By Graham Bound, London - Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez will get her wish on Monday or Tuesday, when she meets Prime Minister David Cameron in the fringes of the G20 meeting in Mexico to talk about the Falkland Islands.
The latest ECLAC report, “Macroeconomic report on Latin America and the Caribbean, Jun 2012” shows that activity in the first months of this year has been stronger tan in the second half of 2011 despite considerable global uncertainty and volatility.
The report estimates Latam and Caribbean growth for this year at 3.7% compared to 4.3% in 2011.
Chilean Defence Minister Andrés Allamand achieved this week a unanimous vote in the Chamber of Deputies for the proposal to change the funding system for the Armed Forces. The proposal, should it gain approval in the Senate, would put an end to the so-called “copper law,” which has been in effect since 1958.
Chile’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5% for a fifth consecutive month as inflation in the world’s top copper producer eased and unemployment continued to decline.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said that 2012 is already a record-breaking year for US foreign military sales, which are government-to-government sales.
The chair of the UN Decolonisation Committee Ecuadorian ambassador Diego Morejón Pazmiño described the UK announcement of a referendum in the Malvinas Islands as a “political ploy”, insisting that the Falkland Islanders can not appeal to the right of self determination.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported that a US middle-income family with a child born in 2011 can expect to spend about 234.900 dollars for food, shelter and other necessities to raise him or her over the next 17 years, an increase of 3.5% from 2010.
Ireland has this banking advice for Spain: imagine the worst and double it. Like Ireland, Spain sought a bank bailout after being felled by a real-estate crash. Now, just as the Irish did, the Spanish are awaiting the results of outside stress tests gauging the size of the hole in the banking system.
Economics Nobel prize (2011) Thomas Sargent admitted feeling “ashamed” when some officials from the US government make recommendations to Europe, Spain and other countries on what policies they should adopt to climb out of the current crisis.
Germany's Angela Merkel regretted the lack of confidence among Euro leaders and warned against “mediocrity” as she stood firm against “growth quick fixes” to Europe's crisis.