The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted Thursday to hold the base interest rate at its record low of 0.5%. As expected, the Bank did not extend its £200 billion program of quantitative easing and is not expected to make a decision on whether to follow the US Federal reserve with a second bout of economy boosting bond-buying – or QE2 – until February.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague laid a statement in Parliament on how the UK plans to reinvigorate the Commonwealth with a vision to strengthen the Commonwealth as “a focus for promoting democratic values and development”.
In his acceptance speech as winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, entitled In Praise of Reading and Fiction, (*) Peruvian writer Vargas Llosa paid tribute to his mother, his grandfather Pedro and his uncle Lucho.
A newly formed Chinese organization says it will award its own peace prize on Thursday, a day before the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Norway to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.
The U.S. dollar will be a safe investment for the next six to 12 months because global markets are focused on the Euro zone's troubles but the US fiscal health is worse than Europe's, an adviser to the Chinese central bank said on Wednesday.
Brazilian corporation Vale, the world's biggest iron ore miner, listed on Wednesday at the Hong Kong stock exchange where it traded at a premium to New York's close, as the company looks to raise its profile among Asian investors.
A retired Spanish diplomat has sparked controversy after circulating a number of opinion articles that contradicted the official Spanish position on key issues including Gibraltar.
Trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur are making progress and are on track for a possible trade agreement by mid-2011, following coincidences on several controversial points.
The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been refused bail by a court in London but vowed to fight extradition to Sweden. Mr Assange denies sexually assaulting two women in Sweden. He was remanded in custody pending a hearing next week.
United States disapproved of the recognition of a Palestine state from the part of several Latin American countries, saying that direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are still the only way to reach peace in the Middle East.