Economy

• Thursday, January 15th 2015 - 08:13 UTC

  Five ways to play the oil price plunge

  

  The collapse of the oil price has created losers and winners, and like every major movement in a commodity sector, the trick for investors is figuring out which side of the trade to be on.The most obvious victim of the slide in Brent and WTI prices over the last 6 months has been the major oil producers. Holders of these equities have seen price slides up to 33%.

• Wednesday, January 14th 2015 - 09:19 UTC

  Brazil anticipates 'program of targeted tax increases' and 'fare realism' for power and fuel

  

  Brazil's finance minister said on Tuesday a program of targeted tax increases was designed with the intention to not harm fragile growth in Latin America's largest economy. Joaquim Levy also pledged 'fare realism' for electricity bills and fuel prices based on 'business reasons'.

• Wednesday, January 14th 2015 - 07:47 UTC

  OPEC member stands by group's decision not to cut output to tackle glut

  

  Brent and US WTI crude oil prices fell to their lowest levels in almost six years on Tuesday as a big OPEC producer stood by the group's decision not to cut output to tackle a glut in the market.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:56 UTC

  The real cause of low oil prices: Interview with Arthur Berman

  

  With all the conspiracy theories surrounding OPEC's November decision not cut production, is it really not just a case of simple economics? The U.S. shale boom has seen huge hype but the numbers speak for themselves and such overflowing optimism may have been unwarranted. When discussing harsh truths in energy, no sector is in greater need of a reality check than renewable energy.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:52 UTC

  Vast potential energy resources in US Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific

  

  Two new studies by Quest Offshore Inc. for the (US) National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) show vast potential energy and economic benefits to the U.S. if the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific outer continental shelf (OCS) were opened to offshore oil and natural gas development.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:46 UTC

  Falklands' sheep paddocks with fence posts from North Wales

  

  Fence posts made from North Wales timber are keeping sheep safe thousands of miles away in the Falkland Islands. Every year a consignment of 4,000 fence posts weighing 20 tons is trucked from Ruthin to Portsmouth on the first stage of an 8,000-mile journey to the South Atlantic, reports the Daily Post from North Wales.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:36 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez to Beijing in February; more financial support from China

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez will be travelling to Beijing next month, reciprocating a visit from her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last July, it was officially announced by chief of staff Jorge Capitanich. The meeting was anticipated last Friday in a meeting of the two countries foreign ministers on the sidelines of the CELAC/China ministerial forum held last week in Beijing.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:31 UTC

  Argentina suspends HSBC from transferring money abroad for 30 days

  

  Argentina said on Monday it was suspending HSBC Bank Argentina's right to transfer money abroad for 30 days due to “irregularities”, two months after charging it with helping clients evade taxes by siphoning their funds off to Switzerland.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 08:10 UTC

  US economy creates more jobs; unemployment falls to 5.6% during December

  

  The US economy added 252,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Labor Department figures. In addition, figures for the number of jobs created in October and November were both revised upwards. The jobless rate is now at its lowest since June 2008.

• Tuesday, January 13th 2015 - 07:30 UTC

  Arrests in Venezuela following protests over swelling lines for basic goods

  

  At least a dozen protesters arrested in Venezuela remained in jail and masked assailants burned a bus overnight amid scattered unrest over swelling lines for basic goods, activists said.