International

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:55 UTC

  Brazil and China sign 30bn dollars swap to boost trade and better weather global turbulence

  

  Brazil and China will sign an agreement in the coming weeks to swap as much as 30 billion in their two currencies, Brazil Finance Minister Guido Mantega said.

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:49 UTC

  World corn glut as Matto Grosso in Brazil doubles crop over last year

  

  Corn fell in Chicago on concern a record harvest in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state may add to a supply glut and on speculation slowing US economic growth will cut demand for grain used to make ethanol.

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:39 UTC

  Political deal in Germany on the ESM; mini summit in Rome to rescue Spain

  

  The German government and opposition reached on Thursday a deal that will allow parliament to approve the European Stability Mechanism, ESM, next week, but Germany's top court may delay the rescue fund's start date, saying it needed time to study the treaty.

• Friday, June 22nd 2012 - 07:36 UTC

  Spanish banks need 62bn Euros; full bail-out of the country in the drawing board

  

  Spain's medium-term borrowing costs spiralled to a Euro-era record on Thursday and independent auditors said Spanish banks may need up to 62 billion Euros in extra capital, to be filled mostly by a Euro zone bailout.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 18:12 UTC

  Uruguayan minister admits deep concern about events in the Euro zone

  

  Uruguayan Minister of Economy Fernando Lorenzo expressed deep concern regarding events in Europe and warned that “the longer the delay in effectively analyzing the cost of the crisis” then everything will work out “much costlier”.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 17:52 UTC

  UK to reopen embassy in Paraguay and new embassy in Haiti

  

  Following on the UK policy to establish closer ties with Latin America, Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced plans to re-open the British Embassy in Paraguay and a new British Embassy in Haiti.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 09:48 UTC

  Inclusive Wealth Indicator, with human capital data, discussed at Rio+20

  

  A new index that measures a nation's wealth by taking into account factors such as natural resources, social stability and wellbeing, has painted Colombia and Venezuela in a very different light to that suggested by their GDP (gross domestic product) — the traditional measure of a country's success.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 06:29 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon at Rio+20: “the old model for economic and social development is broken”

  

  More than 100 Heads of State and government gathered on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro for the start of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which seeks to shape new policies to promote global prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 06:23 UTC

  Rio+20: Development banks to invest 175bn dollars in sustainable transport

  

  The eight largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) announced on Wednesday at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, that they will invest 175 billion dollars in sustainable transportation systems over the coming decade.

• Thursday, June 21st 2012 - 06:00 UTC

  Welsh nationalist party rebuffs Argentine approach on Falklands’ dispute

  

  Diplomats from the Argentine embassy in London invited senior representatives from Plaid Cymru, for talks in the past six months, reports The Daily Telegraph.