
The economic-trade relations with Argentina are going through ‘their worst moment in a long time’, and the latest measures announced by the government of President Cristina Fernandez have a ‘very harmful effect’ on Uruguay, said Vice-president Danilo Astori on Friday.

Under the heading of: “From crisis to opportunity: supporting an effective economic and social recovery with innovation and flexibility”, the World Bank outstands Uruguay as a success story, from the downfall of 2001/02, mainly consequence of the Argentine melting to the sustained recovery since 2004/05.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez announced the government is prepared to make imports more flexible in those areas where a few companies have a quasi-monopoly control, but also warned about windfall profiteering.

Moody's Investors Service lowered this week the long-term issuer ratings of Brazilian state banks BNDES and Caixa Econômica Federal, citing their eroding capital position after years of rapid credit expansion, but spared the also government controlled Banco do Brasil.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitted speaking to President Barack Obama about his future and that he feels no personal responsibility to stay at the helm until the Fed winds down its unprecedented policies to stimulate the US economy.

Brazil hopes to sign a bilateral accord with China to promote trade in their national currencies at next week's BRICS summit of the world's five emerging powers, Trade and Industry Minister Fernando Pimentel said on Thursday.

Congress has comfortably passed a large spending bill to keep the US government running until the end of September and avert a temporary shutdown. President Barack Obama must now sign the bill, which was passed by a bipartisan vote of 318-109.

By R. Viswanathan - India's trade with Brazil reached 10.6 billion dollars in 2012 (January to December), increasing by 15% from 9.2bn in 2011. Twenty years back, in 1992 bilateral trade was just 177 million dollars. Ten years back, in 2002, it was 1.2 billion dollars.
India's exports to Brazil declined in 2012 to 5.04bn from 6bn dollars in 2011.

Argentina ratified its controversial trade policy during the periodic country review at the World Trade Organization, WTO, arguing Argentina has grown sustainedly since 2003, as have social indexes supported by the strong and successful re-industrialization program.

President Cristina Fernandez called an urgent meeting on Wednesday evening of her economic team following a day of hectic trading in the currency exchange market which had the US dollar climb to 8.75 Pesos in the parallel market, expanding the gap with the official rate to almost 70%.