Economy

• Saturday, May 20th 2017 - 09:02 UTC

  Macri returns from Beijing with US$ 17bn for infrastructure and energy projects

  

  Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have signed in Beijing 16 agreements worth at least US$17 billion in areas such as energy and transport infrastructure, confirming the close links between the two countries.

• Friday, May 19th 2017 - 09:13 UTC

  Trump sets off renegotiation of Nafta in a divided Congress

  

  The Donald Trump administration took the first step toward renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, plunging into a battle that pits some Republicans and industry supporters of the pact against Democrats and some of the president's most ardent backers.

• Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 22:37 UTC

  Bovespa plummets 8.8% and Real suffers the largest drop in 14 years

  

  Brazilian markets plummeted on Thursday as allegations that President Michel Temer condoned bribes to silence a key witness deflated investor optimism about the prospects for his ambitious pension and labor reform agenda.

• Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 21:30 UTC

  Argentina applies to join the China led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank

  

  Foreign Minister Malcorra Susana said on Wednesday that Argentina has applied to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and is willing to be actively involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

• Thursday, May 18th 2017 - 17:36 UTC

  YPF targets US$ 10 cost per barrel at Vaca Muerta shale deposits, by end of 2018

  

  Argentina's oil corporation YPF plans to match United States costs in developing non conventional energy, by the end of 2018. This refers to the very rich shale deposits of Vaca Muerta, with a target of 10 dollars per barrel and for this purpose it has started a program of experimental drillings.

• Wednesday, May 17th 2017 - 21:15 UTC

  Something smells rotten in Brazilian food companies: probes into bribed inspections

  

  Brazilian police on Tuesday opened two separate investigations into whether certain food companies improperly received favorable treatment from the Agriculture Ministry, the latest probe ensnaring the powerful farming sector. The probes into whether inspection procedures were relaxed for meatpacking, dairy and other food companies come two months after industry leaders JBS SA and BRF SA were rocked by allegations of bribing food inspectors.

• Wednesday, May 17th 2017 - 17:44 UTC

  .Brazil seems to be climbing out of the worst recession in history

  

  Brazil is set to show a return to growth, the Central Bank indicated Monday, raising hopes that Latin America’s biggest economy could be inching out of a two-year recession.

• Wednesday, May 17th 2017 - 15:53 UTC

  Petrobras performance improving: largest quarterly earnings in two years

  

  Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras reported its largest quarterly earnings in two years as crude prices rose and the government allowed it to sell fuel at a profit in the domestic market. Petrobras posted a 4.5 billion reais net profit (US$ 1.4bn) in the January to March period, reversing a 1.25 billion reais loss (US$ 400 million) in the first three months of 2016.

• Wednesday, May 17th 2017 - 10:33 UTC

  UK's April inflation at its highest since September 2013; Bank of England expects it to peak at 3%

  

  UK's inflation rate rose last month to its highest since September 2013, official figures show. Inflation now stands at 2.7% - up from 2.3% in March - and above the Bank of England's 2% target. The main reason was higher air fares, which rose because of the later date of Easter this year compared with 2016.

• Wednesday, May 17th 2017 - 10:23 UTC

  European Court of Justice ruling could complicate post-Brexit EU/UK trade deal

  

  A new decision in the European Court of Justice could complicate Theresa May’s task of securing a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. The Luxembourg-based court has ruled that a free trade deal reached with Singapore in 2013 must be ratified by member states.