Stories for May 14th 2009
Per capita meat consumption in Chile increases 26% in ten years
Chileans consumed 81.3 kilos of meat per capita in 2008, 26% more meat than they did 10 years ago, according to a study recently published by the country’s Office of Studies and Agrarian Policy (ODEPA) of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Inflation guess game in Argentina: anywhere from 0.3% to 1.8%
Argentina's April inflation rate reached 0.3% and 5.7% in the last twelve months according to the latest release from the National Statistics Institute, Indec. The wholesale or production prices for the month was 0.5% and 1.7% since January, while the Construction Cost index rose 0.4% and 1%.
Brazil plans to tax interests on savings above 50.000 Reales
Brazil plans to begin taxing interest on some savings accounts and may lower taxes on fixed-income funds to maintain demand for government bonds as the Central Bank cuts the benchmark rate.
Leading beef corporation upbeat about rebound of market
JBS SA, from Brazil the world’s largest beef producer, said it aims to also become the largest distributor of the meat by the end of next year and has been approached by companies seeking to be acquired.
Chile’s Central bank slashes growth estimate
Chile's economy could shrink by as much as 0.75 percent this year, its first annual contraction in a decade, as the global crisis hits consumer spending and investment, the Central Bank announced on Wednesday. The bank slashed its 2009 GDP forecast to a range between a 0.75% contraction and a 0.25% expansion.
The Economist sceptical about the crisis having bottomed out
The end of the economic crisis and the return to the growth path are still distant according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU, which predicts the global economy will contract 1.8% in 2009.
Peru inaugurates largest and most modern air cargo hub
Peru's president Alan García officially opened this week Lima Cargo City, considered the most modern air freight logistics centre in Latinamerica, built with an investment of more than 35 million US dollars.
LAN’s passenger traffic up 20% in April; cargo down 25.4%
Chile's leading airline LAN reported this week its passenger traffic rose 19.9% in April, compared with a year earlier, but cargo traffic decreased by 25.4% as Latinamerican trade slowed due to the global economic crisis.
Governance post-June 28 takes hold of Argentine electoral campaign
Argentine mid term elections have given a nasty turn as more opposition candidates are calling for “an orderly transition” that ensures governance from the day after June 28 until the end of the current presidential mandate of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Coral Triangle in risk of disappearance says WWF
If the world does not take effective action on climate change, coral reefs will disappear from the Coral Triangle by the end of the century, the ability of the region’s coastal environments to feed people will decline by 80%, and the livelihoods of around 100 million people will have been lost or severely impacted, warns WWF.
