
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is poised to become the largest shareholder in the New York Times Co. after already almost doubling his money from an investment that helped the newspaper get through the financial crisis.

Two new studies by Quest Offshore Inc. for the (US) National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) show vast potential energy and economic benefits to the U.S. if the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific outer continental shelf (OCS) were opened to offshore oil and natural gas development.

The US economy added 252,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Labor Department figures. In addition, figures for the number of jobs created in October and November were both revised upwards. The jobless rate is now at its lowest since June 2008.

John Boehner narrowly won a third term as United States House of Representatives speaker, surviving a stiff challenge from 25 conservative Republicans as the party took full control of Congress.

Aurelius Capital Management, one of the main plaintiffs against Argentina in New York District Judge Thomas Griesa’s courtroom, has denied being part in a lawsuit filed against Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras, in response to accusations by Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof.

Spain tried to persuade US politicians to drop an initiative calling for the House of Representatives in Washington to formally recognize Gibraltar’s right to self-determination. The plea was contained in a letter from Spain’s ambassador to Washington, Ramon Gil-Casares, to Republican Congressman George Holding, who sponsored the bi-partisan resolution.

Cuba has freed some of 53 people the United States regards as political prisoners as agreed under last month's US-Cuban rapprochement and Washington wants to see the rest released soon, the US State Department said on Tuesday.

The US oil price fell below the symbolic threshold of $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009, before finishing the day at $50.05. The price of Brent crude also fell on Monday, dipping 6% to $53 a barrel.

On the sidelines of the inauguration of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff at the Planalto Palace seat of Brazil's Executive, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met briefly with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro in a hand-shake facilitated by Uruguay President Jose Mujica.
![The embargo has almost certainly helped keep the Castro brothers [Fidel and Raul] in power for the last five decades.](/data/cache/noticias/48465/260x165/fidel-y-raul-castro.jpg)
By Robert F Kennedy Jr. (*) - In early December, President Barack Obama announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba after more than five decades of a misguided policy which my uncle, John F. Kennedy, and my father, Robert F. Kennedy, had been responsible for enforcing after the U.S. embargo against the country was first implemented in October 1960 by the Eisenhower administration.