Economy

• Friday, March 18th 2011 - 23:55 UTC

  Chile launches promotion package to recover 250 cruise vessel annual calls

  

  Recovering 250 cruise vessel calls a year, --as in 2006 and 2008--, is the Chilean government target with the bill it has sent to Congress which would authorize Chilean and foreign flagged vessels to operate their on board casinos while sailing in territorial waters, currently specifically banned.

• Friday, March 18th 2011 - 18:51 UTC

  Brazil planning to increase grain crop to 190 million tons in next decade

  

  Brazil stands on the brink of becoming an agricultural superpower and is one of the few countries in the world with the climate, technology, farming practices and the sheer quantity of land to be able to satisfy the surging global appetite for food in the coming decades.

• Friday, March 18th 2011 - 18:46 UTC

  Arianespace will launch third Argentine communication satellite in 2013

  

  Argentina has again selected Arianespace for its commercial launch services - this time to orbit the Argentine satellite operator's second satellite, Arsat-2.

• Friday, March 18th 2011 - 18:38 UTC

  Buenos Aires cruise terminal can berth four 300-metres cruise vessels at the same time

  

  South America’s largest and most modern cruise terminal, Quinquela Martin, developed and operated by global port operator DP World Dubai Ports), was inaugurated this week by the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner , together with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman, DP World.

• Friday, March 18th 2011 - 16:46 UTC

  EU/Mercosur negotiations stumble, but both sides determined to continue

  

  The fourth round of European Union/Mercosur negotiations for a trade agreement concluded in Brussels Friday with no major advances which could be a setback for the original plan to have a deal sealed by the end of the year.

• Thursday, March 17th 2011 - 18:14 UTC

  Argentine Congress confirms Mercosur/Israel free trade agreement

  

  The Argentine congress ratified this week the free trade agreement between Mercosur and Israel. The accord subscribed in 2007 and already passed by the Senate, was approved in the Lower House by 144 votes, 8 nays and 10 abstentions.

• Thursday, March 17th 2011 - 17:41 UTC

  Brazil real estate boom: 9.1m middle class families plan to buy in next 12 months

  

  A total of 9.1 million families plan to buy real estate in Brazil over the next 12 months which is a huge increase since the Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program was introduced in 2009

• Thursday, March 17th 2011 - 15:34 UTC

  Brazil tightens land acquisition by foreigners: ‘speculators and sovereign funds’

  

  The Brazilian government is tightening a law that restricts the amount of land foreigners can buy. The decree prohibits non-Brazilians from buying controlling shares of companies that own vast tracts of territory in the country, Brazilian Attorney General Luiz Inacio Adams said in a statement this week.

• Thursday, March 17th 2011 - 15:27 UTC

  Brazilian industry creates a Chinese Studies Centre to monitor bilateral trade

  

  Brazil’s powerful Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo State (Fiesp) is set to create a Chinese Studies Centre in partnership with the federal government, the president of the federation said in Sao Paulo.

• Thursday, March 17th 2011 - 05:34 UTC

  US current account deficit totaled 470.2bn last year, 3.2% of GDP

  

  The current-account deficit in the U.S. narrowed 9.7% to 113.3 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter, reflecting an increase in exports. The deficit for all of last year widened to 470.2 billion USD or 3.2% of GDP from 2.7% in 2009.