
Chile and Mexico will manage to a great extent to avoid the negative prospects from OECD members in the next two years. The half year report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development anticipates a serious weakening of activity in the Euro zone, the US and Japan, but the two OECD Latinamerican members as well as emerging power Brazil will have a contrasting performance.

Argentina faces 42 claims at the World Bank’s ICSID in which the plaintiffs are demanding compensations for almost 65 billion dollars, revealed Eduardo Barcesat legal advisor to the Argentine Treasury and one of several lawyers who has defended the country in those litigations.

British Petroleum has been temporarily suspended from new contracts with the US government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. While it is unclear how long the ban will last, it follows BP's record fine earlier this month over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The European Commission gave on Wednesday the go ahead for Spain to overhaul its stricken nationalized banks and opened the door for nearly 40 billion Euros in Euro zone aid to be disbursed, offering hope for an end to Spain's banking crisis.

Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell has written to the London representatives of British Overseas Territories to alert them to what he sees as a shortfall in a new report on the future of the Commonwealth.

Fitch Ratings agency announced on Tuesday it has downgraded Argentina's long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating from B to CC, with a negative outlook, as it sees a probable default if the country misses its payment to holdout investors.

Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) unveiled a discovery in the Big Bend exploration area in the Gulf of Mexico as it also abandoned another well off the shore of the Falkland Islands that yielded a low-quality reservoir.

Global growth is set for a sharp slowdown next year and the Euro zone debt crisis “remains the greatest threat to the world economy at present,” the OECD warned on Tuesday. In its latest Economic Outlook the OECD also cautioned that “the risk of a new major contraction cannot be ruled out” after a global slump in 2009.

Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino described the appeal presented on Monday by Argentina against the ruling of New York Judge Thomas Griesa as “very forceful”, and pointed out that if the magistrate had proposed to treat hedge funds demands under the terms of the 2010 debt-swap, the Argentine congress might then address the option.

The European Union, United States and Japan presented a formal complaint before the World Trade Organization questioning the legitimacy of some measures adopted by Brazil to protect domestic manufacturing, particularly in the auto industry.