United States

• Sunday, April 19th 2009 - 04:54 UTC

  Obama more popular than Chavez in Venezuela, says US top aide

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rushed a photograph of him and President Obama shaking hands onto his government's website because Mr. Obama is more popular than Mr. Chavez in Venezuela, said Jeffrey Davidow, senior advisor to the US president on Latinamerican affairs.

• Saturday, April 18th 2009 - 09:05 UTC

  Obama pledges a “new beginning” with Latinamerica and Cuba

  

  United States President Barack Obama pledged on Friday to seek a “new beginning” in ties with the Castro brothers ruled Cuba as part of a new era of US partnership and engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean. But he also pointed out he had come to speak about the future, not the past.

• Saturday, April 18th 2009 - 08:56 UTC

  “I want to be your friend” says Chavez and shakes hands with Obama

  

  President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez shared a friendly handshake at the start of the Fifth Summit of the Americas Friday. The Venezuelan government called the handshake ''historic'' and hinted that it was the first step toward thawing chilly relations between the two nations.

• Saturday, April 18th 2009 - 04:19 UTC

  Hillary Clinton admits failure of US policy towards Cuba

  

  United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday US policy toward Cuba has failed as she welcomed an ”overture'' from President Raul Castro to talk about “everything” including human rights and political prisoners.

• Saturday, April 18th 2009 - 03:48 UTC

  Citibank first quarter pleasant surprise for banking sector

  

  Citigroup reported on Friday its first quarterly net profit in nearly two years, the latest US bank to see an improvement in its performance. It made a profit of 1.6 billion US dollars compared with a loss of 5.1 billion a year earlier. Revenues rose 99% to 24.8 billion.

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 11:14 UTC

  De facto exit for embargo: Castro and Obama agree to discuss “any issue”

  

  Cuban President Raul Castro said from Venezuela that his government is willing to discuss any issue with Washington, as along as it's a conversation between equals and Washington respects “the Cuban people's right to self-determination”.

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 11:00 UTC

  Obama to Latinamerica: “we must choose the future over the past”

  

  “Choosing a Better Future in the Americas” was the title on an opinion editorial from United States President Barack Obama published Thursday in the main dailies of Latinamerica on the eve of his arrival to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad Tobago, with a one day previous visit to Mexico.

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 10:45 UTC

  US Fed “Beige Book” tries to send “stabilizing message”

  

  United States economic activity weakened in March, but there were some signs of stabilisation, the Federal Reserve said in its influential Beige Book. The report, used to set US interest rates, said “overall economic activity contracted further or remained weak”.

• Friday, April 17th 2009 - 07:30 UTC

  US second largest shopping mall owner files for bankruptcy protection

  

  General Growth Properties, United States second-largest shopping mall owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday after failing to reach an out of court consensus on how to restructure its 27 billion US dollars debt. The Chicago based corporation which owns more than 200 malls in 44 states said shoppers at its malls will not be affected by its bankruptcy filing.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 07:22 UTC

  US March consumer prices mark new annual declination record

  

  United States consumer prices fell in March and recorded their first annual drop in more than half a century, according to official figures from the Labour Department. The consumer price index fell 0.1% last month after energy prices declined. In February prices had risen 0.4%.