Stories for March 5th 2011

Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:47 UTC
Brazilian regulators approve LAN/TAM merger to become Latam’s largest airline

Brazil's civil aviation authority passed on Thursday the planned combination between Brazilian airline TAM and Chilean rival LAN with no restrictions, giving a boost to their project to create Latin America's largest airline and the third largest in the world.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:40 UTC
Busy agenda for Chile’s Piñera in Europe and Israel and Palestine

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera arrived in Italy this week for a three-day visit to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Vatican. It comes at a difficult time for Berlusconi, who is in the middle of a scandal and allegations of tax fraud and consorting with under-age prostitutes.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:29 UTC
Carnival hangover could bring capital ‘quarantine’ for speculative inflows

The Brazilian government is considering additional foreign exchange measures to contain the rapid appreciation of the Real, a source inside the Finance Ministry told the Sao Paulo Estado news agency Friday.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:20 UTC
Unexpected slowdown of Brazilian inflation during February: 0.8%

Retail prices in Brazil, as measured by the benchmark IPCA index, rose 0.8% in February, down from 0.83% January, the national statistics agency said in a report distributed in Rio de Janeiro Friday.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 05:07 UTC
Nobel Prize Vargas Llosa calls for legalizing drugs to avoid the Mexican experience

Nobel Prize winner in Literature Mario Vargas Llosa said that countries across Latin America will eventually suffer the same type of organized crime-related mayhem currently battering Mexico unless a decision is made to legalize drugs.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 03:29 UTC
USDA downplays upbeat forecasts of Argentine soybean harvest

US Department of Agriculture attaches in Buenos Aires have warned against upbeat forecasts for Argentina's soybean harvest, saying many farms missed out on crop-reviving rainfall.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 03:24 UTC
Argentina’s car production up 5% and exports 8% during February

Argentina's automotive industry made fewer cars in February than it did the previous month but output was up from the same month a year ago.
Saturday, March 5th 2011 - 01:48 UTC
Sales, Especially by Russia and China, Continue to Penetrate Latin America

Russian military sales have become so frequent in recent years that they no longer make for major headlines. However, as Washington policymakers continue to voice concern about Iran’s growing influence in Latin America, some alarmists argue that Russia’s eagerness to supply the region with weapons is likely to trigger a “soft arms race” and present itself as a threat to the United State’s historic hegemony in the Western Hemisphere.