Economy

• Tuesday, May 14th 2024 - 20:51 UTC

  BRICS Bank comes to Rio Grande do Sul's rescue

  

  The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) will grant funding worth R$ 5.7 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) to rebuild the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul still grappling to recover from the unprecedented storms since April 29, Agencia Brasil reported Tuesday. The NDB, also known as the BRICS Bank, will release the money through a partnership with the Banco do Brasil (BB), the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES), and the Regional Development Bank of the Far South (Banco Regional de Desenvolvimento do Extremo Sul - BRDE).

• Monday, May 13th 2024 - 20:45 UTC

  Argentina passes IMF test with flying colors, will get US$ 800mn

  

  After passing the eighth review of its debt refinancing program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Argentina is expected to receive a US$ 800 billion disbursement in the coming weeks, it was announced Monday. However, the transaction still needs to be approved by the IMF Board of Directors.

• Monday, May 13th 2024 - 20:09 UTC

  Paraguayan beef granted entry into Canadian market

  

  Canada's Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) greenlighted the entry of Paraguayan meat into their market with nine packing plants already authorized to start shipments. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña celebrated the good news with postings on social media. “I congratulate all the institutions and sectors involved for this important achievement,” he wrote.

• Monday, May 13th 2024 - 19:38 UTC

  Brazil's Central Bank ups expansion forecast for 2024 to 2.09%

  

  According to the latest issue of the Focus bulletin released Monday by Brazil's Central Bank (BCB), the economy in South America's largest country will grow by 2.09% this year, which represented an improvement from the previous 2.05% forecast, Agencia Brasil reported. The study also foresaw a yearly inflation of 3.76%.

• Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:49 UTC

  Massive aid promised to Rio Grande do Sul to overcome floods of biblical proportions

  

  The Inter American Development Bank, IDB, has announced a package of emergency measures, plus humanitarian aid and special credits for rebuilding infrastructure in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul currently suffering from the worst floods in a century, with hundreds dead and disappeared, and over a million of the eleven million population forcibly displaced.

• Saturday, May 11th 2024 - 10:43 UTC

  Wages trail inflation in Argentina under Milei

  

  Inflation outpaced salaries in March by 11% to 10.3%, according to a report by Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) released Friday in Buenos Aires. In yoy terms, the Wage Index increased by 200.8% on average (231.7% in the registered private sector, 183.7% in the public sector, and 129.2% in the informal private sector) and inflation was 287.9%, the survey showed. Hence, President Javier Milei's perception that salaries were recovering turned out inaccurate.

• Friday, May 10th 2024 - 10:46 UTC

  Bank of England keeps rate at 5,25%; March inflation 3,2%, but services remain high, 6%

  

  The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting ending on 8 May 2024, voted by a majority of 7–2 to maintain Bank Rate at 5.25%. Two members preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 5%.

• Thursday, May 9th 2024 - 23:31 UTC

  Brazil's Central Bank lowers Selic rate once again

  

  Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) lowered once again the South American country's Selic benchmark interest rate to 10.5% per year amid a recent rise in the quotation of the US dollar, Agencia Brasil reported.

• Thursday, May 9th 2024 - 21:43 UTC

  April FAO food prices index slightly higher, vegetable oils and cereals climbing

  

  The benchmark for world food commodity prices edged higher in April, as higher prices of meat and modest upticks for vegetable oils and cereals outweighed decreases in sugar and dairy product prices, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported.

• Thursday, May 9th 2024 - 10:23 UTC

  Paraguayan exports grow 15% in April

  

  Paraguay's Export Single Window Consortium (Convue) confirmed this week that shipments in the first four months of 2024 reached US$ 2,790 million, representing a US$ 380 million yoy increase as per the Single Export Window System (DGVUE), under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, based on certificates of origin.