Economy

• Friday, April 2nd 2010 - 23:05 UTC

  Uruguay’ government gross debt ballooned 31.5% in 2009, to 69% of GDP

  

  Uruguay’s government overall debt skyrocketed 31.5% during 2009 according to the latest data released by the country’s Central Bank. This marks a complete reversal from the previous four years that could be described as very prudent.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 19:10 UTC

  Chilean president announces housing emergency plan totalling 2.5 billion USD

  

  Chilean President Sebastian Piñera announced this week the second part of his emergency reconstruction plan during a visit to the lower-middle class borough of Lo Prado. Beneficiaries of the new program are mostly lower middle class families.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 18:30 UTC

  Euro zone Feb unemployment at its highest, 10%; Spain at record 19%

  

  Unemployment rates reach double digits in February in the Euro zone to hit an 11-year high in the 16-nation bloc. The February unemployment rate stood at 10% — the highest level to hit European nations since August 1998 — tipping the unemployment rate into double digits for the first time in 2010.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:30 UTC

  Mercosur is Uruguay’s main market for value-added exports, says Mujica

  

  Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica admitted Mercosur has its problems but it is also the market for Uruguayan exports with most added value: “to the rest of the world we sell mostly commodities, to Mercosur Uruguayan input”.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:25 UTC

  Argentina begins next week to pay debts with Central Bank reserves

  

  Following an Argentine federal court ruling approving the use of Central Bank reserves for the payment of foreign debt the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will begin transactions next week using the liberated funds.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:21 UTC

  NZ dairy company in Uruguay sells land to pay debts, but plans to remain

  

  New Zealand Farming Systems Uruguay, listed in the NZ stock exchange, has sold 2,500 hectares of land on its Tobay farm in eastern Uruguay for 8.5 million US dollars in a move that will allow it to repay nearly half an outstanding debt to shareholder PGG Wrightson.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:14 UTC

  Main traders agree on quarterly contracts for iron ore, but no mention of China

  

  Two of the world's biggest mining companies have agreed landmark deals with Asian steel mills to buy iron ore on quarterly contracts. The deals could mark the end of annual contracts that have formed the basis for pricing in the steel industry for decades.
  Vale and BHP Billiton said the new system was fairer and more transparent.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:10 UTC

  Argentina expects a 2009/2010 crop of 91 million tons, up 48%

  

  Argentina’s 2009/2010 crop is estimated in 91 million tons, 48% higher than the previous mainly because of improved yields thanks basically to more regular rainfall, courtesy of the El Niño climate phenomenon.

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:04 UTC

  UK economy recovery in fourth quarter revised upwards

  

  The United Kingdom economy grew faster than previously thought in the last quarter of 2009, the Office for National Statistics says. It revised October to December's growth to 0.4%, up from the previous estimate of 0.3%.

• Tuesday, March 30th 2010 - 23:00 UTC

  Quake impact leaves Chilean farmers short of storage, cooling and irrigation

  

  Chile’s annual fall harvest season continues apace, notwithstanding earthquake damage to Chile's roads, irrigation systems, electric grid, packing houses, and other infrastructure.