Politics

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Pope Francis calls for debt sustainability to alleviate the suffering of people

  

  Pope Francis staged a surprise visit to admonish the International Monetary Fund chief and several finance ministers to help alleviate the debt burden of struggling countries, calling for “a new financial architecture” to ensure social justice.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:44 UTC

  “Not a page without a lie”, House leader Pelosi comment on Trump's State of the Union

  

  U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not planned to tear up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech but decided to do so after she could not find a page “that didn’t have a lie on it,” she told fellow Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:44 UTC

  Statement by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Argentina

  

  Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement after meeting with Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzmán in Rome:

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:24 UTC

  Argentina industrial production up 1.2% in December, first time in 20 months

  

  Argentina's industrial output rose 1.2% in December versus the same month a year earlier, the government statistics agency said on Wednesday, returning to positive territory for the first time in 20 months as the country grapples with the recession.

• Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:17 UTC

  Brazilian central bank cuts interest rate to 4.25%, but the easing cycle could be coming to an end

  

  Brazil’s central bank intends to hold interest rates going forward to consider the impact of the record-breaking monetary easing cycle it concluded on Wednesday with a quarter-point cut.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:54 UTC

  Strong support message from US Congress for Guaidó, present at Trump's State of the Union speech

  

  Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó's appearance in the US Congress at the State of the Union — as well as the bipartisan ovation he received — was intended to send a strong message of U.S. support for his efforts to unseat Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Guaidó attended the address as a guest of the White House.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:50 UTC

  Fernandez in Paris, the last leg of the European tour after support for its debt restructuring strategy

  

  Argentine president Alberto Fernandez and his delegation are in Paris preparing for a full agenda on Wednesday which includes a working breakfast with French business leaders, a private meeting with his peer Emmanuel Macron and lunch at the Elysee Palace, and finally a conference at the prestigious French Political Science School.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Buenos Aires province narrowly averts default: governor Kicillof promises to pay

  

  Argentina's Buenos Aires province narrowly averted falling into default on Tuesday, saying it would make a US$ 277 million payment on a 2021 bond after creditors would not grant a last-minute approval to delay it.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:43 UTC

  Argentina's Economy minister holds “very constructive” talks with IMF chief

  

  Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzman met the head of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva for two-and-a-half hours on Tuesday to discuss the country’s economic emergency, the ministry said.

• Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:35 UTC

  Falklands' civilian Sea King crash lands in Hampshire; corrosion to blame

  

  Mechanical failures after a helicopter was transported from the Falkland Islands caused it to crash land, investigators have found.