International

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 06:27 UTC

  S&P and Fitch downgrade main Spanish banks ratings on “dimmed” prospects

  

  Spanish banks including Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA had their ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s, which cited “dimming” growth prospects and “heightened” market turbulence.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 06:00 UTC

  Colombia supports Palestinian state, but insists negotiations with Israel are crucial

  

  Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas left Colombia empty-handed Tuesday after failing to secure support from President Juan Manuel Santos for his bid to gain state recognition at the United Nations.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:52 UTC

  Football star says Brazil “can’t become a slave of FIFA”

  

  Brazil football star Romario has said FIFA must not be allowed to dictate changes to Brazilian law ahead of the World Cup in 2014. Romario, who is now a congressman, said laws that guarantee half-price tickets to students and pensioners should not be swept away.

• Wednesday, October 12th 2011 - 05:46 UTC

  Putin says Euro zone has sufficient resources and does not need BRIC aid

  

  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the crisis-hit Euro zone had enough resources to resolve its own troubles without support from Russia and fellow BRIC countries.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2011 - 23:34 UTC

  Trichet warns EU sovereign debt has become “systemic”

  

  Europe's top financial watchdog warned Tuesday that the Euro zone's sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and threatens global economic stability unless decisive action is taken urgently.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2011 - 08:15 UTC

  Food high prices and volatility to continue; investment in agriculture critical, says UN

  

  Food price volatility featuring high prices is likely to continue and possibly increase, making poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity, the United Nations' three Rome-based agencies said in the global hunger report published Monday.

• Tuesday, October 11th 2011 - 07:48 UTC

  China to increase oil and sales tax (5 to 10%) to reduce consumption

  

  China will expand a tax on oil and natural gas sales to the entire country as of November first to try and reduce consumption. The tax will be 5-10% of sales, the State Council said Monday.

• Monday, October 10th 2011 - 23:00 UTC

  China warns Washington of a ‘trade war’ if US Senate votes punishing the Yuan

  

  China reiterated that an expected vote this week in the US Senate on a bill intended to pressure Beijing to allow its currency to raise if made into law would result in a trade war and hurt US-China ties.

• Monday, October 10th 2011 - 22:40 UTC

  Markets react positively to Merkel/Sarkozy promise of Euro zone plan

  

  Stocks rose sharply in Europe and in the US on Monday as investor sentiment were buoyed by a renewed pledge by France and Germany to come up with a plan to tackle the Euro zone debt crisis by month's end. International pressure has been building for bold steps from Europe to avert a global economic backlash.

• Monday, October 10th 2011 - 22:37 UTC

  Two US macro-economy experts awarded Nobel Prize in economics

  

  US academics Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in economics for work that helps governments and central banks weigh up responses to crises -though it offers no immediate answer to current global problems.