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☆ Births in Italy hit record low in 2022, population shrinks further
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Births in Italy dropped to a new historic low below 400,000 in 2022, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Friday, as the population continued to shrink. Last year Italy recorded more than 12 deaths for every seven births and the resident population fell by 179,000 to 58.85 million, ISTAT said in its annual demographic report. The population decline slowed somewhat compared with 2021 and 2020, two years heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy recorded 392,600 births in 2022, down from 400,249 the previous year, ISTAT said, the 14th consecutive fall and the lowest number since the country's unification in 1861. Foreigners made up 8.6% of the country's population in 2022, for a total of 5.05 million.

☆ Italian bank loans to firms fall as demand weakens: central bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Bank loans to companies in Italy declined sharply between November and February as demand weakened and interest rates rose, the Bank of Italy said on Friday. In the three months to February loans to the non-financial sector fell overall by 3.2% year-on-year, driven down by 7.5% drop in credit to companies, the Bank of Italy said in its quarterly bulletin. Between November and February the average interest rate on new bank loans to firms increased by 60 basis points (0.6%) to 3.6%, the central bank said. Loans to families in the three months to February edged down by 0.1% year-on-year, as demand for house mortgages declined, it added. Reporting by Alberto Chiumento, Luca Fratangelo, editing by Gavin Jones andOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's Berlusconi spends second night in hospital, friends hopeful
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent a second night calmly in the intensive care unit of Milan's San Raffaele hospital and is reacting positively to treatment, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday. He has suffered from chronic blood cancer for some time and is in intensive care for a lung infection, his doctors said on Thursday. "(Zangrillo) told me he had a good sleep, that he is under intensive care and is reacting positively to the treatment," Tajani said. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition, though he does not have a direct role in her government. Meloni and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday they had spoken to Berlusconi by telephone.

☆ Peru set to jail third ex-president as Toledo awaits extradition from U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Peru's Justice Minister Jose Tello said on Wednesday night that a California court judge had ordered Toledo to turn himself in on Friday to the U.S. Marshals Service and await extradition after his request for bail was revoked. "Sooner rather than later, Toledo will answer to Peruvian justice," Tello told television station Canal N, adding that his extradition should take place in a "matter of days". The Peruvian minister said 77-year-old Toledo is expected to be held while he awaits trial in a jail complex in the outskirts of Lima that was built to hold former president Alberto Fujimori. Toledo was arrested in the U.S. in July 2019 following a formal request by Peru for his extradition.

☆ Rising consumer prices in Mexico eased to a 17-month low in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

February's inflation rate stood at 7.62%. Still, core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, slowed to 8.09% from 8.29% the previous month. Month-on-month, Mexico's headline consumer price index rose by 0.27% in March, just under the 0.31% forecast in a Reuters poll. The latest data came ahead of a virtual meeting Wednesday between Latin American leaders from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, to discuss measures aimed at combating rising prices in the region. Last week, Mexico's central bank hiked its key interest rate to 11.25%, but moderating the pace of its tightening cycle.

☆ Mexico inflation eases to 17-month low of 6.85% in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Mexico's annual inflation slowed in March by more than expected to 6.85%, the lowest rate in nearly 1-1/2 years, although core price pressures remained elevated, data from national statistics agency INEGI showed on Wednesday. The March reading was the lowest since October 2021, and came in below the consensus forecast of 6.90%, as determined by a Reuters poll. Still, a measure of core inflation, which strips out some volatile items, slowed less than anticipated to 8.09% from 8.29% the previous month. Month-on-month, Mexico's headline consumer price index rose by 0.27%, less than the 0.31% forecast in the Reuters poll. Banxico has raised rates by 725 basis points since its rate-hiking cycle started in June 2021 to combat inflation.

☆ At least four children killed in pre-school axe attack in southern Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view shows forensic technicians, ambulances and policemen outside a pre-school after a 25-year-old man attacked children, killing several and injuring others, according to local police and hospital, in Blumenau, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Brazil April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Denner OvidioApril 5 (Reuters) - At least four children were killed and four other injured when a 25-year-old man armed with a small axe attacked a pre-school in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina on Wednesday, local police and a hospital said. Police said the man responsible for the attack in the city of Blumenau has been arrested. The attack, dubbed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a "monstrosity," happened nearly a week after a 13-year-old student stabbed a teacher to death and wounded five others in a Sao Paulo school. Reporting by Fernando Cardoso in Sao Paulo, Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Inside Nike: Sources share claims of sexism, cheating, abuse at the world's wokest brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Joshua Hunt | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +51 min

The conservative blowback came as no surprise to Parker, who told Nike's board of directors to expect some short-term backlash. In late 2014, the BBC sent a film crew to Portland to interview several former Oregon Project employees. "He would be at the side of the track calling out runners' splits but wouldn't call Kara's out," Adam Goucher told me. When people asked why she left the Oregon Project, she said it was a "personal decision." "I don't think it has anything to do with who the CEO is," Goucher told me.

☆ China's GWM taps Brazil's WEG for electric vehicle charging network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] EV car Good Cat by Ora, a brand by Great Wall Motors, is displayed at the Bangkok International Motor show in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaSAO PAULO, April 4 (Reuters) - Chinese electric car maker Great Wall Motors (GWM) (601633.SS) on Tuesday said is planning to install an electric vehicle charging network in Brazil through an exclusive partnership with local motor manufacturer WEG (WEGE3.SA). The partnership involves developing "a broad network for recharging electrified vehicles at dealerships, parking lots, shopping malls and other commercial establishments," GWM said in a statement. WEG will provide the Chinese firm "electric vehicle chargers to be sold to consumers and to be installed at the automaker's dealerships," it added. ($1 = 5.0852 reais)Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr., editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Such "skinny labels" typically allow generic drugmakers to launch their products earlier while avoiding liability for infringing brand-name drugmakers' patents. GSK sued Teva for patent infringement in Delaware federal court in 2014 over its generic version of Coreg. In its petition to the Supreme Court last year, Teva said the ruling would cause "havoc" for skinny labels, which it said are "extraordinarily common" and "save patients and the federal government billions." GSK countered that the case does not threaten generic drugmakers that "operate properly under the law." The Biden Administration backed Teva on Wednesday, arguing generic drugmakers should be entitled to rely on the FDA's carve-out instructions, which are based on brand-name drugmakers' own statements to the agency.

☆ Spain's conservatives seen winning general election, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo listens to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speak during a session at the Spanish Senate in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2022. The conservative PP would win 32.4% of the vote, or between 139 and 143 seats in the 350-seat lower house, largely in line with where it stood in the previous GAD3 poll in November. PP head Alberto Nunez Feijoo has said he would rather not ally with Vox in parliament, but may have no other option. In May, Spain will hold municipal and regional elections that will help gauge support for the main political parties in the general election to be held in December. Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Marquez apologises for Oliveira crash at Portuguese GP, accepts penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PORTIMAO, Portugal, March 26 (Reuters) - Honda's Marc Marquez apologised for his mistake and accepted a penalty after a collision with local favourite Miguel Oliveira saw both riders crash out of season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday. loading"First of all I'm very sorry to Oli, his team, to his fans at the Portuguese GP. I did a big mistake," Marquez told MotoGP. Sometimes these kind of things happen in races and I understand I made a big mistake," he added. Honda team manager Alberto Puig said it was 'impossible' for Marquez to avoid the crash.

☆ Argentina ex-President Macri says he will not be candidate in upcoming elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group C - Poland v Argentina - Stadium 974, Doha, Qatar - November 30, 2022 Former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File PhotoBUENOS AIRES, March 26 (Reuters) - Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri said on Sunday that he will not be a presidential candidate in the country's October general elections, as the opposition coalition moves to confirm its candidates. Opposition candidates Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta and former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich applauded Macri's decision not to run. "I will not be a candidate in the next election," Macri said in a video posted on social media on Sunday. Although Macri had previously suggested he would not run for the October elections, other opposition members speculated he would still announce his candidacy. The opposition coalition appears poised to garner more support than the ruling party, which has not yet defined its candidate amid major internal disputes between Fernandez and his Vice President Cristina Fernandez.

☆ Los Angeles Schools Reach Deal on Pay Raises With Support Staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Sara Randazzo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Los Angeles District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, at lectern, SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Max Arias and Mayor Karen Bass on Friday. LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Unified School District reached a deal Friday to increase pay and improve benefits for 30,000 support staff, culminating a week that saw the nation’s second-largest school system shut down for three days by a strike. The accord with Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, if approved by union members and the school board, will affect a workforce of bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, teachers’ assistants and other support staff, who haven’t had a contract since 2020.

☆ Inflation, migration in focus at regional Ibero-American summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Paul Mathiasen And Jesus Frias | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Honduras President Xiomara Castro attends at the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 25, 2023. Dominican Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERSSANTO DOMINGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Leaders attending the Ibero-American Summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Saturday highlighted rising inflation and migration as risks to the stability of the region. "Today migration management constitutes one of the great regional challenges," said Chilean President Gabriel Boric. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, meanwhile, canceled his attendance at the Ibero-American summit after receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, though he has since tested negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said. Reporting by Paul Mathiasen and Jesus Frias in Santo Domingo and Marco Aquino in Lima Writing by Cassandra Garrison Editing by Matthew Lewis and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Los Angeles schools to reopen after three-day workers' strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jorge Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, March 23 (Reuters) - School will be back in session on Friday for 420,000 Los Angeles students after a three-day strike by education workers disrupted classes and social services in the second-largest school district in the United States. ... We look forward to seeing our students and employees back in classrooms," the school district said on Twitter on Thursday. "We're three days in and I'm willing to do some more (strike) days if we have to," said Tiffany Barba, a special education assistant and one of thousands who attended a closing rally on Thursday at Los Angeles State Historic Park. The union was demanding a 30% salary increase plus an additional $2 per hour for the lowest-paid workers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Reporting by Jorge Garcia in Los Angeles and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif.; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Brazil police bust gang plot to attack authorities, public servants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Brazilian senator Sergio Moro speaks during a session of the Federal Senate in Brasilia, Brazil March 22, 2023. "A murder plot against several public officials (among them a senator and a prosecutor) was investigated and identified. Sergio Moro, a former judge and current senator, also took to Twitter to confirm he and his family were targets in the gangs' plot. A government minister told Reuters that the plan was organized by the First Capital Command (PCC) gang and was not politically motivated. The federal police said 24 search and seizure warrants, seven preventive arrest warrants and four temporary arrest warrants are being served.

☆ Los Angeles education strike cancels school for 420,000 students
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Alan Devall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Los Angeles school workers protest in front of LAUSD headquarters during the first day of a walkout over contract negotiations that closes the country’s second largest school system in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Aude GuerrucciLOS ANGELES, March 21 (Reuters) - Some 30,000 education workers backed by the teachers' union walked off the job for a three-day strike in Los Angeles on Tuesday, canceling school for nearly half a million students in the second-largest school district in the United States. Thousands of protesters gathered for a rally outside the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, vowing to continue their pickets for another two days under the banner, "United for L.A. The service workers are backed by the 35,000 members of the teachers' union United Teachers Los Angeles, which refused to cross their picket line. Dozens of meal and safe-place sites were opened across the city on Tuesday, with school district employees and volunteers distributing more than 124,000 meals, the district said.

☆ Gold Fields, AngloGold rule out merger after Ghana joint-venture deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Nelson Banya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The South Africa-headquartered AngloGold and Gold Fields are among the five biggest gold producing companies by output in the world, with operations in Africa, Australia and South America. Gold Fields' Preece, who last month said the company was no longer pursuing big M&A deals after its failed bid for Canada's Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) said on the conference call "collaboration is easier". Gold Fields and AngloGold would own 60% and 30% of the joint operation, respectively, with the Ghanaian government holding 10%, Calderon said. "The proposed joint venture would create the largest gold mine in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Apart from Tarkwa, Gold Fields has two other mines in Ghana, Damang and the 45%-owned Asanko.

☆ Argentina February inflation data "very bad": government spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUENOS AIRES, March 16 (Reuters) - The Argentine government on Thursday said annual inflation data registered in February, the highest since 1991, was "very bad," but insisted that the 60% inflation rate forecast in this year's budget would be met, the president's spokesperson said. President Alberto Fernandez has struggled to rein in one of the world's highest inflation rates that has put increasing pressure on Argentine consumers. Argentina last month registered an inflation rate of 6.6% compared to January and 102.5% compared to February of the previous year, the highest data since the 115% annual rate in September 1991. "The inflation data obviously seems bad, very bad and also was not expected," presidential spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti said during a press conference. "We hope that the plan that was going to lower the curve, which had these problems, can somehow return to the path that was planned, indicated, and that we get to that (60% annual inflation)," she added.

☆ Inflation tops 100% in Argentina as the price of beef spikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Inflation topped 100% in Argentina last month, according to official data published Tuesday. The country logged a three-digit inflation rate for the first time in over 30 years in February. Food prices jumped 10% month-on-month, with beef costs up over 30% in one region. It's the first time since 1991 that Argentina has logged inflation of over 100%, according to Bloomberg data. That surge came despite Argentina's economy ministry's introduction last month of a price control program aimed at slashing the price of popular beef cuts.

☆ Former Olympian Kara Goucher Alleges Assault by Banned Running Coach Alberto Salazar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kara Goucher won bronze medals at the 2009 Boston Marathon and 2008 New York City Marathon. She twice represented the U.S. at the Olympics. Kara Goucher, an Olympic runner who worked with famed coach Alberto Salazar at the prestigious Nike Oregon Project training group, alleged that he twice sexually assaulted her while giving her massages. Goucher made the allegations in a book on her experiences in running, published Tuesday, and in an interview with “Good Morning America.”

☆ Argentina’s inflation tops 100% for the first time since 1991
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Argentina’s yearly inflation rate rose past 100% for the first time in three decades, according to new figures released by the country’s statistical body INDEC, as the government struggles to control rising prices. Prices rose 102.5% in February compared to a year before, INDEC said, placing its inflation rate amongst the highest in world. Prices rose 6.6% between January and February and 13.1% in the first two months of the year combined, according to the figures. Argentina has been battered by crippling inflation and February is the 13th straight month that the South American country reported a monthly inflation rate above 4% – generally considered a threshold for healthy economies. Among them are the ‘Dollar Malbec,’ for wine producers, ‘Dollar Qatar’ for agencies selling travel packages to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the ‘Dollar Coldplay’ for concert organizers.

☆ In homeland of Pope Francis, long absence prompts prayers for return
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Lucila Sigal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Catholic faithfuls pray during a mass at the Basilica San Jose de Flores, where Pope Francis used to attend in his childhood, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 6, 2023. Some in Argentina claim Pope Francis as a Peronist, part of the powerful political movement forged by Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s based on social justice values. She accused him of taking sides politically and once avoided him by shunning a traditional Mass in Buenos Aires. "We shouldn't rule out the possibility that (the pope) is concerned his presence will sharpen the political divide," De Vedia said. Bergoglio, he pointed out, had gained the nickname "Papa villero" - Pope of the villas - due to his closeness with the people.

☆ Brazil airline Gol's shares soar after unexpected Q4 net profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The surprisingly strong figures sent shares in the company soaring more than 12% in Sao Paulo morning trading, with analysts highlighting improving operating figures and strong revenue trends. The firm's shares had already jumped roughly 30% in the previous two sessions after rival carrier Azul SA predicted bluer skies ahead, driving travel-related stocks in Brazil up. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had forecast a net loss of 484.75 million reais. Quarterly net revenue totaled 4.7 billion reais, up 61.7% and above analysts' forecasts of 4.46 billion. Full-year net revenue expectations were reduced by 500 million reais to about 19.5 billion reais, but diluted earnings per share in the full year were kept at 0.3 real, the airline added.

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