Economy

• Wednesday, July 28th 2010 - 17:54 UTC

  Chilean fruit industry compensates smaller shipments with higher global prices

  

  Despite sharp declines in the volume of exported fruits during the 2009-2010 season Chile’s fruit industry managed to offset those losses because of higher prices paid in foreign markets.

• Wednesday, July 28th 2010 - 06:49 UTC

  LAN Chile’s passenger and cargo businesses grow 24.5% and 60.3%

  

  LAN Airlines, Chile’s flag carrier second-quarter net profit jumped to 60.6 million US dollars in line with market expectations, from 4.2 million USD a year earlier, the flagship carrier reported Tuesday.

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 23:51 UTC

  Fitch upgrades Uruguay’s debt to BB, just below investment grade

  

  Citing the “increased resilience to external shocks” Fitch upgraded Uruguay to BB from BB-, two levels below investment-grade and in line with Standard & Poor's. Moody's Investors Service rates Uruguay at Ba3, three levels below investment grade. Fitch last increased the country's rating in July 2007, taking it up one level from B+.

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 23:37 UTC

  As Argentine economy picks up, imports soar and trade surplus is down

  

  Argentina's trade surplus narrowed by 19% in June from the same month a year ago, falling short of market expectations as brisk economic growth fuelled demand for imports, according to official data released last week.

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 23:30 UTC

  Latam’s India challenge: market for commodities, but manufacturing competitor

  

  India could become a fast-growing market for Latin American and Caribbean commodities but governments in this region must foster closer ties with the 1.1 billion population giant and reduce trade costs to tap into that opportunity, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 04:49 UTC

  Chile, Peru and Colombia, trade platform for China in South America

  

  Colombia, Chile and Peru are increasingly the platform for South American trade with China, according to official statistics. The three countries have China as one of the largest and most dynamic trade partners and are working on a common strategy for further liberalization of trade.

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 02:48 UTC

  US District Judge rules in favor of Argentina against ‘vulture funds’

  

  Argentina won a court decision that keeps so-called vulture funds with demands against the country from gaining possession of bonds held in a Buenos Aires government trust account.

• Tuesday, July 27th 2010 - 02:37 UTC

  Soy-oil: Argentina hopeful India will replace China as main client

  

  India could become the main buyer of Argentine soybean oil according to Industry Minister Deborah Giorgi. The official made the announcement following a meeting on Monday with Indian in Buenos Aires Rengaraj Viswanathan.

• Monday, July 26th 2010 - 03:41 UTC

  Russian planning massive sale of assets to cover budget deficit

  

  Russia plans the largest sell-off of state assets since the early 1990s as it seeks to raise over 29 billion US dollars to plug budget gaps over the next three years, finance ministry sources told reporters. The plan to sell minority stakes in 10 major companies in 2011-2013 had been discussed and approved at a preliminary meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

• Monday, July 26th 2010 - 03:37 UTC

  Surprise rebound of the UK economy in the second quarter, 1.1%

  

  The British economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter of the year, according to official data. The figure - a preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - was almost double the 0.6% growth rate expected by economists.