Economy

• Wednesday, September 7th 2016 - 17:54 UTC

  Falkland Islands Holdings declares lower profitability; plans name change

  

  Falkland Islands Holdings PLC on Thursday tabled plans to change its name to FIH Group PLC, as it said profitability in the first five months of its financial year was at a lower level than the prior year. Falkland Islands Holdings, which owns services businesses based in the UK and the Falkland Islands, said it will change its name to FIH Group, subject to shareholder approval, to “more properly reflect the balance of the group's activities”. Its activities are now predominantly in the UK and Europe.

• Wednesday, September 7th 2016 - 17:00 UTC

  Brazil's central bank sounds more flexible on the world's highest interest rates

  

  The Brazilian central bank said on Tuesday that future interest rate cuts will not depend on any single factor, signaling that policymakers are ready to ease monetary policy as inflation expectations improve. In the minutes of its last rate-setting meeting, the bank said all members were satisfied with the progress of disinflation, but remained cautious about high inflation expectations for 2017.

• Wednesday, September 7th 2016 - 13:41 UTC

  Montevideo will have a specific fishing terminal and freezing storage by 2019

  

  Uruguay plans to build a major terminal for the fishing industry, with sufficient freezing capacity, in the Capurro Park, approximately a mile to the west from the current mooring facilities in the Montevideo bay port.

• Wednesday, September 7th 2016 - 12:38 UTC

  Uruguay lobbying Argentina on Buenos Aires port services' costs

  

  A delegation of Uruguayan tourism and port authorities together with the country's ambassador in Argentina, Hector Lescano held a meeting in Buenos Aires with their Argentine peers to address bilateral cooperation in boosting the cruise industry on both sides of the River Plate.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 19:36 UTC

  Cuba looking for new oil supplier and begins implementing social security tax

  

  President Raul Castro has asked Russia to consider beginning to supply Cuba with oil. Before the Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991, the ex URSS was Cuba’s main supplier under favorable trade terms. Russia's official news network revealed the news, allegedly in a direct request from Castro to president Vladimir Putin.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 18:21 UTC

  Russia and Saudis agree to “act together” to lift price of oil from its two-year slump

  

  Energy ministers from the world's two largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia said on Monday that their countries had agreed to “act together” to lift the price of oil out of its two-year slump, though they provided few details as to how they planned to achieve that goal.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 17:43 UTC

  Another major fraud investigation in Brazil: companies funds pensions; US$ 25bn alleged damages

  

  Brazilian police launched an investigation of fraud at state-run companies' pension funds on Monday, as a judge ordered dozens of senior financiers and executives away from their firms, including the chief executive of the world's biggest beef exporter.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 17:21 UTC

  Argentina undergoing a values' change, says Macri; the time of messianic leaders is over

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri said on Monday that the time of messianic leaders who hand to hand with lies denied reality is over, and pointed out that the country is undergoing a deep transformation, not only economic, but equally significant of values and success will be achieved if all Argentines understand this and put it into practice.

• Tuesday, September 6th 2016 - 17:17 UTC

  Meirelles invites foreign investors to take advantage of US$ 269bn opportunities

  

  Brazil's economy could grow 2.5% in 2018 and expand at an even faster rate over the following years, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said at a seminar in Shanghai.

• Monday, September 5th 2016 - 16:42 UTC

  Falkland Islands produced 1.700 tons of wool, says 2015/16 Farming Statistics

  

  Falkland Islands farmers produced 1.7 million kilos of wool last year and also provided 44,000 sheep to the abattoir, according to the 2015/16 Farming Statistics recently compiled by the Department of Agriculture. This work was carried out by just 281 people recorded as living on the farms; 151 on the East, 105 on the West and just 25 scattered around the 11 farms on outer islands.