Economy

• Tuesday, October 25th 2016 - 10:29 UTC

  Macri and Vazquez agree that the trade approach to China should be done from Mercosur

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri promised his Uruguayan peer Tabare Vazquez to look into the draft of a Uruguay/China free trade deal, and expressed their deep concern about political events in Venezuela suggesting that under the current circumstances the Nicolas Maduro government cannot be considered a member of Mercosur.

• Tuesday, October 25th 2016 - 09:07 UTC

  Petrobras and Total reach strategic alliance for upstream and downstream projects

  

  Brazil's Petrobras and France's Total oil companies announced on Monday a strategic alliance Monday for upstream and downstream projects as President Michel Temer pronounced Brazil's troubled economy reopened for business.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 18:11 UTC

  First Mercosur test for Uruguay´s free trade agreement negotiations with China

  

  Uruguay and Argentina, and their cabinets will be meeting this Monday in Buenos Aires to address a bilateral agenda, which was agreed long before hand, but the real issue will not necessarily be trade, dredging canals, pulp mills, customs or facilitating people's movement, but rather the negotiations for a free trade agreement which supposedly Uruguay is about to begin discussing with China.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 17:43 UTC

  Billions pour in to buy Argentine bonds, “sign of growing investor confidence”

  

  Argentina’s international currency reserves rose above the landmark US$40 billion for the first time in three and a half years last Friday, as a huge inflow of dollars from government-issued debt and some exports over the last few days caused some dramatic increases this week. The milestone, according to Central Bank chief Federico Sturzenegger, was “a sign of growing investor confidence in the country.”

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 11:51 UTC

  Spaniards flock to Gibraltar for shopping taking advantage of the weak pound

  

  The fall in the pound has boosted trade in Gibraltar as neighbouring Spaniards flock to the Rock territory where their Euros buy them more, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has said. Gibraltar’s stores and supermarkets are filled with Spanish people picking up their weekly shop.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 11:20 UTC

  Airbnb sues New York State for imposing costly fines on online rentals

  

  After New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on Friday imposing costly fines onto people who advertise illegal rentals online, the housing site Airbnb sued, contending that the law violates freedom of speech and is unconstitutional.

• Monday, October 24th 2016 - 08:36 UTC

  Large banks preparing to relocate out of UK over Brexit fears warns BBA

  

  Large banks are getting ready to relocate out of the UK early next year over fears around Brexit, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has warned. Writing in The Observer its boss Anthony Browne also says smaller banks could move operations overseas by 2017.

• Sunday, October 23rd 2016 - 06:31 UTC

  Hackers' coordinated 'attacks' leave major websites inaccessible in the US

  

  Major websites were inaccessible to people across wide swaths of the United States on Friday after a company that manages crucial parts of the internet’s infrastructure said it was under attack. Users reported sporadic problems reaching several websites, including Twitter, Netfix, Spotify, Airbnb, Reddit, Etsy, SoundCloud and The New York Times.

• Saturday, October 22nd 2016 - 10:31 UTC

  Uruguay expects a no-growth cruise season; Buenos Aires port rates discourage companies

  

  Uruguay is expecting some 150 cruise calls this coming season 2016/17 which begins next month and represents some 300.000 visitors, according to Tourism minister Liliam Kechichian who nevertheless admitted that growth prospects are somehow behind schedule because of the high costs of reaching and operating in the port of Buenos Aires.

• Saturday, October 22nd 2016 - 10:20 UTC

  Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages will be operating from Miami by 2020

  

  Sir Richard Branson’s new Caribbean cruise line is moving forward, and it’s got a new name. At a press conference in Miami on Tuesday, the new cruise line announced that it will now operate under the name Virgin Voyages.