Economy

• Thursday, December 6th 2018 - 09:32 UTC

  YPF and Malaysia's Petrona committed to invest US$ 2.3bn in Vaca Muerta

  

  Argentina's state-run energy company YPF and Malaysia's Petronas agreed this week to invest US$ 2.3 billion in a shale oil project in Vaca Muerta, with a target of reaching 60,000 b/d of oil equivalent by 2022. The investment will be in La Amarga Chica, where the companies have been testing the shale oil potential since 2015 and have spent US$ 550 million to date in the process, YPF said in a statement.

• Thursday, December 6th 2018 - 09:00 UTC

  Scottish Parliament voted to formally reject UK's draft Brexit deal

  

  The Scottish Parliament has voted by 92 to 29 to formally reject the UK government's draft Brexit deal. SNP, Labour, Green and Lib Dem members at Holyrood backed a motion rejecting the proposals, as well as the prospect of leaving without any deal. However, the parties have not come to a consensus on an alternative plan.

• Thursday, December 6th 2018 - 08:45 UTC

  Argentine manufacturing and construction declines during October

  

  Manufacturing in Argentina fell 6.8% in October year on year, while construction declined 3.7%, and in the first ten months of this year 2.5% and 4.9% respectively according to the Indec statistics bureau report. Firms were hit hard by a contraction in economic activity and the devaluation of the Peso against the US dollar.

• Wednesday, December 5th 2018 - 21:40 UTC

  3G cellphone technology reaches Cuban customers, at long last

  

  Cubans will have access for the first time to 3G mobile telephone technology starting this coming Thursday, the state-run telecoms monopoly in Cuba, Etecsa, announced Wednesday.

• Wednesday, December 5th 2018 - 09:33 UTC

  China confident in implementing trade commitments to US “as soon as possible”

  

  Chinese officials have said they are “confident in implementing” trade commitments made to the US “as soon as possible”, without giving details. An ongoing trade war has seen both countries impose duties on billions of dollars of one another's goods.

• Wednesday, December 5th 2018 - 09:12 UTC

  Bolsonaro begins political contacts to address pensions scheme with piecemeal reforms

  

  Right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he plans to tackle the overhaul of Brazil's fiscally burdensome pension system with piecemeal reforms that can pass Congress, starting with an increase in the minimum age of retirement. He said reforms should start with the public social security system and advance gradually to make sure they pass Congress.

• Tuesday, December 4th 2018 - 21:36 UTC

  Sino-Panamanian relations off to a strong start, says Xi Jinping

  

  Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday explained relations between his country and Panama have ”gotten off to a strong start in just a year-and-a-half” after the establishment of diplomatic ties in June 2017.

• Tuesday, December 4th 2018 - 10:44 UTC

  Maduro off to Moscow in search of Putin's help

  

  After meeting in Caracas with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro took off for Moscow, where he hopes to hold some “serious talks” with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in order to “strengthen and expand diplomatic relations and friendly ties between the brotherly nations.”

• Tuesday, December 4th 2018 - 09:04 UTC

  Brazil increasing ethanol capacity because of depressed global sugar prices

  

  Brazilian sugar companies are increasing their capacity to produce ethanol in the face of depressed global sugar prices and government policies expected to boost demand for the biofuel. A shift to ethanol in the 2018-19 season slashed Brazil’s sugar output by 9 million tons to a 12-year low and more switching to the biofuel next season could help to wipe out a global surplus weighing on sugar prices.

• Tuesday, December 4th 2018 - 08:58 UTC

  Benchmark emerging-market stocks index waiting for Brazil's Bolsonaro

  

  Brazil’s presence in the benchmark emerging-market stock index could rise again should incoming President Jair Bolsonaro deliver on his promises to shore up the finances of Latin America’s largest economy, according to MSCI Inc chief executive Henry Fernandez.