International

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:24 UTC

  FAO food prices index down in November except for dairy

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 211 points in November 2012, down 3 points (1.5%) from October and the lowest since June 2012. Except for dairy, international prices of all the commodity groups included in the Index fell in November, with sugar undergoing the sharpest dip, followed by oils and cereals. The decline puts the November index value nearly 3% below one year ago.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 14:23 UTC

  Falklands & Southern Oceans Department re-established at the Foreign Office

  

  The reestablishment of a Falklands Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been announced by Peter Hayes, Director of the Overseas Territories, on Wednesday.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 05:26 UTC

  Bank of England at crossroad on stimulus program despite weaker economy

  

  The Bank of England has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus program, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 01:48 UTC

  ECB slashes Euro-zone growth prospects; further rate cut not discarded

  

  The European Central Bank on Thursday opened the door to a rate cut next year, after slashing its economic growth projections for the 17-member Euro- zone.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 01:41 UTC

  Standard Chartered ready to settle with US regulators for making business with Iran

  

  Standard Chartered expects to pay 330 million dollars to US regulators to settle claims that it did not comply with US sanctions against Iran. The amount is on top of 340m it paid to New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS) earlier this year.

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 23:29 UTC

  EU, US and Japan ask WTO to rule on Argentine imports’ restrictions

  

  The European Union, the US and Japan have jointly asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a protracted trade dispute with Argentina. They criticize what they believe are unfair import restrictions and protectionism.

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 21:26 UTC

  Gibraltar will be competing in UEFA 2013 Euro Futsal and U17 and U19

  

  The Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, has included Gibraltar in the Futsal qualifiers for the Euro 2013 Cup to be played in France next month and in the U17 and U19 tournaments to be disputed beginning next autumn. This is considered a remarkable step for Gibraltar’s football on the Uefa/GFA ‘road map’

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 00:35 UTC

  Repsol sues Chevron in New York over development of YPF energy assets

  

  Spain’s Repsol has sued Chevron Corp. in New York seeking to prevent the US oil giant from developing energy assets in Argentina. The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday follows other legal claims that the Spanish oil company has filed in Madrid and Washington, demanding more than 10 billion dollars in compensation for the majority stake in the YPF oil company that Argentina's government took over in April.

• Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 23:53 UTC

  Argentina files complaints at WTO against US and EU for bans on beef and bio-diesel

  

  Argentina has filed complaints with the World Trade Organization against the United States over limits on beef and lemon shipments, and against the European Union and Spain for curbs on bio-diesel, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman announced.

• Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 20:33 UTC

  Argentine bullying tactics are despicable says Falklands MLA Summers

  

  The Argentine Government’s acts of intimidation towards cruise companies which have planned to visit the Falkland Islands continues to impact on the Islands tourism industry with a further two ships cancelling their February visits on Wednesday.