Economy

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 21:37 UTC

  Wall Street fears possible downgrade of US rating in spite of vote on debt ceiling

  

  Wall Street dropped on worries about a possible downgrade of the United States' top credit rating and signs of economic weakness even as the US Congress passed on Tuesday a bill to avoid a debt default.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 21:29 UTC

  Emergency bells ringing in Europe: Italy and Spain in the Euro danger zone

  

  Financial market pressure on Italy intensified on Tuesday, sucking Europe's second biggest debtor nation deeper into the Euro area danger zone and prompting emergency consultations in Rome and among European capitals.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 15:46 UTC

  Geithner admits battle over debt limit has damaged confidence in the US economy

  

  US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he is not sure whether the bitterly fought debt agreement to be considered by the US Senate will avoid a downgrade of the U.S. top-tier credit rating.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 07:27 UTC

  With hours before default deadline, US Senate votes on debt ceiling package

  

  US House of Representatives has passed by 269 votes to 161 a last-gasp deal to avoid a federal debt default. The bill is expected to be approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 07:14 UTC

  Salaries in Argentina averaged a 27.6% increase in the last twelve months

  

  Salaries in Argentina averaged an increase of 27.6% in the last twelve months to June, boosted mainly by agreements in the private sector, reported Monday the country’s National Statistics Institute, Indec.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 07:07 UTC

  Brazil’s trade surplus more than doubles in July over a year ago

  

  Brazil’s trade surplus more than doubled in July from a year ago fuelled by higher commodity prices in spite of the over-valued Super Real that is having an impact on manufactured goods exports and promotes the import of ‘cheap’ products.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 07:03 UTC

  Brazil forecasted to become world’s third largest automobile manufacturer

  

  Brazil’s car production capacity is expected to jump from the current 3.6 million units per year to 6.2 million by 2025 supported by massive investments from the industry estimated in 19 billion dollars by 2017, according to estimated from the Vanzolini Foundation in Sao Paulo.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 - 06:53 UTC

  Brazil’s currency the most overvalued: anywhere from 52% to 149% vis-à-vis the US dollar

  

  The Brazilian Real is the world's most expensive currency and is 149% overvalued against the dollar and the Colombian peso, the next most expensive currency is 108% above the US currency, according to British magazine The Economist, which has created a new version of the Big Mac index.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 22:47 UTC

  Record Foreign Direct Investment in Uruguay in 2010 with 2.35 billion dollars

  

  Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, in Uruguay was record in 2010 with 2.35 billion dollars (47.8% higher than in 2009) according to the latest report on global investment from the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD. FDI represented 30.5% of total gross investment in Uruguay last year.

• Monday, August 1st 2011 - 20:37 UTC

  US manufacturing expanded at its lowest in two years in July

  

  US manufacturing grew at its slowest pace in two years in July as new orders contracted, a troubling development for the faltering economy. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 50.9, the lowest level since July 2009, from 55.3 in June.