Economy

• Saturday, October 20th 2018 - 08:42 UTC

  Ireland insists a Brexit transition period is not an alternative for backstop proposal

  

  An extended Brexit transition period is not an alternative to the EU’s backstop proposal, Irish premier Leo Varadkar has warned. The Taoiseach said he is open to the idea of an extension but it fails to resolve the border issue.

• Saturday, October 20th 2018 - 08:37 UTC

  Moody's cuts Italy's credit rating and EC warns over 2019 budget plans

  

  Moody's has cut Italy's credit rating by a notch over concerns about plans for larger deficits and the high public debt load as the country's populist government clashes with Brussels over its budget. The European Commission formally warned Italy late Thursday that its budget plans for 2019 are a serious concern, launching a high-stakes process that could see Rome hit with unprecedented sanctions for breaking commitments to Brussels.

• Saturday, October 20th 2018 - 08:33 UTC

  China's growth cools to its weakest since the global financial crisis

  

  China's economic growth cooled to its weakest quarterly pace since the global financial crisis, with regulators moving quickly to calm nervous investors as a years-long campaign to tackle debt risks and the trade war with the United States began to bite.

• Saturday, October 20th 2018 - 07:15 UTC

  Bolsonaro, not the best choice for Brazil, say 350 economists in open declaration

  

  More than 350 economists, among them a Nobel Prize winner, have signed a declaration saying Brazil's frontrunner to be president, far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro, is not the best choice for his country.

• Saturday, October 20th 2018 - 06:36 UTC

  Gibraltar, not a problem to reach a Brexit agreement, says Spain

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez both sent positive signals about the progress of Brexit talks relating to Gibraltar, effectively confirming the Rock’s inclusion in any withdrawal and transitional arrangements to soften the process of leaving the EU.

• Friday, October 19th 2018 - 11:20 UTC

  Chile: eighth consecutive increase in price of fuel finally draws Piñera's attention

  

  President Sebastián Piñera Thursday ordered his cabinet to seek ways to stop the trend, following the eighth increase in the price of petrol in as many weeks

• Friday, October 19th 2018 - 10:18 UTC

  Dollar, prices go up in inflation-ridden Argentina

  

  The US dollar rose 22 cents against the Argentine peso and closed at a 1 US$/ AR$37.50 parity on Thursday. It was the second day in a row for an upward trend following seven straight slumps.

• Friday, October 19th 2018 - 08:19 UTC

  Paris charm offensive to attract City of London workers with English schools

  

  The woman tasked with attracting City workers to Paris as Brexit rolls on is stepping up her charm offensive, with plans for a new private English school to cater for the wealthy. Marie-Celie Guillaume, the chief executive of La Defense – the business district in the west of Paris – is banking on family life being the key that unlocks a raft of new relocations from Britain to France.

• Friday, October 19th 2018 - 06:36 UTC

  Leading Conservatives warn voters' backlash if PM May “surrenders” on Brexit

  

  Leading Conservative members of parliament have warned that voters will not forgive British prime minister Theresa May if she surrenders to Brussels in the Brexit negotiations.

• Friday, October 19th 2018 - 06:27 UTC

  “UK has done all it can”, to cushion a no-deal Brexit for the financial sector, says BoE

  

  The United Kingdom has done “all it can” unilaterally to cushion the blow of a no-deal Brexit for banks and financial firms, a Bank of England deputy governor has said. Sir Jon Cunliffe seemed to place the ball firmly back in the EU’s court, after suggesting that British authorities had made significant efforts through the likes of banking stress tests and a temporary permissions regime to prepare the financial sector for a cliff-edge exit.