Economy

• Friday, February 2nd 2024 - 03:48 UTC

  Strong support from IMF to President Milei and his austerity policies

  

  The new government of Argentine president Javier Milei and its austerity policies to try and put the country's economy back on track received a strong boost from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, which approved the disbursement of US$ 4,7 billion.

• Friday, February 2nd 2024 - 03:00 UTC

  Bank of England leaves basic rate at 5,25%; little space for any cuts

  

  The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, at its meeting ending on 31 January 2024, voted by a majority of 6–3 to maintain Bank Rate at 5.25%. Two members preferred to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5.5%. One member preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5%.

• Thursday, February 1st 2024 - 10:55 UTC

  Lacalle praises Milei for acquiescing to further dredging of River Plate

  

  Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou Wednesday praised his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei's willingness to cooperate in further dredging the River Plate at the Port of Montevideo from 13 to 14 meters. The previous administrations of Argentine Presidents Mauricio Macri and Alberto Fernández (2015-2023) considered that these works would leave the port of Buenos Aires in a disadvantageous position. Negotiations in this regard started in 2013 under Presidents Tabaré Vázquez and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK).

• Thursday, February 1st 2024 - 10:51 UTC

  Brazil lowers Selic basic interest rate

  

  Brazil's Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) unanimously decided Wednesday to cut down the country's basic interest rate known as Selic by 0.5 percentage points to 11.25% per year, Agencia Brasil reported.

• Thursday, February 1st 2024 - 10:15 UTC

  Argentina: Fuel at pumps soars as gov't lifts taxation cap

  

  Drivers lined up for hours Wednesday in Buenos Aires and other places across Argentina as a new increase in the price of fuel at pumps was expected to be enacted Thursday following a decision by the administration of President Javier Milei to release a liquid fuel (ICL) and carbon dioxide (IDC) tax cap in force since 2021, it was reported.

• Thursday, February 1st 2024 - 10:01 UTC

  Argentine Central Bank reserves stronger after FMI disbursement

  

  After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board approved the staff-level agreement with Argentina's current administration, the Government of President Javier Milei received a US$ 4.7 billion disbursement which bolstered the Central Bank (BCRA) reserves to US$ 27.635 billion, it was reported Wednesday in Buenos Aires. The latest deal between Argentina and the IMF unblocked a new series of disbursements.

• Wednesday, January 31st 2024 - 10:59 UTC

  IMF foresees gloomy near future for Argentina

  

  Following President Javier Milei's latest measures, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Tuesday reviewed for the worse its projections for Argentina's economy this year (-2.8%) and forecasted inflation would remain high in the short term.

• Wednesday, January 31st 2024 - 10:19 UTC

  Latin America exports in 2023 contracted 2,2%, and prospects for this year are uncertain, IDB report

  

  The value of exports from Latin America and the Caribbean contracted by 2.2% in 2023 after having grown by 17.0% in 2022, a new release from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reports.

• Tuesday, January 30th 2024 - 10:31 UTC

  Squid is becoming “too expensive” in Korea because of lesser catch volumes

  

  Korean media is pointing out the fact that squid, once considered the “people's side fish”, given its affordability, is now an expensive dish, and has offered some market prices in South Korean Won, which exchanges at 1,330 SKW to the US dollar.

• Monday, January 29th 2024 - 10:54 UTC

  Milei says “There is no Plan B”: What else did the President tell the WSJ?

  

  Argentine President Javier Milei underscored in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published on Sunday “the speed” at which his government was “achieving results” and warned that “there is no plan B to do things right.”