Economy

• Thursday, August 2nd 2018 - 08:04 UTC

  Power outages in Venezuela turn once rich cities into ghost towns

  

  The state of Zulia, the historic heart of Venezuela’s energy industry that was for decades known for opulent oil wealth, has been plunged into darkness for several hours a day since March, sometimes leaving its 3.7 million residents with no electricity for up to 24 hours.

• Thursday, August 2nd 2018 - 07:35 UTC

  Santos convinced that Maduro's days in Venezuela are numbered, “in the near future”

  

  Nicolas Maduro's days as president of crisis-ravaged Venezuela are numbered, his outgoing Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos told the French government news agency.“I can see it happening in the near future,” said Santos, pointing to the International Monetary Fund's latest projection that Venezuela's inflation will hit one million percent this year.

• Thursday, August 2nd 2018 - 07:24 UTC

  Macri admits annual inflation will reach 30%, “product of this storm”

  

  Argentina's President Mauricio Macri is acknowledging for the first time that the country's annual inflation rate will be 30%. Macri said Tuesday that the high consumer prices “unfortunately are a product of this storm.” He was referring to a sharp devaluation of Argentina's currency and a recent run on the Peso.

• Wednesday, August 1st 2018 - 20:13 UTC

  Fed leaves benchmark interest rate unchanged; core PCE climbs to 2% in second quarter

  

  The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday and reaffirmed its plans to continue raising borrowing costs at a gradual pace. The decision to hold rates had been widely expected and came after a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which dictates monetary policy.

• Wednesday, August 1st 2018 - 08:59 UTC

  Change of Chinese import duties impacts on Jaguar Land Rover profits

  

  Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has reported a loss for the first time in three years after sales slowed in China. The UK's biggest car firm, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, blamed the setback on “multiple challenges”.

• Wednesday, August 1st 2018 - 08:18 UTC

  Brazil investigating collusion and price fixing at the fuel pump: largest distributors targeted

  

  Brazil’s three largest fuel distribution companies are under investigation for fixing prices at the pump, police said on Tuesday, reigniting debate over potential collusion among gas station owners in Latin America’s largest oil producer.

• Wednesday, August 1st 2018 - 07:12 UTC

  China and Argentina ties increasingly closer

  

  China's offer of financial support to Argentina is the latest example of the Asian nation filling a vacuum in what has traditionally been the backyard of the U.S. While President Donald Trump has not paid a visit to Latin America since his inauguration in January 2017, China has stepped up its financial assistance to Argentina and worked to strengthen their trade ties.

• Tuesday, July 31st 2018 - 18:55 UTC

  Failure of coffee crop forces more Guatemalans to migrate north to the US

  

  A mix of roya, climate change and low coffee prices in Guatemala are causing greater numbers of workers and some landowners to abandon the coffee farms and migrate north to the United States.

• Tuesday, July 31st 2018 - 10:26 UTC

  BRICS' leaders support Argentina's economic strategy, claims president Macri

  

  Leaders from the BRICS bloc of emerging economies share a “positive outlook” on Argentina's embattled economy, President Mauricio Macri said on Monday. Macri added that leaders from BRICS members - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - meeting in Johannesburg for the July 25-27 summit also expressed their support for the Argentine government's economic strategy.

• Tuesday, July 31st 2018 - 08:36 UTC

  Guyana top country in discovered oil resources during 2018

  

  Discovered resources globally of conventional oil and natural gas surpassed 4.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the first half of 2018, making for an exciting recovery with Guyana leading the way, according to analysis by Rystad Energy. Average monthly discovered volumes are 826 million barrels of oil equivalent. This is a 30% increase from 2017.