
United States Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte warned Wednesday that rejection by the Democrat controlled Congress of free trade agreements with Colombia, Peru and Panama would mean a serious blow for Washington's interests in the region.

The trade honeymoon between China and Latin America cannot last forever, experts warn: sooner or later, the Asian giant will reduce its need for raw materials, and countries across the Americas will then have to offer value-added, higher-tech goods.
Latin American governments should increase social spending while maintaining sound fiscal policies to reduce poverty and growing political dissatisfaction in the region, IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato said at a conference in Boston.

Inflation in China is forecasted to stay within the government's target zone of 3% in 2007 giving Beijing authorities enough space to push ahead with pricing reforms for resources, according to a government economist.

Chile's Michelle Bachelet and Brazil's Lula da Silva called for deeper regional integration and increased investment in education, two priorities that mirrored a consensus among the 400 business, government and civil society leaders from 28 countries participating in the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Santiago.

The dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro Friday, after a government report showed the U.S. economy slowed to a real annualized growth rate of 1.3% in the first quarter, marking the weakest expansion in four years.

Uruguay and United States resumed on Thursday trade and investment talks in Washington with the purpose of increasing bilateral exchanges. Uruguay is targeting an increase in its current 20.000 tons of beef quota, free of tariffs, and the opening of the US market for lamb and mutton.

Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru figure as the most attractive countries in Latinamerica for private investment in infrastructure according to a report from the World Economic Forum meeting this week in Santiago de Chile. At the other end Venezuela, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic figure as the less attractive.

Britain's Barclays bank agreed to merge with Dutch bank ABN Amro in a deal worth 90 billion US dollars, creating one of the world's largest banks with a turnover of 190 billion US dollars.

Japan's Toyota sold more vehicles globally in the first quarter of 2007 than General Motors according to preliminary figures the clearest sign yet that the Japanese company is on track to overtake its U.S. rival as the world's top automaker.