Economy

• Saturday, June 6th 2009 - 14:32 UTC

  Chilean inflation below target; economy heading for recession

  

  Chile's consumer price index fell a bigger-than-expected 0.3% in May after a fall of 0.2% in April, the National Statistics Institute reported on Friday.
  On an annual basis, inflation for the 12 months through May slowed to 3%, the Central Bank's target rate -- from 4.5% for the year through April. In the first five months of 2009, inflation is down to minus 1.1%.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 13:13 UTC

  ECB anticipates steep GDP fall and “stabilization phase” in 2010

  

  In a move which was widely expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) elected to keep interest rates for the euro zone on hold at 1% and announced that the planned purchase of 60 billion Euros in company bonds will commence in July.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 13:11 UTC

  Bank of England keep rates and quantitative easing unchanged

  

  The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee voted Thursday to maintain the official rate unchanged at 0.5% for the third month in a row, but no fresh measures to stimulate the economy were announced.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 13:08 UTC

  Raul Castro removes architect of the “convertible peso”

  

  The head of Cuba's central bank Francisco Soberón has resigned after holding the job for fifteen years. He was replaced by Ernesto Medina who heads Banco Financiero Internacional, one of Cuba's biggest banks, according to an official announcement read on Thursday evening news.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 08:09 UTC

  Short of dollars, Venezuela tightens currency exchange controls

  

  Venezuela tightened currency-exchange controls this week cutting in half the amount of dollars that residents may obtain through the government to send to relatives abroad according to Official Gazette.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 04:34 UTC

  Paraguay meat exports down 25% in first five months of 2009

  

  Paraguay meat exports totaled 245 million US dollars in the first five months of the year, which represents a 25% decline compared to the same period a year ago (328 million US dollars), according to the latest official reports.

• Friday, June 5th 2009 - 04:32 UTC

  Auto sales in Brazil rose 5.4% in May from April

  

  Automobile sales in Brazil rose 5.4% in May from April, rebounding after a sharp decline the previous month, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Thursday

• Thursday, June 4th 2009 - 16:12 UTC

  Bernanke warns about financial stability; opens debate on inflation and rates

  

  United States Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday that the US spending spree now threatens the country's financial stability, amid growing questions over whether governments and central banks around the world have gone too far.

• Thursday, June 4th 2009 - 16:07 UTC

  Calls for a “Global Jobs Pact” to combat employment recovery lag

  

  Warning of a possible six to eight year employment and social protection crisis due to the economic downturn, International Labour Organization (ILO) Director- General Juan Somavia called Wednesday on delegates to the 98th International Labour Conference to adopt a “Global Jobs Pact.”

• Thursday, June 4th 2009 - 15:57 UTC

  Argentina May auto production increases 14.8% over April

  

  Argentine auto production plunged 23.6% in May from the same month a year ago, the Argentine Automobile Manufacturers Association, or Adefa, reported Wednesday. But production rose 14.8% on the month, indicating the industry's bad declines may be starting to level off a bit.