Brazil

• Saturday, September 15th 2012 - 05:24 UTC

  Brazil economic activity picks up in July, but will end below 2% in 2012

  

  Brazil’s economic activity rose more than forecast in July, posting the biggest expansion in almost a year. The non-seasonally adjusted economic activity index rose 2.34% from a year earlier after rising 0.99% in June, the central bank said in a report.

• Saturday, September 15th 2012 - 05:19 UTC

  Two Brazilian mid-sized banks ordered liquidation by monetary authorities

  

  Brazil's central bank ordered the liquidation of Banco Cruzeiro do Sul on Friday after no one stepped up to acquire the troubled lender, raising doubts about government oversight of small and mid-sized banks.

• Friday, September 14th 2012 - 05:18 UTC

  Auction of Pluna’s Bombardier aircraft collapses: terms “non attractive” and “non viable”

  

  Uruguay’s attempt to auction the bankrupt national airline Pluna aircraft collapsed because none of the groups that showed an initial interest turned up arguing that the 136 million dollars for the seven Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen was “not attractive” and considered the whole business deal “non viable”.

• Friday, September 14th 2012 - 03:40 UTC

  Thousands across Argentina take to the streets to protest against re-re-election

  

  Appealing to social networks thousands of Argentines Thursday evening took to the streets of the country’s major cities to protest some of the latest measures from the government of President Cristina Fernandez including the re-re-election plans and the increasing restrictions to the purchase of dollars.

• Friday, September 14th 2012 - 00:51 UTC

  Brazilian extends tax breaks to two dozen industries to stimulate economy

  

  Brazil rolled out additional stimulus measures to bolster its sluggish economy on Thursday, extending tax breaks to more than two dozen industries and reducing the cost of acquiring capital goods in a bid to help struggling local businesses.

• Thursday, September 13th 2012 - 17:07 UTC

  Argentina’s official inflation for August, 0.9% and 6.8% in the eight months

  

  Argentina’s inflation advanced 0.9% in August and 6.8% in the first eight months of the year according to the controversial official stats office Indec. Whole sale prices were up 1% over July and the construction cost increased 1.3%.

• Thursday, September 13th 2012 - 17:03 UTC

  Argentina “suggests” banks should limit dollar extractions by credit card holders

  

  The Argentine central bank has informally “suggested” the banking system to limit the advances (in dollars) of credit card holders overseas, reports the Buenos Aires financial press. This is seen as another tightening of the dollar clamp imposed by the administration of President Cristina Fernandez to retain much needed foreign currency.

• Thursday, September 13th 2012 - 02:34 UTC

  South America cruise industry “must work together and rein in costs”

  

  South America's cruise industry has been growing fast and holds vast potential, but the region must work together to tackle issues, create demand and rein in costs, said speakers at the Seatrade South America Cruise Convention in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, September 12th 2012 - 04:47 UTC

  Brazil confident it can organize an Olympics as successful as London’s

  

  Hosting the Olympics two years after staging the World Cup was always going to be a big task but the success of London 2012 has raised the bar even further, according to Brazil's deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes. With the Olympic flame now out in London, all eyes turn to the Brazilian powerhouse and the clock is already ticking for the 2016 Games.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2012 - 04:49 UTC

  Brazil total harvest estimate, 164.5 million tons; corn up 29%; soy down 12%

  

  Brazil’s harvest of cereals, legumes and oilseeds reached an estimated 164.5 million metric tons in 2012, which is 2.8% above the figure of 2011 (160.1 million metric tons) and 0.7% above the July estimate (163.3 million metric tons).