Tag: United States

• Friday, September 20th 2013 - 07:36 UTC

  Brazil’s Mantega becomes supporter of US stimulus and praises Fed’ last decision

  

  Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega, on Wednesday cheered the Federal Reserve's decision to leave stimulus unchanged, saying it may signal an end to market turmoil. Mantega, who gained international fame for using the term “currency wars” to describe rich nations’ efforts to lift exports by weakening their currencies, said a gradual stimulus withdrawal may boost Latin America's largest economy.

• Wednesday, September 18th 2013 - 20:33 UTC

  Fed decides to keep stimulus: fears of economy sluggishness and still slow labour market

  

  In a surprise move after a two-day meeting the US Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it would continue buying bonds at a rate of 85 billion dollars monthly and expressed concern that a sharp rise in borrowing costs in recent months could weigh on the economy.

• Wednesday, September 18th 2013 - 00:49 UTC

  Poverty rate in the US steady at 15%, which represents 46.5 million people

  

  The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that median household income in the United States in 2012 was 51,017 dollars and the official poverty rate was 15%, which is 2.5 percentage points higher than in 2007. Neither figure represents a statistically significant change from 2011.

• Wednesday, September 18th 2013 - 00:27 UTC

  Rousseff postpones state visit to Washington over US cyber-spying allegations

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday postponed a state visit to Washington over allegations of US cyber-spying on her country. She announced the decision after discussing the spying row with US President Barack Obama Monday in a telephone call.

• Tuesday, September 17th 2013 - 06:50 UTC

  Obama sets the field for the coming clash with Republicans on the US debt ceiling

  

  US President Barack Obama warned Republicans in Congress on Monday that he will not negotiate over an extension of the US debt ceiling as part of a budget battle that will soon dominate Washington, with a deadline fast approaching.

• Thursday, September 5th 2013 - 02:13 UTC

  S&P claims lawsuit is US government ‘retaliation’ for downgrading credit rating

  

  Ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) has claimed the lawsuit filed against it by the US Justice Department was “retaliation” against its decision to downgrade the US's credit rating.

• Thursday, September 5th 2013 - 01:59 UTC

  Advanced economies taking the global relay from emerging countries, says IMF

  

  Advanced economies led by the United States will increasingly drive global growth while emerging countries are at risk of slowing due to tighter US monetary policy, the IMF said in a note according to Reuters news agency.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 18:54 UTC

  Major change in US drugs policy: allows recreational cannabis on a ‘trust but verify’ approach

  

  President Barack Obama's administration ceded ground last week in the US war on drugs, saying it will not dispute the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington states. The decision was swiftly hailed by campaigners for the legalization of a substance that, under federal law, remains a Schedule One controlled substance on a par with heroin.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 18:03 UTC

  Unasur embarrassment: Suriname president’s son arrested by US on drug and arms trafficking

  

  Suriname opposition legislators have called on President Desi Bouterse to resign as well as to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest of his son by United States law enforcement authorities in Panama earlier this week.

• Monday, August 19th 2013 - 13:12 UTC

  Uruguay calls on Mercosur to sign a free trade agreement with United States

  

  Uruguayan Vice-President Danilo Astori said Mercosur must decisively address the signing of a free trade agreement with the United States, but also admits that “opportunities must be built”.