Economy

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 05:29 UTC

  Ecuador wants closer ties between Mercosur and the Andean-Pacific countries

  

  Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa said he was satisfied with having presented an official request for his country to join Mercosur and also called for closer links between Mercosur and the Andean Nations Community, CAN.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 02:28 UTC

  Regional inter-trade expands 25% and is expected to reach record 160bn dollars

  

  Trade among ALADI, Latin American Integration Association, which includes all the hemisphere countries with the exception of a few from Central America and the Caribbean, is expected to reach a historic record in 2011 close to 160 billion dollars, ahead of the 2008 record with 146 billion dollars.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:52 UTC

  Britain skips contribution to the IMF for a Euro zone bailout fund

  

  Britain’s refusal to contribute to the IMF for a Euro zone bailout fund has left the EU short of its 200 billion Euro target. The UK boycott leaves the Euro zone more reliant than ever on major economies such China and on Russia, which are willing to lend more to the IMF.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:48 UTC

  ”Gibraltar at this moment, a minor issue” says Spanish Conservative think-tank

  

  A senior director at a Conservative think-tank founded by Jose Maria Aznar, Spain’s former Popular Party prime minister, said Gibraltar was low on the list of priorities for Madrid, particularly at a time of crisis when it needed the UK as an ally.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:45 UTC

  UK readies plan for ex-pats evacuation in the event of Spain and Portugal banking collapse

  

  Gibraltar could play a role in contingency plans drawn up by the Foreign Office to evacuate British expatriates in the event of a banking collapse in Spain and Portugal, according to the Sunday Times.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2011 - 22:43 UTC

  Moody's praises UK management but warns of “formidable and rising challenges”

  

  Ratings agency Moody's has given the UK high scores for economic governance but warns the country it faces “formidable and rising challenges”.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2011 - 21:02 UTC

  Uruguay bars vessels but will never share a maritime or economic blockade of the Falklands’ people

  

  Uruguayan President Jose Mujica addressing his peers at the Mercosur summit in Montevideo ratified the country’s position barring Falklands’ flagged vessels from Uruguayan ports in active support of Argentina’s sovereignty claim over South Atlantic Islands, which has led to a serious diplomatic controversy with the UK.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2011 - 07:25 UTC

  Malvinas jurisdictional acts are ‘invalid’ for Uruguay, but UK flagged vessels welcomed in Montevideo

  

  “Any jurisdictional acts coming from Malvinas is invalid for us” and therefore Malvinas flagged vessels are barred from Uruguayan ports, a decision which is extensive to all Unasur members, said Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2011 - 07:21 UTC

  Argentina/Brazil propose higher external tariffs for Mercosur

  

  Argentina supported by Brazil has proposed increasing Mercosur Foreign External Tariff to better defend the group when country members are being flooded with cheap imports.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2011 - 07:05 UTC

  Latam’s exports in 2011 forecasted to grow 26%, close to 1.1 trillion dollars

  

  Latin America’s projected 2011 export growth of 26% to approximately 1.1 trillion dollars continues the strong growth posted in 2010, according to new estimates by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).