Politics

• Monday, April 22nd 2013 - 07:43 UTC

  Mathematician will be responsible for putting Venezuelan inflation back on its feet

  

  President Nicolas Maduro replaced Venezuelan Finance Minister Jorge Giordani, appointing central bank chief Nelson Merentes in his place two days after being sworn in as Hugo Chavez's successor.

• Monday, April 22nd 2013 - 07:26 UTC

  Cartes, a self-made millionaire who has pledged to transform Paraguay

  

  President-elect Horacio Cartes is one of Paraguay's wealthiest men with businesses in tobacco, finance, farming, retail and the soft drinks industry among others. Brash and ambitious, Cartes had never voted before joining the conservative Colorado Party in 2009.

• Monday, April 22nd 2013 - 06:40 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez and Mujica tell Cartes, Mercosur ‘is waiting for the return of Paraguay’

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez congratulated Paraguayan president-elect Horacio Cartes for his ample victory in Sunday’s election and said Mercosur was waiting for the return of the country to the trade block.

• Monday, April 22nd 2013 - 06:34 UTC

  Paraguay’s Colorados back in office; opposition admits defeat; observers praise election process

  

  Millionaire businessman Horacio Cartes won Paraguay's Sunday presidential election, returning the powerful centre-right Colorado Party to power after a brief spell started in 2008 ended in impeachment last year. Cartes won with a 9 or 10 percentage point lead over Efrain Alegre of the ruling Liberal Party, the head of the country's electoral tribunal said.

• 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.