Brazil's Amazonas state will hold a public hearing on September 11 for last minute drafting of a tender to contract out the operation and maintenance of its Proama water supply system in state capital Manaus. Construction of the 343mn-real (US$153mn) water supply system, which is 97% done, falls under the country's growth acceleration plan, PAC. The system is currently being operated by state water utility Cosama, which distributes water to the north and east regions of the city.
Updated 6 Years ago

Before Apple's event on Tuesday sucks all the air out of tech coverage (and it's already getting difficult to breathe), several of the company's smartphone rivals this week did their best not to be forgotten amid the increasing iHoopla. Among the announcements, which were made at IFA, the big consumer electronics show in Berlin:
Updated 6 Years ago

Remember last year’s taper tantrum, when investors fled bonds in the face of less Federal Reserve stimulus? That now seems like a quaint exercise unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. Even though the U.S. central bank is winding down its debt buying, there’s a new gorilla in the room: the European Central Bank.
Updated 6 Years ago

On Turkey’s border with Syria, outside a brick building housing the Turkish officials charged with overseeing who arrives and who leaves, a Syrian man whispers in Arabic. “Smuggling? Want to get across?” he hisses at a gaggle of people stuck without the right papers.
Updated 6 Years ago

Mario Draghi signaled at least 700 billion euros ($906 billion) of fresh aid for his moribund economy and left a fight with Germany over sovereign-bond purchases for another day. Pledging to “significantly steer” the European Central Bank’s balance sheet back toward the 2.7 trillion euros of early 2012 from 2 trillion euros now, the ECB president yesterday announced a final round of interest-rate cuts and a plan to buy privately owned securities. His mission: to revive inflation in the 18-nation euro area.
Updated 6 Years ago

A report by non-profit China Labor Watch and Green America alleged that labourers were exposed to toxic chemicals, given inadequate training, and made to pay for drinking water in their living quarters The plant employs about 20,000 people. Apple said it had dispatched a team to China to investigate the report.
Updated 6 Years ago

The firm said it believed the model offered a stylish design after what it suggested had been a series of unappealing wearable tech launches by its rivals. The release of the watch comes at a time of transition for the business. Sales of Motorola's smartphones are on the rebound and the business as a whole is about to switch ownership to Lenovo.
Updated 6 Years ago

The protests - organised by the Service Employees International Union - took place in 150 US cities throughout the day. Workers have been campaigning for two years to increase the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Updated 6 Years ago

Charlie Shrem from BitInstant.com admitted the charges in a New York federal court hearing. Another Bitcoin trader, Robert Faiella, also pleaded guilty.
Updated 6 Years ago

The European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 0.05% from 0.15% in a strong response to combat deflation. The move comes as the EU is struggling to boost its stagnating economy, which Draghi “Growth recovery was losing momentum,” ECB President Mario Draghi said at the news conference after the announcement was made to cut rates further.
Updated 6 Years ago