Economy

• Sunday, June 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Unemployment creeps in Chile with 8.2% in Santiago

  Unemployment continues to creep up in Chile, but the construction and financial services sectors softened the blow by adding more jobs in April than any other sector, the Chilean Statistics Institute (INE) reported on Thursday.

• Saturday, May 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  World's richest man confident in Latinamerica's future

  

  Carlos Slim, president of Telmex, Mexico's telecommunications giant said he was confident in the current and future growth of Latinamerica during his participation in a forum in Mexico City to celebrate the country's fiftieth anniversary of the Economics Circle.

• Saturday, May 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Greenspan forecasts no “bubble” threat because of inflation

  United States former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Friday in Canada that he does not expect another “bubble” in world markets for a long time but warned about the threat of inflation.

• Saturday, May 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Oil prices makes Euro Zone inflation bounce to 3.6% in May

  

  Inflation in the Euro zone bounced to a record 3.6% in May amid soaring oil prices, according to a first estimate from the EU Eurostat data agency released on Friday. The 12-month inflation rate had eased in April to 3.3% after hitting 3.6% in March, the highest level since the launch of the Euro in 1999.

• Friday, May 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Ten states of Brazil to be declared free of FAM with vaccine

  The Animal Health Organization, OIE, with seat in Paris is expected to declare ten states of Brazil including the Federal District of Brasilia free of foot and mouth disease with vaccination.

• Friday, May 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil powerhouse: Fitch hikes debt to investment grade

  Fitch Ratings became this Thursday the second large rating agency in less than a month to up Brazil credit ratings to investment grade. Fitch said in a statement that the upgrade “reflects the dramatic improvement in Brazil's external and public sector balance sheet”.

• Friday, May 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  EU steel lobby rejects BHP Billiton Rio Tinto takeover bid

  

  Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. formally filed Friday with the European Commission to take over rival Rio Tinto, triggering an antitrust review of the hostile takeover. The EC confirmed the notification and will reach a decision by July 4 when it can approve the deal, open an in-depth investigation or permit a short extension.

• Friday, May 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Punta Arenas remains stable at 2.6%

  Unemployment in Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile was 2.6% in the three months period, February, March, April, compared to a national average of 7.6%, according to the latest release from the Statistics Office.

• Thursday, May 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  FAO anticipates sharp price hikes in food supplies

  Further sharp price hikes and continued volatility in markets for food supplies appear to be likely for the next few seasons, according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the run-up to a summit on the global food crisis which is being held in Rome early next month.

• Thursday, May 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentine inflation in four months reaches 10.5%

  

  Although Argentine official inflation statistics are considered non reliable and there's no national consumers price index, some provinces, --outside the realm of the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner administration--, have kept local statistics branches operational and their numbers are considered a valid reference.