Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) Monday released the latest edition of its Focus Bulletin showing a slight upward adjustment in the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) from 3.96% to 3.98% this year, Agencia Brasil reported. The index is considered the country's official inflation. The weekly survey among leading financial institutions also projected an increase from 3.8% to 3.85% next year while for 2026 and 2027 the forecasts were 3.6% and 3.5% respectively.
India is set to become a US$ 4 trillion economy in 2025,surpassing Japan by early next fiscal to become the world's fourth largest economy, Indian Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal said last week, confirming the IMF half year World Economic Outlook database.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou insisted Friday on the importance of SMEs for his country's economy. During a speech at the Midland Hotel & Resort in Paso de los Toros, in the department (province) of Tacuarembo, the head of state argued that his government lowered taxes on small businesses because they drove local activity, and to govern a country you have to know its human geography.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was strongly critical of his country's Central Bank's (BCB) decision not to lower the benchmark Selic interest rate this week and leave it at 10.5% per annum instead.
Oil company Rockhopper Exploration PLC, with key interests in the Falkland Islands, on Friday, announced it had received the first tranche payment in relation to the monetization of its Ombrina Mare arbitration award, according to a report from Alliance News.
Argentina recorded a historic foreign trade exchange surplus of US$ 2.656 billion in May, Argentina's Trade Exchange (ICA) reported Thursday in Buenos Aires. The new figures surpassed the previous record of US$ 2.543 billion from May 2009. So far in 2024, Argentina has accumulated a balance of + US$ 8.8 billion.
Argentine President Javier Milei told attendees at a ceremony in the Spanish capital that we come from the future to tell you a story that it is desirable to avoid: The story of the damage caused by socialism. He made those remarks in the presence of Madrid Community Chairwoman Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who granted him the International Medal of the Madrid Community decoration.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Paraguay's Central Bank (BCP) unanimously decided Thursday to keep the benchmark interest rate at 6% for the fourth month in a row and found that cuts might be in order during the second semester of 2024 given the favorable economic indexes recorded recently.
Montevideo remained South America's most expensive place to live according to the Mercer Ranking released this week, closely followed by Buenos Aires, a place that has been moving up fast since President Javier Milei's Dec. 10, 2023, inauguration. The list helps multinational employers plan their strategies regarding compensations and other expenses, it was explained. Hong Kong stayed at the top, followed by Singapore, and Sitzerland's Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.
With budget overspending and prospects of higher inflation in weeks ahead, the Brazilian central bank, independent from the Executive, kept the Selic rate unchanged at 10.50%. This means there are no expectations for a resumption of the rates easing cycle this year.