Economy

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 17:32 UTC

  Xi emphatic tells Davos “we say no to protectionism”; migration crisis caused by war and conflict

  

  China's president Xi told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday that the “migrant crisis had been caused by war, conflict and regional turbulence,” not globalization. Similarly, the 2007/8 financial crisis was caused by “the excessive pursuit of profits and a lack of economic regulations,” he said.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 17:08 UTC

  Hard Brexit: UK to leave the single market and Parliament will vote on the final deal, pledges PM May

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK “cannot possibly” remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean “not leaving the EU at all”, but at the same time promised to push for the “greatest possible” access to the single market following Brexit.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 10:19 UTC

  Eight of the richest people on earth own as much combined wealth as half the human race

  

  Just eight of the richest people on earth own as much combined wealth as half the human race. The charity Oxfam does the math each year and publishes its results just in time for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where many of the spectacularly wealthy are often among the attendees, along with diplomats, political figures, and business and cultural leaders.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 10:06 UTC

  IMF downgrades Latin America prospects because of lesser growth in Brazil and Mexico

  

  The International Monetary Fund has become more pessimistic about Latin America in the January economic outlook update. IMF is now forecasting regional GDP growth of just 1.2% in 2017, down from the 1.6% projection it made in October. It also lowered its 2018 estimate for Latin America by 0.1% to a revised projection of 2.1% expansion.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 09:29 UTC

  Falklands under no pressure from the UK: “final decision on flights will be ours, and ours alone”

  

  The Falkland Islands Government is under no pressure from the UK government to agree to something that we feel is not in our best interests, and ”the final decision on (additional) flights will be ours, and ours alone”. The statement belongs to the elected Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands' chair of the month, Barry Elsby.

• Monday, January 16th 2017 - 17:46 UTC

  Airbags maker Takata agrees to pay US$ 1bn in penalties for concealing defects

  

  The Japanese car parts maker Takata has agreed to pay US$1bn in penalties in the US for concealing dangerous defects in its exploding airbags. The firm, which also has assembly plants in Brazil and Uruguay, also pleaded guilty to a single criminal charge, the company and the US Department of Justice said..

• Monday, January 16th 2017 - 17:40 UTC

  Sterling drops ahead of Theresa May's Tuesday Brexit speech

  

  The British pound has fallen against the dollar to below US$1.20 ahead of a key speech from Theresa May on Brexit this week. Sterling fell 1.5% against the US currency on Sunday to its lowest level since the flash crash in October.

• Monday, January 16th 2017 - 11:04 UTC

  Trump says Brexit a 'great thing,' will meet PM May to reach trade deal with UK

  

  US-President-elect Donald Trump said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday that “Brexit is going to end up being a great thing.” He also confirmed he will be meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May soon after his inauguration on January 20 to finalise a trade agreement between the two countries that will be “good for both sides.”

• Saturday, January 14th 2017 - 08:37 UTC

  Malcorra reiterates: Argentina willing to cooperative research in the South Atlantic

  

  Foreign minister Susana Malcorra said fisheries licensing in the South Atlantic is of great concern for Argentina because of the “overall ongoing depredation”, and recalled that there is an item referred to the issue in the September UK-Argentine joint statement, which has yet to be addressed and that most probably it will follow on the identification of unknown soldiers buried in the Falklands and the additional flights issues.

• Friday, January 13th 2017 - 12:37 UTC

  Brazil retakes wheat imports, the highest in three years

  

  Brazilian officials ditched expectations of a tumble in wheat imports to a multi-year low after a surprisingly strong finish to 2016 for buy-ins, encouraged by a recovery in the real and state purchases of domestic supplies. Conab - which a month ago slashed its forecast for Brazil's wheat imports in 2016-17 [on an August-to-July basis] to 5.10m tonnes, the lowest since at least the mid-1990s – this week revised its forecast sharply upwards, to 5.95m tonnes.