Economy

• Friday, October 13th 2017 - 13:36 UTC

  Giant meatpacker owners involved in insider trading could lose plea bargain deal with prosecutors

  

  Brazil’s police investigation into insider trading by the owners of the world’s largest meatpacker JBS SA has found that they made a profit by taking financial positions before details of their plea bargain deal with prosecutors became public, the head of the probe said on Tuesday.

• Friday, October 13th 2017 - 12:59 UTC

  Meirelles optimistic about congressional approval of pensions' reform

  

  Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Thursday “there’s a very good chance” that the country’s proposed pension reform bill will be approved by the end of the year. Addressing a question-and-answer session at an Institute for International Finance meeting in Washington Meirelles said that it would be simpler to pass the bill this year than next year because of political challenges that could come with Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October 2018.

• Friday, October 13th 2017 - 12:52 UTC

  HSBC names John Flint as next CEO; JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup profits up

  

  Banking giant HSBC has named John Flint, current head of retail banking and wealth management, as its new boss. Mr Flint, who takes over from outgoing chief executive Stuart Gulliver, will start his new role next February.

• Friday, October 13th 2017 - 12:04 UTC

  Recession ahead for UK economy, be it a soft or hard Brexit, forecasts leading investment bank

  

  The Conservative Party’s plans for a “no deal” hard Brexit would plunge the UK into immediate recession, cost the British economy £400 billion and wipe 18% off GDP growth by 2030, a leading investment bank has warned.

• Thursday, October 12th 2017 - 20:55 UTC

  Global food prices up 0.8% in September, according to FAO Index

  

  Global food prices rose slightly in September, as firmer prices of vegetable oils and to a lesser extent dairy products offset declining prices for staple cereal grains. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 178.4 points for the month of September, up 0.8% from August and marking a 4.3% increase from a year earlier.

• Thursday, October 12th 2017 - 20:44 UTC

  IMF forecasts Venezuela's inflation to reach 2.300% next year and unemployment 30%

  

  Venezuela’s triple-digit annual inflation rate is set to jump to more than 2,300% in 2018, the highest estimate for any country tracked by the International Monetary Fund.

• Thursday, October 12th 2017 - 20:31 UTC

  Falklands issues set of crown coins to mark centenary of the Windsor Royal House

  

  The government and treasury of the Falkland Islands have issued (9th October) a new set of crown coins which mark the centenary anniversary of the establishment of the British Royal House. The Royal House came about due to the circumstances just after the fighting for the Great War began (1914–1918).

• Thursday, October 12th 2017 - 18:50 UTC

  FAO calls on all countries to crack down on illegal fishing

  

  All countries should join the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to make sure the landmark treaty aimed at cracking down on illegal fishing succeeds in its aims of ridding the world of a multibillion-dollar scourge that damages human nutrition and environmental sustainability, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said.

• Thursday, October 12th 2017 - 12:10 UTC

  Brazilian central bank insists on the need to limit pension spending

  

  Brazil’s lawmakers can’t duck their responsibility to pass belt-tightening measures, central bank President Ilan Goldfajn told a Senate hearing in Brasilia this week. Reform proposals, particularly a constitutional amendment to limit pension spending, will help keep inflation low, reduce the structural interest rate and buoy the country’s overall recovery, Goldfajn said.

• Wednesday, October 11th 2017 - 16:02 UTC

  Auto industry in Brazil picking up: 10% sales and output growth forecasted in 2018

  

  Auto industry leaders projected sales and output growth of more than 10% in Brazil next year at an industry event on Monday, underscoring hopes for a rebounding market as Mercedes-Benz announced new investments in bus and truck plants.