Economy

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:42 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina relations not contaminated by trade spat, in spite of industry worries

  

  Robert da Fonseca, director of the Sao Paolo Industry Federation, FIESP admitted on Friday that Brazilian businessmen are “worried” with the commercial conflict that Argentina and Brazil face.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:37 UTC

  Chile’s pulp giant Arauco trebles profits in first quarter of 2011

  

  Chile’s Arauco the forestry and pulp unit belonging to the Copec group, trebled profits in the first quarter boosted by higher international prices and sale volumes particularly pulp, according to the company’s latest financial report.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 22:21 UTC

  Brazilian government promises tax breaks in support of industry

  

  Brazil will respond to the requests from industry and unions to reduce taxes to help boost local manufacturing and thus cut into the growing impetus of imports, promised Vice-President Michel Temer during a seminar sponsored by the powerful São Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, together with the two main organized labour unions.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 18:37 UTC

  Lagarde too committed to the Euro to be nominated IMF chief, says top economist

  

  Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is the wrong choice to head the International Monetary Fund as it gets deeper into the Euro-zone rescue, a former IMF chief economist said this week.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 12:38 UTC

  Impact investment fund targeting low-cost housing in Brazil launches in London

  

  Origen Private Equity Ltd., a boutique investment firm headquartered in London, is launching in June what is set to be the first impact investment fund developing low-cost housing in north-east Brazil in conjunction with the Brazilian government's Minha Casa Minha Vida programme.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 09:26 UTC

  Defence minister denies Argentina is “obstructing” the Falklands economy

  

  Defence minister Arturo Puricelli denied Thursday that Argentina was obstructing the economy of the Malvinas Islands as claimed by Falklands’ governor Nigel Haywood in his state of the nation speech to the elected Legislative Assembly of the Islands.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 09:24 UTC

  Pimentel anticipates more ‘active measures’ to defend Brazil’s industry

  

  The Brazilian Government announced that it is considering additional import restrictions on top of the ones already applied to vehicles, as a measure to defend their national industry.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 09:15 UTC

  Lamy calls G20 not to fall prey of protectionism; points to Russia and Argentina

  

  World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy warned world leaders that adopting protectionist measures can have “devastating effects” on the global economy. Addressing the G 20 group Lamy called on the leaders to resist “the temptations of protectionism”.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 09:11 UTC

  Top economists anticipate ‘restructuring’ of Greek debt or ‘booting’ out of the Euro

  

  Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist known as Dr Doom, says Greek restructuring would not bring down Europe's financial system. The economist, who earned his nickname by predicting the global financial crisis, says an orderly debt restructuring could pre-empt more trouble.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 08:44 UTC

  Roubini forecasts Uruguay needs additional measures to contain inflation

  

  Roubini General Economics, RGE, founded by Nouriel Roubini the economist described as Dr. Doom for having predicted long before his peers the US financial and mortgage crisis said the Uruguayan government must apply additional measures to higher rates and bank reserves, to help contain inflation.