Laura Bush’s new memoir, “Spoken From the Heart,” is really two books. The first is a deeply felt, keenly observed account of her childhood and youth in Texas — an account that captures a time and place with exacting emotional precision and that demonstrates how Mrs. Bush’s lifelong love of books has imprinted her imagination. [...]
CARACAS, Venezuela – Foes of President Hugo Chavez have largely put their differences aside and come up with a unified lineup of candidates, hoping to win control of a congress that has done the socialist leader’s bidding for years.
Pro-democracy activists, jailed government opponents, journalists, businessmen and union leaders are among the [...]
When the President of Peru Dr. Alan Garcia made a joke to Hugo Chavez in August 2009 during a summit of South American Nations Union (UNASUR) , it was unlikely that the apparent revenge of the Venezuelan Colonel come many months later. This time, the Peruvian recalled that the U.S. did [...]
Colombia’s Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus continued to lead polls over former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos a month before the country’s presidential vote, according to a survey by Datexco Company SA.
Mockus would beat Santos 38.7 percent to 26.7 percent in the first round and would win the election with 41.5 percent in a runoff [...]
Adriana Pires, a human resources manager in Rio de Janeiro, had a pleasant surprise when she prepared her income taxes: the 8,000 reais ($4,575) she paid for breast implants and liposuction are tax-deductible, reported Bloomberg today.
As Brazilians race to meet today’s filing deadline, the federal government this year for the first time will allow taxpayers [...]
Spain’s unemployment rate rose above 20 percent for the first time in more than a decade, undermining Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s fight to cut the euro region’s third-largest budget deficit.
The jobless rate rose to 20.1 percent in the first quarter from 18.8 percent in the previous three months, the Madrid-based [...]
U.S./ GDP Growth
American consumers helped propel the U.S. economy at the start of 2010, taking over leadership of a recovery that is starting to generate the jobs needed to ensure it’s sustained, Bloomberg reported today.
Gross domestic product grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter as household spending climbed at the [...]
The largest company in the defense and aerospace equipment from Italy, Finmeccanica, provides up to 4 billion euros (5.33 billion dollars) in orders from Brazil in coming years. The company is focusing on emerging markets to minimize the weakness in defense spending in other areas, Reuters informed today.
The company, which [...]
Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into trading at Goldman Sachs, raising the possibility of criminal charges against the Wall Street giant, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the investigation is still in a preliminary stage, the move could escalate the legal troubles swirling around Goldman.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which two weeks ago [...]
Time Magazine has awarded Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with a remarkable title and: according to the turnout of the voting the online site of the United States magazine unveiled, the former 2009 Man of the Year for Le Monde is now the “most influential leader of 2010,” according to one of the [...]
