Economy

Friday, May 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Euro benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75%

The European Central Bank decided on Thursday's meeting, held in Dublin, to maintain the benchmark interest rate on hold at 3.75%. However many analysts believe ECB's “strong vigilance” could see rates rise as early as June to keep inflation in check.
Friday, May 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Warnings of “speculation bubble” in Shanghai's stock market

China's booming A-share market could turn into a bubble if speculation among exuberant domestic retail investors is not curbed, Goldman Sachs warned Thursday, as the Shanghai Composite Index hit yet another intraday record high.
Friday, May 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Magallanes record unemployment is Chile's regions lowest

Magallanes in the extreme south is Chile's region with the lowest unemployment in the first quarter of 2007 according to the latest release from the national Statistics Office.
Friday, May 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
China's trade surplus almost doubles in four months of 2007

China's April trade surplus more than doubled from March, the government said Friday, as a mission on a US tour signed billion-dollar deals in a bid to narrow the trade gap.
Friday, May 11th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Peru optimistic about ratification of FTA with the US

Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism Mercedes Araoz announced that preliminary amendments to the United States-Peru Free Trade Agreement will be ready sometime next week enabling its ratification by the US Congress.
Wednesday, May 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Chile: ASEXMA urges government to act on low dollar

After the U.S. dollar hit a new low last Friday, Patricia Pérez, president of the Export Manufacturing Association (Asexma), warned of the serious threat posed to Chile's exporters and manufacturers.
Wednesday, May 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
EU threatens total ban on imports of Brazilian beef

Animal health authorities in Brazil have been told in no uncertain terms that the EU will impose a total ban on imports of beef by the end of the year unless standards of welfare, traceability and residue testing match those of Europe.
Wednesday, May 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Fed leaves rates unchanged at 5.25% but main “concern” is inflation

In a move widely expected the United States Federal Reserve kept its main interest rate on hold at 5.25%, but warned that its predominant policy concerns remains “the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected”.
Wednesday, May 9th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
WTO asks Chile do drop tariff barriers on Argentine wheat and flour

The World Trade Organization has ruled that Chile should not apply tariff barriers to the price of Argentine wheat and flour. The ruling was a response Chile's final appeal to the WTO in the lengthy trade dispute with Argentina that began in 2000.
Tuesday, May 8th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
On tenth anniversary of crisis Asia pools financial reserves

Asian finance ministers have agreed plans to pool the region's vast financial reserves to protect their currencies from speculative attack. The agreement, reached at a meeting in Japan, comes almost 10 years after speculators triggered an economic crisis across the region in 1997.