Economy

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 09:36 UTC

  Argentina’s second biggest soybean producer expands in Brazil; plans shares sale

  

  Argentina’s second- biggest soybean producer Los Grobo, plans to transfer some assets to a new company and sell shares of the business in an initial public offering in Brazil.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 09:02 UTC

  CFK invites Italian businesses to invest in Argentina; announces “new phase in relations”

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner invited Italian business-people to invest in Argentina underlining the close links between the two countries and the fact her visit was the re-launching of normal relations after a decade.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:52 UTC

  US dollar looses 1.85% against the Uruguayan Peso in May; 7.44% in five months

  

  The US dollar continues to slide in the Uruguayan foreign exchange market having lost 1.85% in May vis-à-vis the Uruguayan peso, completing the steepest monthly drop so far in 2011.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:46 UTC

  Soaring imports push Uruguay’s trade deficit in the first quarter

  

  Uruguay’s trade balance registered a deficit of 790 million US dollars in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the central bank. Exports totalled 1.681 billion USD, up 30.5% over the previous year while imports totalled 2.470 billion USD, up 49.5%.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:41 UTC

  Argentina passes tough money-laundering bill to avoid “gray list”

  

  Argentina's Senate on Wednesday passed a bill called for by President Cristina Fernandez, CFK, to toughen financial controls and meet global standards on fighting money-laundering.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:36 UTC

  Argentina bans smoking in public places; forbids advertising of tobacco companies

  

  The Argentine Lower House passed a law that bans smoking in public spaces and forbids advertising, promoting and sponsoring tobacco companies and forces manufacturers to include warnings on the back of all cigarette packs detailing the harmful effects of smoking on health.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 04:38 UTC

  Argentina expected to return to international credit markets at the end of 2011

  

  Barclays Capital expects the administration of President Cristina Fernandez might issue bonds on international credit markets towards the end of this year in a bid to prop up Argentina's fast-growing economy.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 04:15 UTC

  Brazil gives definitive approval to world’s third largest hydroelectric dam project

  

  Brazil's environment agency gave its definitive approval Wednesday for construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial 17 billion US dollars project in the Amazon that has drawn criticism from native Indians and conservationists.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 00:46 UTC

  Uruguay's fiscal deficit steady at 1.6% of GDP; lack of rains fuels power bill

  

  Uruguay’s fiscal deficit increased 0.7 percentage points of GDP in April reaching 1.6% of GDP in the accumulated twelve months, reports the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The 1.6% of GDP is the fiscal budget deficit target established by the government for the whole of 2011, which was recently increased.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 16:23 UTC

  Falklands’ appraisal well confirms oil quality at Sea Lion prospect discovery

  

  Rockhopper Exploration operating in the North Falkland basin has provided an upbeat update on its second appraisal well, 14/10-5, on the Sea Lion discovery which was drilled 600 m north of the 14/10-2 discovery well to a TD of 2,726 m.