Economy

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 22:21 UTC

  Predominance of Chinese demand rattles Chile’s economic prospects

  

  Even when the price of copper, Chile’s number one export, only begun to recover Friday of continued consecutive falls, in September and the first week of October the red metal reached its lowest level in 14 months.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 18:08 UTC

  IMF tells Latam to be prepared for a “triple shock”, in the worst of scenarios

  

  Latin American policy makers must be prepared to use interest rate cuts and consider fiscal measures to protect their economies in the event that the global economy stalls, the International Monetary Fund said.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 18:04 UTC

  US September job figures bring sigh of relief to markets

  

  US employment grew more than expected in September and job gains for the prior months were revised higher, according to a government report, released Friday, that could ease fears the economy was heading into recession.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 17:59 UTC

  Argentina confident it can cope with a “global contraction”

  

  Argentina has the ability to sustain its economic growth amid a slowdown in the global economy, thanks to domestic demand and trade with other South American nations, said Deputy Economy Minister Roberto Feletti.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 05:46 UTC

  Obama says he shares the “Occupy Wall Street” protestors’ frustrations

  

  United States President Obama on Thursday called the “Occupy Wall Street” protests a reflection of a “broad-based frustration about how our financial system works” and pledged to continue fighting to protect American consumers.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 05:30 UTC

  Brazilian production feels the impact of cheap imports and global slowdown

  

  Output at Brazil's mines and factories slowed in August, falling a seasonally adjusted 0.2% from July as production in the country's industrial sector suffered the impact of cheap imports and the sluggish global economy.

• Friday, October 7th 2011 - 05:26 UTC

  Nissan announces 1.4bn factory in Brazil as it moves overseas fleeing Super Yen

  

  Nissan Motor Co CEO Carlos Ghosn said Japan faces a “hollowing out” of its industrial base should the government fail to take steps to counter the Yen’s rise. Ghosn statements could also be interpreted as a subtle message since Brazilian manufacturing faces problems with a too strong Real.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 22:10 UTC

  FAO anticipates ‘tight’ cereal markets in 2011/12 and lower prices

  

  Despite improved production prospects, world cereal markets are likely to remain fairly tight in 2011/2012, FAO announced this week. Prices on the other hand will tend to decline as a result of softer demand because of worsening economic conditions.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 21:14 UTC

  Mercosur countries rank poorly in Forbes’ “Best Countries for Business”

  

  Mercosur full members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) rank poorly in the Forbes magazine annual Best Countries for Business, with the best listed, Chile and Peru, in positions 24 and 42, out of 134 countries surveyed worldwide.

• Thursday, October 6th 2011 - 17:41 UTC

  ECB takes the first step of an anticipated major effort to bolster EU banks

  

  The European Central Bank is offering new emergency loans to banks to help steady the Euro zone's financial crisis. The new funding, worth about 40bn Euros would enable banks to draw down one-year loans.