Economy

• Friday, May 26th 2017 - 07:34 UTC

  Odebrecht offices in Buenos Aires raided as part of an investigation into bribes

  

  Argentine federal agents searched the offices of the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht in Buenos Aires on Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged bribes in the granting of construction contracts for a water treatment plant.

• Thursday, May 25th 2017 - 19:07 UTC

  Today's stunted oil prices could cause oil price shock in 2020

  

  As oil prices remain unsteady and OPEC continues to make headlines every hour, the world is focused on oil's immediate future. As Saudi Arabia announces plans to slash production and move their economy away from oil dependency, many industry insiders are predicting that the now over-saturated market will reach an equilibrium with higher commodity prices by 2018 and U.S. shale production will continue to grow along with global demand.

• Thursday, May 25th 2017 - 10:20 UTC

  Economists point out serious math errors in Trump's budget proposal

  

  The White House has denied the president's budget proposal contains an “egregious” math error. Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers pointed out the spending plan double-counts US$2trillion. But White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told reporters: “We stand by the numbers.”

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 09:06 UTC

  Argentina economy grows 0.8% in March from a year earlier

  

  Argentina's economy grew 0.8% in March from a year earlier, the Indec statistics agency said on Tuesday. The economy also grew 1.9% in March versus February, Indec said.On Tuesday the Argentines central bank also kept its benchmark interest rate at 26.25% and said it believes the country's inflation rate is easing in May.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 08:36 UTC

  World's second largest economy has its credit rating downgraded by Moody's

  

  China has received a downgrade on its credit score, on worries about the future state of the economy. Moody's Investors Services brought down China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings by one notch to Aa3 from A1, a move that could lead to a rise in the cost of borrowing for the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises. The ratings agency also changed its outlook for China to stable from negative.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 07:22 UTC

  US households debt at new record high and manageable, but students loans remain “stubbornly high”

  

  The United States debt level reached a record high this year, surpassing the peak touched just as the worst of the recession was taking hold in 2008, and marking a milestone for households that now lean less on mortgages and more on auto and student loans

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 07:10 UTC

  Record number of investments from overseas in Scotland during 2016

  

  Scotland won a record number of investments from overseas in 2016, although growth was substantially lower than the previous year. There were 122 foreign direct investment deals done over the course of last year, up from 119 in 2015.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 14:55 UTC

  Global food prices down with expectations of robust supplies in key staples

  

  Global food commodity prices fell in April amid expectations of ongoing robust supplies of many key staples. The FAO Food Prices Index averaged 168 points in April, down 1.8% from March although remaining 10% higher than a year earlier.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 11:17 UTC

  Latin American exports rebound in first quarter of 2017 pushed by commodity prices

  

  After four consecutive years of contraction, Latin American and Caribbean exports returned to a path of growth. In the first quarter of 2017, the value of goods exports increased 17% year-on-year, having contracted 2.9% in 2016.

• Monday, May 22nd 2017 - 08:51 UTC

  TPP 11 committed to go ahead despite the Trump administration dropping out

  

  Asia-Pacific trade ministers agreed to try to revive a massive free trade pact, even though the United States reaffirmed its decision to pull out, as fears grow of a new global era of protectionism. The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) covered 40% of the global economy before US President Donald Trump abruptly abandoned it in January, to meet a campaign pledge to save American jobs which he says have been sucked up overseas.