
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.

China's currency, the Yuan, strengthened past a key level against the US dollar on Friday, as part of wider efforts to contain inflation on the mainland. The Yuan broke past 6.50 against the dollar, a level not seen since 1993.

Rio de Janeiro's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is an unprecedented chance to promote the Brazil brand and ensure a legacy of economic and social benefits, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday.

Three Latin American countries figure among the ten top users of social network Tiwtter according to a release from comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, based on the comScore Media Metris service.