
The gross public debt of the United States reached 40.047 trillion dollars on Tuesday, according to data released by the Treasury Department. It is the first time the figure has crossed that threshold, and it has arrived earlier than expected: the Congressional Budget Office had projected 39.4 trillion by the end of fiscal 2026 and placed the jump to 40 trillion in 2027.

Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), created in 2024, consolidated a strongly extractive profile and did not stimulate new sectors, according to a report released on Wednesday by the RIGI Observatory, a coalition of civil society organisations and academic centres that examines the scheme from a critical standpoint.

Argentina's vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, has again distanced herself from Javier Milei's government, voicing concern over unemployment and the financial difficulties facing households. I am extremely worried about Argentines who today have no work or who cannot make ends meet, she said at the opening of Expo Venado 2026, an agricultural fair in Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe province.

Fábricas Nacionales de Cerveza (FNC), Uruguay's only industrial beer producer, is negotiating with the government and the trade union a restructuring that would cut 80 of the 400 jobs at its Montevideo and Minas plants. The company keeps a second scenario on the table, which the parties involved regard as less likely: abandoning local production and operating as an importer, with a workforce reduced to around 100 employees.

Arrears on credit to individuals in Argentina reached 17.5% of total lending in June, according to a study by Universidad Austral and the consultancy Eco Go based on central bank data. Javier Milei's government has ruled out intervening and maintains the solution must come from the market.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Saturday asked his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods, arguing this would give exporters relief as the country faces the economic consequences of Monday's magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

The Cristo Redentor international crossing, which links the Argentine province of Mendoza with Chile's Valparaíso Region through the Andes, has now been closed for close to a month because of a snow and wind storm, surpassing the winter closure record set in 2023. Authorities on both sides estimate it could reopen next week, depending on weather conditions.

Argentine oil company YPF, 51% state-controlled, has accepted Edenor's offer to buy its stake in Metrogas and Metroenergía for 780 million dollars, according to a filing submitted on Monday to the securities regulator. The deal takes the company out of the natural gas distribution business.

US forces struck the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, leaving it unable to steer, after it attempted to head for an Iranian port in violation of the naval blockade imposed by Washington, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to official Falkland Islands figures, recorded a quarterly increase of 3.4% as a result of the impact of higher fuel prices.