Economy

• Wednesday, February 9th 2011 - 19:59 UTC

  Uruguay solid candidate for “investment grade” rating says JP Morgan

  

  Uruguay is considered a solid candidate to obtain “investment grade” given its strong economic fundamentals and these same factors make the country’s bonds issued in indexed units, UI, an attractive investment, according to a report from the investment bank JP Morgan published in the Montevideo press.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 19:53 UTC

  Australia natural disasters costs forecasted to wipe growth in two quarters

  

  Floods in Australia have dragged business conditions particularly in Queensland to depths not seen since the global financial crisis, according to a local analysis that offered a more pessimistic view than the government’s assessments.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 19:47 UTC

  In less than a decade Asia will account for 65% of all vehicles sold

  

  India is likely to take the fourth position in the global automotive market by 2015, according to a study conducted by Booz & Co. Currently that spot is held by Brazil, another emerging market, which is likely to give India a challenge.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 17:49 UTC

  Rate hikes expected in Brazil and Chile as global commodity prices drive inflation

  

  Global commodity prices continue to be the main driver of inflation in both Brazil and Chile, according to the latest Latin America update report from Capital Economics.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 16:29 UTC

  Chile exports increase 30% in 2010, led by copper and lumber sales

  

  Chile achieved a record year for exports in 2010, according to a report by ProChile. Exports in 2010 were valued to be 69.6 billion US dollars, up nearly 30% from the 2009 figure, 53.7 billion USD.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 16:25 UTC

  Argentina recovers free of FMD status along the “border belt”

  

  Argentina recovered the status of free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination in the “high vigilance” area along the so called “border belt” which limits with Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 14:29 UTC

  China’s New Year takes off with higher interest rates, third time since October

  

  China's central bank said Tuesday it will increase key lending and deposit rates by a quarter percentage point, effective Wednesday. This is the third People’s Bank of China rise since last October, a move aimed at combating stubbornly high inflation.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 05:29 UTC

  Egypt attempts to put the economy back on movement

  

  The Egyptian government is struggling to finance itself as foreign investors pull out and the currency drops. It had to scale down a bond auction on Monday as state-owned banks failed to stump up enough cash.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 05:17 UTC

  Mujica calls on the ruling coalition “not to kill the golden eggs hen” of investment

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called on the ruling coalition to restrain public comments on wealth distribution or re-distribution underlining that the “golden eggs’ hen” is private investment so please “don’t kill the hen”.

• Tuesday, February 8th 2011 - 05:08 UTC

  Petrobras third largest oil company on market capitalization

  

  Based on market capitalization Brazilian government managed oil and gas company Petrobras ranked third worldwide according to the prestigious PFC Energy 50 list of the world's biggest energy companies.