Economy

• Sunday, May 1st 2016 - 13:43 UTC

  Magallanes region unemployment during the first quarter reached 3.1%

  

  Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile has an unemployment rate of 3.1% during the first quarter of the year, which represents a 0.1 percentage point increase over the same period a year ago, according to the latest stats.

• Saturday, April 30th 2016 - 12:12 UTC

  Argentine unions take to the streets to protest job cuts and inflation

  

  Argentina’s strongest unions brought thousands of people into the streets Friday to protest high inflation and job cuts in the biggest demonstrations against President Mauricio Macri since he took office in December. Demonstrators waving blue and white Argentine flags flooded the main avenues of Buenos Aires, blocking traffic in a protest that brought together rival unions that put aside differences to protest Macri’s policies.

• Saturday, April 30th 2016 - 11:45 UTC

  YPF will fight back legal claim seeking US$ 500 million for rescinding contracts

  

  Argentina's state-run energy company YPF said this week it will fight a legal claim seek more than US$500 million in damages for rescinding natural gas export contracts in 2009. “YPF shall use all its legal resources to defend its interests and those of its shareholders,” the company said in a filing with the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 06:50 UTC

  Brazil's central bank leaves benchmark rate at 14.25% forced by stubborn inflation

  

  Brazil's central bank left its benchmark interest rate on hold at 14.25% for a sixth consecutive time, amid stubbornly high inflation and political uncertainty. The bank which makes rate decisions eight times a year has held its key Selic rate steady since the last of seven consecutive hikes in July 2015.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 06:42 UTC

  Chilean mining minister inaugurated the British Pavilion at Expomin 2016 in Santiago.

  

  Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Mining Minister Aurora Williams officially inaugurated Expomin 2016. During her tour through the exhibition, Minister Williams visited the British pavilion, joined by Ambassador Fiona Clouder and UKTI Director Trevor Hines.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 06:27 UTC

  ''Vote Leave'' Chair says leaving the EU will not affect UK protection of Overseas Territories

  

  Withdrawal from the European Union will not affect the protection the UK provides for its overseas territories, the chair of Vote Leave, Gisela Stuart, has told MPs in the House of Commons.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 06:18 UTC

  Latam and Caribbean forecasted to contract 0.5% in 2016, worst two-year since 1982, says IMF

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean will post an overall 0.5% economic contraction in 2016, the International Monetary Fund forecast in its latest report, capping the region's worst two-year period since the 1982 debt crisis. But the IMF said the region is expected to rebound to 1.5% growth in 2017, avoiding the “lost decade” phenomenon that marked the 1980s.

• Friday, April 29th 2016 - 06:08 UTC

  IMF praises Argentina's new focus despite an expected contraction of 1% this year

  

  Argentina's GDP is expected to contract by about 1% in 2016, according to the latest IMF Regional Economic Outlook; Western Hemisphere, announced on Wednesday in Mexico. The chapter on Argentina makes a special mention of the new government's changes to remove macroeconomic imbalances.

• Thursday, April 28th 2016 - 07:34 UTC

  Maduro blames the “crazy right” for riots sparked by daily several/hours blackouts

  

  Venezuelan cities cleaned up from a night of looting and fiery protests on Wednesday as government offices closed their doors for the rest of the week in the face of a worsening energy crisis that is causing daily blackouts. In Caracas, hundreds of angry voters lined up to sign a petition beginning the process of recalling the deeply unpopular President Nicolas Maduro.

• Thursday, April 28th 2016 - 07:22 UTC

  Fed leaves rates unchanged; expectations over an increase move to June

  

  The U.S. Federal Reserve did what many expected on Wednesday as it left its key interest rate range unchanged. The central bank maintained its overnight lending rate for banks at a target range of between 0.25 and 0.50% where it has been since it was boosted from near zero back in December. Expectations now have moved to the two-day meeting on 14/15 June.