Economy

• Friday, August 8th 2014 - 07:09 UTC

  Griesa summons hearing for Friday; Argentina launches proceedings against the US in The Hague

  

  New York District judge Thomas Griesa has scheduled a hearing at 4 pm local time on Friday to address Argentina's recent public statements over their attempts to pay creditors, a court official said. Representatives from both Argentina and holdout investors have been called to the hearing, which will take place in New York.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 08:10 UTC

  Rousseff claims EU has yet to agree on a proposal to exchange with Mercosur

  

  President Dilma Rousseff claimed before the Brazil's farmers lobby that the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is stalled and is not fulfilled because of the 'resistance' from several European countries, and specifically named France, Hungary and Ireland.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 08:02 UTC

  Uruguay inflation hard to break: in July it remained stubbornly above 9%

  

  Inflation in Uruguay remains hard to break having reached 6.17% in the first seven months of the year, the highest since 2007 (6.38%) and over 9% in the last twelve months well ahead of the government's target of 3% to 7%, according to the latest figures from the stats office, INE.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 07:41 UTC

  Putin retaliates US/EU sanctions: plans to redirect food purchases from Latam

  

  Russia will ban all imports of US food products as well as fruit and vegetables from the European Union after President Vladimir Putin ordered retaliation for Western sanctions against Moscow, a state news agency reported today.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 07:34 UTC

  Carnival Cruise Lines to build a 70m tourism port at La Tortue, in Haiti

  

  Haiti announced it has signed a multi-million dollar agreement with the US-based Carnival Cruise Lines to build a tourism port on the island of Latortue, north of the island. Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said the 70 million dollars project will help improve the lives of the estimated 36,000 people residing in the area.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 07:26 UTC

  Brazil's July auto output and sales plummet 20.5% and 13.9% compared to 2013

  

  Auto production in Brazil during July dropped 20.5% from a year earlier, national automakers' association Anfavea said on Wednesday, while sales slid 13.9%. Compared to June, production rose 17% and sales 11.8%, as July had an additional two working days.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 07:22 UTC

  Global system used for sovereign-debt workouts remains badly in need of repair

  

  By Kenneth Rogoff (*) - Argentina’s latest default poses unsettling questions for policymakers. True, the country’s periodic debt crises are often the result of self-destructive macroeconomic policies. But, this time, the default has been triggered by a significant shift in the international sovereign-debt regime

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 07:02 UTC

  Argentina closer to contempt of court as it suggests bondholders to change paymaster

  

  New York district judge Thomas Griesa and the Argentine government are again on the collision course: while the magistrate has ordered the Bank of New York Mellon to retain the funds deposited by Argentina to pay exchange bondholders and declaring the payment “illegal”, the Ministry of Economy in Buenos Aires suggested bondholder should change BONY for a new intermediary institution.

• Thursday, August 7th 2014 - 06:32 UTC

  Mercosur trade deal is a priority for the EU under Italian presidency

  

  Foreign minister Federica Mogherini pledged that under the current Italian presidency of the European Union, top priority will be given to signing the pending trade agreements, among which that with Mercosur still under discussion.

• Wednesday, August 6th 2014 - 21:21 UTC

  Latam food prices at slow growth rate for third month running, says FAO

  

  FAO’s Monthly Food Price Report notes that food prices in Latin America and the Caribbean reduced their growth rate for the third consecutive month. Regional food inflation increased only 0.5% in June, down from 1% in May and 1.2% in April, which is particularly relevant for the poorest, who spend a larger proportion of their income on food.