Economy

• Monday, February 6th 2017 - 22:08 UTC

  Uruguayan president and business delegation begin tour of Germany, Finland and Russia

  

  Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez, six cabinet ministers and a numerous business delegation begin on Monday a two weeks official tour of Germany, Finland and Russia to increase political and trade links, particularly in the “new international scenario” and hopefully advancing in locking the long delayed accord between the European Union and Mercosur.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 12:03 UTC

  US economy adds more jobs, but pay remains low and people looking for work has risen

  

  United States businesses added 227,000 jobs in January, way above economists' forecasts of about 175,000. The figure, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compares with December's rise of 157,000, revised up slightly from last month's first estimate. However, average pay barely rose, and the number of people working part-time but looking for full-time work rose.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 06:47 UTC

  Temer and Macri meet next week to make Mercosur an effective free trade space

  

  Brazil and Argentina will attempt to eliminate trade barriers which limit or impede Mercosur trade, ensuring a free trade space, “the sooner the better”, revealed Brazilian diplomats in anticipation of the presidential summit next week, when Mauricio Macri is received by Michel Temer in Brasilia.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 06:34 UTC

  Germany praises Mrs. May post-Brexit pledge for a strong Europe

  

  German chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed Theresa May's remarks that Britain wants to see a strong Europe - even as it prepares to quit the EU. The prime minister told EU leaders she wanted to build a “strong partnership” with the EU and pledged the UK would be a “good friend and ally” post-Brexit.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 06:24 UTC

  British supermarkets rationing vegetables; adverse weather conditions in Europe

  

  British supermarkets have begun rationing vegetables, as adverse weather conditions in Europe have led to a shortage of products in UK stores. On Friday Tesco said customers will be limited to buying a maximum of three iceberg lettuces per visit, adding bad weather in Spain had triggered “availability issues”, although it added suppliers were looking to resolve the issue.

• Saturday, February 4th 2017 - 06:15 UTC

  UK assures Gibraltar about access to financial services market and sovereignty

  

  Britain will maintain Gibraltar’s existing access to the UK financial services market and broaden it where possible, a British Government minister told the House of Lords on Thursday, as he insisted sovereignty was “simply not on the table” in the Brexit process.

• Friday, February 3rd 2017 - 11:23 UTC

  Bank of England forecasts strong economic growth in next three years

  

  The Bank of England revised up its economic growth forecasts for the British economy for the coming three years, crediting much of the improvement to the government’s decision to ease up on austerity in the wake of the country’s vote to leave the European Union.

• Thursday, February 2nd 2017 - 11:44 UTC

  Parliament backs by clear majority Brexit negotiations

  

  MPs have voted by a majority of 384 to allow Prime Minister Theresa May to get Brexit negotiations under way. They backed the government's European Union Bill, supported by the Labour leadership, by 498 votes to 114. However the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats opposed the bill, while 47 Labour MPs and Tory ex-chancellor Ken Clarke rebelled

• Thursday, February 2nd 2017 - 11:12 UTC

  Industrial output in Brazil dropped 6.6% last year compared to 2015

  

  Brazil's industrial output rose in December at its fastest monthly pace in two and a half years, in a likely one-time boost that did not reverse the sharp losses of one of the worst years on record for local manufacturers.

• Thursday, February 2nd 2017 - 10:32 UTC

  White Paper on Brexit planning to be released on Thursday, announces PM May

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that Downing Street will publish a white paper on Brexit planning on Thursday. Speaking from the dispatch box at Prime Minister's Questions, May confirmed the arrival of the paper in response to a question from Tory backbencher Maria Miller.