
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has assets of almost 40 million Argentine Pesos according to her latest income statement before the Anti Corruption office. This includes the 31 million inherited from her late husband Nestor Kirchner who died in October 2010.

Argentine supermarkets must keep records of sales of plus 1.000 Pesos which must be available to tax inspectors, according to the latest decision from AFIP the tax revenue office. A thousand Pesos at the official rate is equivalent to 210 dollars and in the parallel 140 dollars.

Credit card companies operating in Argentina have also fallen under the net work of the tax office AFIP, and now must request authorization and approval to purchase US dollars to balance their clients’ accounts.

The Uruguayan government said on Monday there will be no public statements on the latest “situations” with Argentina, and Uruguay will keep to what was agreed at presidential level during the last (31 July) Mercosur extraordinary meeting in Brasilia.

The strict and tightening US dollar purchase restrictions imposed in Argentina were clearly exposed in the banking system dollar deposits and loans during the last week of July when they dropped 3%, having accumulated 43% in the last few weeks, according to official data from the central bank.

Former president Jorge Batlle (2000/2005) said that the inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur “is favourable for Uruguay” but at the same time insisted it was “wrongly done” for not having taken into account Paraguay’s opposition currently suspended as member of the regional block.

Venezuela’s government oil corporation, PDVSA, in considering with Argentina’s YPF exploring for oil and gas in the area next to Falkland/Malvinas waters, revealed the president of the corporation and Minister of Petroleum and Mining.

Argentine Industrial Union head José Ignacio de Mendiguren says he wholeheartedly agrees with President Cristina Fernández criticism to those who back a devaluation of the Peso, in an interview with Ambito.com.

Chile is expecting an increase of 30% in the number of cruise vessels calls this coming season with Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas receiving the most, said the country’s Under Secretary for Tourism Jacqueline Plass.

Falkland Islands port facilities are under assessment given the prospects of oil industry activities in the near future and two options are being considered by the local government: a new port project, and an interim development of the current facilities at FIPASS.