Economy

• Thursday, December 16th 2010 - 23:52 UTC

  IMF technical support for Argentina Statistics Office will continue until next April

  

  International Monetary Fund (IMF) will continue collaborating with Argentina national statistics bureau, Indec, in order to create “a price index with stronger credibility,” the spokeswoman of the organization, Caroline Atkinson, assured in Washington.

• Thursday, December 16th 2010 - 18:28 UTC

  Argentina’s top businessman warns about inflation and Chinese investments

  

  Argentina’s most influential businessman warned about the “inflationary escalade” which, if not contained can lead to an unfavourable climate for investments. Paolo Rocca, Techint group CEO made the statements during an entrepreneurs’ forum where he called for “business responsibility”, “clear rules of the game”, “transparency” and questioned the landing of Chinese oil corporations in Argentina.

• Thursday, December 16th 2010 - 03:58 UTC

  Australia present at the Mercosur summit in Brazil

  

  Australian Foreign Secretary Kevin Rudd will be present at the two-day Mercosur summit which begins Thursday in Foz de Iguazu. Rudd met on Wednesday with his Brazilian peer Celso Amorim ahead of the summit and in the framework of the “Australia-Brazil Dialogue” created last September.

• Thursday, December 16th 2010 - 03:45 UTC

  Trade among Mercosur members forecasted to reach 42 billion USD

  

  Trade between the four member Mercosur block is expected to reach 42 billion US dollars in 2010 revealed Argentine Industry minister Debora Giorgi who on Thursday will be participating of the Mercosur summit in Foz de Iguazu, Brazil.

• Thursday, December 16th 2010 - 03:31 UTC

  Brazil expects to reach UN Millennium Development Goals by 2012

  

  The Brazilian government announced Tuesday that the country has seen a solid drop in childhood malnutrition which, together with the social progress achieved in other areas, meets the criteria under the U.N. Millennium Development Goals for the eradication of extreme poverty.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2010 - 22:49 UTC

  Spain again on the brink as Moody’s questions 2011 financial requirements

  

  Moody's rating agency threatened Wednesday to downgrade Spain's credit rating, hammering markets as it warned of a 170-billion-Euro refinancing challenge ahead in 2011.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2010 - 22:25 UTC

  Argentina, world’s largest exporter of top football players: 1.800 in 2009/10

  

  Argentina has surpassed neighbouring Brazil as the world's largest exporter of football players, a trend that may not be a good thing for the country's domestic game. Players had become assets to be sold off to repay club debts, one agent said, while the growing exodus of Argentina's best young players is leaving a void in the local game.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2010 - 05:53 UTC

  Mercosur: a High Representative post to create “consensus” in summit’s agenda

  

  Mercosur could end up with a High Representative post following this coming presidential summit in Foz de Iguazu. According to Brazilian sources the initiative has been discussed with partners Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay and should be approved next Thursday/Friday.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2010 - 04:31 UTC

  Fed admits economic recovery too soft to bring down unemployment level

  

  The US economic recovery is still too soft to bring down the country's high level of unemployment, the Federal Reserve warned on Tuesday. The central bank made the comment as it reaffirmed its commitment to continue purchasing 600 billion in bonds to stimulate the economy.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2010 - 04:17 UTC

  Mercosur with the best growth performance in the region in 2010

  

  Mercosur full member countries with the exception of Brazil will have the best growth performance in the region this year, according to the annual report from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cepal which was announced this week in Santiago de Chile.