Economy

Thursday, September 20th 2018 - 06:50 UTC
Argentina's economy contracts 4.2% in second quarter: severe drought blamed

Argentina's economy contracted sharply in the second quarter after a severe drought roiled agricultural production and as the country works with the International Monetary Fund to stem spiraling inflation and control government finances.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:05 UTC
EU ready to address UK concerns over a “hard border” in post Brexit

The European Union is ready to address key British concerns over Northern Ireland, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday, in a clear push to get a Brexit deal effectively done in the next month.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 09:05 UTC
Argentine Peso slid on Tuesday but the Merval stock market climbed a strong 3%

Argentina’s central bank sold US$ 261 million in reserves on Tuesday, the monetary authority said in a statement announcing its latest intervention in the foreign exchange market aimed at easing the fall of the local currency.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:59 UTC
Apple pays €14.3bn to the Irish treasury, an EU tax Dublin does not want to collect

Apple has paid the Irish government €14.3bn (£12.7bn), money that the European Commission ruled the tech giant owed due to illegal tax breaks. Ireland's Finance ministry said the payment was a “significant milestone”, although Dublin insists Apple was not given any special tax treatment. In 2016 the Commission ruled the below 1% effective tax rate the firm paid in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:56 UTC
Mini factory in Oxford will shut down for a month in April 2019 in case of a no deal Brexit

Mini factory in Oxford will shut down for a month after Brexit at the end of March to minimize disruption in case of a no-deal outcome. Owner BMW said its summer maintenance shutdown had been brought forward to 1 April to reduce any “possible short-term parts-supply disruption”.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:50 UTC
Tit for tat: China adds US$ 60bn of US imports to its tariff retaliation list

China and the United States plunged deeper into a trade war on Tuesday after Beijing added US$60 billion of US products to its import tariff list in retaliation for President Donald Trump's planned levies on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:41 UTC
Card issuers have to pay US$ 6.2bn to settle class action lawsuit by US retailers

Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc, and a number of U.S. banks on Tuesday agreed to pay US$ 6.2 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit brought by merchants over the fees they pay when they accept card payments.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:28 UTC
Brazilian economy recovering at snail pace: 1.19% in seven months of 2018

Brazil's economy grew 0.57% in July from June, Brazil's Central Bank said citing the Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br). The data shows a second consecutive month of GDP growth in South America's largest economy.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:18 UTC
Brazilian Bovespa market index up 1.75%; Real suffers a slight depreciation

Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index rose 1.75% on Tuesday, rallying for a second straight day largely on a spike in commodities prices. Two of the Bovespa's most heavily weighted equities, miner Vale and oil giant Petrobras benefited from rising commodity prices worldwide amid escalating China-U.S. trade tensions and signals OPEC is not prepared to raise output to address shrinking supplies from Iran.
Wednesday, September 19th 2018 - 08:11 UTC
China agreed to invest US$ 5bn in Venezuelan oil, alleges Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that new investments from China will help his country dramatically boost its oil production, doubling down on financing from the Asian nation to turn around its crashing economy.