Argentine president Cristina Fernandez definitively abandoned strict mourning on Tuesday wearing a white blouse and black trousers in her first interview with foreign business people since her return to the job after 45 days of medical leave because of cranium surgery and cardio-vascular exams.
Argentina's Merval benchmark stock index climbed 3% on Tuesday to finish at a record high of 5,696.2 points, following a strong hike in YPF and Edenor stocks. YPF shares soared 11%, while electricity distributor Edenor saw prices close 19% up at the end of trading.
Brazil's influential daily O'Globo called for a drastic change in the country's approach to trade policy arguing that without a review, Mercosur does not work and reveals that the latest signals from Argentina are that it is reluctant to reach a free trade and cooperation agreement in the framework of Mercosur with the European Union.
The dispute between the Argentine government and Repsol over the seizure of a 51% stake in petroleum company YPF has shown some signs of cooling, with the Ministry of Economy announcing on Monday that an agreement in principle for compensating the Spanish corporation had been reached.
The high operational costs in the ports of the region is having a negative impact for the cruise industry and some of the companies have already withdrawn vessels from the South Atlantic routes, warned Mediterranean Shipping Company, MSC and Royal Caribbean during a regional conference on the industry sponsored by Uruguay's Ministry of Tourism.
Argentina expressed support for the agreement reached on Sunday in Genève by the world powers regarding Iran's nuclear program and also revealed it has been holding a round of talks in Teheran to advance with the implementation of the AMIA Memorandum of Understanding.
Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich announced on Friday the government sent a bill to Congress raising taxes on luxury goods such as premium model cars, recreation boats, motorbikes and aircraft, and underlined that ”those who want to buy luxury goods will have to pay more,” he warned.
Argentine Defense Minister Agustín Rossi met his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim and agreed to incorporate all South American countries in their bilateral treaty on cyber-defense. The decision was made after several reports indicated the United States engaged in espionage activities against the countries in the region.
Fiat Argentina CEO Cristiano Rattazzi said that Argentina is on fire because of inflation and called on the newly appointed cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich and Economy minister Axel Kicillof to work hard to bring inflation down.
Argentina's flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas CEO Mariano Recalde said that the company's goal, as requested by president Cristina Fernández, was to provide a quality service over profit.