Economy

• Friday, November 3rd 2023 - 08:59 UTC

  Paraguay just one notch short of Fitch's investment grade

  

  Paraguay was given a BB+ rating in Fitch's latest report, which is one step away from investment grade. Although in Asunción the South American country's Economy Ministry highlighted the achievement, the agency also warned about challenges in terms of credibility.

• Thursday, November 2nd 2023 - 09:39 UTC

  Brazil cuts basic interest rate to 12.25% per year

  

  Brazil's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) unanimously decided Wednesday to reduce the economy's basic interest rate (known as the Selic rate) by 0.5 percentage points to 12.25% per year, Agencia Brasil reported.

• Thursday, November 2nd 2023 - 09:14 UTC

  Price of fuel goes up in Argentine to secure supply

  

  Argentina's state-run oil company YPF ordered an average increase of 9.75% in the prices of gasoline and diesel oil at pumps, as the freezing deal between the Economy Ministry and fuel producers came to an end Oct. 31 following a 12.5% adjustment the week after the Aug. 13 Open, Mandatory, and Simultaneous Primary (PASO) elections and their ensuing devaluation of the local currency.

• Thursday, November 2nd 2023 - 08:13 UTC

  Multiple cost of living support benefits ahead of winter, announces UK Conservative government

  

  Millions of households across the United Kingdom are set to receive significant cost of living support ahead of winter, with the British government freezing bus fares in England and the second cost-of-living payment – worth £900 in total - landing directly in bank accounts.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2023 - 21:23 UTC

  BP third quarter profits lower than expected

  

  British Petroleum posted profits of US$ 3.3bn (£2.7bn) between July and September, lower than predictions of US$ 4bn. Earnings were down from US$ 8.1bn in the same period in 2022 when BP made huge profits following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to oil prices soaring.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2023 - 21:09 UTC

  Peak of England and Wales companies going bust highest since the 2009 financial crisis

  

  Official figures from England and Wales show that the number of companies going bust this year is on track to be the highest since the financial crisis in 2009. Insolvencies rose 10% from a year ago in the three months to the end of September, and there has also been a sharp rise in the number of firms at risk of going bust.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2023 - 10:10 UTC

  Paraguay increasingly attractive to direct investments

  

  According to the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), direct investment in the South American country reached a record US$ 725 million last year, it was reported Tuesday in Asunción.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2023 - 09:01 UTC

  Brazilian government announces end of privatization process of the port of Santos

  

  Brazilian minister of Ports and Airports Silvio Costa Filho, announced the termination of the Investment Partnership Program (PPI), which had originally set the conditions for the privatization of the management of the Port of Santos.

• Wednesday, November 1st 2023 - 08:58 UTC

  Brazil hopeful of de-globalization, as US/China technology clash escalates

  

  Brazil did not enjoy the globalization process that started in the 1980s to its fullest potential. Still, it may have a second chance now amid the current de-globalization process – essentially an adjustment of globalization.

• Tuesday, October 31st 2023 - 09:03 UTC

  ECB leaves interest rates unchanged for the first time since July 2022

  

  The European Central Bank, ECB left interests rates unchanged for the first time in more than a year at a meeting in Athens last Thursday. ECB said it would leave key rates unchanged at between 4 and 4.75%.