Economy

• Friday, February 8th 2013 - 06:51 UTC

  “No big deal with inflation, I grew up in a country with 70%/80% inflation”

  

  Two contrasting views have surfaced in the Uruguayan government regarding inflation which has been steadily climbing and seems so far immune to monetary tools, but is now the second highest in the region behind Argentina.

• Friday, February 8th 2013 - 05:13 UTC

  Economic activity in Chile expanded 4.7% in December and 5.5% in the twelve months

  

  Economic activity in Chile grew 4.7% in December from the year earlier on gains in the service and retail industries, and ended the twelve months of 2012 with an expansion of 5.5% over the previous year according to Central bank data.

• Friday, February 8th 2013 - 00:30 UTC

  Air France returns to Uruguay as of next April with five flights a week

  

  Uruguay seems to be recovering its air connectivity after a rough year that saw the closing down of its flag air carrier Pluna, and the announcement by Spanish airline Iberia that it will cease flights between Montevideo and Madrid as of next April. Iberia is the only European airline currently calling in Uruguay.

• Thursday, February 7th 2013 - 19:32 UTC

  Bank of England next governor favours “flexible inflation targeting”

  

  Bank of England has chosen not to inject any more money into the economy, leaving its quantitative easing (QE) programme at £375bn. The Bank also left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%.

• Thursday, February 7th 2013 - 19:22 UTC

  ECB leaves rates unchanged, but appreciation of the Euro turns into controversy

  

  European Central Bank President Mario Draghi admitted on Thursday policy makers are concerned that the Euro strength will hamper their efforts to pull the economy out of recession and although the exchange rate is not a policy target, he confirmed “it is important for growth and price stability”.

• Wednesday, February 6th 2013 - 21:53 UTC

  Uruguay promotes a free trade agreement of Mercosur with Canada

  

  Foreign minister Luis Almagro announced that Uruguay will work for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada during the first half of the year when Uruguay holds the chair of the South American group that also includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela.

• Wednesday, February 6th 2013 - 05:54 UTC

  Argentina eases pressure on potash project timetable but denies fiscal incentive

  

  Argentine authorities backed away from a recent ultimatum for Brazilian mining giant Vale to submit a new timeline for its 6 billion dollars Rio Colorado potash mine, giving the company more time to find a solution for the imperiled project.

• Wednesday, February 6th 2013 - 05:38 UTC

  Very poor year for Argentine pears and apples exports last year; 2013 prospects improving

  

  Brazil's high fruit demand didn't prevent the general collapse of Argentine export of pears and apples. The exchange rate lag was a determining factor in this trading debacle, but better prospects are expected for 2013.

• Wednesday, February 6th 2013 - 05:33 UTC

  US fund sues YPF and underwriters for a misleading and untrue 2011 prospect

  

  Argentina’s oil and gas corporation YPF, seized by the government last year, was sued by an investor who accused the company of making false statements prior to its March 2011 public offering.

• Tuesday, February 5th 2013 - 20:51 UTC

  Colombia reaches sustained production of over a million barrels of oil per day

  

  Colombia announced that it produced an average of 1.01 million barrels of oil per day in January, marking the first time that average crude output for a month surpassed the one million-barrel mark that the government had set as a target for the country's oil industry.