Economy

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 20:11 UTC

  St Helena postpones official opening of the new airport

  

  The St. Helena Government confirms that further safety and operational work is required prior to the Official Opening of the Island’s new Airport – and that this event has therefore been postponed. While this means that the Airport will not officially open on 21 May 2016 as originally planned, the safety of aircraft and passengers is of course paramount.(MP, 15 and 19 April).

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:51 UTC

  With a subsidy production scheme, Argentina is back exporting oil, mainly to China

  

  Argentine oil producers are shipping record volumes of crude this month, spurred by a new government subsidy that has also prompted state-owned oil company YPF to return to the export market for the first time in years.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:33 UTC

  Temer promises to combat corruption by strengthening anti-graft institutions

  

  A government led by Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer would press ahead with the country's corruption fight by strengthening anti-graft institutions and enacting tougher controls over state-run companies, and will also implement an education reform, according to a six chapter document leaked to the Sao Paulo media.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:18 UTC

  Macri claims Argentina hid unemployment with 'worthless public jobs', at Labor Day event with dissident union

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri attended an event at a dissident union headquarters in the City of Buenos Aires where he marked the Labour Day with unionized workers of the food sector, and blasted the previous administration for hiding unemployment with public jobs.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:13 UTC

  Argentines worried about inflation and unemployment; fuels increase 10% in May

  

  A clear majority of Argentines are most worried about inflation and unemployment, a report by the D’Alessio IROL and Berenzstein private consulting agencies have showed.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:07 UTC

  Chile's economy slows down and unemployment climbs higher that forecasted

  

  Chile's jobless rate rose more than expected in the first quarter as two years of sluggish growth finally caught up with the labor market, signaling stronger headwinds for South America's wealthiest economy.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 07:54 UTC

  Argentine needs US$ 37bn to address the budget deficit and foreign debt payments

  

  Argentina will issue a fresh round of dollar-denominated debt notes worth an estimated US$8 billion in the next few days, top officials from the Finance Ministry confirmed. The government will “very soon” issue a new Treasury note to capture dollars that are being stored “under the mattress” in a process that will kick off with a meeting with bankers, Finance Secretary Luis Caputo said.The Argentine government hopes to bring in US$5 billion through the issuance.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:56 UTC

  Maduro announces 30% increase in the minimum wage

  

  Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro has ordered a 30% increase in the minimum wage, the latest move by the socialist government to grapple with high inflation and economic stagnation.

• Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:34 UTC

  Venezuela moves local time 30 minutes up, back to normal

  

  Venezuelan government on Sunday moved local time up 30 minutes, to four hours behind UTC, with an eye toward dealing with the emergency caused by the ongoing severe drought. The time change will enter into effect as of this month and brings Venezuela back to the time schedule that prevailed until 2007, when the government shifted the nation's clocks back by half an hour.

• Sunday, May 1st 2016 - 13:45 UTC

  Consumers want seafood traceability, according to survey commissioned by MSC

  

  The results of the latest market study commissioned by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) reveal an interest among consumers in seafood traceability. Surveys conducted among more than 16,000 seafood consumers globally indicate that over 55% do not trust the labeling of the seafood they consume. In Spain, this value is even higher: 61% of Spanish seafood consumers doubt whether the products they consume are what their packaging reads.