
The court-appointed mediator in a long-running debt dispute pitting Argentina against holdout hedge funds said Wednesday that President-elect Mauricio Macri's incoming administration intended to negotiate a settlement.

Oil prices slid on Tuesday, approaching seven-year low points on a global supply glut and weak demand growth. Crude futures had already slumped Monday after the OPEC oil producers cartel last week refused to slash record high output, in a market dogged by oversupply.

Argentina's foreign minister-designate Susana Malcorra said the FTAA (Free Trade Area Of the Americas) is not a bad word suggesting the country could eventually sign a free trade deal with the United States in the future. She also referred to the Falklands/Malvinas dispute, an urgent claim but focusing on things in common and not differences.

Argentina's next foreign minister Susana Malcorra, who will have the task of reestablishing relations with 'all countries', including those with which there are pending or difficult situations, made it a point to underline British Prime Minister David Cameron's gesture of phoning president elect Mauricio Macri to congratulate him on his victory.

Battle Day was commemorated in the traditional manner at the Cenotaph in central London on Saturday 5th December. The traffic was stopped in Whitehall, and the service was conducted by former Rector of Christchurch Cathedral in Stanley the Rev. Dr. Richard Hines.

Major food commodity prices fell in November, reversing about half their rise in the previous month, as the cost of internationally-traded staples, except for sugar, fell across the board. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 156.7 points in November, down 1.6 percent from its revised October average, and 18% below its value a year earlier.

France's far-right National Front (FN) saw record gains in the first round of regional polls on Sunday, held under a state of emergency just three weeks after Islamic extremists killed 130 people in Paris. Despite the strong result, it faces an uphill battle to clinch a run-off vote next week after Socialists withdrew candidates to block it from power.

The Bank of China will face a daily fine in the US unless it complies with a court request to give details of customers accused of selling fake goods. The bank was held in contempt of court in Manhattan last week for refusing to turn over the records.

The United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories have agreed to work together to counter hostile sovereignty claims and defend the right to self determination, according to a communiqué issued by the Joint Ministerial Council meeting in London which also touches upon the EU Referendum, tax and banking.

By David Rosnick (*) A new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) finds that there may be a significant disparity between the popular vote and legislative seats claimed by parties in Venezuela’s December 6 National Assembly elections.