Stories for May 2016

Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:51 UTC
With a subsidy production scheme, Argentina is back exporting oil, mainly to China

Argentine oil producers are shipping record volumes of crude this month, spurred by a new government subsidy that has also prompted state-owned oil company YPF to return to the export market for the first time in years.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:39 UTC
“Adonia”, the first US cruise vessel in fifty years to dock in Havana on Monday

The first US cruise ship bound for Cuba in half a century set sail from Florida on Sunday, marking a new milestone in the rapprochement between Washington and Havana. The Adonia, a vessel from the Carnival cruise's Fathom line, raised its anchors and departed from Miami, the heart of the Cuban diaspora in the United States, around 4:00 pm.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:33 UTC
Temer promises to combat corruption by strengthening anti-graft institutions

A government led by Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer would press ahead with the country's corruption fight by strengthening anti-graft institutions and enacting tougher controls over state-run companies, and will also implement an education reform, according to a six chapter document leaked to the Sao Paulo media.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:18 UTC
Macri claims Argentina hid unemployment with 'worthless public jobs', at Labor Day event with dissident union

Argentine president Mauricio Macri attended an event at a dissident union headquarters in the City of Buenos Aires where he marked the Labour Day with unionized workers of the food sector, and blasted the previous administration for hiding unemployment with public jobs.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:13 UTC
Argentines worried about inflation and unemployment; fuels increase 10% in May

A clear majority of Argentines are most worried about inflation and unemployment, a report by the D’Alessio IROL and Berenzstein private consulting agencies have showed.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 08:07 UTC
Chile's economy slows down and unemployment climbs higher that forecasted

Chile's jobless rate rose more than expected in the first quarter as two years of sluggish growth finally caught up with the labor market, signaling stronger headwinds for South America's wealthiest economy.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 07:54 UTC
Argentine needs US$ 37bn to address the budget deficit and foreign debt payments

Argentina will issue a fresh round of dollar-denominated debt notes worth an estimated US$8 billion in the next few days, top officials from the Finance Ministry confirmed. The government will “very soon” issue a new Treasury note to capture dollars that are being stored “under the mattress” in a process that will kick off with a meeting with bankers, Finance Secretary Luis Caputo said.The Argentine government hopes to bring in US$5 billion through the issuance.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:56 UTC
Maduro announces 30% increase in the minimum wage

Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro has ordered a 30% increase in the minimum wage, the latest move by the socialist government to grapple with high inflation and economic stagnation.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:42 UTC
Rousseff pledges “to fight to the end” and some groups anticipate “civil disobedience”

Brazil's populist president Dilma Rousseff vowed at a protest on Sunday, International Labour Day, that she would go down fighting ahead of what could be her final full week in power before impeachment.
Monday, May 2nd 2016 - 05:34 UTC
Venezuela moves local time 30 minutes up, back to normal

Venezuelan government on Sunday moved local time up 30 minutes, to four hours behind UTC, with an eye toward dealing with the emergency caused by the ongoing severe drought. The time change will enter into effect as of this month and brings Venezuela back to the time schedule that prevailed until 2007, when the government shifted the nation's clocks back by half an hour.