Argentina

• Friday, January 13th 2012 - 20:15 UTC

  Non-official Argentine inflation hits 1.9% in December and 22.81% in 2011

  

  Argentine opposition lawmakers presented December’s consumer inflation index based in the analysis of nine private agencies, which showed a 1.9% increase over the previous month and totalling 22.81% for the twelve months of 2011, roughly double the official index.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 21:31 UTC

  Argentina and IMF moving closer, admit holding regular bilateral contact

  

  Speaking at a press conference from Washington DC on Thursday, IMF acting director of External Relations Gerry Rice said the organization’s directors “will meet in late January or early February to analyze the progress made in Argentina’s statistics”.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 21:21 UTC

  Argentine industry ‘under risk with new ‘super-license’ imports’ system

  

  While Argentina’s Mercosur trade partners have adopted a cautious attitude regarding the latest measures that make it more cumbersome and bureaucratic to sell to Argentina, the country’s manufacturers and importers have warned of the consequences and called for a more balanced approach to the issue.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:32 UTC

  Chile ratifies its position and denies existence of a Malvinas blockade

  

  Chile ratified this week that vessels flying the Malvinas flag will continue to be barred from Chilean ports and that the country’s position relative to the issue has not changed and denies the existence of a blockade. A brief statement from the Chilean Foreign Affairs ministry indirectly refers to the latest statement by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 12:31 UTC

  Uruguay’s position on barring Malvinas flagged vessels “has not changed an iota”

  

  In an official communiqué Uruguay ratified full support for Argentina’s Malvinas sovereignty claim and underlined that the barring of Malvinas’ flagged vessel from Uruguayan ports stands and “has not changed an iota”.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:20 UTC

  LAN Argentina regional flights forced out of Buenos Aires metropolitan terminal

  

  LAN Airlines announced that “due to a decision by the (Argentine) national aeronautical authorities,” the company has been forced to reschedule flights leaving from the Buenos Aires City Aeroparque Metropolitan airport bound for Sao Paulo and Santiago de Chile.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:19 UTC

  “We must be politically persistent” on our Malvinas claim, says CFK spokesperson

  

  As the UK applies pressure on Mercosur countries so they allow the entry to vessels flying the Malvinas flag, Argentine ruling Victory Front lawmaker Carlos Kunkel said on Wednesday that Argentina “must be politically persistent while maintaining a constant defence” on its claims over the sovereignty of the islands.

• Thursday, January 12th 2012 - 04:14 UTC

  Argentine president recovering fast and back at the helm with the big decisions

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández is recovering much faster than anticipated from her thyroid surgery and on Wednesday actively discussed a range of government issues with Vice-President Amado Boudou and Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Abal Medina, amongst others.

• Wednesday, January 11th 2012 - 06:34 UTC

  Falklands' conflict Harrier fleet sold to the US Marines for spares

  

  The fleet of vertical take-off Harrier aircraft, a crucial weapon in the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict has been sold to support the US Marine Corps in a deal worth £110m, reports the British press.

• Wednesday, January 11th 2012 - 06:33 UTC

  Argentina imposes new restrictions to slow consumer goods’ imports

  

  Argentina will impose new restrictions on consumer goods’ imports, according to a resolution from the Revenue Office published this week in the Official Gazette and effective next February first.