In the midst of the chaotic situation caused by the pandemic, the Argentine government announced the abandonment of Mercosur negotiations to prioritize the country’s domestic economy and the struggle against the virus. The rest of the bloc members must evaluate legal, institutional, and operational measures emerging from the decision.
Argentina will extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until May 10 in a bid to combat the advance of the coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez announced on Saturday. The Argentine government-imposed shelter-in-place measure, in effect since mid-March, had been set to expire on Sunday.
Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA has been thrust into an uncertain future with no immediate plan B, while not ruling out seeking a bailout after Boeing Co jettisoned a US$ 4.2 billion commercial aerospace tie-up amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Scottish Government is being urged to suspend its support for increased production in the salmon farming sector. It comes as a new report claims the impact the industry has on employment and the economy has been hugely overestimated.
The Travel & Tourism sector faces a staggering 100 million jobs losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, WTTC. The startling figure, based on research from WTTC, has increased by over 30% in the last four weeks, indicating the sheer crisis affecting the sector.
Sergio Moro, Brazil's justice and security minister resigned on Friday after clashing with President Jair Bolsonaro over the sacking of the federal police chief. Moro, a former anti-corruption judge, hit out at “political interference” in the federal police, saying he could not do his job without “autonomy” for the force.
Brazilian stocks sank as much as 9.6%, and the Real slid to new lows on Friday as political turmoil in the country added to mounting concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, while risk aversion ravaged Latin American markets.
The International Monetary Fund’s discussions with Argentina have been very productive and the fund is willing to do whatever it can to help get the Argentine economy back on a solid footing, an IMF official told reporters.
Brazil's Real eyed a fresh record low on Thursday, while other Latin American currencies were muted as markets mulled over increasingly dire economic readings due to the coronavirus.
Already grappling with one of Brazil’s most severe outbreaks of the novel coronavirus and a budget deep in the red, Rio de Janeiro state faces a potential threat to its solvency at the hands of investment giants PIMCO and Dodge & Cox.