Inflation in the US has fallen to 4,9%, in the twelve months to April, according to official figures. That was down from 5% in March and marks the tenth month in a row that price rises have slowed.
Ecuador and China signed a free trade agreement (FTA) whereby the South American country will have access to a market of 1.4 billion people, it was reported in Quito on Wednesday. It was the second such pact signed under the administration of President Guillermo Lasso, following the one reached with Costa Rica.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed President Lula da Silva to Downing Street ahead of King Charles III Coronation on Saturday. The leaders discussed the great potential in the relationship between the UK and Brazil, including in health, research and development and technology.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) admitted negotiations with the Argentine Government were still going on toward a redesigning of the country's program in light of the present drought, while Casa Rosada sources agreed that the conversations were progressing constructively.
Millions of Brazilians could be thrown into extreme poverty in the next few years due to weather-related phenomena, a report released last week by the World Bank showed.
In a debt for nature swap, Credit Suisse has announced buying Ecuadorian bonds worth US$1.6 billion. With Ecuador in severe financial turmoil, the bonds were trading well below face value as investors considered non-repayment to be likely. Effectively, Ecuador has now bought its own debt back at a knock-down price via a fresh loan from Credit Suisse.
According to a Moody's Analytics report published this week, Latin America will lose productivity to climate change if it does not take swift action. The document titled Latin America under the risk of climate change explained that governments, companies, and financial institutions should adopt preventive measures to reduce carbon emissions, in order to mitigate eventual damages caused by climate change.
According to the Argentine Central Bank's (BCRA) Market Expectations Survey (Relevamiento de Expectativas de Mercado - REM) report published Friday, the panel of economists issuing that document has made an upward correction to their inflation forecasts for 2023, placing it at 126.4%, or 16.4 percentage points above April's projections, while last month's Consumer Price Index (CPI) is believed to be of 7.5%. The National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) will release the official data on May 12.
The Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) has granted Argentina a US$ 150 million loan to strengthen educational access for school-age youth in the province of Buenos Aires, it was announced Thursday. This new credit is in addition to another one granted the day before in the amount of US$ 265 million, to boost the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said his country has a problem with prices in Argentine being so low due to a favorable exchange rate that people cross the border to do their shopping.