International

• Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 05:47 UTC

  Soybeans reach record price in Chicago, past the threshold of 650 dollars/ton

  

  Soybean prices again climbed on Tuesday in Chicago reaching a historic record of 650.74 dollars the ton, boosted by investors’ purchases fearing limited supplies because of the worst drought in the US in the last five decades.

• Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:40 UTC

  Moody’s lowers EU outlook to ‘negative’: fears big countries will prioritize their own debts

  

  Moody's has lowered its outlook for the European Union's AAA credit rating to “negative” and warned that the bloc's rating could be downgraded. The move reflected the negative outlook for the ratings of the EU key budget contributors.

• Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:30 UTC

  Unification Church forecasted to survive as an economic rather than religious group

  

  The death of Sun Myung Moon deprives the Unification Church of a charismatic leader, the engine behind the business and religious success, and now faces an uncertain future when the number of followers has been falling since the eighties.

• Wednesday, September 5th 2012 - 00:14 UTC

  EC regrets stances of “protectionism” and “populism” in some Mercosur members

  

  The president of the European Commission Jose Durao Barroso said on Tuesday that the EU 27 members still want to reach a free trade agreement with Mercosur, but warned that the “protectionist stances” from some of its members makes it difficult.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 23:55 UTC

  PM Cameron reshuffles cabinet but keeps unpopular Osborne as Chancellor

  

  British Prime Minister David Cameron reshuffled his ailing coalition government on Tuesday, but kept unpopular finance minister George Osborne and foreign minister William Hague in their jobs.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 23:42 UTC

  Russia’s Gazprom ready to help YPF develop gas and non-conventional resources

  

  Argentine nationalized oil company YPF moved forward in the signing of an agreement with Russian state oil company Gazprom to develop conventional and non-conventional gas in Argentina and the eventual supply of liquefied gas.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 06:26 UTC

  Mercosur faces “great problems and internal divisions” making talks with EU “difficult”

  

  French Foreign Trade minister Nicole Bricq said that there are “great problems” in the current negotiations between the EU and Mercosur to reach an association agreement which also includes a free trade chapter.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 06:18 UTC

  Hague says Assange rights protected by Sweden, UK, EU and international law

  

  UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that any suggestion of a risk of breach for Julian Assange’s human rights on extradition to Sweden is completely unfounded and recalled that international, EU and UK law fully address the concerns raised by Assange and by the Government of Ecuador.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 01:44 UTC

  Falklands’ referendum a “parody”: like asking the Argentines “if they want to remain Argentine”

  

  Argentine Defence minister Arturo Puricelli strongly criticized the announced referendum the Falkland Islands government is scheduled to hold next March which he described as a ‘parody’ and “entirely lacking imagination and creativity”.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2012 - 01:25 UTC

  Germany stands firm: ECB is not prepared to supervise all Euro zone banks

  

  German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rejected on Monday a European Commission plan to give the European Central Bank sweeping powers to monitor all Euro zone banks, saying it should instead focus only on systemically important institutions.