Economy

• Thursday, April 14th 2016 - 09:18 UTC

  World's largest private coal miner has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US

  

  Peabody Energy, the world's largest privately-owned coal miner, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after a sharp fall in coal prices left it unable to repay its debts. The firm said the move was aimed at reducing debt and that all its mines and offices would continue to operate.

• Thursday, April 14th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  US court opens the way for Argentina's return to world money markets

  

  The United States Court of Appeals paved the way on Wednesday for Argentina to raise billions of dollars to pay a group of hedge funds, bringing it one step closer to re-entering international markets for the first time in 15 years. In a ruling from the bench, three judges on the court of appeals upheld a ruling by Judge Thomas Griesa of District Court in Manhattan to lift an injunction that had barred Argentina from paying its creditors and eventually led the country to default in 2014.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2016 - 06:07 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez to testify on dollar/futures; supporters camping outside the courthouse in Buenos Aires

  

  Hundreds of supporters are expected to cheer former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez during a court appearance on Wednesday after returning to Buenos Aires for the first time since November's election.Fernandez who governed Argentina for eight years, has been called to testify about alleged irregularities in dollar futures trading that led to losses of almost US$4 billion for the central bank. Her allies say no crime was involved and that she's being politically persecuted.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2016 - 05:32 UTC

  Falklands launch collection of crown coins to honor the Queen's 90th birthday

  

  As the 90th birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II approaches, the British Overseas Territories of Ascension, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands have launched a collection of crown coins to mark this milestone occasion.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2016 - 05:15 UTC

  Companies with World Bank credits in Africa are linked to tax havens, claims Oxfam

  

  A report by the civil society network Oxfam has found, about 84% of the dollars invested in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, went to companies with presence in at least one tax haven.

• Wednesday, April 13th 2016 - 05:03 UTC

  Ecuador signs US$ 1 billion investment deals to boost oil production in existing fields

  

  Ecuadorian state-owned energy firm Petroamazonas EP, which is looking to boost production at nine of its existing oil fields and on Monday signed a series of investment deals amounting to US$ 1 billion for those areas, enlisting the help of both domestic and foreign companies.

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 22:18 UTC

  Punta Arenas cruise season: 29% increase in the number of visitors landings

  

  Almost 30% more cruise visitors landed in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, during the current 2015/16 season which is coming to an end. According to Chile's maritime migration officers, 109.746 cruise passengers and crew members were recorded, which represents a 29% compared to the previous season. The primary report was released by La Prensa Austral.

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 22:07 UTC

  EU farmers claim trade deal with Mercosur represents an “unacceptable risk”

  

  The first reactions to the announced Mercosur-European trade deal and exchange of proposals next week have surfaced. The Ulster Farmers’ Union president, Ian Marshall, says the European Union trade deal on offer to Mercosur countries is an ‘unacceptable risk’ to the livelihoods of farmers in Northern Ireland.

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 09:11 UTC

  First jet aircraft lands at St Helena recently finished airport

  

  Great day of the British Overseas Territory of St Helena: the first jet aircraft landed at the recently concluded airport in the island located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The business jet was chartered by Air Safety Support International (ASSI) to bring its team of five personnel to St Helena to assess St Helena Airport.

• Tuesday, April 12th 2016 - 09:00 UTC

  Don’t Blame Panama. Tax Evasion Is a Global Problem.

  

  By Juan Carlos Varela (*) - The following was published by The New York Times in The Opinion Pages. DESPITE their name, the Panama Papers are not mainly about Panama. They are not even primarily concerned with Panamanian companies. The more than 11 million documents, illegally hacked and released last week relating to previously undisclosed “offshore” corporations, is roiling the world with revelations of the vulnerability for rampant abuse of legal financial structures by the wealthy.