Economy

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:41 UTC

  China further opens its market to Brazilian beef, chicken and now pork

  

  China opened its market significantly for Brazilian beef and chicken said Brazil’s Agriculture minister Wagner Rossi on his return from a week long visit to China with a business delegation headed by President Dilma Rousseff.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:35 UTC

  Argentine official statistics show poverty is down 9.9% in second half of 2010

  

  Argentina’s National Statistics Agency, Indec, announced Wednesday that poverty levels lowered in the second half of 2010, with 527,000 households below the poverty line (6.8%), which include a total of 2,475,000 people (9,9%).

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:31 UTC

  Tax revenue in Brazil surges 9.7% in March on the back of consumer demand

  

  Brazil's tax revenue surged in March on the back of consumer demand that has continued to be robust the federal tax authority said this week.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:25 UTC

  Inflation and unemployment confirm Brazilian economy overheated

  

  March inflation in Brazil accelerated to its fastest rate since November 2008, driven by food, beverages and fuel prices. Consumer prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index rose 6.44% in the year through mid-April, the national statistics agency announced Wednesday in Rio do Janeiro.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:22 UTC

  Gibraltar promotes cruise calls allowing them to open on-board casinos and shops

  

  Cruise ships calling in Gibraltar will be allowed to open their on-board casinos and shops to their passengers after 6pm, providing an incentive to remain alongside until the early hours of the following morning, was announced by the Rock’s Deputy Chief Minister Joe Holliday.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 03:14 UTC

  Brazilian central bank raises benchmark rate 0.25 percentage points to 12%

  

  Brazil’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rates a quarter of a percentage point from 11.75% to 12%. The decision surprised the market since it was a smaller raise than two previous hikes of half a percentage point earlier this year.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 05:14 UTC

  Oil exploration in extreme south of Chile attracts 400 million USD in three years

  

  In the coming three years hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation in the extreme south of Chile will receive investment equivalent to over 400 million US dollars making Punta Arenas a hub for the regional oil industry.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:49 UTC

  Latin America rapidly becoming a middle-class continent, according to ECLAC

  

  Latin America’s middle class increased by 56 million since 1999 with a direct consequence on consumption patterns and demand for government policies, according to a report in the latest edition of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean, ECLAC Review.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:27 UTC

  Brazil trusts the Fed will end liquidity program in July thus boosting the US dollar

  

  Brazil believes the impact of an undervalued US dollar which is appreciating other currencies such as the Brazilian Real, ‘won’t last long’ according to forecasts from Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:21 UTC

  FDI in China soars 32.9% in March, totals 30.3 billion USD in first quarter

  

  Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China grew 32.9% year on year in March to 12.52 billion US dollars, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) reported Tuesday. FDI in China has increased 29.4% in the first quarter to 30.34 billion USD, MOC spokesman Yao Jian said.