Economy

• Thursday, June 16th 2016 - 06:55 UTC

  Germany warns Brexit could lead to the European block's disintegration

  

  If the United Kingdom votes to leave the EU next week, the move could ultimately lead to the bloc's disintegration, Germany's foreign minister has warned. Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking near Berlin after talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault.

• Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 19:06 UTC

  Federal Reserve cautious about the future, leaves interest rates unchanged

  

  United States Federal Reserve in a unanimous vote kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signaled that it will assess labor market conditions, inflation expectations and financial and international developments before deciding on future actions. The U.S. central bank also lowered its economic growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017 and indicated it would be less aggressive in tightening monetary policy after the end of this year.

• Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 17:06 UTC

  UK Overseas Territories could suffer significantly from Brexit, says UKOTA report

  

  Britain’s Caribbean Overseas Territories could suffer significantly if it votes to leave the European Union in the June 23 referendum, according to a report released in London.

• Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 16:49 UTC

  Adidas will open its first factory in Germany in 30 years, with robots

  

  Adidas will be opening its first factory in Germany in more than 30 years is one of the most visible examples of global brands bringing manufacturing home because of rising labor costs in Asia. Adidas’s 50,000 square-foot factory, in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, will rely on robots and customized automation to produce 500,000 pairs of athletic shoes a year—well below 1% of Adidas’s total annual production of 300 million pairs—when full production starts in 2017.

• Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 11:27 UTC

  Falklands Holdings expects quieter period following suspension of oil exploration but trusts increased tourism

  

  Falkland Islands Holdings PLC on Tuesday reported a fall in pre-tax profit for its recently ended financial year, and said it expects to see a quieter period in the Falklands for the year ahead, to be offset by its Portsmouth Harbour Ferry and Momart businesses.

• Wednesday, June 15th 2016 - 07:54 UTC

  Brexit debate escalates: Remains warn of a fiscal “black hole”; Vote Leave slams “hysterical prophecies”

  

  UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne says he will have to slash public spending and increase taxes in an emergency Budget to tackle a £30bn “black hole” if the UK votes to leave the European Union. The chancellor will say this could include raising income and inheritance taxes and cutting the NHS budget.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2016 - 12:04 UTC

  ECB purchases 348bn Euros of corporate bonds in the first three days

  

  The European Central Bank bought 348 million Euros of corporate bonds in the first three days of such purchases last week, it said on Monday, as part of its 1.74 trillion Euro scheme to revive growth and inflation. The figures are at the upper end of analyst predictions, indicating a strong start for the program and suggesting that the ECB was keen to show it can buy significant volumes.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2016 - 08:32 UTC

  Brazil and Argentina crop problems raise demand for US supplies

  

  Domestic supplies of corn and soybeans will be tighter than expected in the United States as problems with crops in Brazil and Argentina have raised demand for U.S. supplies from overseas buyers, the U.S. Agriculture Department. In its latest monthly supply and demand report, the government cut its new-crop and old-crop ending stocks outlooks for both corn and soybeans by more than analysts had forecast.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2016 - 08:22 UTC

  Petrobras pre-salt fields production climb to a new high in May: 1.1MMboe/d

  

  Petrobras’s oil production in Brazil averaged 2.16 MMboe/d in May, its fifth highest monthly figure to date. The growth was due mainly due increases from the company’s pre-salt fields, with new wells connected to the FSPO Cidade de Maricá serving the Lula field in the Santos basin.

• Monday, June 13th 2016 - 17:20 UTC

  Chilean salmon industry controversy over the use of antibiotics

  

  The use of antibiotics in the Chilean salmon industry reached 557 tons in 2015, according to the latest report of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA), a figure consolidating the tendency to their intensive use over the past five years.