Brazil's balance of trade began 2014 with disappointing results, after closing January with a deficit of 4.06 billion dollars, according to the figures released by the Ministry of Industry, Development and Foreign Trade. Exports totaled 16.02bn dollars, while imports reached 20.08bn.
The Argentine currency ended trading on Friday, the first month of 2014, at 8.01 Pesos to the US dollar with an accumulated devaluation in January of 18.63%, the greatest loss in a single month since 2002. However market analysts described the situation as a depreciation 'sustained and managed' by the government of President Cristina Fernandez.
The economies of Argentina and Venezuela are the least well-off in the region due to pressures on inflation, the balance of payments, and foreign exchange markets that developed last year, the International Monetary Fund warned.
The International Monetary Fund urged central banks to ensure that a financial market rout in the developing world does not lead to an international funding crunch. An IMF spokesman said some emerging market countries need to take urgent action to improve their economies, which are under threat by a recent sell-off in markets from India and Turkey to Brazil.
The U.S. economy advanced at a steady pace in the last months of 2013, growth that was fueled by robust consumer spending. The government's Commerce Department said Thursday the world's largest economy grew 3.2%t in the October-to-December period, following a 4.1% advance in the third quarter.
The Brazilian government is determined to advance with negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union even if it means leaving Argentina for a second phase of the process, according to sources from Itamaraty, the country's foreign ministry, reported in the Rio do Janeiro media.
Paul Singer, head of Elliot Management Corp., defined as “bizarre”, the bondholders’ offer to resolve judicially the dispute with Argentina over the debt in default from 2001, during in a letter sent to investors and published by Bloomberg News.
US President Barack Obama displayed his strategy for getting around a divided Congress starting with a wage hike for federal contract workers in a State of the Union speech on Tuesday that reflected scaled-back legislative ambitions after a tough year.
The US Federal Reserve announced a $10bn reduction in its monthly bond purchases from 75bn to 65bn in the second straight month of winding down stimulus efforts. The central bank had been buying bonds in an effort to keep interest rates low and stimulate growth.
The New York Times published on Wednesday a very strong editorial criticizing the misguided policies of the government of President Cristina Fernandez, arguing that once again 'Argentina is on the brink”.