International

Monday, December 22nd 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Spanish companies secure Gibraltar PW contracts

Chief Minister Peter Caruana has declared that the Gibraltar Government has adjudicated public works contracts to Spanish companies worth an estimated 200 million Euros.

Mr Caruana was speaking at a meeting of Costa del Sol socialists in Malaga where he was the guest of Spain's former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon, widely credited with being one of the intellectual instigators of the (UK, Spain, Gibraltar) Tripartite Forum.
Monday, December 22nd 2008 - 20:00 UTC
China reacts to negative Nov: fifth rate cut in 3 months

China cut interest rates for a fifth time in three months on Monday in its latest efforts to rev up the economy. The one-year lending rate will drop by 0.27 percentage points to 5.31% and the deposit rate by the same amount to 2.25%, the People's Bank of China said on its Web site.
Sunday, December 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC
UK ministers consider £ 500 million loan to Jaguar Land Rover

The British cabinet is weighing up a direct loan worth hundreds of millions of pounds to ailing car maker Jaguar Land Rover it was reported over the weekend in the London press. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson could approve a £500 million loan to the company, which employs around 15,000 people in the UK, the Sunday Times claimed.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Europe Asia plagued by recession and internet collapse

Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have been seriously disrupted after submarine cables were severed. It is thought the FLAG FEA, SMW4, and SMW3 lines, near the Alexandria cable station in Egypt, have all been cut. A fault was also reported on the GO submarine cable 130km off Sicily.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
EU compromise on fishing quotas and reduced discard nets

EU ministers agreed this week to a 30% increase in next year's fishing quota for North Sea cod, but will reduce catches for several other species. The quotas are a compromise between environmental groups, who say some fish stocks are on the verge of collapse, and fishermen who fear for their jobs.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
UK team en route to Antarctica for South Pole race

British television presenter Ben Fogle and UK Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell are due to arrive in Antarctica ahead of a gruelling South Pole race. Cracknell, 36, Fogle, 35, and 28-year-old Dr Ed Coats - who beat 650 applicants for his place on the team - will spend the next fortnight acclimatising to the harsh weather and terrain.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Oil price collapses in spite of promises of further supply cuts

OPEC will continue to cut crude production until prices stabilize said the cartel's president Chakib Jelil on Friday during a conference of oil producing and consuming countries in London.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
OPEC asks “confused” PM Brown to also look at high oil taxes

Oil producers rounded on UK PM Gordon Brown on Friday for complaining about prices while raking in huge fuel taxes. A senior OPEC figure branded the Prime Minister “confused” for demanding the cartel maintained output levels to control prices rather than reducing domestic duty.
Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Global contraction in 2009, first time in decades says IIF

The global economy likely will contract next year for the first time in decades as the credit crunch bites, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a Washington-based association representing more than 375 of the world's major banks and financial institutions.
Thursday, December 18th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Oil hovers near $40 despite record OPEC cut

U.S. crude hovered near $40 a barrel on Thursday, around its lowest price since July 2004, amid doubts in OPEC's ability to curb output quickly after the group announced record production cuts.