Economy

• Friday, July 24th 2020 - 09:10 UTC

  Argentine economy slides 13,2% in five months, despite a slight moderation in May

  

  Argentina's economic activity experienced an annual 20,6% fall in May moderating the collapse in April, following the quarantine measures implemented because of the pandemic. The data was released this week by Indec, the official stats office, and shows that economic activity in May actually recovered 10% compared to April.

• Friday, July 24th 2020 - 08:42 UTC

  An estimated 40,000 tourism related businesses permanently closed in Spain

  

  Devastated by the loss of customers during the virus crisis, around 40,000 bars, hotels, and restaurants in Spain have permanently closed, the hotel and catering industry said. The figure amounts to 13% of such establishments in Spain, a country in which tourism plays a major role in the economy, and where the population tends to eat out very often, Spain's hostelry federation said.

• Friday, July 24th 2020 - 08:39 UTC

  Filing for unemployment benefits in the US rose for the first time in four months

  

  The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week for the first time in nearly four months, suggesting the labor market was stalling amid a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases and depressed demand.

• Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 09:54 UTC

  Chilean private pensions' funds divestment anticipates major political challenge for the Piñera administration

  

  Chilean senators on Wednesday voted to approve a controversial bill that allows citizens to withdraw 10% of their pension savings to help ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

• Wednesday, July 22nd 2020 - 08:10 UTC

  Argentine debt negotiations: Cristina Fernandez praises Minister Guzmán's performance

  

  Argentine vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner praised Minister of Economy Martin Guzmán statements during a television program in Buenos Aires and described he was “clear as crystal water”, in his replies

• Wednesday, July 22nd 2020 - 08:06 UTC

  Putin approves a US$ 4bn loan to Venezuela

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying the protocol to the intergovernmental agreement on providing a loan to Venezuela by Moscow, which guarantees timely debt repayment to Russia.

• Wednesday, July 22nd 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  Parana river insufficient water level benefitted exports from Brazilian ports

  

  Due to the Paraná river drought, which affected Argentina’s soy oil-exporting capacity, Cattalini Terminais Marítimos, which handles almost 70% of Brazil’s soy oil exports through its facilities in the port of Paranaguá, predicts a 25% increase in shipments this year.

• Tuesday, July 21st 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Argentine president tells creditors: “It is impossible for us to move from the last offer”

  

  Argentine president Alberto Fernandez on Monday dismissed a counter-offer from three groups of creditors who said they had rejected the country's proposal to restructure US$ 66 billion of debt.

• Tuesday, July 21st 2020 - 08:45 UTC

  Ecuador closer to reach a US$ 17,4bn debt overhaul agreement with bondholders

  

  Ecuador pushed forward with its debt overhaul plans on Monday, requesting a vote among its creditors on reconfiguring the terms of US$ 17.4 billion of its external bonds, with its largest group of creditors backing the proposal.

• Monday, July 20th 2020 - 09:59 UTC

  EU's “Frugal Five” blocking of recovery plan, anticipates difficulties to finalize accord with Mercosur

  

  The emergence of the so-called “Frugal Five” led by Austria and Netherlands, has blocked so far the European Union recovery plan, with a massive injection of funds, and forebodes hard times to finally reach the implementation of an EU trade agreement with Mercosur.