
The United States Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said that the recession in the US is “slowing” but “economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time”.

Uruguayan residents’ savings in overseas banks totalled 7.1 billion US dollars in the last quarter of 2008, which represents a slight drop from September 2008 but 14% over December 2006 (6.25 billion USD) according to the latest report from the Bank of International Settlements, BIS.

Uruguay’s imports again plummeted in May for the fifth month running, with the highest inter-annual negative rate, 41%, according to the latest data from the Central Bank released this week.

The World Bank estimates the Uruguayan economy will expand 0.8% this year and begin a gradual recovery in 2010 with growth reaching 2.3%. In spite of the poor 2009 estimate, it will be one of the highest of the region together with Peru, Panama, Bolivia, Belize and Guyana.

Brazil’s currency, Real fell the most in four months battered by the World Bank’s prediction of a deeper recession in 2009 pushed by investors fleeing higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.

The influential economist Nouriel Roubini, who rose to prominence for predicting the global credit crisis, said there is a risk that advanced economies will suffer a double dip recession and pointed out he saw more signs of yellow weeds than the green shoots of economic recovery.

The head of Argentina’s powerful Industrial Union, UIA, said the country is going through “a political crisis” which is more severe than the economic crisis and ventured that the current electoral climate “does not offer significant political alternatives or leaderships”.

Amidst global economic recession and financial-market fragility, net private capital inflows to developing countries fell to 707 billion US dollars in 2008, a sharp drop from a peak of 1.2 trillion in 2007. International capital flows are projected to fall further in 2009, to 363 billion US dollars, according to the latest report from the World Bank.

Ecuador together with the Caribbean islands of Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda will be joining the Venezuelan sponsored Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas, ALBA, during a summit this week in Venezuela, announced President Hugo Chavez.

Europe's central bank chief on Sunday cautioned against any new government stimulus plans and predicted the global economy will pick up in 2010. But he also warned it would be a mistake to believe that recovery is a foregone conclusion.