Economy

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 09:41 UTC

  Parliament instructs PM May to renegotiate Brexit's Irish border backstop

  

  British lawmakers on Tuesday instructed Prime Minister Theresa May to demand that Brussels replace the Irish border arrangement known as the “backstop”, in a last-ditch attempt to renegotiate an exit treaty that the European Union says it will not change.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 09:39 UTC

  France rejects any EU/UK renegotiation deal and calls for credible proposals

  

  France on Tuesday rejected any renegotiation of the EU-UK divorce deal and urged Britain to make credible proposals after British lawmakers passed a motion instructing their government to secure changes to a key element of the deal.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 09:33 UTC

  Ecuador issues 10-year sovereign bonds at 10.75% yield

  

  Ecuador’s finance ministry said it had placed about US$1 billion in 10-year sovereign bonds in the international market. Proceeds from the 10.75% bonds will be used to strengthen the country’s reserves and help fund this year’s budget which has financing needs of about US$ 8 billion, the ministry said in a statement.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  Latin American markets outperform world stocks struggling over US/China trade talks

  

  Latin American stocks rose on Tuesday, outperforming world stocks that struggled to hold gains ahead of keenly awaited U.S.-Sino trade talks, earnings of top technology companies and an impending U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2019 - 08:48 UTC

  Emerging markets vulnerable to US higher rates and stronger dollar

  

  Emerging markets face more downgrades than upgrades this year as foreign debt levels leave them vulnerable to rising U.S. interest rates and the strength of the dollar, according to Fitch Ratings. Latin America, the Middle East and Africa will be impacted more by lower credit scores because of the high share of their foreign-currency debt, said James McCormack, Hong Kong-based global head of the sovereign and supranational group at Fitch.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 10:19 UTC

  EU quotas for farming produce post Brexit trigger controversy

  

  The European Union on Monday adopted quotas for farming produce it will accept from third countries after Britain leaves the bloc and acknowledged this could happen before it has concluded talks with them on the subject.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 09:03 UTC

  Venezuela approves a new, privately run, foreign exchange system; dollar sells at 3.200 Bolivars, 34% dearer

  

  Venezuelan authorities on Monday approved a new, privately run foreign exchange system that will operate in parallel to the official currency control system, as an emboldened opposition challenges President de facto Nicolás Maduro.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 09:03 UTC

  US tightening the noose: Venezuelan oil proceeds will be withheld from Maduro's government

  

  The US has imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PDVSA and urged the country's military to accept a peaceful transfer of power. National Security Adviser John Bolton said President Nicolás Maduro and his allies could “no longer loot the assets of the Venezuelan people”. Efforts by the opposition to unseat Mr Maduro have increased in recent days.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 09:01 UTC

  Mrs. May willing to support amendments but insists in no delay for the Brexit withdrawal date

  

  The United Kingdom government will support a backbench amendment to the Brexit deal that calls for the planned Irish backstop to be replaced by “alternative arrangements”. Tory MPs will be told to vote for Sir Graham Brady's proposal when the Commons votes on a series of amendments to Theresa May's plan on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, January 29th 2019 - 09:00 UTC

  EU mocks UK parliament: withdrawal agreement debate was “uninhibited by any knowledge” of what it actually contained

  

  There is a high risk of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal by accident, the EU's deputy chief negotiator Sabine Weyand has said. She added there was “full ownership of what was agreed” in the EU, but “no ownership” of it in the UK Parliament. And it was a challenge to see how a majority for any deal could be built among MPs, she added.