
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said during a joint conference with her Argentine peer Cristina Fernández at Government House in Buenos Aires that she was certain the Vale mining company “would find a way to reach an agreement with the Argentine authorities” on the suspended project.

Argentina’s industrial output registered a 0.3% drop in March year-on-year, according to Indec the official statistics bureau. The report stated that the manufacturing activity climbed 1.5% compared to February and dropped 0.4% annually in the first three months.

Argentina’s Lower House passed early Thursday morning after an overnight and at time chaotic debate the most controversial bills contained in a judicial reform which the administration of President Cristina Fernandez is obsessed in having approved before mid May.

The US dollar in Argentina’s parallel or ‘blue’ market continued to soar on Thursday reaching a new record high of 9.16 and 9.20 Pesos buying and selling price which over twenty cents more than on Wednesday.

Economy minister Hernan Lorenzino became the laughing stock of Argentina when a video was revealed showing him suspending an interview with Greek television arguing that Argentine inflation ‘is too complex’ and telling his aides, ‘I want to leave’. One of the aides then tells the Greek reporter that in Argentina ‘we don’t discuss inflation’.

The rate of poverty in Argentina dropped to 5.4% last year and indigence was down to 1.5%, according to data released by the controversial government’s stats office, Indec. A person ceases to be indigent in Argentina if he can feed on 6 Pesos daily, which based on the official rate is just over one dollar but in the parallel market 75 US cents.

“The Falkland Islands is about people; it is not about rocks. It is about people’s right to lead lives as they wish to lead them. As people in Argentina can: to live in peace, prosperity. It is about making their choices and leading their lives and having their home as an expression of their wishes, not somebody else’s wishes. They should be able to self-determine their own futures”.

The US dollar in Argentina’s ‘blue’ or parallel market skyrocketed on Wednesday to 8.91 and 8.94 Pesos, beating the previous record of 8.75 Pesos from March 20, previous to Holy Week. The official rate meantime remained relatively stable and closed trading at 5.13 and 5.18 Pesos, which means the gap between the two markets stands at 71%.

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff will travel to Buenos Aires on Thursday for a two-day meeting with her Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernández and discuss political and trade matters between the two countries after an imports drop in Argentina last year and the cancelling by Brazil of a major investment project.

Brazil’ aircraft manufacturer Embrear is again resurfacing suspicions regarding the sale of commercial planes to Aerolineas Argentinas involving several million dollars in surcharges. The company informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, that it is investigating companies from five different countries to which it sold aircraft allegedly in transactions suspicious of irregularities.