International

• Friday, January 11th 2013 - 08:32 UTC

  An optimistic Dragui sees a “positive contagion” in the Euro zone economy

  

  European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi spoke on Thursday of a “positive contagion” in the Euro zone economy, saying that the financial situation is improving and growth is set to return in the second half of the year.

• Friday, January 11th 2013 - 08:21 UTC

  Bank of England keeps monetary policy unchanged waiting for GDP figures

  

  The Bank of England on Thursday decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus program, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system. It is also keeping its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, where it has been since March 2009.

• Thursday, January 10th 2013 - 18:56 UTC

  FAO food price index finished the turbulent 2012 down 7% compared to 2011

  

  The United Nations reported on Thursday that food prices fell for the third month in a row in December last year, balancing out sharp increases registered earlier in 2012, which had previously sparked fears of a food crisis.

• Thursday, January 10th 2013 - 04:06 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez targets UK ‘threats’ to keep escalating the Falklands’ dispute

  

  Argentine president Cristina Kirchner targeted the UK for “threatening” to come “to militarize and invade our Malvinas Islands” following the announcement that an additional 150 British soldiers are been sent to the Falklands and PM David Cameron recent warnings on support of the Islands.

• Thursday, January 10th 2013 - 03:35 UTC

  How the Americas can secure much needed ‘game-changing’ global expansion in higher education

  

  By Anka Mulder - Over the next decade, it is estimated by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that the global economy will need to create some 600 million new jobs to preserve social cohesion, and ensure sustainable growth. In the midst of ongoing economic fragility across much of the world, this poses a monumental challenge, and will thus be one of the topics discussed at WEF annual meeting in Davos later this month.

• Wednesday, January 9th 2013 - 18:29 UTC

  New oil extraction technologies have the US closer to energy independence

  

  US crude oil production is expected to rise by the largest amount on record in 2013, the Energy Information Administration said, and is set to soar by almost a quarter over the next two years.

• Wednesday, January 9th 2013 - 16:39 UTC

  Rockhopper planning minimum three wells offshore Falklands in 2014

  

  Rockhopper Exploration which discovered oil offshore the Falkland Islands in 2010 at its Sea Lion prospect is planning a minimum of three exploration and appraisal wells on its North Falkland Basin acreage in 2014 including Sea Lion satellites Casper, Casper South, and Beverley.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2013 - 20:41 UTC

  Euro-zone unemployment up for 19th month running; Spain with record 26.6%

  

  The unemployment rate across the troubled Euro zone hit 11.8% in November, up from 11.7% in October, with the number of people out of work in the 17-nation single currency area now nudging 19 million. Spain again recorded the highest with 26.6% and 57% for the under-25s.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2013 - 20:27 UTC

  Economic weakness and environmental challenges in the WEF annual report

  

  With rising economic strains on one side and ever more environmental concerns on the other, the world could soon find itself in “the perfect global storm”, the World Economic Forum warned in a report on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2013 - 20:21 UTC

  Corn-seed sales in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico help Monsanto with record earnings

  

  US agricultural giant Monsanto Tuesday posted a large increase in quarterly earnings on strong results in corn seed sales in the US and Latin America and better sales of pesticides. The St Louis-based corporation said net income for the first quarter was 339 million dollars, up from 126 million a year earlier.