
The New York Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will buy about 18 billion US dollars of Treasury debt in nine operations from August 17 through September 13.

Chinese industrial growth slowed again in July, adding to data suggesting that the country's economy is cooling. Factory output was up 13.4% from July 2009, but this was the fifth consecutive month the annual pace had slowed and the lowest rate of 2010.

Argentina’s Finance Executive's Institute (IAEF) indicates Argentina could grow 6.5% in 2010 and 4.5% in 2011 according to its August report released this week.

China's import growth slowed in July, which economists are seeing as a sign that the country's rapid economic expansion is cooling. Imports climbed by 22.7% compared with a year ago to 116.8 billon US dollars, which is well below the 53% expansion seen in June.

Japan's central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as it tries to nurture the country's slow recovery from recession while also attempting to tackle deflation. Rates have been held at 0.1% since the end of 2008.

The US Federal Reserve announced Tuesday steps to boost economic recovery and will be using proceeds from its investments in mortgage securities to buy longer-term government debt. The Fed also kept interest rates unchanged at between zero and 0.25%.

Two leading Brazilian banks have agreed to acquire stakes in BES Africa, a holding company belonging to Portugal’s biggest publicly traded bank that makes investments in Africa.

Alleged labour disputes involving hundreds of thousands of US dollars have left seven Spanish fishing vessels legally stranded in Montevideo, threatening the reputation of Uruguay’s main port to continue as a South Atlantic fisheries hub.

Last year was the first time that a majority – 51% - of all higher education students in Chile were women, the Education Ministry reported last week.

The Basic Foods Basket, CBA, an index from Argentina’s Foundation for Latin American Economic Research (FIEL) increased 0.6% in July compared to the previous month, 21% in the first seven months of the year, and 35.9% over a year ago.