Politics

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:26 UTC

  Latin America losing its competitive edge as demand for commodities slows down

  

  The United States ranks as the most competitive country in the world in a survey of 60 countries by IMD, a leading global business school in Switzerland. The survey finds Europe is recovering some of its competitive edge, while emerging economies, particularly in Latin America are struggling to hold their own.

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:16 UTC

  Spanish king abdicates: time for a new generation 'to move to the front line'

  

  King Juan Carlos of Spain announced on Monday that he was abdicating in favor of Crown Prince Felipe, his 46-year-old son, explaining in an address to the nation that it was time for a new generation to “move to the front line” and face the country’s challenges.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 08:21 UTC

  Moody's upgrades Uruguay's rating to Baa3, based on reduced 'vulnerabilities'

  

  Moody's Investors Service last Friday announced it had upgraded Uruguay's government bond rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and assigned a stable outlook to the Baa2 rating. The upgrade was driven by the strengthening of Uruguay's sovereign credit profile, as reflected by the convergence of fiscal and debt metric, an overall government debt profile that is currently associated with moderate credit risks, and the country's reduced vulnerabilities to regional and commodity shocks.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 08:09 UTC

  Prince Harry will be visiting Brazil, and Chile for the first time later this month

  

  Prince Harry will be visiting Brazil and Chile this month in support of the UK's interests in the region and will reflect the strong relationship the two countries have with the UK. The visit will also allow Prince Harry to build on the links he began to forge in South America during his official visit to Brazil in March 2012.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 08:04 UTC

  Gibraltar's Poggio to be succeeded by Jason Cruz in two years time

  

  The Gibraltar Government’s recently-appointed representative in Hong Kong, Jason Cruz, will succeed Albert Poggio as the Rock’s man in London in two years’ time, it was revealed in Parliament by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo who confirmed the decision as he answered Opposition questions about Mr Cruz’s salary and employment package.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 07:48 UTC

  .Qatar vehemently denies corruption claims in the bid for hosting 2022 World Cup

  

  Qatari organizers of soccer's 2022 World Cup have “vehemently” denied accusations their successful bid was corrupt, saying its lawyers were looking into claims made by a British Sunday newspaper.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 07:33 UTC

  Argentina confident US Supreme Court will take its litigation case with hedge funds

  

  President Cristina Fernandez administration has high hopes that the US Supreme Court will take its long running litigation case with holdout hedge funds that refused to accept sovereign debt rescheduling after Argentine defaulted in 2001.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 07:13 UTC

  Vazquez, Lacalle Pou and Bordaberry: one the three will be Uruguay's next president

  

  Sunday's primaries in Uruguay cleared the way for the candidates of the four parties with legislative representation that will be disputing the presidential election next October 26, with a run-off a month later if none of them manages 50% plus one of ballots.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 01:09 UTC

  Pacific Alliance to hold round of integration 'informative' talks with Mercosur

  

  Pacific Alliance members meeting in Mexico agreed to hold an “informative” ministerial round of talks with their Mercosur and associates' counterparts to talk about regional integration. The announcement was done following a closed doors meeting of Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru foreign ministers who are preparing the agenda for the next Pacific Alliance summit.

• Sunday, June 1st 2014 - 12:59 UTC

  Exxon, BP defy White House and extend partnership with Russia

  

  Several of the largest oil companies in the world are doubling down in Russia despite moves by the West to isolate Russia and its economy. ExxonMobil and BP separately signed agreements with Rosneft – Russia's state-owned oil company – to extend and deepen their relationships for energy exploration.