Economy

• Tuesday, December 20th 2016 - 08:19 UTC

  Macri and Bachelet agree on a Mercosur-Pacific Alliance meeting in first half of 2017

  

  Argentina and Chile agreed to organize a major Mercosur, Pacific Alliance trade blocks' meeting during the first half of 2017. Last Friday Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and her cabinet were in Buenos Aires with peers Mauricio Macri and ministers as part of an agenda of regular meetings to address a joint agenda.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2016 - 06:51 UTC

  US labor market “the strongest in more than a decade”, Yellen tells graduating class

  

  The United States labor market is in the best condition in last decade said the chairman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen during a speech to the graduating class at the University of Baltimore. Fed chairman said that the signs of healthy labor market are abundant, among which stand out the stable rate of creation of new jobs and lower share of cuts.

• Monday, December 19th 2016 - 09:55 UTC

  Maduro backtracks on elimination of 100-bolivar bill as looting erupts

  

  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro reversed his decision to ban from circulation the 100-bolivar bill and gave the notes, which are worth between US$ 0.02 and 0.04 according to varying quotations, a two-week grace. The bills can now be used until January 2, Maduro said.

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 17:03 UTC

  Colombia's Central Bank lowers interest rate to tack inflation

  

  The Central Bank of Colombia Friday surprisingly decided to lower the interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.50 percent to support the recovery of the economy and to push inflation towards the target set for the coming semester.

• Saturday, December 17th 2016 - 16:54 UTC

  Norwegian low cost airline wants to operate in Argentina

  

  Norwegian Air Shuttle, one of the largest low cost airlines in Europe, has made the decision to start start operating in Argentina in November next year. “We have taken that decision and for that we have already taken some concrete steps to be able to fly domestic and regional routes in Argentina,” said Norwegian spokesman Alfons Claver.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 10:44 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates unchanged: global outlook has become more fragile

  

  The Bank of England voted unanimously on Thursday to keep the UK's main interest rate at a record low of 0.25%, and anticipated that the next rate move could be in either direction. The last change was a rate cut in August, in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 10:00 UTC

  Brexit: UK wants to first discuss status of Britons in Europe and EU citizens in UK

  

  UK Prime Minister Theresa May wants an early deal on what Brexit means for the status of Britons in Europe and EU citizens in the UK, she has told EU leaders. The prime minister's comments came as she updated fellow leaders on the UK's plans for leaving the European Union.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 09:02 UTC

  Lula faces new corruption charges, but he leads polls for 2018 presidential election

  

  New corruption charges linked to Brazil's massive embezzlement scheme at Petrobras oil company were filed on Thursday against former president Lula da Silva, prosecutors said. A judge will now have to decide whether Lula, whose spokesman called the charges “invented,” should face trial.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 08:50 UTC

  Simulus measures in Brazil to appease recession and Temer's tumbling credibility

  

  Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday unveiled a raft of stimulus measures to reduce the debt burden of businesses and consumers struggling with the country's worst recession on record amid growing popular discontent. Although limited in scope, the measures aim to appease Brazilians angry at the deepening recession in Latin America's biggest economy and allegations of corruption against Temer and his closest allies.

• Friday, December 16th 2016 - 08:07 UTC

  Despite Falklands issue, Argentina interested in bilateral trade agreement with UK

  

  Argentina would be interested in negotiating a bilateral free-trade agreement with the U.K. as it prepares to leave the European Union, potentially turning around harsh relations between the two countries.