Economy

• Wednesday, March 16th 2016 - 17:15 UTC

  Argentine Senate begins consideration of debt 'normalization' bill following approval by Lower House

  

  The administration of president Mauricio Macri overcame a first hurdle in the Argentine congress to have its “debt normalization” bill approved, which should help bring to an end years of litigation with the holdout funds and open access to global money markets in normal conditions.

• Wednesday, March 16th 2016 - 07:24 UTC

  Latin American fiscal weakness and lack of 'tax culture' addressed in ECLAC forum

  

  Evasion is one of the main weaknesses of the tax systems in the Latin America and the Caribbean economies, accounting for 320 billion dollars in 2014 - according to the Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2016, launched by the UN regional office, ECLAC, in Santiago de Chile.

• Tuesday, March 15th 2016 - 05:06 UTC

  Lula prepared to accept a ministry to avoid arrest, according to Brazil's leading media

  

  Former Brazilian leader Lula da Silva has accepted a key ministerial role in President Dilma Rousseff's government, leading media in Sao Paulo have reported. Members of the governing Workers' Party say his appointment will strengthen her beleaguered administration. In becoming a minister, Lula will also have some legal protection. Allegedly the two are to meet on Tuesday in Brasilia.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 23:36 UTC

  Argentina not planning a trade deal with the US, “it's a joint task for Mercosur”

  

  It would be 'hasty' to consider that Argentina is ready to sign a trade agreement with the United States, but in any case the issue must be addressed by Mercosur, and it's the whole group that should advance in that direction, said Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 11:35 UTC

  Falklands experiences steady growth in cruise visitors and leisure tourists

  

  By Joshua Peck - The number of cruise passengers visiting the Falkland Islands is projected to increase for the third season in a row. Each tourist season, lasting from October to March, sees numerous cruise vessels arrive in the Falklands, with passengers typically disembarking for a single day onshore. The last cruise vessel for the current season is scheduled to arrive on 31st March.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 11:33 UTC

  Argentina's February inflation 4.8%; minister anticipates 1% during second quarter

  

  February’s inflation in Argentina reached 4.8% and has accumulated 33.9% in the last twelve months, according to the so called “congressional inflation index” released laast week. But Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay from Chile anticipated that consumer prices will fall to nearly 1% during the second quarter.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 23:17 UTC

  Mercosur/EU will exchange trade proposals in April, is announced in Argentina

  

  Mercosur and the European Union will exchange trade proposals in April, a key step for the long delayed trade and cooperation agreement between the two blocks and which has gained strength since the change of administration in Argentina with president Mauricio Macri.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:49 UTC

  Argentina's government release of 2015 fiscal results triggers strong controversy

  

  Argentina's Finance Ministry finally released its fiscal results for the 2015 period, which showed a deficit amounting to more than 5% of GDP. The figure is likely to be subject to much controversy and discussion, as the government of president Mauricio Macri introduced new methodology to calculate its figures.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:40 UTC

  Oil at US$ 67 in Argentina has all the Majors converging

  

  By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com
  
  Argentina offers one of the few places on earth where oil companies are not suffering from the full force of the collapse in prices. Argentina regulates oil prices, a policy originally intended to insulate the public from the whims of the market, protecting people from triple-digit crude prices. But with the crash in prices since mid-2014, the effect of the regulation has reversed: motorists are now effectively subsidizing the oil industry.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:22 UTC

  Argentine bonds: US Appeals court puts on hold Judge Griesa's lifting of injunctions

  

  United States appeals court put on hold a United States District Judge Thomas Griesa ruling lifting injunctions that have restricted Argentina from paying off some debts in light of the country’s US$6.5 billion offer to settle litigation over bonds in default since 2002.