The United States Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered its first interest rate hike since 2006, with the decision a unanimous one. The central bank raised its key federal funds rate to 0.25%, up from at or near zero percent for the last seven years.
If the newly elected Venezuelan National Assembly votes to cancel that country's program of subsidized oil sales to Caribbean and Central American nations, the United States will not be able to substitute U.S. oil for Venezuelan oil, a senior U.S. official warned this week.
Argentina's foreign minister-designate Susana Malcorra said the FTAA (Free Trade Area Of the Americas) is not a bad word suggesting the country could eventually sign a free trade deal with the United States in the future. She also referred to the Falklands/Malvinas dispute, an urgent claim but focusing on things in common and not differences.
United States ambassador to Argentina, Noah Mamet, in a lengthy interview with the La Nacion daily, praised the election of Mauricio Macri and figures of his cabinet and stressed that the US government was anxious to begin working together.
United States manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in three years in November under pressure from falling energy prices, the stronger dollar and slowing global growth, a survey shows.
US jobs growth remained solid in November as the economy added 211,000 jobs, slightly above expectations. The data, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, also showed the jobless rate held at its seven-and-a-half year low of 5%. Construction, food services and retail sectors all saw healthy job increases.
President-elect Mauricio Macri named ambassador to Washington and Montevideo. Lawmaker Martín Lousteau will be Argentina's next ambassador in the US. He will replace Cecilia Nahón, who submitted her resignation on Monday. The appointment was decided after a meeting Lousteau held with the new cabinet chief Marcos Peña and the future Foreign Affairs Minister Susana Malcorra, a Let’s Change statement affirmed.
United States President Barack Obama congratulated Argentine president-elect Mauricio Macri on his victory in the runoff in a phone call, according to a brief release from the White House.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) signed in Guyana, this week, agreements that will see countries of the eastern and southern Caribbean benefiting from US$165 million in development assistance.
The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster pace in recent months than first thought, as businesses restocked their goods. U.S. Commerce Department said the world's largest economy advanced 2.1% in the July-to-September period, up from an initial estimate of 1.5%.