Economy

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:28 UTC

  Brazil forced to import Robusta coffee: first time in decades

  

  Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Monday he has asked the country's Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex) for authorization to open robusta coffee imports at near zero tariff, according to the ministry.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:21 UTC

  Uruguay's wool and lamb exports dropped 17% in twelve months

  

  Uruguay wool and lamb exports dropped 17% in dollars in the last twelve months compared to the year before. Of the US$ 265 million shipped overseas, China was the main client with 42% of that total, according to the latest Custom stats.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 11:17 UTC

  Greater Buenos Aires January consumer prices rose 1.3% in January

  

  Consumer prices in greater Buenos Aires rose 1.3% in January over the previous month, Argentina's official Indec statistics agency announced, far below market expectations and in line with the central bank's annual target. January's reading was slightly above 1.2% inflation in December.

• Tuesday, February 14th 2017 - 10:34 UTC

  Former Goldman Sachs executive and “foreclosure expert”, confirmed as US Treasury Secretary

  

  A bitterly divided Senate on Monday confirmed Steven Mnuchin as United States treasury secretary despite strong objections by Democrats that the former banker ran a “foreclosure machine” when he headed OneWest Bank. Republicans said Mnuchin's long tenure in finance makes him qualified to run the department, which will play a major role in developing economic policy under President Donald Trump.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 16:41 UTC

  Argentina expects at least 15 million tons of wheat from the 2016/17 crop

  

  Argentine farmers are expected to harvest at least 15 million tons of wheat in the 2016/17 crop year versus 11.3 million in the previous season, Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile said last week. Wheat planting in Argentina expanded dramatically when President Mauricio Macri eliminated export taxes soon after his December inauguration.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 09:20 UTC

  Mercosur/EU technical discussions in Brussels ahead of Buenos Aires meeting

  

  Mercosur representatives will be meeting their European Union counterparts this week, beginning Monday, in Brussels in anticipation of another round of trade and cooperation discussions scheduled for March in Buenos Aires. Mercosur members, under the coordination of Argentina, which currently holds the group's chair are attending with a common position reached after several days of videoconferences.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 13:29 UTC

  German top banker warns London could lose role as gateway to Europe's financial hub

  

  One of Germany's most senior banking regulators has warned London that it is likely to lose its role as “the gateway to Europe” for vital financial services. Dr Andreas Dombret, executive board member for the German central bank, the Bundesbank, said that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the European Union that was “miles away from access to the single market”.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:51 UTC

  Brexit Bill faces Lords' battle, where Tories do not have a majority

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May will face a parliamentary battle to get her Brexit Bill through the House of Lords as Labour launched its effort to rewrite the legislation. The House of Commons overwhelmingly backed legislation allowing the PM May to formally begin Brexit without altering it, but the British Government will face a stiffer test in the Lords where the Tories do not have a majority.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:36 UTC

  Mercosur meeting in March to address internal tariffs and Mexico

  

  Mercosur foreign ministers will be meeting next March 9 in Buenos Aires in the framework of Argentina's pro tempore chair and following on the Argentine/Brazilian presidents recent meeting when it was decided to give the group a new thrust taking advantage of the new world scenario.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:14 UTC

  UK's “exit bill” £ 48 billion? “It would be like leaving a bar without paying for your drinks”

  

  The European Commission has refused to discuss the size of the “exit bill” to be handed to the UK when it withdraws from the EU, amid reports the demand has been fixed at around £48 billion.