Economy

• Friday, December 8th 2017 - 07:49 UTC

  Monsanto confident a soy seed patent dispute in Brazil will uphold

  

  U.S. seeds company Monsanto Co is confident Brazilian courts will uphold its Intacta RR2 PRO soy seed patent despite a challenge from grain growers in the state of Mato Grosso, the company’s chief of South American operations said this week.

• Friday, December 8th 2017 - 06:31 UTC

  Falklands promotes fish in China from Fortuna's new processing plant in Stanley

  

  Products from the Falkland Islands Fish Company, the trading name of Fortuna Ltd’s new Stanley fish processing plant, were featured recently in China and attracted favorable attention from trade media.

• Friday, December 8th 2017 - 06:18 UTC

  Chinese government oil company suing Venezuela's PDVSA in US courts

  

  China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the state-controlled oil company, is suing Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S. courts for unpaid bills. Sinopec, as the Chinese company is known, also filed a request for arbitration against PDVSA at the International Chamber of Commerce, as it alleges damages of at least $23.7 million, according to court papers.

• Thursday, December 7th 2017 - 09:01 UTC

  Mercosur and EU confident a framework agreement will be announced this month

  

  Mercosur is confident a framework agreement with the European Union will be announced next week despite resistance from farmers in Europe to permit tariff-free beef imports, a Mercosur official said. “There is more than a 70% chance of reaching a deal,” said the official close to the negotiations that have dragged on for almost two decades.

• Thursday, December 7th 2017 - 08:35 UTC

  Brazil cuts rates to an all-time low, 7%, and hints at another reduction

  

  Brazil’s central bank cut interest rates to an all-time low on Wednesday and hinted at a smaller reduction early next year, although it said it would be extra cautious going forward. The bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee, known as Copom, cut the benchmark Selic rate by 50 basis points to 7.00%, capping a 725 basis-point decline since October 2016.

• Thursday, December 7th 2017 - 07:31 UTC

  Rajoy expresses support for Mrs. May efforts and progress in Brexit negotiations

  

  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he expected Britain and the European Union to progress soon into the next phase of Brexit negotiations, despite Prime Minister Theresa May’s problems in getting the political backing at home to move ahead.

• Wednesday, December 6th 2017 - 16:33 UTC

  Europe makes official a blacklist of 17 non-EU it describes as tax havens

  

  The European Union has put 17 non-EU countries on a blacklist of those it deems guilty of unfairly offering tax avoidance schemes, prompting protest from Panama's president. EU vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said after a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers that beyond the 17 nations, over 40 more were put on a “grey list” to be monitored until they are fully committed to reforms.

• Wednesday, December 6th 2017 - 16:14 UTC

  Brazil services activity in November shrinks the most in nine months

  

  Brazilian services activity in November shrank the most in nine months, a private survey showed on Tuesday, highlighting the nation's uneven recovery from the deepest recession in a century. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the Brazilian services sector compiled by research firm Markit fell to 46.9 from 48.8 in October. Readings below 50 indicate contraction in activity.

• Tuesday, December 5th 2017 - 14:06 UTC

  Bitcoin and other virtual currencies on Scotland Yard radar because of money laundering

  

  The anti-money laundering regulations should be updated to include Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, the UK Treasury has said. The Metropolitan Police says criminals are using crypto-currency cash machines to launder money in London.

• Tuesday, December 5th 2017 - 14:01 UTC

  Brazil opens areas for exploration and production of oil and gas

  

  Brazil's National Agency for Oil, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) announced the areas for the exploration and production of oil and natural gas to be made available as part of a new, permanent-offer system. The move covers 846 blocks of 13 sedimentary basins, adding up to some 285,400 square kilometers.