Economy

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 03:14 UTC

  Brazilian central bank raises benchmark rate 0.25 percentage points to 12%

  

  Brazil’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rates a quarter of a percentage point from 11.75% to 12%. The decision surprised the market since it was a smaller raise than two previous hikes of half a percentage point earlier this year.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 05:14 UTC

  Oil exploration in extreme south of Chile attracts 400 million USD in three years

  

  In the coming three years hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation in the extreme south of Chile will receive investment equivalent to over 400 million US dollars making Punta Arenas a hub for the regional oil industry.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:49 UTC

  Latin America rapidly becoming a middle-class continent, according to ECLAC

  

  Latin America’s middle class increased by 56 million since 1999 with a direct consequence on consumption patterns and demand for government policies, according to a report in the latest edition of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean, ECLAC Review.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:27 UTC

  Brazil trusts the Fed will end liquidity program in July thus boosting the US dollar

  

  Brazil believes the impact of an undervalued US dollar which is appreciating other currencies such as the Brazilian Real, ‘won’t last long’ according to forecasts from Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:21 UTC

  FDI in China soars 32.9% in March, totals 30.3 billion USD in first quarter

  

  Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China grew 32.9% year on year in March to 12.52 billion US dollars, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) reported Tuesday. FDI in China has increased 29.4% in the first quarter to 30.34 billion USD, MOC spokesman Yao Jian said.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:19 UTC

  China urges US to adopt “responsible measures” to guarantee investors interests

  

  China, the top holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, urged the United States Tuesday to adopt “responsible measures” after ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the outlook on U.S. sovereign debt to negative.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 01:07 UTC

  Google invests in the world’s largest wind farm in the state of Oregon

  

  Google Inc. said announced this week that together with two Japanese partners they will pay General Electric Co. about 500 million US dollars for a majority equity stake in the world's largest wind farm, under construction in Oregon.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 00:49 UTC

  First Brazilian pre-salt oil shipment to Chile in mid May

  

  Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer will export its first cargo from the country’s second-largest crude field to Chile in mid-May.

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 17:30 UTC

  Uruguay admits to IMF concern over inflation, but rejects capital flow controls

  

  Uruguay’s concern with inflation risks and instruments to ‘mitigate’ its impact was underlined by the region’s representative at the IMF Monetary and Financial Committee meeting in Washington where the IMF and World Bank are holding their spring meetings.

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 14:04 UTC

  IMF pounds at emerging and developed countries, but forgets self-criticism

  

  The IMF criticized developing countries for not responding strongly enough to the surge of hot money into their markets, saying the result could be a hard economic landing.