With the lowest wheat area in 111 years, Argentina expects a 2009/10 crop of 7.5 million tons, the worst in the last 32 seasons, which means exports, --and tax revenue--, will be ten times less than the 2007/08 crop according to the Argentine Rural Society Economics Department.
An editorial comment from the Financial Times October 14th edition, “In a tango of debt” gives a good idea of what world markets think and feel about Argentina.
Brazil's JBS said on Wednesday the US Justice Department has approved the takeover of US-based Pilgrim's Pride paving the way for JBS to become the world's largest meat company.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped the 10,000 mark for the first time in a year. World markets were boosted by the news that US bank JP Morgan Chase reported a better-than-expected profit in the July-to-September quarter. The Dow closed up 144.8 at 10,015.86, its highest since October 2008.
Brazil's Bovespa stocks index and currency, the Real, extended recent rallies Wednesday to end at fresh highs not seen in more than a year. The main Sao Paulo stocks index ended 2.4% higher at a 16-month high of 66,201 points.
Argentine inflation was 0.7% in September according to the official controversial Statistics office, Indec. The figure released Wednesday as has been happening for years was disputed by private consultants that estimate an average between 0´9% and 1.3%.
The super rich from China seem to have put the credit crunch behind them as the average wealth of China’s richest 1,000 people grew 30% in the past 12 months, surpassing the boom of 2007, according to a report released this week in Shanghai.
United Kingdom unemployment is still on course to soar above three million despite better-than-expected jobless figures, experts have warned. Official data showed unemployment rising to 2.47 million in the three months to August, an increase of 88,000 on the quarter to May
China’s foreign-exchange reserves, the world’s biggest, climbed about 141 billion US dollars in the third quarter to a record 2.273 trillion USD, the People’s Bank of China said Wednesday on its Web site.
Latinamerican banks will see second quarter gains despite the economic crisis due to a greater dependency on deposits rather than loans, Standard & Poor's ratings agency said.