Economy

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 11:48 UTC

  Argentina: “Blue” dollar rises yet again

  

  The “blue” (a euphemism for “black market”) exchange rate between the Argentine peso and the US dollar rose over AR$ 20 -trading at AR$ 550/US$1- for an accumulated increase of AR$37 in the last 11 days after the latest announcements from the Economy Ministry, it was reported in Buenos Aires.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 11:40 UTC

  Lula expects the Central Bank to lower the benchmark interest rate next week

  

  Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his economic team in their ongoing battle with the independent Central Bank, have anticipated they expect a cut in the benchmark interest rate, of at least 25 points, pressuring bank policymakers to lower borrowing costs given a dramatic fall in inflation.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 11:20 UTC

  Uruguayan tourists take their dollars across the border to Argentina

  

  Argentina's economic volatility has become a magnet for Uruguayan travelers during the winter recess, causing significant losses to local businesses, it was reported in Montevideo.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 11:00 UTC

  Federal Reserve anticipates a 0.25% interest rate increase this week

  

  Despite calls to the contrary the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by another 0.25% this week with Fed Chair Jay Powell expected to leave the door open to additional rate hikes later this year.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 10:54 UTC

  Solution wanted at Mercosur level: mobility platforms need local HQs

  

  According to Paraguay's Juan Marcelo Estigarribia, Executive Secretary of the South American country's Consumer and User Defense Secretariat (Sedeco), a Mercosur Technical Committee has received a complaint from his agency about the lack of representation of mobility platforms such as Uber and Bolt.

• Saturday, July 22nd 2023 - 10:59 UTC

  Argentine President confident about ongoing negotiations with IMF

  

  Argentine President Alberto Fernández Friday spoke with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to discuss a new understanding ahead of this year's elections, it was reported in Buenos Aires.

• Friday, July 21st 2023 - 10:28 UTC

  Brazil's gov't wants the “super rich” to pay income tax on funds abroad

  

  Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the federal government was considering additional taxes to the country's largest fortunes to “correct absurd things in the tax system,” it was reported. According to the former presidential candidate, the government wants to tax the “super rich” who have offshore funds or hold their investments in exclusive funds that currently do not pay income tax.

• Thursday, July 20th 2023 - 09:17 UTC

  Buenos Aires: “Blue” dollar keeps going up amid police raids

  

  Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) Wednesday sold US$ 130 million and 288 million yuan (around US$ 40 million) in a desperate move to keep the “blue” (a euphemism for “black market”) quotation from soaring any further after reaching AR$ 527 / US$ 1.

• Wednesday, July 19th 2023 - 10:38 UTC

  Argentine team starts talks with IMF toward new deal

  

  Argentina's Economic Policy Secretary Adolfo Rubinstein; Chief Advisor Leonardo Madcur; and Central Bank (BCRA) Vice-President Lisandro Cleri started Tuesday in Washington DC a new round of negotiations with a technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to finalize a new agreement ahead of this year's presidential elections, it was confirmed by an IMF spokesperson.

• Tuesday, July 18th 2023 - 22:46 UTC

  Lacalle Pou urges swift action on EU-Mercosur Agreement: “Enough of 25 years of negotiations”

  

  In a strong plea for progress on the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou demanded an end to decades of fruitless negotiations, urging the involved parties to reach an agreement.