Economy

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:26 UTC

  Panama Canal expansion will be completed in 2015 “no matter what”, says minister

  

  Work to enlarge the Panama Canal will be completed in 2015 no matter what, Panamanian Finance Minister Frank De Lima said on Wednesday, despite the continuing feud over cost overruns with contractor GUPC. The Panama Canal authority “has strongly affirmed that the canal would be complete in 2015, with or without” the GUPC consortium, the minister told the media on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:21 UTC

  Brazil's vulnerable transport system again exposed as Rio commuter train accident sowed chaos

  

  A commuter train in Rio de Janeiro left the tracks and hit a pole supporting power lines early Wednesday, causing no injuries but sowing widespread chaos across the overburdened public transportation system of Brazil's Olympic city which next June/July will host several World Cup matches.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 10:38 UTC

  Brazil 2013-job-creation was the poorest in a decade; unemployment at record low

  

  Brazil's economy added the fewest net payroll jobs in a decade in 2013, a sign that three consecutive years of weak economic growth is weighing down the economy, according to the latest government data. However unemployment remains at record lows.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 10:27 UTC

  Paris Club will study Argentina's repayment proposal; long process expected

  

  The Paris Club said it would study an outline from Argentina for repaying the more than 9.5 billion dollars it owes the group of creditor nations. Argentina is eager to resolve the problem of its outstanding debt with the group in order to regain access to international capital markets from which it has been shut out since its 2002 default.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 09:37 UTC

  Argentina strangles Montevideo port activity; operators call for a bilateral agreement

  

  Container operators in the port of Montevideo are demanding from Uruguayan authorities an agreement with Argentina to recover all the transshipment activity which has been lost since November when the government of President Cristina Fernandez retaliated against Uruguay over bilateral issues.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 09:26 UTC

  US dollar with no cap in Argentina: climbs 3.4% in a single day

  

  The US dollar in the Argentine official market on Wednesday soared 23 cents to 7.125 Pesos, establishing a new record in the midst of uncertainty and frantic trading. The last time the greenback price climbed 3.4% in a single day was back in April 2002. Since the beginning of the year the Argentine peso has plunged 9% against the dollar and a year ago the dollar stood at 5 Argentine Pesos.

• Wednesday, January 22nd 2014 - 17:10 UTC

  Argentina imposes strict controls on buying on line

  

  Argentines buying online must now submit a statement to the tax agency, AFIP, before they can receive the goods at the Post Office, as the government seeks to make such purchases more expensive and help curb capital flight.

• Wednesday, January 22nd 2014 - 11:43 UTC

  Rosier forecast from the IMF, but deflation remains a risk for richer nations

  

  The International Monetary Fund has raised its global growth forecast for the first time in nearly two years, saying fading economic headwinds should permit advanced nations to pick up the mantle of growth from emerging markets.

• Wednesday, January 22nd 2014 - 11:29 UTC

  Uruguay warns trade negotiations with EU could leave “a Mercosur member out”

  

  Uruguayan foreign minister Luis Almagro said it should not come as a surprise if the negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union does not include all four original full members and leaves one out, although the objective is for all members to be part of the accord.

• Tuesday, January 21st 2014 - 15:43 UTC

  Argentina in France trying to work out a debt deal with the Paris Club

  

  Desperately credit-short Argentina outlined on Monday its conditions for repaying some 9.5 billion dollars in debt to the Paris Club, a senior official at the group of creditor nations said, as the government of President Cristina Fernandez seeks to revive long-stalled talks. Argentina's international reserves have fallen to its lowest level since 2006.