Economy

• Friday, December 12th 2014 - 06:43 UTC

  Switzerland charges former HSBC analyst with industrial espionage

  

  Switzerland has charged a former computer analyst at HSBC's private bank in Geneva with industrial espionage and breaching the country's secrecy laws for passing confidential client data to foreign authorities.

• Friday, December 12th 2014 - 06:16 UTC

  Financial aid from Brazilian government for scandal-hit Petrobras

  

  Brazil's government is wrapping up a financing plan for Petrobras aimed at ensuring the scandal-hit state-controlled oil giant can obtain the funding it needs for its massive investment program.

• Thursday, December 11th 2014 - 12:46 UTC

  Falling world oil prices shatter Argentine stocks for second day running

  

  Argentine stocks closed down 6.85% Wednesday, weighted down by falling oil prices for a second day of heavy losses. As oil prices sank to new five-year lows, the Merval stock index in Buenos Aires shed more than 600 points to 8,279.04, after losing 7.22% Tuesday.

• Thursday, December 11th 2014 - 12:40 UTC

  FAO food price index in November remained stable for third month running

  

  FAO's monthly food price index was stable in November, as vegetable oil and grain prices inched up and offset ongoing declines in dairy prices. The Food Price Index averaged 192.6 points, marking the third consecutive month of stability. The Index now stands 13 points, 6.4 percent below its level in November 2013.

• Thursday, December 11th 2014 - 12:04 UTC

  Malaysia's Petronas and YPF sign 550 million deal to develop shale deposits in Patagonia

  

  YPF SA and Petroliam Nasional Bhd, state-controlled companies from Argentina and Malaysia, signed a 550 million dollars deal to drill fields at the world’s fourth-largest shale oil deposit in Patagonia’s Vaca Muerta, south Argentina.

• Thursday, December 11th 2014 - 11:29 UTC

  Argentine argues before NY Appeals court the central bank is not an 'alter ego' of the administration

  

  Lawyers representing the Argentine government and the Central Bank have defended the country's stance on the debt conflict in a hearing with the New York Second Circuit Appeals Court, rejecting the notion that holdout investors could confiscate reserves or assets belonging to the financial entity.

• Wednesday, December 10th 2014 - 07:56 UTC

  Weaker Latin American currencies against the US dollar next year

  

  Latin American currencies will lose value against the US dollar in 2015 because of the strong US recovery and lower commodities' prices according to Itau-Unibanco, Brazil's largest private bank which also anticipates a strong fiscal adjustment by President Dilma Rousseff's next administration, in an effort to regain investors' 'confidence'.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 08:52 UTC

  “Kicillof's economy post still too big for him, but he has changed a lot in a year”

  

  The head of the Argentina's powerful manufacturing lobby, UIA, Hector Mendez fired harsh words against Economy Minister Axel Kicillof stressing “his post is still too big for him”, but admitted he 'has advanced' in the last twelve months.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 11:12 UTC

  Dilma Rousseff after quick transition in Finance given the fiscal deterioration

  

  Brazil's new economic team headed by Joaquim Levy is expected to take office sometime in the next few days after the ruling coalition of President Dilma Rousseff finally managed Congress to approve a loosening of this year's budget targets including the crucial primary budget.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:12 UTC

  Road ahead for Latin America 'increasingly bumpy' says IMF Lagarde

  

  Latin America faces a rocky road ahead despite social and economic achievements in recent years, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. Among the achievements in the last two decades and in most nations, Ms Lagarde mentioned low inflation, fiscal discipline, and financial stability.