The trade surplus rose to 1.86 billion USD last month from 1.55 billion in March, the ministry said. The figure compares with a 1.28 billion surplus in April last year. In the first four months of 2011 Brazil’s trade surplus totalled 5.03 billion USD which is up 132% over the same period a year ago.
The Argentine economy is poised to expand by 6.5% or more this year, and unemployment may hover at the lowest level in two decades, the central bank said.
Germany’s Bundesbank new hawkish president Jens Weidmann said private investors should help cover costs of the Euro zone crisis. Mr Weidmann promised a continued “stability culture” at the German central bank after taking over from outgoing president Axel Weber.
Bilateral negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and European Union delegates are scheduled to resume Tuesday in Asunción, Paraguay.
European farmers insisted Monday before the European Parliament on the “catastrophic impact” that a trade agreement with Mercosur could have for the EU agriculture.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff left top bankers, investors and corporations CEO frustrated following her decision to cancel a speech to the World Economic Forum on Latin America meeting in Rio do Janeiro.
Spain’s biggest bank Santander reported first-quarter profit declined 5% as lower earnings at home offset gains in Latin America. Net income fell to 2.11 billion Euros from 2.22 billion Euros a year earlier, the Spanish bank said in a filing Friday.
Japan's industrial output fell a record 15.3% in March from the previous month, while household spending tumbled the government announced Thursday, direct result of the earthquake impact and ongoing nuclear crisis.
Chrysler anticipated that by the second quarter it will have repaid bailout loans worth more than 7 billion US dollars given by the US and Canadian governments. The auto group said it would pay back the bailout by June with loans from investors.
China's manufacturing growth slowed in April, according to official figures. The country's purchasing managers' index (PMI), which is designed to provide a snapshot of conditions in the manufacturing sector, fell to 52.9 in April, from 53.4 in March.