Economy

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 19:42 UTC

  Uruguay and Peru in line for a possible upgrading, according to Moody's

  

  Uruguay and Peru are the first Latin American countries in line for a possible credit rating hike by Moody's Investors Service, at a moment when sovereign upgrades are expected to become more scarce in the region, a senior analyst with the ratings firm said.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 19:28 UTC

  Mercosur expects to exchange tariff-reduction proposals with EU next June

  

  Mercosur expects to present a joint proposal regarding tariff reductions to the European Union during a meeting next June, according to Brazil's Minister of Development, Trade and Industry, Mauro Borges who apparently convinced a reluctant Argentina to join the group.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 19:25 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina agree on deal to promote bilateral trade by guaranteeing 'dollar liquidity'

  

  Brazil and Argentina signed a deal over the weekend that seeks to guarantee importers will have enough U.S. dollars to pay for exports, a move to increase trade between both nations that has been hit hard by a sharp depreciation of the Argentine peso.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 16:13 UTC

  Latam forecasted to grow 3% this year, but fiscal deterioration is serious

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean’s economy as a whole will grow by 3% this year and 3.3% in 2015 thanks to “improved economic conditions in the United States and Europe”, the Inter-American Development Bank said in a report released over the weekend.

• Monday, March 31st 2014 - 12:01 UTC

  Falklands reports record catches of Loligo and Illex squid

  

  Falkland Islands is reporting record catches of Illex and Loligo squid this season. News first arrived last Sunday when it was announced that local jiggers had caught the highest daily catch and highest catch rate of Loligo squid since at least 2000.

• Saturday, March 29th 2014 - 06:25 UTC

  Falklands receives US oil company temporary dock facility for exploration operations

  

  Houston based oil company Noble Energy expects to inject 4 million dollars into Falklands businesses with the construction of the temporary dock facility which arrived in the Islands this week, Senior Vice President Susan Cunningham told those attending a presentation in Stanley on Monday evening.

• Saturday, March 29th 2014 - 06:11 UTC

  Brazil's 2,3% growth in 2013 came as a surprise, even for Minister Mantega

  

  Brazil's economy expanded 2.3% in 2013, compared with growth of 1% the previous year, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IBGE, said this week. The country's GDP for 2013 was estimated at 4.84 trillion Reais (some 2.05 trillion dollars), the IBGE said.

• Saturday, March 29th 2014 - 05:46 UTC

  Argentina takes EU biodiesel antidumping measures to WTO

  

  Argentina formally requested the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) the establishment of a panel to address the European Union antidumping measures against Argentine bio-diesel. The initiative was rejected by the EU this week.

• Saturday, March 29th 2014 - 05:43 UTC

  Argentina denies the subsidies reduction will have an inflationary impact

  

  Argentina's new subsidies’ scheme will have an “insignificant” impact on prices since the whole package basically involves a 'redistribution' of funds, argued Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich, emphasizing the decision aims at “encouraging the rational and responsible use of public services.”

• Friday, March 28th 2014 - 08:29 UTC

  Argentina begins natural gas and water subsidies reduction in three stages

  

  Argentina will cut expensive natural-gas and water subsidies this year which will have an increase impact in utilities' rates between 20% and 80% on average. The gas and water subsidies reduction will reach 80% of top consumers and the accumulative impact will range from the equivalent of 2.5 to 102 dollars, said the Ministry of Economy in a release.