market has cut its forecast of the country's inflation rate from 3.94 to 3.87 percent for 2019 and kept the rate at 4% for 2020, the Central Bank of Brazil reported. According to the Focus survey conducted by the bank among Brazil's main financial institutions, the forecasts are within the official target of 4.25 percent, with a tolerance margin between 2.75 percent and 5.75 percent.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 09:26 UTC

  Trump open to extending the deadline for a trade deal with China

  

  United States president Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would consider extending the deadline for a trade deal with China beyond March first.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 07:59 UTC

  Bank of England urges Parliament to secure a good Brexit withdrawal deal and a smooth transition.

  

  Bank of England governor Mark Carney has urged MPs to solve the Brexit impasse in a speech warning of growing threats to the global economy. He said a no-deal Brexit would create an “economic shock” at a time when China's economy is slowing and trade tensions are rising.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 07:49 UTC

  Record exports of whisky in 2018: EU and the US main markets

  

  Exports of Scotch whisky hit a record high last year, according to new figures. Analysis of HMRC data by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) found exports grew 7.8% by value to £4.7bn. The number of bottles exported also reached record levels, growing by 3.6% to 1.28 billion.

• Wednesday, February 13th 2019 - 07:41 UTC

  Hot and dry weather impacts on Brazil's 2018/19 soybean crop

  

  The Brazilian 2018-19 soybean crop will fall to 115.34 million tons, as the effects of hot and dry weather in December and January are gradually taken into account, national crop agency Conab said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 10:30 UTC

  IMF mission in Argentina to collect data on compliance of the standby loan accord

  

  An IMF team is back in Buenos Aires to review the Argentine economy performance and how it is complying with the fiscal and monetary conditions established in the stand-by US$ 57 billion loan agreed last year. The head of the mission Roberto Cardarelli is scheduled to meet ministers, central bank officials, members of Congress from the ruling coalition and opposition, academia and different lobbies.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 10:27 UTC

  UK economy recorded last year the lowest growth since 2012, 1.4%

  

  Britain's economy contracted in December, official figures revealed on Monday, suggesting that uncertainty over whether the country will leave the European Union with or without a deal is starting to hurt. Data from the UK's Office of Nation al Statistics, ONS, shows that gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.4% in December.