MercoPress wishes all subscribers and readers a very prosperous New Year, hoping 2010 will definitively help to lift the world out of global recession.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva praised as one of the most influential leaders of the world ends 2009 with a serious political crisis: the Minister of Defence and the commanders on the three services have threatened to resign over the creation of a “truth commission” to investigate human rights abuses during the military dictatorship that extended from 1964 to 1985.
Argentine cleric gets 8 years in sex abuse case. An Argentine judge convicted a former Roman Catholic archbishop Wednesday of sexually abusing a seminarian in 1992.
Uruguay’s peso achieved a record annual gain as neighboring Brazil’s economic recovery fueled demand for the country’s exports. The peso has jumped 25% this year, (9.4% in the last quarter) its biggest annual advance since the government created it in 1993 to replace the nuevo peso as part of an effort to stem surging inflation.
Argentina’s main stock index completed its biggest annual gain in 18 years. The Merval index’s 115% rise this year is its best performance since 1991 and reverses a 50% drop in 2008.
Chile's leading share index ended 2009 with an annual gain of 51% as utility, retail and commodity stocks fuelled the biggest annual rise in 16 years. At the same time, Chile's currency, the peso ended with a 26% annual advance against the dollar, traders said.
The performance of Brazilian stocks in 2009 has been one of the highest in the world while the local currency, the Real reflected the recovery of Latinamerica’s largest economy by appreciating 34% against the US dollar this year.