Politics

• Saturday, March 5th 2016 - 08:59 UTC

  Malcorra sides with Lula da Silva, “hard to believe” what he's going through

  

  Argentine foreign minister Susana Malcorra sided with former president Lula da Silva arguing that it is hard to believe that a leader with such a record is under a criminal investigation, and underlined that all the economic and political scenario of Brazil has a great impact in Argentina.

• Saturday, March 5th 2016 - 08:52 UTC

  Spain will bring up the issue of Gibraltar, 'the very next day' UK votes to leave European Union

  

  The caretaker Spanish Foreign Secretary, Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, has declared that he will bring up the question of Gibraltar ‘the very next day’ if the UK votes to leave the European Union on 23rd June. The interview has been described by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo as an example of why it's so much more important for Gibraltar to remain in Europe.

• Saturday, March 5th 2016 - 06:37 UTC

  Argentina downgrades Malvinas Department, but sovereignty claim “remains as strong as ever”

  

  The Argentine government announced it downgraded the Malvinas Islands department at the Foreign ministry, but minister Susana Malcorra insisted that the sovereignty claim over the South Atlantic Islands “remains” as strong as ever and will advance in different forms, probably more subtle, and with Gibraltar as a reference.

• Friday, March 4th 2016 - 21:10 UTC

  Brazil political system in shock: police question Lula da Silva for three hours and raid his properties

  

  Brazilian police on Friday questioned former President Lula da Silva for over three hours and searched his home and other properties linked to him and his family, one of the most dramatic developments yet in the sprawling corruption case at the oil giant Petrobras.

• Friday, March 4th 2016 - 07:17 UTC

  Brazilian GDP contracted 3.8% in 2015, the worst among major economies

  

  Brazil's GDP fared worse than almost any other major economy in 2015, contracting by 3.8%, according to the national statistics agency IBGE. Economic growth in the world's seventh-largest economy has fallen sharply in recent months, which was due partly to low commodity prices and sluggish global growth.

• Friday, March 4th 2016 - 07:02 UTC

  Paul Singer will have made a $2.4bn profit with the Argentine defaulted bonds

  

  Elliott Management Corp., a New York-based hedge fund that invested in distressed Argentine government bonds well over a decade ago, will have made a $2.4 billion profit on its wager once this week's settlement is finalized, the Wall Street Journal said.

• Friday, March 4th 2016 - 06:49 UTC

  French president wants UK in the EU and warns of the consequences of leaving

  

  French President Francois Hollande has said he wants the UK to stay in the EU - and warned of the “consequences” for immigration and the economy of leaving. A French government minister earlier suggested his country could end UK border controls in Calais.

• Thursday, March 3rd 2016 - 05:35 UTC

  Brazilian company admits, in plea bargain, illegal payments to Rousseff presidential campaign

  

  Executives from Brazil's second-largest engineering company, Andrade Gutierrez have testified that the company paid suppliers for President Dilma Rousseff's 2010 electoral campaign off the books, newspaper a Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday.

• Thursday, March 3rd 2016 - 05:11 UTC

  EU top official expected in Argentina to bolster Mercosur/EU trade negotiations

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri is scheduled to receive in a week's time the European Union head of foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini who is expected to announce that all is ready to begin, next April, formal negotiations for the long-delayed trade and cooperation agreement between Mercosur and the EU.

• Thursday, March 3rd 2016 - 05:03 UTC

  Brazil leaves key interest rate unchanged at 14.25% for the fifth time running

  

  Brazil's central bank kept interest rates on hold on Wednesday as widely expected, opting to avoid inflicting more harm on an economy mired in its worst recession in decades despite a surge in inflation. In a split vote, the bank's monetary policy committee, Copom, kept its benchmark Selic rate at 14.25% for the fifth straight time.