Get our news on your inbox! x

Remember me Forgot password

MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 23rd 2025 - 16:34 UTC

Economy

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 10:55 UTC

    Boric signs Chile's pension reform into law

    Approving a reform to the AFP system “cost a lot,” Boric admitted

    Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font Thursday signed into law the new pensions reform introducing changes to the retirement mechanism in force since Augusto Pinochet Ugarte's military dictatorship (1973-1990). The new law will become effective starting in September 2025 and be fully implemented by 2035. It provides for a mixed system with contributions from workers (10%), employers (8.5%), and a new state-backed social security component, in a move to boost pensions by 14% to 35% for 2.8 million senior citizens, thus addressing the low payouts from privately-managed Pension Fund Administrators (AFPs) currently giving about half the country's retirees about US$ 350 monthly when the minimum wage stands at US$ 500.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 10:17 UTC

    Uruguay’s economy rebounded in 2024, but growth expected to slow in 2025

    The agriculture, energy, and manufacturing sectors saw the strongest performance, with energy growing by 19.6% and agriculture by 11.3%.

    Uruguay’s economy expanded by 3.1% in 2024, recovering from a severe drought the previous year, according to national accounts data released by the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU). However, economists warn that growth in 2025 is likely to return to the country's historical pace of slower expansion.

  • Friday, March 21st 2025 - 09:32 UTC

    Argentina: Indec finds unemployment on the rise

    The lagging dollar has economic activities stagnating. Milei desperately needs a new loan from the IMF to boost the economy

    Unemployment in Argentina in the last quarter of 2024 rose to 6.4%, up 0.7 points from 5.7% in Q4 2023, but down 0.5 points from Q3 2024 (6.9%), the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) said in a report released Thursday. Joblessness was higher in the Greater Buenos Aires area (7.1%) and lower in Patagonia (4%) while more women (6.9%) than men (6.1%) were going through that plight.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 11:26 UTC

    Brazil: Haddad says Selic adjustment stemmed from Campos Neto era

    The measure was heavily criticized by Congressman Farias

    After Brazil Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) raised Wednesday the benchmark Selic interest rate from 13.25% to 14.25% annually, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad warned that such a move had been planned since December under former BCB President Roberto Campos Neto, who had been appointed during the Jair Bolsonaro years.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 10:51 UTC

    Argentina's Lower House greenlights Milei's IMF emergency decree

    Most lawmakers “understood the mandate of the ballot boxes,” Casa Rosada said after the outcome

    Argentina's Lower House Wednesday gave its nod to President Javier Milei's Emergency Decree (DNU) clearing the way for further borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reinforce Central Bank reserves and manage debt by 129 votes in favor, 108 against, and 6 abstentions with endorsements from the ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) as well as other parties, such as PRO, UCR, Coalición Cívica, Innovación Federal, Producción y Trabajo, and a group of Encuentro Federal lawmakers. Opposition came primarily from the Peronist Unión por la Patria (UxP), leftwing groups, and other minor factions.

  • Thursday, March 20th 2025 - 06:07 UTC

    Brazilian Central Bank raises interest rate to its highest in nine years, 14.25%

    Copom indicated headline inflation and measures of underlying inflation remain above the target and have again increased in recent releases.

    The Brazilian Central Bank Copom (Monetary Policy Committee) raised the benchmark interest rate (Selic) by one full percentage point on Wednesday, from 13.25% to 14.25%, the highest since 2016, the level reached during the political crisis that ousted then president of Dilma Rousseff’s (PT) government.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 20:55 UTC

    Falklands Government successfully raises funds for future capital investments

    Among critical projects are the replacement of FIPASS and the development of a new Power Station, which are both essential infrastructure for the Falklands

    The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has successfully raised £150 million to facilitate investment in the capital program over the coming years, and in particular the replacement Port facility planned for 2027.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 20:35 UTC

    Falklands retains S&P Global Ratings A+ with stable outlook; praise for FIG fiscal performance

    MLA Roger Spink “The A+ rating has been achieved on the basis of the many years of political and economic stability found here in the Islands”

    The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) is pleased to announce that S&P Global Ratings have confirmed that the sovereign rating for the Falkland Islands remains at A+ with a stable outlook.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 14:23 UTC

    Dollar quotation projected to rise in Paraguay

    The BCP sold US$ 216 million to the local financial market last week in an effort to contain volatility

    The US dollar is continuing to rise in Paraguay despite the Central Bank (BCP) selling US$ 216 million to local financial institutions to stabilize the currency. Experts predict the dollar could reach ₲ 8,000 in the first half of 2025, driven by international tensions and a weak soybean market.

  • Wednesday, March 19th 2025 - 10:55 UTC

    Peronists oppose Milei's intention to take another loan from the IMF

    Milei's DNU circumvented his duty to have Congress approve indebting the country, the PJ argued

    Argentina's Justicialist [Peronist] Party (PJ) led by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) Tuesday expressed its rejection of President Javier Milei's Emergency Decree (DNU) 179/25 clearing the way for further borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with no Congressional approval. The PJ deemed the initiative “illegitimate” and unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated Law 27.612, which requires the Executive to submit full IMF agreement details to Congress, and Article 75 of the National Constitution, which assigns Congress the authority to manage national debt.