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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 17th 2026 - 13:01 UTC

Economy

  • Wednesday, May 20th 2026 - 23:38 UTC

    Argentina opens economic bids for Paraná-Paraguay waterway amid warnings of irregularities

    The winning company will gain access to revenues of close to USD 600 million per year in tolls, according to the tender conditions

    The government of Javier Milei proceeded on Tuesday to open the economic bids submitted by the two international consortia competing for the 25-year concession of the Paraná-Paraguay waterway, Argentina's main fluvial trade artery, despite a warning from the Public Prosecutor's Office about the existence of “serious and obvious irregularities” that could give rise to criminal and administrative consequences. The Peronist opposition has filed a bill in Congress demanding the immediate suspension of the process.

  • Wednesday, May 20th 2026 - 01:27 UTC

    The European Union unblocks tariff deal with United States after ten months of negotiation

    The ratification process was delayed by the reluctance of the European Parliament, which at the start of the year blocked the text in response to the Trump administration's threats against Greenland

    Negotiators from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission reached a provisional agreement in the early hours of Wednesday on the final text of the tariff pact with the United States, in a decision that closes ten months of negotiations marked by pressures, threats, and successive blockages in the European Parliament. The Cypriot presidency of the Council, exercised during the first half of 2026, confirmed the breakthrough through the X social media platform and emphasized that the aim of the agreement is to “enhance a stable and predictable trade relationship” between the two blocs.

  • Monday, May 18th 2026 - 17:41 UTC

    London Stock Exchange rises 1.26% driven by oil and defense sectors

    Oil companies led the day, benefiting from the rebound of Brent crude, which at the close of the European stock market session surpassed USD 111 per barrel with an advance of close to 1.70%

    The London Stock Exchange closed on Monday with a gain of 1.26%, driven by the advance of oil and defense companies, in a session marked by the rise of crude oil amid the lack of progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the war. The main index, the FTSE 100, added 128.38 points to close at 10,323.75, while the secondary FTSE 250 advanced 0.07% to 22,611.70 points.

  • Monday, May 18th 2026 - 05:37 UTC

    The Falklands turn into a small South Atlantic economic power as the ghosts of 1982 return

    The Falklands have 3,662 inhabitants and a per capita income higher than that of the United Kingdom

    The Falkland Islands are going through their traditional “commemoration season,” the cycle of ceremonies that recall the 1982 war each year, culminating in Liberation Day on 14 June, at a moment defined by two overlapping realities: the consolidation of the archipelago as a small economic power in the South Atlantic and the reactivation of diplomatic tensions with the United States and Argentina. A feature published on Saturday by the British newspaper The Sunday Times, written by Matthew Campbell from Fitzroy, captures the contrast between growing economic prosperity and the anxiety generated by the recent leak of a Pentagon memorandum.

  • Thursday, May 14th 2026 - 09:27 UTC

    Venezuela announces formal restructuring of its external debt after nearly a decade in default

    The restructuring advances within the framework of the gradual easing of sanctions promoted by Washington following the 3 January military operation

    The Venezuelan government on Wednesday announced the formal launch of an “integral and orderly” restructuring of the country's public external debt and that of the state oil company PDVSA, in the most concrete step by acting President Delcy Rodríguez's administration toward financial normalization after nearly a decade in default. The communiqué, issued by the Sectoral Vice Presidency for the Economy, sets as its central objective “to put the economy at the service of the Venezuelan people and free the country from the burden of accumulated debt.”

  • Wednesday, May 13th 2026 - 20:00 UTC

    Warsh to succeed Powell at the Fed with inflation at three-year high

    Warsh takes office with US inflation at a three-year high

    The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed economist Kevin Warsh as the 17th chair of the Federal Reserve in a 54-45 vote, in a transition that hands control of the world's most influential central bank to President Donald Trump's pick at a moment of strong inflationary pressure. Warsh, a former Fed governor during the 2008 financial crisis and a former Morgan Stanley banker, will formally take office on Friday 15 May, following the departure of Jerome Powell, whose eight-year term has been marked by successive economic crises and a prolonged clash with the White House over the central bank's political independence.

  • Tuesday, May 12th 2026 - 13:31 UTC

    Brazil's inflation accelerates to 4.39% in April driven by food and pharmaceuticals

    The Central Bank of Brazil, which closely tracks the indicator, cut the Selic benchmark rate by half a percentage point at each of its two latest meetings, bringing it to 14.50% annually

    Year-on-year inflation in Brazil accelerated to 4.39% in April, up from 4.14% in March, pressured mainly by rising prices for food and pharmaceuticals, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported on Tuesday. The national consumer price index advanced 0.67% from the previous month, 0.21 percentage points below March, reflecting a slower monthly pace even as the annual comparison continues to climb.

  • Tuesday, May 12th 2026 - 13:14 UTC

    Argentina sees new university protest as government pledges post-march dialogue

    The National Interuniversity Council estimates that transfers to national universities fell by 45.6% in real terms between 2023 and 2026, while sector salaries rose 158% against accumulated inflation

    Argentina's public universities are staging the fourth Federal University March on Tuesday against the budget adjustment imposed by Javier Milei's government, with the main rally in Plaza de Mayo and simultaneous mobilizations in the country's major cities, while the national administration announced it will meet with rectors after the protest to discuss the allocation of funds for university hospitals. The day combines a strike with suspended classes, a broad opposition turnout, and an official discursive shift aimed at opening a dialogue channel without yielding on the substance of the dispute.

  • Monday, May 11th 2026 - 20:32 UTC

    Milei government cuts nearly 1.79 billion dollar from budget with sharp education adjustment

    The politically most sensitive cut affects the Education Secretariat, with a reduction of 78.7 billion pesos (around 56 million dollars)

    The government of Javier Milei amended Argentina's 2026 budget on Monday with a cut of nearly 2.5 trillion pesos (around 1.79 billion dollars at the parallel exchange rate) —equivalent to approximately 1.6% of the total— in an administrative decision that deepens the adjustment effort to sustain the fiscal surplus target agreed with the International Monetary Fund. The measure, signed by Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni and Economy Minister Luis Caputo, comes one day before the fourth Federal University March, called for Tuesday with its main event in Plaza de Mayo.

  • Monday, May 11th 2026 - 03:55 UTC

    Trade, Iran and Taiwan dominate agenda of Trump-Xi summit beginning Wednesday in Beijing

    Trump will attend the official welcome ceremony on Thursday, hold his bilateral meeting with Xi, visit the Temple of Heaven, and attend a state banquet

    China confirmed on Monday that US President Donald Trump will pay a state visit from 13 to 15 May at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. It will be the first trip by a US president to the country in nearly a decade —since Trump's own November 2017 visit— and will unfold against the backdrop of the US war against Iran, the fragile trade truce between the two powers, and the dispute over Taiwan's sovereignty.