Economy

• Thursday, August 5th 2010 - 04:45 UTC

  Argentine economy picks up strongly, forecasted to expand 7% in 2010

  

  Argentina's GDP will reach 7% this year based on a strong domestic demand, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said on Wednesday. The announcement follows earlier in the week reports that the Consumer Confidence index ICC has increased 2.9% in July over a year ago.

• Thursday, August 5th 2010 - 01:33 UTC

  Walmart is Latin America’s single largest employer, says Latin Business

  

  The single largest employer in Latin America is US-based retailer Walmart, according to the first annual ranking of Latin America’s Top 60 Employers from Latin Business Chronicle.

• Wednesday, August 4th 2010 - 21:57 UTC

  Santander takes over 318 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland

  

  Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to sell 318 branches to Santander for a premium of £350 million on the assets' value. The sale includes 311 RBS-branded branches in England and Wales, and seven NatWest branches in Scotland.

• Wednesday, August 4th 2010 - 21:02 UTC

  Vegetables and meat prices push Uruguay’s inflation in July above 1%

  

  Uruguay’s consumer inflation increased 1.09% in July accumulating 4.21% so far this year and 6.29% in the last twelve months, which is in the target range of the Central bank.

• Wednesday, August 4th 2010 - 20:59 UTC

  Meat from offspring of cloned cows consumed in UK triggers controversy

  

  Meat from the offspring of a cloned cow was eaten in the UK last year, the Food Standards Agency has said. Two bulls from the embryos of a cow cloned in the US were bought by a farm near Nairn in the Highlands, and meat from one was sold to consumers.

• Wednesday, August 4th 2010 - 01:21 UTC

  Uruguay’s exports in seven months increase 23% and reach 3.9 billion USD

  

  Uruguayan exports increased 22.78% during the first seven months of 2010 compared to the same period a year ago, according to Uruguay’s Union of Exporters. Sales totalled 3.9 billion US dollars while in the seven months of 2009, they reached 3.2 billion USD.

• Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 - 06:05 UTC

  What happens if Chilean maritime costs force cruises to cancel the Pacific leg?

  

  A Uruguayan cruise industry expert has brought up an interesting debate about the whole business for South America if Chilean port and auxiliary services costs remain so high that they end convincing some of the cruise companies to drop the traditional Pacific and Chilean leg of the tours.

• Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 - 00:49 UTC

  Russia becomes Uruguay’s main client for beef in first half of 2010

  

  The Russian Federation became at the end of the first half of the year, Uruguay’s main client for beef compensating weaker demand from the European Union and other important markets, according to the latest data from the country’s National Meat Institute, INAC.

• Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 - 00:25 UTC

  India and Argentina sign cooperation agreement in agriculture

  

  India and Argentina signed in New Delhi on Monday a joint agreement for the development of technical and professional cooperation in the agricultural sector and to foster trade of plants and animal products between the two countries.

• Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 - 00:12 UTC

  Argentina puts off plans to float its first international bond since 2001

  

  Argentina is drawing on central bank profits to meet financing needs, putting off plans to sell its first international bond since 2001 as yields tumble. The central bank’s board on July 29 approved a transfer of 3 billion pesos (762 million USD) from the bank’s 23.5 billion pesos in 2009 profits to the government, following a 1.5 billion peso transfer in February, spokesman Fernando Meanos said.