Economy

• Saturday, April 9th 2016 - 14:59 UTC

  Panama Papers: EU warning; questions why no US or German prominent names have surfaced

  

  A European Union official threatened to sanction Panama and other nations if they don’t cooperate fully to fight money laundering and tax evasion, after a leak of data showed the small country remains a key destination for people who want to hide money.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 07:28 UTC

  Uruguay in Brussels to begin a crucial round of Mercosur/EU negotiations

  

  Uruguay Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa is scheduled to begin this Friday in Brussels what is believed to be the last round of talks with the European Union to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 07:12 UTC

  Irish beef farmers strongly reject accord with Mercosur; protest letter to Trade Commissioner Malmstrom

  

  The Irish Farmers' Association has described an European Union offer to allow limited access to the EU market for Mercosur beef producers as “unfair”. The offer, which includes beef producers in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, is about to be presented to European Union member states for discussion, ahead of a proposed formal exchange of offers as part of the EU-Mercosur trade negotiations in May.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 07:04 UTC

  FAO Food Price Index in March: sugar up, dairy products down and meats stable

  

  The FAO Food Price Index for March rose by 1.0% compared to February, as soaring sugar prices and continued increase in palm oil quotations more than offset plunging dairy product prices. The Index averaged 151.0 points in March, its highest level in 2016, but still some 12.0% below its level of a year earlier.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 06:58 UTC

  Large inventories and sluggish demand for 2016/17 global cereal production predicts FAO

  

  World cereal production in 2016 is set to amount to 2 521 million tons, just 0.2% off last year's large output and the third-highest global performance on record, according to FAO's first forecast for the new season, released on Thursday. Large inventory levels and relatively sluggish global demand mean that market conditions for staple food grains appear stable for at least another season, the agency's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief predicts.

• Friday, April 8th 2016 - 05:07 UTC

  MP Rosindell blasts 'direct rule' for BOTs as 'unnecessary and unjust'

  

  A UK member of Parliament has come out strongly in support of the British Overseas Territories praising their economic success and the right of their peoples to govern and decide their own future. MP Andrew Rosindell, Chairman of the BOT and Crown Dependencies all party Parliamentary groups described suggestions from some senior figures in Westminster calling for 'direct rule' over BOT's as unnecessary and unjust, based on a complete misunderstanding of the situation.

• Thursday, April 7th 2016 - 09:32 UTC

  Infantino 'dismayed' with doubts about his integrity referred to Panama Papers; 'sad day for journalism'

  

  FIFA's Gianni Infantino says he is “dismayed” that his integrity is being doubted after he was revealed to have signed off a TV rights contract with two businessmen who were later indicted in the U.S. for bribery in FIFA’s corruption scandal.

• Thursday, April 7th 2016 - 09:03 UTC

  Venezuela becomes strong client of millions of barrels of US WTI crude

  

  Venezuela's PDVSA will discharge in the coming days its first cargo of U.S. crude bought from British BP, who along with China Oil was awarded a tender to supply the state-run company with some 8 million barrels in the second quarter, traders close to the deal revealed on Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 7th 2016 - 08:49 UTC

  Britain's choice: economic security with the EU, or a leap into the dark

  

  By PM David Cameron - Prime Minister David Cameron wrote an article on the UK's economic security within the EU for The Telegraph. Imagine a world where a British airline wasn’t allowed to fly between Rome and Paris; where British farmers were slapped with a tariff if they wanted to export more beef to Europe; and where great British telecoms companies and car manufacturers faced new barriers when trying to sell their goods and services to customers in Europe.

• Thursday, April 7th 2016 - 06:52 UTC

  Panama Papers shows shell companies prevail despite G20 announced efforts

  

  The leak of 11 million documents from a Panama-based law firm offers a glimpse into the shadowy world where the rich and powerful hide their money, raising sharp questions about the use of shell companies that obscure the identities of their true owners, even if they aren’t illegal by themselves.