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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 18th 2025 - 21:19 UTC

Economy

  • Saturday, March 22nd 2025 - 10:27 UTC

    Chile's Central Bank keeps benchmark interest rate unchanged

    “Uncertainty about the outlook for the global economy has increased significantly since the previous meeting,” the Central Bank panel admitted

    Chile's Central Bank unanimously decided Friday to keep the monetary policy interest rate at 5%, thus responding to market expectations. It was the second consecutive month the rate has been held steady, reflecting caution amid heightened global economic uncertainty driven by geopolitical risks and US tariff announcements under President Donald Trump. These factors have impacted US growth prospects and inflation expectations, prompting the Federal Reserve to pause its rate cuts.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 19:24 UTC

    Uruguay records increase in foreign visitors who also spent more

    Punta del Este recorded an increase in bookings driven by Argentine tourists having a stronger peso against the US dollar

    Uruguayan summer resorts recorded a 10.45% increase in tourist spending compared to the previous year, with 572,699 visitors entering the country. Popular destinations like Punta del Este, Piriápolis, and Barra del Chuy saw high demand, with accommodation prices soaring. Some apartments in the exclusive Punta del Este fetched up to US$ 20,000 per month. The surge was largely driven by Argentine tourists, compensating for a decline in Brazilian visitors. Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport also hit a record with 206,000 passengers.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 10:55 UTC

    Boric signs Chile's pension reform into law

    Approving a reform to the AFP system “cost a lot,” Boric admitted

    Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font Thursday signed into law the new pensions reform introducing changes to the retirement mechanism in force since Augusto Pinochet Ugarte's military dictatorship (1973-1990). The new law will become effective starting in September 2025 and be fully implemented by 2035. It provides for a mixed system with contributions from workers (10%), employers (8.5%), and a new state-backed social security component, in a move to boost pensions by 14% to 35% for 2.8 million senior citizens, thus addressing the low payouts from privately-managed Pension Fund Administrators (AFPs) currently giving about half the country's retirees about US$ 350 monthly when the minimum wage stands at US$ 500.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 10:17 UTC

    Uruguay’s economy rebounded in 2024, but growth expected to slow in 2025

    The agriculture, energy, and manufacturing sectors saw the strongest performance, with energy growing by 19.6% and agriculture by 11.3%.

    Uruguay’s economy expanded by 3.1% in 2024, recovering from a severe drought the previous year, according to national accounts data released by the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU). However, economists warn that growth in 2025 is likely to return to the country's historical pace of slower expansion.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 09:32 UTC

    Argentina: Indec finds unemployment on the rise

    The lagging dollar has economic activities stagnating. Milei desperately needs a new loan from the IMF to boost the economy

    Unemployment in Argentina in the last quarter of 2024 rose to 6.4%, up 0.7 points from 5.7% in Q4 2023, but down 0.5 points from Q3 2024 (6.9%), the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) said in a report released Thursday. Joblessness was higher in the Greater Buenos Aires area (7.1%) and lower in Patagonia (4%) while more women (6.9%) than men (6.1%) were going through that plight.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 11:26 UTC

    Brazil: Haddad says Selic adjustment stemmed from Campos Neto era

    The measure was heavily criticized by Congressman Farias

    After Brazil Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) raised Wednesday the benchmark Selic interest rate from 13.25% to 14.25% annually, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad warned that such a move had been planned since December under former BCB President Roberto Campos Neto, who had been appointed during the Jair Bolsonaro years.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 10:51 UTC

    Argentina's Lower House greenlights Milei's IMF emergency decree

    Most lawmakers “understood the mandate of the ballot boxes,” Casa Rosada said after the outcome

    Argentina's Lower House Wednesday gave its nod to President Javier Milei's Emergency Decree (DNU) clearing the way for further borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reinforce Central Bank reserves and manage debt by 129 votes in favor, 108 against, and 6 abstentions with endorsements from the ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) as well as other parties, such as PRO, UCR, Coalición Cívica, Innovación Federal, Producción y Trabajo, and a group of Encuentro Federal lawmakers. Opposition came primarily from the Peronist Unión por la Patria (UxP), leftwing groups, and other minor factions.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 06:07 UTC

    Brazilian Central Bank raises interest rate to its highest in nine years, 14.25%

    Copom indicated headline inflation and measures of underlying inflation remain above the target and have again increased in recent releases.

    The Brazilian Central Bank Copom (Monetary Policy Committee) raised the benchmark interest rate (Selic) by one full percentage point on Wednesday, from 13.25% to 14.25%, the highest since 2016, the level reached during the political crisis that ousted then president of Dilma Rousseff’s (PT) government.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 20:55 UTC

    Falklands Government successfully raises funds for future capital investments

    Among critical projects are the replacement of FIPASS and the development of a new Power Station, which are both essential infrastructure for the Falklands

    The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has successfully raised £150 million to facilitate investment in the capital program over the coming years, and in particular the replacement Port facility planned for 2027.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 20:35 UTC

    Falklands retains S&P Global Ratings A+ with stable outlook; praise for FIG fiscal performance

    MLA Roger Spink “The A+ rating has been achieved on the basis of the many years of political and economic stability found here in the Islands”

    The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings have confirmed that the sovereign rating for the Falkland Islands remains at A+ with a stable outlook.