Economy

• Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:24 UTC

  China cuts banks' reserve ratio to bolster lending and a weak economy

  

  China's central bank is to cut its bank reserve requirement ratio by one percentage point. The People's Bank of China said that the new reserve requirement would take effect from Monday. The aim is to stimulate more lending into the nation's slowing economy.

• Monday, April 20th 2015 - 06:20 UTC

  March inflation in Argentina ranges from 1.3% to 2.12%

  

  Argentine inflation in March reached 2.12% over February accumulating 29.8% in the last twelve months according to the average of private consultants, which every month is released by opposition members in Congress. This is one percentage point higher than the official March rate announced by the Argentine government's discredited stats office, Indec, 1.3%.

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:39 UTC

  Mercosur must exhaust efforts to advance in trade talks with EU, insists Uruguay

  

  Mercosur must exhaust efforts with determination to advance in trade negotiations with the European Union, said Uruguay's Deputy foreign minister Jose Luis Cancela confirming the country's commitment with the block, but also demanding 'sincerity' in addressing the challenges and agreeing on an international insertion strategy.

• Friday, April 17th 2015 - 03:16 UTC

  World Medical Association supports growing moves for plain tobacco packaging

  

  The World Medical Association has supported the increasing number of countries planning to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products, including Australia and France. This week it joined the Norwegian Medical Association in supporting proposals to introduce plain packaging in Norway.

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:54 UTC

  The 1.1 trillion Euro bond buying program is 'effective' says ECB' president Dragui

  

  A protester crashed a press briefing as the European Central Bank (ECB) explained the success of its 1.1 trillion euro bond buying plan. ECB President Mario Draghi said: “There is clear evidence that the monetary policy measures we have put in place are effective.”

• Thursday, April 16th 2015 - 08:39 UTC

  EU accuses Google of 'cheating competitors' to favor its shopping service

  

  The European Union accused Google Inc on Wednesday of cheating competitors by distorting Internet search results to favor its shopping service, and launched another antitrust investigation into its Android mobile operating system.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 08:57 UTC

  St. Helena prepares for airport opening with boutique hotel and South African airline

  

  Two South African companies, Mantis in the hotel business and Comair airline, will be playing a vital role in developing St Helena's economy through increased communications and the tourist industry, once the international airport is opened next February, according to the latest news from the British Overseas Territory in mid South Atlantic.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 07:53 UTC

  IMF estimates Argentine economy will contract 0.3% this year and expand 0.1% in 2016

  

  The International Monetary Fund, IMF, cut its growth estimates for Argentina for this year forecasting a 0.3% contraction followed by a shy recovery of 0.1% in 2016, the first post-Kirchner year. The data is from the IMF World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday in Washington.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 07:46 UTC

  Brazil's economy expected to contract 1% as challenges remain unaddressed, says IMF report

  

  The International Monetary Fund expects Brazil's economy to contract by one percent this year, it said Tuesday, slashing its previous forecast of 0.3% growth. The world's seventh-largest economy is being hit by inflation, private-sector doldrums and a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras, the IMF said in its latest forecast.

• Wednesday, April 15th 2015 - 07:37 UTC

  Brazil raises estimates of corn and soybean harvests, helped by late rainfall

  

  Brazil raised estimates for both its corn and soybean harvests, citing rains which had come in time to boost yields of later planted crops, besides boosting expectations for safrinha corn. The official Conab crop bureau lifted by 1.0m tons to 94.3m tons its estimate for Brazil's soybean production in 2014-15, as late rainfall helped results “surprise positively” in particular in central areas.