
Standard & Poor's (S&P) decided on Tuesday to maintain Uruguay's sovereign debt risk rating unchanged at the lowest investment grade BBB-, because although it has solid growth prospects, predictable policies and a favorable debt profile, the country still has limited fiscal and monetary flexibility and lives in a neighborhood experimenting 'economic stress'.

Euro-zone inflation fell to 0.5% in May, down from 0.7% in April and well below the European Central Bank's 2% target. The fall means the ECB will be expected to take steps to boost growth and counter the threat of deflation when it meets on Thursday.

Brazilians pessimism about the future of the economy has increased considerably with just a few days left for the opening of the World Cup, according to a public opinion poll released by Pew Research.

More than 100 British Members of Parliament have signed a resolution of support for Argentina in the fight against hedge fund holdout investors, and warned that if the United States Justice System ruled against the nation it could fall into default.

Some good news for the beleaguered Brazilian economy and President Dilma Rousseff's bid for re-election next October. According to the latest data supplies by the government, Brazil posted a trade surplus of 712 million dollars in May, recovering from a weak start to the year but still below historical levels.

Argentina and Brazil have 'cut differences' and advanced significantly in negotiations for an auto integration understanding that could be ready to be signed next week, according to industry sources in Buenos Aires.

The United States ranks as the most competitive country in the world in a survey of 60 countries by IMD, a leading global business school in Switzerland. The survey finds Europe is recovering some of its competitive edge, while emerging economies, particularly in Latin America are struggling to hold their own.

Moody's Investors Service last Friday announced it had upgraded Uruguay's government bond rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and assigned a stable outlook to the Baa2 rating. The upgrade was driven by the strengthening of Uruguay's sovereign credit profile, as reflected by the convergence of fiscal and debt metric, an overall government debt profile that is currently associated with moderate credit risks, and the country's reduced vulnerabilities to regional and commodity shocks.

Argentina state oil producer YPF announced on Sunday it had made a discovery of 'tight gas' in the western Argentine province of Mendoza. The find by the Paso de las Bardas Norte xp-37 exploration well has a potential 25 million barrels equivalent of recoverable resources, the company said in a statement.

President Cristina Fernandez administration has high hopes that the US Supreme Court will take its long running litigation case with holdout hedge funds that refused to accept sovereign debt rescheduling after Argentine defaulted in 2001.