United Kingdom Chancellor Alistair Darling was warned he must find £36 billion in new spending cuts if the British Government is to meet its commitment to halve the budget deficit over the next four years.
The United States trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in October as exports rose to their highest level in almost a year, official figures have shown. The deficit fell to 32.9 billion US dollars, 7.6% lower than September's downwardly revised 35.7 billion
Brazil’s central bank kept the benchmark Selic interest rate at a record low for the third straight meeting as inflation remains below target. The bank’s eight-member board, led by President Henrique Meirelles, voted unanimously on Wednesday to keep the overnight rate at 8.75%.
Global food prices are on the ascent again with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index – a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar – registering four straight monthly rises.
Fearful of the continued depreciation of the US dollar vis-á-vis other global currencies, Mercosur country members admitted one of the possibilities under consideration for the management of international foreign reserves is the creation of a kind of sovereign fund.
Mercosur is committed to advance trade negotiations with the European Union and expects to have drafted a viable position when leaders from Latinamerica and the Caribbean meet with their European Union counterparts next May for the Madrid summit.
A two-week banking crisis in Venezuela seems to be settling down following President Hugo Chavez announcement that private banks will be respected but new rules to make the system more transparent and production-geared will begin to be enforced.
Uruguay’s Ministry of Tourism forecasts some 400.000 tourists and crew members will be visiting the country during this summer cruise season, which represents a slight increase over the previous year.
Latinamerica should consider the possibility of a coordinated interest rate cut, in consultation with the IMF to combat the appreciation of local currencies was suggested Tuesday by a group of former government financial officials and economists from the region.
The Brazilian economy is forecasted to expand 0.21% in 2009 according to a Central Bank poll among financial experts and which is published weekly in the Focus Bulletin. In the previous edition the growth estimate was 0.20%.