
President Mauricio Macri on Thursday asked Argentines for patience in weathering an economic crisis this year and pledged to increase social spending in the coming months, a day after reaching a US$ 57.1 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking at a news conference in New York alongside Argentine Economy Minister Nicolas Dujovne, said IMF was “significantly frontloading” disbursements under the program adding the Argentine central bank had agreed as part of the deal to allow the peso currency to float freely and would only intervene in the foreign exchange market in extreme circumstances.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he had refused to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, accusing Canada of treating the United States very badly.

The Scottish Secretary David Mundell started a four-day trade mission to South America, where he will be meeting politicians and business leaders in Uruguay and Chile. Mr. Mundell will be promoting trade links on the visit undertaken on behalf of the UK Government’s Board of Trade, and will be looking into how UK can support new post-EU trade opportunities in South America, promoting Scotland as a great exporter and the UK being open for business.

The Executive Council of the Falkland Islands discussed a proposal to consider salmon farming in the Falklands. The proposal sought authorisation for Government officers to negotiate a Letter of Intent with the Danish company, Pisco ApS, to evaluate whether conditions in the Islands would be adequate to support the development of salmon fish farming.

The International Monetary Fund staff and Argentina authorities have reached an agreement on a set of strengthened economic policies that will underpin the 36-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) approved on June 20, 2018.

Brazil has been clawing itself out from the worst recession in its history, but that hasn’t stopped President Michel Temer from touting the country to investors. Temer and his entourage told United States business leaders at an event leading up to the United Nations General Assembly that the country is open for business.

The United States Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday, after a two-day policy meeting, that it would raise interest rates for the third time this year. The decision, which had been widely expected, raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 2% to 2.25%.

China and the United States can compete but should not view each other with a Cold War mentality and should avoid falling into a zero-sum game trap, the Chinese government's top diplomat said, amid deteriorating ties between the superpowers.

Brazil, the world's No 1 soy exporter, is expected to import around one million tons of the oilseed in coming months from its largest global competitor, the United States, as local supplies dwindle, according to Sao Paulo-based grain trader Agribrasil.