Politics

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 09:07 UTC

  Uruguay investing hundreds of millions to support the US dollar and exports edge

  

  Uruguay’ financial and political stability is backfiring as the Central bank is forced to buy a massive inflow of foreign capital which in turn creates an abundance of Pesos that need to be absorbed to control inflation and support the competitive edge of the country’s exports.

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 08:56 UTC

  Fitch trims UK top credit rating on weaker economy and fiscal outlook

  

  Britain's credit standing took a further blow when Fitch Ratings became the second major international agency to strip the country of its top-notch credit rating. The move is an embarrassment for the Conservative-led government which promised to protect the country's rating when it took power in 2010, and will heighten the debate about whether austerity is still the right approach.

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 08:48 UTC

  Gibraltar will commemorate, not celebrate the 300 year of the Treaty of Utrecht

  

  Gibraltar will commemorate, not celebrate the 300 year old Treaty of Utrecht this year, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, told members of the Fabian Society in London earlier this week. The treaty refers to the cession in perpetuity by Spain to the British Crown of Gibraltar in 1713 under Article X of the agreement which put an end to the War of Spanish Succession (1701/1714)

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 08:32 UTC

  Argentines expecting inflation above 30% for the next twelve months

  

  Argentines are expecting an inflation of 34.2% in the coming twelve months according to the average from a monthly report released by a prestigious private university research centre based on surveys,

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 08:19 UTC

  Maduro takes office as first ‘Chavista’ president; in massive parade military swear allegiance

  

  When the last tanks rumbled past and the massive civil-military parade with display of state of the art missile launchers had come to an end in early Friday night of Caracas, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro could sigh in relief because his last twenty four hours had been really hectic.

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 06:06 UTC

  Italy’s centre-left Bersani resigns after party rebels and inflicts humiliating defeats

  

  Italy’s centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani announced his resignation after party rebels sabotaged two separate candidates he had backed for state president, deepening the country’s political stalemate.

• Saturday, April 20th 2013 - 05:56 UTC

  Brazil slams US and Europe for delaying promised reforms in the IMF

  

  Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega slammed the United States and Europe for repeatedly delaying reforms of their dominated shareholding and voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• Friday, April 19th 2013 - 13:17 UTC

  With the support of Unasur and a vote-audit promise, Maduro takes the oath of office

  

  President-elect Nicolas Maduro was set to be inaugurated in Venezuela Friday as election officials moved to defuse a political crisis by yielding to demands for an audit of the electronic votes of the results in Sunday's bitterly contested elections.

• Friday, April 19th 2013 - 06:37 UTC

  Electoral council extends auditing to all Sunday votes; Capriles accepts

  

  Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, CNE said on Thursday it would audit votes cast in weekend presidential elections after an opposition challenge to the victory accorded to President-elect Nicolas Maduro.

• Friday, April 19th 2013 - 05:46 UTC

  Argentina begins Washington round of contacts ahead of IMF-WB spring meeting

  

  Argentine Economy Minister Hernán Lorenzino is in Washington ready to start his official activities in the margins of the 2013 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meeting.