Oil World cut its forecast for Brazil and Paraguay soybean production, extending the run of downgrades amid ideas that rains in the last two weeks has been insufficient to put a hold on crop losses.
Brazil imposed additional levies on the import of blankets from Mercosur associates Paraguay and Uruguay alleging triangulation of Chinese textiles, which are restricted because of dumping practices.
Rating agency Moody's announced on Tuesday it had downgraded six European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis, and warned it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, Britain and Austria.
Argentine President Cristina Fenandez again full of stamina criticized farmers, business people and workers’ unions, and at the same time called on all sides involved to live in the real Argentina, “not fantasy land, because Argentina is not Disneyland”.
President Barack Obama called on Monday for aggressive spending to boost growth and for higher taxes on the rich, laying out an election-year vision for the US in a budget that was criticized sharply by Republicans for failing to curb the deficit.
Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA were among 15 Spain-based financial firms downgraded by Standard & Poor's after the credit-ratings company reduced the nation's grade last month.
China's exports fell in January the first decline in more than two years, raising fresh concerns about the impact of a global slowdown on its economy. Exports dipped 0.5% from a year earlier hurt by sluggish demand and factories being shut during the Lunar New Year.
Brazil’s private sector said it would grant Argentina a “confidence vote” and would wait until the end of February before assessing the consequence of the new import restrictions imposed by the government of President Cristina Fernandez.
The Argentine Confederation of Transport Workers, CATT announced Monday a boycott against all those “English vessels” that call in any port of the country to protest the UK “militaristic pretensions” in the Malvinas Islands and South Atlantic.
“Far beyond expectations; this is a fantastic corner of the world”, said Dr. Nicolas Negrin, Head of Mission for the Uruguayan delegation describing his impression of the Falkland Islands. The 19 member Uruguayan business delegation spent a week in the Falklands and left on Saturday with impressions considerably different to those they had arrived with.