Economy

• Saturday, September 24th 2016 - 07:27 UTC

  Petrobras sells major gas pipeline which feeds Brazil's core industrialized regions

  

  A consortium led by Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure has signed a deal to buy a controlling stake in a natural gas pipeline system in Brazil from Petrobras for US$5.2 billion. Under the deal, the consortium will acquire a 90% stake in Nova Transportadora do Sudeste S.A. (NTS). Petrobras will retain a 10% stake.

• Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 11:16 UTC

  Petrobras cuts 5-year budget by 25% and will focus on core oil and gas business

  

  Brazil’s Petrobras announced it will be spending US$74.1 billion over the next five years, 25% reduction on the US$98.4 billion for the previous five years capital expenditure. This is also the company’s lowest five-year budget since 2006.

• Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 10:55 UTC

  An Argentine family to remain above the poverty line needs US$ 820 a month

  

  An Argentine average household made up of a couple with two children 6 and 8 years old needs 12.489 Pesos (approx US$ 820) to remain above the poverty line according to the stats office, Indec estimate for the month of August. The same household will have to pay 5.176 Pesos (approx US$ 340) for the Basic food basket, not to drop to indigence.

• Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 09:32 UTC

  Argentina's economy further contracts in 2Q; government insists recovery is round the corner

  

  Argentina’s recession deepened in the second quarter as President Mauricio Macri’s efforts to implement free-market reform exacerbated an already flagging economy. GDP fell 3.4% from the same period a year earlier, the largest year-on-year contraction in almost two years, the refurbished statistics agency said in a report published on Thursday.

• Friday, September 23rd 2016 - 09:28 UTC

  Brazilian lawmakers in late night vote fail “to neutralize” Petrobras investigation

  

  President Michel Temer criticized a surprise move by Brazilian lawmakers, including some members of his party and even a cabinet minister, to wipe the slate clean on illegal donations they allegedly received.

• Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 22:18 UTC

  FAO forecasts higher harvest prospects for maize, wheat and rice

  

  Staple food prices rose in August even as grain prices fell and the outlook for global cereal production improved. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 165.6 points in August, up 1.9% from July and almost 7% from a year earlier. The monthly jump was mostly driven by cheese and palm oil quotations, while those for wheat, maize and rice all fell.

• Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 22:08 UTC

  BIS warns Chinese banking sector stress gauge three times above danger level

  

  Risks of a Chinese banking crisis are mounting, according to a warning indicator from the banking industry's global watchdog. A key gauge of stress in the banking sector is now more than three times above the danger level, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said in its latest quarterly review.

• Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 15:38 UTC

  Ex finance minister of Lula and Rousseff arrested in connection to Petrobras corruption

  

  Brazilian police on Thursday arrested Guido Mantega, a former finance minister under presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, as part of the investigation into the vast Petrobras corruption scheme, media reported.However Brazilian Judge Sergio Moro later in the day revoked the temporary detention order citing Mantega's cooperation with a search of his home and his wife's surgery in a Sao Paulo hospital.

• Thursday, September 22nd 2016 - 10:46 UTC

  Aerolineas Argentinas could become profitable in four years time

  

  Aerolineas Argentinas CEO revealed that the flag-carrier is increasing passenger numbers and could become profitable in four years but losses keep piling, an estimated one billion dollars this year, which comes upon a one to two million dollars daily losses during most of the decade.

• Wednesday, September 21st 2016 - 21:53 UTC

  Divided Fed leaves interest rates unchanged; strong hints of a December increase

  

  The United States Federal Reserve pushed back plans to raise interest rates on Wednesday, a widely expected move following a series of mixed economic reports and varied signals from Fed officials. After its two-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold the federal funds rate between 0.25% and 0.50%, citing progress in economic and labor market growth and an improving risk outlook.