Economy

• Friday, January 20th 2012 - 07:50 UTC

  Argentina considers Brazil’s complaints about trade restrictions ‘unjustified”

  

  The head of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), José Ignacio de Mendiguren said on Thursday that the complaints from Brazil over the Argentine import restrictions are “unjustified”.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 06:03 UTC

  “To all effects” Venezuela is fully integrated to Mercosur, says Uruguay

  

  “In practical terms Venezuela if fully integrated to Mercosur” said Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro during a meeting this week with foreign correspondents.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 06:00 UTC

  Trade balance with Argentina is ‘definitively positive’ says Uruguayan minister

  

  Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said that the trade balance between Uruguay and Argentina is “definitely positive” although admitting some manufacturing sectors face difficulties because of the current Argentine obstructions to imports.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 05:57 UTC

  Brazil cuts basic rate to 10.5% and signals further reductions in the future

  

  Brazil’s central bank indicated on Wednesday it will keep cutting interest rates at the current pace after it reduced borrowing costs by a half-point to 10.5%, for a fourth straight meeting.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 04:00 UTC

  “Get ready” a big storm is on its way, warns the latest World Bank forecast

  

  The World Bank warned developing countries today to prepare for the “real” risk that an escalation in the Euro area debt crisis could tip the world into a slump on a par with the global downturn in 2008/09.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 03:57 UTC

  Brazilian government considers Argentina “a permanent problem” in economic issues

  

  Industry and Foreign Trade minister Fernando Pimentel expressed on Wednesday the Brazilian government’s deep disappointment with the latest Argentine legislation to be implemented on trade saying that Argentina is “a permanent problem”.

• Thursday, January 19th 2012 - 03:52 UTC

  Argentine government calls on unions and businesses to act with “responsibility”

  

  Argentine acting President, Vice-President Amado Boudou called on businessmen and union workers to act with “responsibility” in direct reference to the upcoming round of wage negotiations that will be held later this year and unions have anticipated will have to be referred to workers “pocket” inflation.

• Wednesday, January 18th 2012 - 23:38 UTC

  IMF anticipating major storms wants to boost war chest by 600 billion dollars

  

  The International Monetary Fund is seeking to boost its war chest by 600 billion dollars to help countries reeling from the Euro zone debt crisis, but some nations insist Europe must first do more to support its ailing members, international financial sources said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, January 18th 2012 - 17:02 UTC

  Argentina prepares list of capital goods subject to higher import tariffs

  

  The Argentine government has began a round of consultations with the manufacturing sector to determine which capital goods from non Mercosur members can be listed for a higher common external tariff as was recently agreed by the trade block.

• Wednesday, January 18th 2012 - 16:46 UTC

  Uruguay’s economy minister, second best in the region for two years running

  

  The Economy ministers from Colombia, Uruguay and Peru have been rated as the best in Latin America according to the financial magazine America Economica, a publication from the Chilean company Nanbei which does the annual survey based on interviews with 70 Latin American economists.