The US House of Representatives has narrowly voted to continue collecting data on US phone calls, in the first legislative move on the program. In a 205-217 vote, lawmakers rejected an effort to restrict the National Security Agency's (NSA) ability to collect electronic information.
Argentina’s state-run airline and flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas announced this week it will resume its direct flights to New York that were terminated five years ago. On December 15, the company will be offering a daily flight from Ezeiza airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
Paraguay is ready to return to Mercosur as long as there is respect the country’s dignity, but at the same time will look for other trade and cooperation opportunities with Mexico, United States and the Pacific Alliance, said the Paraguayan ambassador in Washington.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in September will trim the Fed’s monthly bond buying to 65 billion from the current pace of 85 billion dollars, according to a growing number of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Venezuelan Vice-president Jorge Arreaza said that cooperation between China and Venezuela, which has been especially strong and beneficial in energy and technology, could be extended to include agriculture and land exploitation, an area of special interest for Beijing.
Venezuela says it's ending talks with the United States to restore normal relations because Washington's UN ambassador-designate criticized its human rights record. Venezuela currently holds the chair of Mercosur.
The Group of 20 nations pledged to put growth before austerity, seeking to revive a global economy that remains too weak and adjusting stimulus policies with care so that recovery is not derailed by volatile financial markets.
The US city of Detroit in Michigan, once renowned as ‘Motor City’ has become the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy, with debts of at least 15bn dollars. State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge to place the city into bankruptcy protection.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the US central bank still expects to start scaling back its massive asset purchase program later this year but left open the option of changing that plan in either direction if the economic outlook shifted.
The US Treasury Department said it will postpone enforcement of a new law that cracks down on offshore tax avoidance by Americans by six months until July 1, 2014, giving foreign banks more time to determine how to comply.