Economy

• Wednesday, March 18th 2015 - 08:20 UTC

  EU main economies announce plans to join China-led development bank, despite US warning

  

  France, Germany and Italy on Tuesday announced plans to join the Chinese-led development bank AIIB, drawing concern in Washington which views the institution with skepticism. The three European countries want ”to become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)”, they said in a statement.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2015 - 08:14 UTC

  Failure to approve IMF reforms puts “credibility of the US at risk” Lew warns Congress

  

  The credibility of the United States is at risk if Congress fails to approve International Monetary Fund quota and governance reforms, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned on Tuesday. For more than two years the US Congress has prevented the 2010 IMF reforms from taking effect.

• Wednesday, March 18th 2015 - 08:07 UTC

  Citigroup to exit custodial business in Argentina following ruling from Judge Griesa

  

  Citigroup Inc announced on Tuesday it plans to exit its custodial business in Argentina as soon as possible, after a US judge refused to lift an injunction that blocked the bank from processing interest payments on 2.3 billion of Argentina bonds, issued under Argentine law.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2015 - 07:59 UTC

  Treasurer of Brazil’s ruling party formally charged in the Petrobras corruption scandal

  

  Brazilian prosecutors have formally charged the treasurer of the ruling Workers' Party and 26 others with corruption linked to state-run Petrobras, in the latest blow to President Dilma Rousseff from the widening scandal.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2015 - 07:39 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez manages to split the farmers’ united front after years of confrontation

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez, on the campaign trail ahead of October’s national elections, announced on Monday the creation of a new fund which will reduce by up to 50% the 'retention' taxes on exportation rights paid by small and medium agriculture farmers.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2015 - 07:23 UTC

  Griesa rejects Citigroup petition to allow payment of bonds issued under Argentine law

  

  New York district judge Thomas Griesa has declined a request from the Citigroup bank to allow the entity to process the payment of Argentine bonds under local law while an appeal against the magistrate's negative ruling is being prepared.

• Monday, March 16th 2015 - 10:25 UTC

  UK caught on the wrong side in a US/Beijing dispute over Chinese development bank

  

  The US has expressed concern over the UK's bid to become a founding member of a Chinese-backed development bank. The UK is the first big Western economy to apply for membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) despite the fact that US has raised questions over the bank's commitment to international standards on governance.

• Sunday, March 15th 2015 - 02:33 UTC

  Argentina will keep to its monetary policy despite a 20% devaluation of the Brazilian Real

  

  Argentina’s central bank governor Alejandro Vanoli said that despite the continued erosion of the Brazilian currency against the US dollar, which ended the week trading at 3.28 Real to the greenback, monetary policy will continue to manage the foreign exchange to avoid volatility and ensure economic growth.

• Sunday, March 15th 2015 - 00:54 UTC

  Argentina blasts Judge Griesa ruling blocking Citigroup from paying bonds issued under local law

  

  A release from the Argentine Economy Ministry considered US Judge Thomas Griesa's ruling issued on Thursday “a shameful excess of jurisdiction”. Judge Griesa blocked Citigroup Inc from processing interest payments by Argentina on some bonds issued under the country's law.

• Friday, March 13th 2015 - 13:06 UTC

  Santander and Deutsche banks fail a US Fed Reserve “stress test”

  

  Spain's Santander and Deutsche Bank have failed a US “stress test” designed to assess whether lenders can withstand another financial crisis. The review, carried out by the Federal Reserve, gauges whether the biggest banks operating in the US have the “ability to lend to households and businesses even in times of stress”.