Economy

• Wednesday, August 27th 2025 - 10:55 UTC

  Argentina: Interest rates soar in response to new BCRA rules

  

  Argentina's financial system is experiencing significant tension as a new reserve requirement scheme from the Central Bank (BCRA) forces financial institutions to drastically raise interest rates on fixed-term deposits. The average rate for a 30-day fixed-term deposit has jumped to 51.3%, a substantial increase from just a few weeks prior.

• Tuesday, August 26th 2025 - 19:46 UTC

  Brazil and Nigeria sign bilateral agreements

  

  Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Nigerian colleague Bola Tinubu signed a series of agreements earlier this week at the Planalto Palace during the African leader's state visit.

• Tuesday, August 26th 2025 - 10:08 UTC

  Brazil and Canada to resume talks for FTA with Mercosur

  

  Brazilian authorities, exercising the pro tempore presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and representatives from Canada are to resume talks about a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that was initiated in 2018 but suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Monday, August 25th 2025 - 21:14 UTC

  Chile halts poultry imports from Argentina due to avian flu

  

  Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) has ordered the temporary suspension of chicken imports from Argentina due to an outbreak of “highly pathogenic avian influenza” (HPAI) at a commercial poultry facility in the neighboring country.

• Monday, August 25th 2025 - 10:03 UTC

  One-person households on the rise in Brazil

  

  The proportion of Brazilian one-person households has grown by 52% in 12 years, Agencia Brasil reported during the weekend. In 2024, 18.6% of households were inhabited by only one person. In 2012, this share stood at 12.2%.

• Friday, August 22nd 2025 - 20:31 UTC

  Milei's govt hit by string of setbacks

  

  Argentine President Javier Milei has been suffering a series of setbacks this week after the Lower House overturned his veto of the Disability Emergency Law, followed by a slumping trade surplus projection and a sharp drop in wholesale transactions amid mounting corruption scandals.

• Friday, August 22nd 2025 - 10:30 UTC

  Grau becomes Chile's new Finance Minister

  

  Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font on Thursday appointed Nicolás Grau, previously the Economy Minister, as the new Minister of Finance, following Mario Marcel's resignation earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Álvaro García was chosen to replace Grau. Ignacia Fernández, former Undersecretary of Agriculture, took over as Minister of Agriculture in lieu of Esteban Valenzuela.

• Friday, August 22nd 2025 - 10:19 UTC

  Brazil clinches beef export deal with Indonesia

  

  Brazilian meat producers have reached an agreement with Indonesian buyers to export beef from South America's largest country to the world's fourth-most populous nation, the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs confirmed on Thursday. The export of live sheep (ewes, rams, lambs) to Algeria was also announced.

• Thursday, August 21st 2025 - 20:22 UTC

  Marcel resigns as Chile's Finance Minister for personal reasons

  

  Mario Marcel on Thursday turned in his resignation as Chile's Finance Minister, just one day after Esteban Valenzuela left Agriculture. While Marcel's decision was reported to be due to strictly personal reasons, Valenzuela's departure just seven months from the end of President Gabriel Boric Font's term follows alliances ahead of this year's elections.

• Thursday, August 21st 2025 - 19:29 UTC

  De Moraes' canceled credit card poses dilemma to Brazilian banks

  

  After the Banco do Brasil (BB) canceled Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre De Moraes' Master Card following instructions stemming from the United States' sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against the magistrate, South America's largest country's institutions were gripped by controversy.