
One of Brazil’s most influential weekly magazines with strong penetration in political and business circles, ‘Veja’ has a main article this week calling neighbouring Paraguay the “rich beggar”, a role which the successive Paraguayan governments “have played to success attracting significant international aid and grants”.

Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the global financial crisis before markets peaked, said the Brazilian, Chinese and Indian economies may be overheating and developing asset bubbles.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised key interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in an attempt to curb near double-digit inflation. The rise was the second in a month and was in line with analysts' forecasts.

European confidence in the economic outlook unexpectedly worsened in May and inflation accelerated as the Euro region’s debt crisis shook markets.

Argentina is extending its 18.3 billion US dollars bond restructuring at the request of Italian creditors and the country’s financial regulator, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said on Monday.

The Inter American Development Bank, IDB, is ready to disburse 10 billion US dollars in loans to Latinamerica during fiscal 2010, said the bank’s president Luis Moreno.

China warned that Europe's struggle to contain soaring debt posed a risk to global economic growth, raising the spectre of a double-dip recession.

The United Nations Economic Committee for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal, anticipates that growth in the region will be less than in previous years because of the economic downturn in developed countries but the tendency should not influence Brazil, the region’s largest economy.

Budget Minister Francois Baroin indicated on Sunday that France should not take for granted its AAA rating, which allows Paris to borrow relatively cheaply on international markets and finance its big budget deficit.

Experts are warning that European governments rush to cut budget deficits with draconian austerity measures could mean a blow for Europe's tentative economic recovery.