
As part of the Vatican's ongoing efforts to ensure that all its financial activity complies with international standards, particularly those aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism, Pope Francis has expanded the role and the reach of the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Authority.

Uruguay sold 2 billion in a new 2024 global bond at a yield of 4.521% as a part of a debt liability operation that includes a debt swap, the government said on Wednesday.

The Bank of England's new Governor Mark Carney said the central bank will not consider raising its record low interest rate and stimuli until unemployment falls below 7%.

Argentina is forecasted to fall into recession next year on the back of super-loose money policy with inflation reaching 24% this year and 30% in 2014 as the government continues to appeal to Central bank resources to meet budget commitments, according to London based Capital Economics.

The first decline in food prices in two years provided temporary assistance to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s efforts to tame inflation. Prices as measured by the benchmark IPCA index rose 0.03% in July and more encouraging with prospects for prices to remain unchanged.

“Until when will we allow ideology to prevail over economics, markets, competitiveness grounding the great vessel of Brazilian trade in the port of little regional pretensions”, asks Katia Abreu in a column published in Folha de Sao Paulo openly criticizing the administration of Dilma Rousseff for its Mercosur policy and the results of the recent Montevideo summit.

US government filed two lawsuits against Bank of America relating to fraud on 850 million dollars of mortgage-backed securities. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed parallel suits in North Carolina.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica said that Mercosur should give its members more space to negotiate with third parties and supported linking to the Alliance of the Pacific, which nevertheless he argued is “part of a geopolitical involving China” and not accepted by Brazil.

Venezuela consumer prices last month rose at the fastest pace since the index was created in 2008 amid worsening shortages of staple goods such as meat, sugar and milk. Prices rose 42.6% in July from a year earlier and 3.2% in the month, the central bank said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

Chile expects mining investment to reach 112 billion US dollars by 2021, Mining Minister Hernan de Solminihac announced this week. This includes the 27bn planned by Chile’s National Copper Corporation, Codelco. Overall the sum is 8% higher than the November forecast.