
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has defended credit rating agencies for failing to spot the US mortgage bubble that sparked the financial crisis. Giving testimony in New York, Mr Buffett said the agencies made the wrong call, but added that so did everyone else, including himself.

The need for a mutual-trust environment, which helps avoid situations of possible conflicts inside the region, is one of the main points the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, will be discussing with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to Ecuadorian diplomatic sources.

Bolivian president Evo Morales said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached for the full reestablishment of diplomatic, trade and investment relations with Washington.

United States President Barack Obama held talks with his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia in the White House and praised the South American country’s economic performance and consolidated democracy.

Brazil will send a team of experts to the United States next week to seek clarification on methods used to test processed meat imports for residues, which have suspended export to the US, the Agriculture ministry said on Monday.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the worst environmental disaster the US has faced, a senior official has said. White House energy adviser Carol Browner also said the US was prepared for the worst scenario that the leak might not be stopped before August.

United States president Barak Obama turned down an invitation from Brazilian president Lula da Silva to visit the country ahead of October 3 when presidential elections are scheduled, reported a newspaper from Sao Paulo.

New York Federal Judge Thomas Griesa seized 2.43 billion US dollars that Argentina’s government owned Banco Nación had deposited in the city in response to a claim presented by a group of Argentine bondholders that did not make it into the debt-swap.

Two days of wide-ranging economic and political talks between the United States and China wrapped up in Beijing with no major agreements announced but both sides said they had candid discussions and reaffirmed their commitment to building a strong and enduring relationship.

United States Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Monday declared a fishery disaster in the Gulf of Mexico because of the economic impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on fisheries in the region.