Economy

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 06:15 UTC

  Argentine defaulted bond holders demand ‘strict neutrality’ from the IMF

  

  A group of Argentine sovereign defaulted bond-holders have blasted the IMF for its announced intention of filing an amicus brief in support of Argentina before the US courts stating that “there is no role for direct involvement by the IMF in this matter” and any intervention by the IMF “favouring Argentina's request would also clearly violate the Fund's strict commitment to neutrality”.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 06:11 UTC

  Argentina’s economic activity picks up 7.8% in May and 4.1% in first five months

  

  Argentina's economic activity jumped 7.8% in May from a year earlier, according to the country’s questioned stats office, Indec. President Cristina Fernandez had anticipated the news earlier in the week in a televised speech.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 06:03 UTC

  Argentina/hedge funds dispute: US will not file ‘uninvited’ brief to Supreme Court

  

  The Barack Obama administration won’t file a brief next week urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Argentina’s appeal in a clash with implications for tens of billions of dollars in defaulted debt, according to a Justice Department spokesman.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 05:46 UTC

  Money exchange controls limit Argentines from travelling to Brazil to greet Pope Francis

  

  Despite the pope is Argentine and on Monday he will be making his first pastoral trip overseas to Brazil, Argentine government strict currency controls are making it difficult for prospective pilgrims to travel. An estimated 60.000 Argentines are expected to travel to Rio do Janeiro for the grand event.

• Saturday, July 20th 2013 - 05:35 UTC

  Fitch maintains Brazil’s debt outlook ‘stable’ and minister says the report was ‘fair’

  

  Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said that Fitch's decision to maintain the country’s debt outlook at stable was “fair” given Brazil robust finances and lesser debt burden.

• Friday, July 19th 2013 - 06:17 UTC

  Motor City files for bankruptcy; city offers 10cents for every dollar of debt

  

  The US city of Detroit in Michigan, once renowned as ‘Motor City’ has become the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy, with debts of at least 15bn dollars. State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge to place the city into bankruptcy protection.

• Thursday, July 18th 2013 - 08:45 UTC

  Argentina 2012/2013 crop expected to reach a record 105 million tons says Cristina Fernandez

  

  Argentina’s 2012/2013 grain and oilseed crop reached a record 105 million tons, announced President Cristina Fernandez underlining the excellent performance of the maize harvest and yields.

• Thursday, July 18th 2013 - 08:35 UTC

  IMF sides with Argentina in dispute with hedge funds holding defaulted bonds

  

  In an unprecedented move, the International Monetary Fund plans to ask the US Supreme Court to review Argentina's case in a decade-old legal battle with holdout creditors, because of the implications it could have on sovereign debt restructurings.

• Thursday, July 18th 2013 - 08:26 UTC

  Venezuelan parliament approves incorporation of Bolivia to Mercosur as full member

  

  The Venezuelan parliament approved Bolivia’s protocol of adherence to Mercosur as full member thus clearing the way for the landlocked mostly indigenous populated country to become the sixth member of the South American trade block next to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

• Wednesday, July 17th 2013 - 22:12 UTC

  Fed says asset purchases will remains above all flexible to market conditions

  

  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the US central bank still expects to start scaling back its massive asset purchase program later this year but left open the option of changing that plan in either direction if the economic outlook shifted.