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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 27th 2026 - 12:07 UTC

Economy

  • Wednesday, January 3rd 2018 - 10:29 UTC

    EU and Chile discussions to renew association agreement

    Chile produces 5 million tons of fruit, 2.6 million of which are exported. It is also a leading fruit exporter and world's leading exporter of table grapes and blueberries

    The European Union and Chile have started negotiations in Brussels for the renewal of the Association Agreement. The first round was held in November and the Commission subsequently launched a consultation aimed at the sectors affected in order to find out their opinions on the issue. This process is planned to conclude on 19 February.

  • Wednesday, January 3rd 2018 - 10:12 UTC

    Brazil finished 2017 with a record trade surplus of US$ 67bn

    Economy Minister Henrique Meirelles said the improvement was owed to better “fiscal control, a freeze on public spending and reforms in general.”

    Brazil's road to economic recovery has passed another milestone with official data showing on Tuesday that the country finished 2017 with a record trade surplus 40.5% higher than in the previous year. The US$67 billion surplus was in line with market projections and within the US$65/70bn range forecast by the government.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 11:13 UTC

    Panama Papers enable tax authorities worldwide to recoup US$ 500 million

    Last July, the German federal police agency announced it had bought the Panama Papers data. The agency conducted raids and has so far frozen two million Euros.

    More than US$500 million has been recouped by tax authorities worldwide after the Panama Papers revelations, first published in April 2016. Spain alone collected US$122 million after an investigation into the affairs of tax residents who had stockpiled money offshore. Among the countries represented in the Panama Papers data, a total of 15 – on three continents – have publicly commented on the amount of taxes recovered by tax authorities.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 10:58 UTC

    Brexit: First quarter of 2018, “point of no return” for financial services industry

    HSBC has said it is on course to move up to 1,000 jobs to France where it already has a full service universal bank after buying up Credit Commercial de France

    The clock is ticking for the financial services industry, with banks said to be months away from being forced to act on Brexit contingency plans that could see thousands of jobs leave the UK. The first quarter of 2018 has been dubbed the “point of no return” for banks, insurers and asset managers as the industry calls on the UK to clinch a transition period that would extend market access to the EU beyond March 2019.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 10:53 UTC

    Japan prepared to lift its ban on beef imports from Uruguay

    An expert panel of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry determined in December that sufficient safeguards are in place at farms and processing facilities

    Japan is planning to lift a ban on beef imports from Uruguay next year, ending a more than 17-year embargo following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the South American nation in 2000, according to government sources in Tokyo.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 10:20 UTC

    Hyperinflation that degrades any salary increase

    There was registered an increase in the price of more than 100% of several foods this month, some of which exceeded their cost by 1,500% in the course of 2017.

    A new salary increase arrived to Venezuela -the seventh in a year-, but the purchasing power of Venezuelans continues insignificant compared to the high price of low supply due to hyperinflation. While it is not possible to slow down the variation of prices in the different products of the basic basket, any wage increase is insufficient and exacerbates the problem. In one year, salary increased 511%, while inflation in 2017 closed at 2.735%, the highest in the world.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 07:27 UTC

    New Year in Uruguay begins with a raft of goods and services price increases

    Uruguay has the “privilege” of being the Latin American country with the dearest fuel prices. Ancap is the company responsible for refining oil

    New Year has taken off in Uruguay with a raft of utilities' rates increases which includes power, fuels, drinking water, telecommunications, urban bus fares, plus extra taxes on tobacco and gambling. Inflation in the twelve months to November was 6.30%.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 06:33 UTC

    UK's foreign aid will go to projects that promote government aims and interests

    Boris Johnson said “the old jam jars are being smashed” and money would be diverted to support government aims, including combating terrorist groups

    The UK's aid budget will be shifted to projects that promote its interests, the foreign secretary Boris Johnson said underlining the money will be “more sensibly distributed” to support foreign policy aims such as denying safe havens to Islamist militants.

  • Tuesday, January 2nd 2018 - 06:20 UTC

    Latin American poverty and extreme poverty rose in 2015/16 following a decade of decline

    In 2014, 28.5% of the population lived in poverty (168m people), a percentage that increased to 29.8% in 2015 (178m) and to 30.7% in 2016 (186m people).

    Poverty and extreme poverty levels rose in Latin America as a regional average in 2015 and 2016, after more than a decade of declines in the majority of countries, while in 2017 they are expected to hold steady, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said.

  • Sunday, December 31st 2017 - 20:47 UTC

    Corruption in Uruguayan government “very much extended”, says opinion poll

    Raul Sendic, ex vice president, who lied about his alleged academic background finally resigned

    Although Uruguay is well positioned internationally when it comes to corruption perception, it is considered among the least corrupt together with Chile in Latin America by Transparency International and LatinoBarometer, a public opinion poll published the last week of 2017 in Montevideo seems to show quite a different perception, particularly among young people.