United States

Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:38 UTC
US Congress budget office warns “fiscal cliff” is already holding back the economy

The US Congress budget office launched on Wednesday a stern warning: massive spending cuts and tax hikes due next year will cause even worse economic damage than previously thought if Washington fails to come up with a solution.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:33 UTC
The US Fed considering round of monetary stimulus “fairly soon”

The Federal Reserve is likely to deliver another round of monetary stimulus “fairly soon” unless the economy improves considerably, minutes from the US central bank's August meeting show.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:12 UTC
Merkel, Hillary and Rousseff the three most powerful women, says Forbes

Forbes magazine ranked German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from last year.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 22:49 UTC
Argentina hits back at US and will complain in WTO trade barriers on meats and lemons

The Argentine Foreign Ministry on Tuesday hit back at the United States amid various trade barrier complaints and allegations of illegality saying that it would report the country for violating the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) rules for stopping imports of Argentine meat and citrus fruits to the US.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 20:40 UTC
Sweden will not extradite Assange if he faces death penalty in the US

The Swedish government will not extradite Julian Assange to the US should he face the death penalty there, as any possible extradition request from Washington is then subject to strict conditions, an official from the country’s Justice Ministry.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 20:07 UTC
US families dump 40% of their food every year, says environmental group

Americans throw away nearly half their food every year, waste worth roughly 165 billion dollars annually or 2.275 dollars per average family, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defence Council
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 19:07 UTC
US and Japan file complaints at WTO against Argentine import licensing rules

The United States and Japan launched on Tuesday complaints against Argentina at the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that its import licensing rules discriminate against foreign goods. The two complaints follow similar litigation brought by the European Union in May.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 05:21 UTC
Ecuador ready for dialogue with UK, but with eyes on Friday’s OAS meeting

The Ecuadorean government reiterated on Monday that dialogue with UK on the Julian Assange case will continue once London officially “withdraws” the original message with threats. Quito also is hopeful that the coming OAS extraordinary meeting will ratify full support for Ecuador as has happened with other regional organizations.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 02:56 UTC
Argentina hosted 5.7m tourists in 2011; iconic names play a significant role

Argentina has become the most visited country in South America with arrivals in 2011 reaching almost six million tourists, said Leonardo Boto head of the country’s National Tourism Promotion Institute, Improtur.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 02:25 UTC
US Court rejects Argentina sovereign immunity argument; banks must show documents

Argentina lost a bid on Monday to prevent bondholders from obtaining documents from two banks about the country's assets outside the United States. A three judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said in an opinion that the Argentine government could not prevent a lower court's order forcing the banks to produce the documents.