International

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 01:42 UTC

  Obama honours 50 anniversary of March on Washington and the ‘I have a dream’ speech

  

  Addressing hundreds of thousands of people commemorating on Wednesday the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for civil rights, US President Barack Obama underlined the “unfinished business” in the struggle for equality and justice in America

• Wednesday, August 28th 2013 - 21:56 UTC

  Brazil raises benchmark interest to 9% hoping to rein in inflation

  

  Brazil raised on Wednesday its Selic benchmark interest rate to 9% from 8.5% in a further attempt to rein in inflation. The central bank's monetary policy committee, the Copom, voted unanimously for a third straight half percentage point rate rise.

• Wednesday, August 28th 2013 - 14:24 UTC

  EU Home Affairs Commissioner heads mission to examine Spanish controls at Gibraltar border

  

  Cecilia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, will be heading the mission tasked with examining border controls imposed on Gibraltar by Spain while a second mission will address the ‘customs dimension’ issue, the European Commission has confirmed. British authorities will be involved in the EC probe of the Gibraltar frontier as will Spanish officials but no date for the visit has been set though it is expected within a few weeks.

• Wednesday, August 28th 2013 - 14:22 UTC

  UK reaffirms support for Gibraltar; Picardo meets with PM Cameron and Hague

  

  British Prime Minister David Cameron office has highlighted the significance of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s visit to No 10 Downing Street as an indication of the relationship and support of UK for Gibraltar.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:55 UTC

  China and emerging economies call on the Fed for prudence in unwinding stimulus

  

  The US Federal Reserve must consider when and how fast it unwinds its economic stimulus to avoid harming emerging market economies, senior Chinese officials said on Tuesday. Financial markets are uneasy because the US Fed might decide to reduce its monthly bond buying when it meets on Sept 17 and 18.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:46 UTC

  UK tourism profits hit by soaring costs and fierce competition

  

  The unexpected warm summer boosted trading at Britain’s hotels, pubs and restaurants as holiday makers took advantage of the soaring temperatures, a new report shows. But profits were hit due to the double whammy of rising raw materials costs and fierce competition that kept prices low, says the CBI’s quarterly service sector survey.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:39 UTC

  Arab tourists spend £1.3 billion in London

  

  Initial estimates on foreign tourist purchases in London during this summer season are estimated to be worth £4 billion. Official statistics have not yet been disclosed. The contribution of Arab citizens to this figure is estimated to be worth £1.3 billion, says the British Commercial Association.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 21:24 UTC

  Time for investors to hunker down: ‘markets look terrible’

  

  It's time to step out from my 'normal' role as the 'energy expert' and make a comment or two on the markets in general, just as a professional trader who's seen quite a bit in his almost 3 decades of daily experience with capital markets and the way they act. Patterns emerge that aren't foolproof, but they've served well over the years and they are making some very visceral noises to me, even observing the action at longer range on vacation.

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 02:36 UTC

  International tourist arrivals grew 5% in the first half, according to WTO

  

  International tourist arrivals grew by 5% during the first half of 2013 compared to the same period of 2012, reaching almost 500 million, according to data just released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Growth was above the projection made at the beginning of the year (+3% to +4%) and is also exceeding the trend of the UNWTO long-term outlook Tourism Towards 2030 (+3.8% a year).

• Tuesday, August 27th 2013 - 01:39 UTC

  Paraguayan president plans round of visits to Mercosur neighbours

  

  Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes will be making a round of visits to neighbouring countries beginning with Argentina, which will be followed by Brazil, Uruguay and Chile before the end of the year, revealed foreign ministry sources.