Economy

• Tuesday, August 16th 2016 - 06:50 UTC

  Sao Paulo's bull stock market reflects investors' confidence of Brazil's GDP rebound

  

  Brazil's Ibovespa rose on Monday to the highest level in almost two years as an advance in crude oil lifted the shares of Petrobras while estimates for a faster economic recovery fueled bets on companies that rely on domestic demand.

• Tuesday, August 16th 2016 - 06:11 UTC

  British Airways cuts its food service on flights less than eight and a half hours

  

  British Airways has cut its food service and will no longer provide two meals to economy travelers on flights lasting less than eight-and-a-half hours. Instead of two full meals, passengers will only receive one as part of the new measures, which also apply to journeys lasting less seven hours for premium economy passengers.

• Tuesday, August 16th 2016 - 06:01 UTC

  Latam airlines has poor performance in 2Q; defers incorporation of new aircraft

  

  Latin America's largest airline, reported a wider-than-forecast net loss in the second quarter of US$92 million, as it struggles to overcome tough economic conditions in its key markets. The airline made a loss of US$50 million in the same period a year ago, a quarter that is traditionally weak for seasonal reasons.

• Monday, August 15th 2016 - 15:09 UTC

  July inflation in Brazil remains over target: 8.74% in twelve months

  

  Inflation in Brazil rose more sharply in July than economists expected, official data showed, raising pressure on the central bank to keep interest rates on hold for some time.

• Monday, August 15th 2016 - 07:28 UTC

  Argentina's economy: a battle over utility bills is president Macri’s first big crisis

  

  The following article from The Economist points out that the Argentine Supreme Court in the next ten days has to decide on tariff rises for gas and electricity blocked by lower courts. And president Macri cannot afford to lose sine the price increases are a vital part of his plan to restore confidence in an economy undermined by years of reckless spending.

• Monday, August 15th 2016 - 07:19 UTC

  Brazil concerned about the 25% surge of the Real against the US dollar

  

  The Brazilian Real weakened further on Friday after interim President Michel Temer showed concern over currency strength, while stocks edged lower following a heavy batch of quarterly results including state controlled oil company Petrobras.

• Monday, August 15th 2016 - 07:09 UTC

  Mercosur-India talks expected to expand preferential trade agreement

  

  India has begun the process of expanding its preferential trade agreement with the Mercosur trade bloc, opening its market more to South America and negotiations are expected to start in a month or two. The number of products on which tariff concessions is given is likely to increase to more than 3,000 from 450 at present with more agricultural products getting covered in the pact.

• Saturday, August 13th 2016 - 09:26 UTC

  Falklands' fresh produce high prices blamed on Montevideo's port charges and fees

  

  Uruguayan port charges and fees from port operators and shipping agents are the cause of fresh produce being so expensive in the Falkland Islands, Stanley Nurseries Tim Miller told Penguin News this week. Montevideo port costs add 75-100%, “on top of actual SAAS (shipper) freight costs. In UK similar operations add a mere 20% to the SAAS freight cost said Mr. Miller.

• Saturday, August 13th 2016 - 08:24 UTC

  Argentina's July inflation falls to 2%, confirming sliding tendency

  

  Argentina's inflation rate eased to 2% in July, less than half of what it was two months before when the government began reporting consumer price data after revamping the country's troubled statistics office. The July figure was released on Friday by the new Indec data agency. A month earlier it reported 3.1% inflation for June and 4.2% for May when it issued its first consumer price report since President Mauricio Macri took office in December.

• Saturday, August 13th 2016 - 08:12 UTC

  Catholic Church criticizes Macri's policies and says 1.4 million more have fallen into poverty

  

  A new report released by the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) points to a somewhat bleak outlook on Argentina’s current socioeconomic situation, with the revelation that 1.4 million people fell into poverty between December 2015 and April 2016. The report also provides a qualitative commentary criticizing President Mauricio Macri’s social policies.