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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 21st 2024 - 16:56 UTC

Stories for January 2018

  • Saturday, January 6th 2018 - 09:42 UTC

    Brazilian industrial production rose in November for the third month running

    On a monthly basis, half of the 24 industrial sectors surveyed showed an output increase, primarily influenced by pharmaceutical products (+6.5%)

    Brazilian industrial production rose 0.2% in November from a month before, at the same rate as in September and October, surprising market analysts who expected stability. It was the third monthly increase in a row in the industrial output.

  • Saturday, January 6th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    Europe and Mercosur scheduled to resume trade negotiations this month

    EC fruit and vegetable exports to the Mercosur countries in 2016 amounted to 241.3 million Euro, according to data from the EU Statistical Office, Eurostat

    The European Commission and Mercosur are planning to resume negotiations to reach a new Association Agreement during this month. The Commissioner of the European Trade Commission, Cecilia Malmström, stated that, after the last negotiating round, which took place in early December, and after the attempt to reach an agreement in the framework of the last round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held from 11 to 14 December, the agreement was very close and would be reached in a matter of weeks.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 11:05 UTC

    Petrobras Brazilian shareholders demand similar payment as those in a class action lawsuit in US

    Petrobras on Wednesday agreed to settle a class action lawsuit in the US that claimed damages for the oil company's role in a major bribery scheme

    Brazilian shareholders of state-controlled Petrobras are petitioning a Brazilian court to be paid on similar terms as those given to U.S. shareholders in a US$ 2.95 billion settlement, according to lawyers representing them.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:57 UTC

    Maduro announced the bonus of Reyes Magos of almost a minimum wage

    Maduro will grant a bonus with the equivalent of US$ 3.9, to those who possess the Carnet de la Patria, an identity document created by the government that serves to regulate the purchase of food

    Four days before the beginning of an election year in Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro announced on national television that he will grant a bonus of 500,000 bolivares, the equivalent of US$ 3.9, to those who possess the Carnet de la Patria, an identity document created by the government that serves to regulate the purchase of food and tools with which users can access pensions or bonuses of this style in exchange for their loyalty to the government party.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:50 UTC

    Blair blasts Labour's “timidity” on a Brexit designed by the “Tory right”

    Blair urged the party he once led to “nail” the “myths” of the Brexit campaign, and fight for the rights of voters to “think again” about leaving

    Ex Labour prime minister Tony Blair has attacked Labor's “timidity” on Brexit, saying it would deliver a departure from the EU designed by the “Tory right”. He urged the party he once led to “nail” the “myths” of the Brexit campaign - and fight for the rights of voters to “think again” about leaving. He said 2018 would be the year the fate of Britain would be decided.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:44 UTC

    Crackdown on phantom employees, “gnocchi”, in the Argentine Congress

    Authorities have begun proceedings to remove 160 of them from their positions, while 30 others decided to resign when confronted with evidence of absenteeism

    Nearly 200 phantom workers at Argentina's parliament have been caught in a crackdown on employees who only show up sporadically for their jobs, it has been reported. According to La Nacion, the Argentine Congress implemented a new attendance control system for employees two months ago, and it has already caught 190 who had not shown up for long periods without a good explanation.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:39 UTC

    Chinese locomotives to revive Argentina's cargo train network

    Manufactured by China's CRRC Qishuyan, locomotives are a comprehensive plan to reactivate the rail system by modernizing its aging infrastructure

    A new shipment of Chinese-made locomotives arrived in the Port of Buenos Aires on Wednesday to revive Argentina's key Belgrano Cargas cargo train network. The eight locomotives will form part of a strategic rail line that traverses northern Argentina's agricultural heartland and connects producers with the eastern exporting hub of Rosario, a port located 300 km north of the capital.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:36 UTC

    Temer dressed in jogging gear said he was “fully recovered”

    Dressed in jogging gear and flanked by bodyguards, a grinning Temer gave the “thumbs-up” sign and declared he had “fully recovered”

    Brazil’s President Michel Temer appeared keen to demonstrate on Thursday he had recovered from his latest bout of ill health, inviting the press to photograph him during a brisk walk in a Brasilia park. Temer, 77, last month underwent a “minor surgical procedure” to resolve a urethral obstruction at the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:25 UTC

    Drought in north Argentina seriously delaying plating of soy and corn

    There are still nearly 12.8 million acres to be planted and 40% of this surface corresponds to northern Argentina, with wide areas of drought. Photo: Sebastián Astorga / sebastorga.com

    The drought in Argentina continues in several regions and has generated a delay of planting for the 2017-18 season. A report authored by the institution AgroEducación indicated that La Niña, though subtle, already impacts the region with temperatures above normal and scarce rains.

  • Friday, January 5th 2018 - 10:20 UTC

    Argentina sells US$ 9bn in bonds, “at the lowest yields in the country's history”

    Bonds were 2.4 times oversubscribed, as Argentina received orders for US$21.4bn, the ministry said. Issuance would cover half of infrastructure investments this year.

    Argentina sold US$ 9 billion in a three-part dollar bond issuance that was oversubscribed on Thursday, covering nearly a third of its expected financing needs for 2018 early in the year. Latin America’s third largest economy sold US$1.75 billion in five-year bonds at a yield of 4.625%, US$ 4.25 billion of 10-year bonds at 6% and US$3 billion in 30-year bonds at 7%, the ministry said. It said the yields were the lowest in Argentina’s history.