Economy

• Friday, February 5th 2016 - 07:54 UTC

  Swiss Syngenta accepts takeover proposal by China Chemical: US$ 43bn cash

  

  Government-owned agrochemical firm China National Chemical announced this week an all-cash proposal to buy Swiss rival Syngenta for $43 billion in a deal expected to improve China's food production.

• Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 08:17 UTC

  Magallanes region in south Chile could hold a treasure of unconventional tight gas

  

  The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Glauconitica zone of Chile's southernmost Magallanes region holds nearly 8.3 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable, unconventional tight gas, or nearly double Chile's production of that fossil fuel over the past 70 years.

• Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 07:45 UTC

  Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal signed by 12 member nations in New Zealand

  

  The Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the biggest multinational trade deals ever, has been signed by ministers from its 12 member nations in New Zealand. The ceremony in Auckland brings the huge trade pact, which has been five years in the making, another step towards to becoming a reality. But the TPP continues to face opposition.

• Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 - 07:23 UTC

  Argentina agrees to pay Italian bond holders including “a reasonable interest”

  

  Argentina announced Tuesday that it reached a $900 million preliminary accord to settle its pending debt with 50,000 Italian holders of defaulted Argentine government bonds. Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said that the agreement with Italian bondholders includes the Argentine government's acknowledgement of the debt “and reasonable interest”.

• Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 - 06:55 UTC

  Brazil factories and mine production plunges 8.3% in 2015, with little prospects of change in the short term

  

  Industrial output in Brazil fell for a seventh straight month in December, capping the worst year for manufacturers in more than a decade as they struggle with inflation, high interest rates and political uncertainty.

• Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 - 06:15 UTC

  Brazil airline shares soar as regulator admits opening to foreign capital

  

  Brazilian airline shares soared nearly 30% on Monday after a newspaper report said the government may scrap limits on foreign ownership of domestic airlines to attract investment to the struggling sector. President Dilma Rousseff may propose legislation giving her discretion to let foreign groups own as much as 100% of local airlines, up from 20%, Valor Econômico reported.

• Wednesday, February 3rd 2016 - 05:38 UTC

  BP reported its biggest annual lost and announced 7.000 job cuts

  

  BP slumped to its biggest annual loss last year and announced thousands more job cuts on Tuesday, showing that even one of the nimblest oil producers is struggling in the worst market downturn in over a decade.

• Tuesday, February 2nd 2016 - 12:07 UTC

  Havana Club rum war: Bacardi appeals US decision to let Cuba have the trademark

  

  Bacardi filed suit on Monday against the United States demanding an explanation of its decision to let Cuba sell Havana Club rum in the United States once the U.S. trade embargo against the Castro brothers' island is lifted.

• Tuesday, February 2nd 2016 - 11:59 UTC

  FIFA puts Conmebol and Concacaf funding 'on hold' given 'current proceedings'

  

  FIFA has cut off funding to the corruption-hit confederations for football in the Americas, the global football body said on Monday, in a move which could cause future cash flow problems for the two organizations.

• Tuesday, February 2nd 2016 - 08:07 UTC

  Magallanes region with second lowest unemployment in Chile

  

  Employment in Magallanes Region, extreme south of Chile remains strong according to the latest data released by the Chilean stats office, INE, which covers the fourth quarter of 2015 (October/December). While the national unemployment average stands at 5.8%, Magallanes figures with 2.6 percentage points below.