The Falkland Islands Executive Council (ExCo) agreed on Tuesday 23 April, legislation updates have been approved for the Employment Protection Ordinance, specifically on compensation for redundancy/unfair dismissal.
CBS News is reporting that the port of Baltimore, in Maryland has seen the arrival of a first container ship since the tragic collision and collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in March, with the loss of six lives.
The United States kept interest rates unchanged, given a lack of further progress toward lowering inflation. This means the Fed rate at 5,25% and 5,5% is at the highest level in more than two decades.
Although Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino had the near-impossible task of putting her country on good terms with China despite President Javier Milei's disparaging campaign comments, some common ground was reached this week as the South American diplomat reaffirmed the one-China principle and Beijing backed Argentina's claim to the Falkland/Malvinas Islands.
Argentina's main unions insisted Wednesday during the Labor Day demonstrations that the plans for the May 9 general strike against President Javier Milei's economic reforms that are affecting people's purchase power were not in doubt. Healthcare workers union leader Héctor Daer, who co-chairs the General Labor Confederation (CGT), also explained that We are going to go ahead with the struggle plan that we have been developing. When the measure was announced, Argentina was bad and now it is worse.”
The Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) released by Brazil's Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) this week showed that 8.6 million people (or 7.9% of the population) were unemployed in South America's largest country in the first quarter of 2024, which represented a 0.5 percentage-point increase from the previous measurement ending in December.
Trade between China and Latin American countries surpassed US$ 480 billion in 2023, compared to a mere US$ 14 billion back in 2000, based on data from the Customs Administration of the People’s Republic of China (AGA) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.
Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino is on a crusade in China to discuss bilateral issues with an economic giant with whom President Javier Milei had pledged during his campaign that he wanted no ties. “Not only will I not do business with China, I will not do business with any communist,” Milei announced repeatedly on his way to Casa Rosada.
Argentine SMEs fear a wave of sackings in the coming days due to President Javier Milei's policies which may have been somewhat successful at curbing inflation but at a cost. The Industriales Pymes Argentinos (IPA) chamber released a report saying that some 17,000 jobs had been lost since Milei took office on Dec. 10, 2023, and further suspensions and layoffs appear on May's radar.
Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) this week lowered the benchmark interest rate by another 10 percentage points to 60% annually, it was reported in Buenos Aires. It was the fourth such cut since Javier Milei took office on December 10, 2023, when the rate stood at 133%. BCRA announces that as of 04-25-2024, the rate for 1-business-day maturity passive operations will be 60%, it said in a statement. It was also the second 10-point cut in April alone.