Economy

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 06:48 UTC

  Buenos Aires collapses after 155mm of rainfall in seven hours flood the city

  

  At least eight people are reported dead after torrential rain and powerful winds battered Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and surrounding neighbourhoods flooding streets, knocking out power, downing trees and damaging homes and cars, officials said Tuesday. An estimated 350.000 people have been affected by the floods.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 03:49 UTC

  Francis first real challenge: re-structuring the scandal ridden Vatican bank

  

  Pope Francis, who has said he wants the Catholic Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could restructure or even close the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank as part of a broad review of its troubled bureaucracy, Vatican sources say.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 20:50 UTC

  Falklands’ shipping company improves reefer box service and storage capacity

  

  The Falkland Islands shipping company South American Atlantic Services Ltd (SAAS) has turned a “nightmare,” into a going concern and is now over-target on imports, Director Hamish Wylie told customers and other invited guests at a reception at the SAAS offices in Stanley last week.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 20:28 UTC

  Eleven million Argentines, 26.9% of the population live in poverty conditions

  

  An estimated 11 million Argentines or 26.9% out of a population of 40 million live in poverty according to the Social Observatory from the Argentine Catholic University, (UCA) based on a survey taken at the end of last year. However according to Argentina questioned stats’ office Indec, in the second half of 2012, poverty was down to 5.4% of the population equivalent to 2.2 million poor.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 20:15 UTC

  Brazil’s boom crops expose port congestion and lack of infrastructure

  

  Brazil’s soybean production has reached record levels this season which could make the country the world’s leading producer but port congestion and lack of storage capacity are impeding exports of soybean as producers fear losing international markets.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 19:42 UTC

  Real estate prices’ increase in Rio and Sao Paulo among the highest in the world

  

  The latest Knight Frank’s Global Real Estate Index released this month has Brazil ranking No. 3 in the world and No. 1 in the Americas for rising home prices. Only ridiculously expensive Hong Kong and Dubai, which are not countries, have seen prices rise more. So in fact, no single country has seen its housing prices increase as much as Brazil.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 18:27 UTC

  Falklands’ new port facility sea bed survey to be completed by early June

  

  A deployable core drill rig is taking samples of the sea bed and rock structure for the likely locations of a future deep-sea port for the Falkland Islands in Port William, reports the Penguin News.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 05:42 UTC

  Agriculture should help boost the Brazilian economy to 3.1% growth in 2013

  

  The Brazilian economy is expected to grow 3.1% this year while inflation will reach 5.7% according to the latest estimates from the Central bank released in its “Quarterly inflation report”. In the previous report at the end of last year inflation was estimated at 4.8% but there was no figure for growth.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 05:38 UTC

  Brazil reviewing immigration policy and is looking for “brains and human capital”

  

  Brazil is after “brains and human capital” and a special Strategic Actions Secretariat (SAE) which depends directly from the Executive is working on a strategy to attract selective quality immigration according Ricardo Paes de Barros head of SAE interviewed by the Miami Herald.

• Tuesday, April 2nd 2013 - 05:30 UTC

  Uruguayan exports in first quarter down 13% compared to a year ago

  

  Uruguayan exports of goods in March continued falling thus closing a discouraging first quarter, according to Uruguay XXI, the country’s agency responsible for promoting trade and investment in the country.