
A senior banker from a UK bank has admitted conspiring to defraud over manipulating the Libor lending rate. The banker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the first person in the UK to plead guilty to the offence.

The World Bank chief financial officer is giving up part of his bonus after an uproar over cost-cutting measures at the lender. Bertrand Badre will decline the remainder of his 94,000 dollar annual bonus, the bank said.

Argentina's state-run energy company YPF admitted on Wednesday having held promising meetings with Russia's Gazpron to consider different collaboration and business opportunities, “but so far has not signed any Memorandum of Understanding, MOU or agreement”.

The five full members of the Mercosur trade bloc will use unified number plates for their 0km vehicles starting in 2016, Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman announced on Wednesday from San Martín Palace in Buenos Aires city.

The Australian Capital Territory of Canberra in Australia is the best place in the world to live, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Canberra led the regional ranking while Australia topped the overall country rankings, followed by Norway.

The head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Peru, Uruguayan Senator Sergio Abreu underlined the orderly way in which Peruvians went to vote on Sunday's regional and municipal elections, this despite some regrettable episodes of violence in the pre-election phase, Election Day at some polling stations, and at the conclusion of voting in some departments.

Although pollsters in Brazil got it right with President Dilma Rousseff victory and the growth tendency of runner up Aecio Neves in the last days leading to Sunday's presidential election, they failed dismally in percentage estimates.

A run off in November to elect Uruguay's president seems most certain because none of the two leading candidates will manage a majority in the first round on 26 October, according to the latest public opinion poll.

Under the heading of Emerging markets prospects and strategy the US bank group JPMorgan-Chase states that no matter who wins in Uruguay's 26 October presidential election, we do not expect significant changes in the framework of current policy.

The International Monetary Fund kept Uruguay's growth estimate for this year at 2.8% but lowered the forecast for 2015 to 2.8% from 3%, according to the latest World Economic Outlook. Last year the Uruguayan economy expanded 4% and the government's target for this year is 3%.