Economy

• Friday, January 28th 2022 - 20:04 UTC

  Argentina reaches agreement with IMF, dodges default

  

  The Government of Argentina and The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday reached an agreement for the repayment of the South American country's debt stemming from a loan granted under the administration of Former President Mauricio Macri.

• Friday, January 28th 2022 - 11:50 UTC

  Chile raises reference rate to 5,5% to combat inflation: More could come

  

  The Chilean central bank hiked its reference rate from 4% to 5,5% to contain inflation which last year reached 7,2%, the highest in fourteen years. The Monetary Policy council of the bank on Wednesday agreed unanimously to increase the reference rate by 150 base points, according to the official release.

• Thursday, January 27th 2022 - 19:53 UTC

  WaPo tells Americans not to fret over local inflation: Argentina is worse off

  

  An article published by The Washington Post highlights Argentina's inflationary tradition and suggests US citizens should take a look at the South American country's “way of economic life” after prices locally rose around 7% in one year.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 20:15 UTC

  Singapore signs treaty to join Pacific Alliance as an associated state

  

  The Asian nation of Singapore Wednesday became the first country to join the Pacific Alliance as an Associated State to the group made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 14:28 UTC

  Uruguay and Chile, the least corrupt “in a corrupt continent”

  

  Corruption in Latin America is one of the most notorious problems on the region's agenda after a decade of major judicial operations that exposed corruption schemes involving governments and companies alike. According to Transparency International (TI), corruption has been entrenched in Latin America for more than a decade with little progress and many setbacks in terms of democracy and human rights.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 09:47 UTC

  Paraguayan President to skip Prosur Summit due to COVID-19

  

  Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benítez Tuesday announced he shall not be attending the Forum for the Progress of South America (Prosur) because he continues to be down with COVID-19, but will participate in the event in a virtual manner.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 09:40 UTC

  ECLAC needs to set aside four rogue countries to measure inflation for year 2021

  

  Inflation in Latin America for the year 2021 was way above projections, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has said in a report issued from its Santiago headquarters.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 09:39 UTC

  Bukele needs to eliminate bitcoin as legal tender, IMF says

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele to drop the use of bitcoin as legal tender in the country, on the grounds that there are “great risks associated” with this practice. Bukele officially adopted bitcoin last September.

• Wednesday, January 26th 2022 - 09:30 UTC

  OECD to evaluate Argentina, Brazil and Peru as potential members

  

  The Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has decided to discuss the admission into the group of Argentina, Brazil, and Peru, it was announced Tuesday.

• Monday, January 24th 2022 - 09:29 UTC

  IMF chief warns indebted countries on Fed's announced policy of higher rates

  

  The IMF managing director warned that interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve could have serious implications for counties with high levels of debt in dollars, “cold water” on already weak economic recoveries, or in the process of negotiating debts.