Economy

• Wednesday, July 29th 2020 - 09:58 UTC

  Minister confirms Argentina will seek a new support program from IMF

  

  Argentina will seek a new program with the International Monetary Fund whatever the outcome of talks with holders of its US$ 65 billion of defaulted overseas bonds, Economy minister Martin Guzman said.

• Wednesday, July 29th 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Money, money, Argentina importing banknotes and with the national mint working 24/7

  

  Argentina is rushing to import banknotes as its national mint struggles to keep pace with soaring central bank issuance and inflation of more than 45%. The mint is importing printed bills for the first time in five years and is also boosting its purchases of the paper used to make banknotes, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

• Wednesday, July 29th 2020 - 09:40 UTC

  Brazil's labor market improving: 16% layoffs decrease and 24% increase in hires

  

  Brazil's economy lost 1,198,363 formal jobs in the first half of the year, the Economy Ministry said on Tuesday. The figure is the result of 6,718,276 new hires and 7,916,639 layoffs over the six-month period due to the impact of the novel coronavirus on Latin America's largest economy.

• Monday, July 27th 2020 - 09:38 UTC

  In Argentina, 55% of all registered workers are employed by government

  

  Public sector jobs have soared in recent years in Argentina, and from a relation of 42 every 100 registered workers, white and blue-collar, back in 2012, it has jumped to 55 currently. This means that in the 2012/2017 period, the creation of government-paid jobs was larger than the overall employment in the Argentine economy.

• Monday, July 27th 2020 - 09:07 UTC

  White House advisor predicts US economy will recover 20% in III and IV quarters

  

  The US economy will grow on the order of 20% in the third and fourth quarters, a top White House economic adviser predicted on Sunday, despite reopening setbacks linked to a coronavirus resurgence.

• Saturday, July 25th 2020 - 08:34 UTC

  Washington announces nominee for next head of OECD

  

  White House advisor Chris Liddell will be Washington's nominee to be the next head of the OECD, an administration official said on Friday, putting a Trump ally in the running to lead the association of advanced economies.

• 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.