Economy

• Tuesday, April 5th 2016 - 06:47 UTC

  Argentina and Spain agree to re-launch closer political and trade relations

  

  Argentina and Spain have decided to re-launch bilateral mechanisms that have been “asleep” for too long, promoting political and trade relations, said Argentine foreign minister Susana Malcorra who on Monday met with her visiting Spanish peer, Jose Manuel García/Margallo.

• Tuesday, April 5th 2016 - 06:06 UTC

  Macri admits he was member of family offshore society, but it was reported to the Argentina tax office

  

  Argentine President Mauricio Macri came on stage on Monday to defend himself as he is one of the world leaders to appear as director of an offshore society in the so called “Panama Papers” leak that triggered a worldwide scandal.

• Tuesday, April 5th 2016 - 05:53 UTC

  US looking for evidence of corruption and violation of US law in Panama Papers

  

  The United Stated Department is reviewing the leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm that reveal the offshore financial arrangements of global politicians and public figures, a department spokesman said on Monday. The department is determining whether the documents point to evidence of corruption and other violations of US law.

• Tuesday, April 5th 2016 - 05:47 UTC

  Panama Papers: Brazil with 57 names including companies and politicians from all parties

  

  Politicians from seven parties in Brazil were named as clients of a Panama-based firm at the center of a massive data leak over possible tax evasion, O Estado de S.Paulo said on Monday.

• Monday, April 4th 2016 - 19:15 UTC

  Magallanes region has the lowest unemployment rate in Chile, 1.8%

  

  The unemployment rate in Magallanes extreme south region of Chile recorded 1.8% in the December-February quarter according to the country's Statistics Institute, INE, which compares favorably with 2.8% in the previous quarter and the national rate of 5.9%.

• Monday, April 4th 2016 - 04:12 UTC

  Petrobras launches voluntary layoff program to cut 12.000 jobs

  

  Brazil's embattled oil company Petrobras said it will launch a voluntary layoff program to cut an estimated 12,000 jobs in a bid to save up to 33 billion reais ($9.20 billion) by 2020. The program will cost 4.4 billion reais and is open to all employees, according to a statement from Petrobras, which has been hard hit by low oil prices, refinery project problems and a massive price-fixing, bribery and political kickback scandal.

• Sunday, April 3rd 2016 - 07:52 UTC

  Mega corporation Odebrecht involved in Petrobras case, plans to sell assets to meet debt obligations

  

  Troubled Brazilian construction company Odebrecht SA plans to sell about 12 billion reais (US$3.4 billion) in assets to help meet its debt obligations, according to the builder’s chief executive officer. The company had a gross debt of 85 billion reais in 2014, the most recent figure available, but much of it is long-term debt and the biggest payments start only in 2025, Odebrecht CEO Newton de Souza said in an interview published Friday in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper.

• Sunday, April 3rd 2016 - 07:43 UTC

  US economy gains confidence: 215.000 more jobs in March and 1.4% growth in fourth quarter

  The US economy added 215,000 jobs in March, a little less than it did in February when 242,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate has risen to 5% from 4.9%, which was an eight-year low, but the Labor Department said more Americans were finding jobs, which suggested a sign of confidence in the US economy. In effect this follows the report on the US economy which grew at an annualized rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015s.

• Sunday, April 3rd 2016 - 07:35 UTC

  Argentina promulgates bill which allows for payment of accord with bondholders

  The Argentine government made official the accord reached with the holdout funds sponsored by a New York federal court, to pay for defaulted bonds in a fifteen year litigation, following the approval of the bill by the Senate. This means Argentina can now look for funds in the international monetary market.

• Sunday, April 3rd 2016 - 07:33 UTC

  Uruguay reaffirms allegiance to Mercosur but admits serious challenges

  Mercosur is a fundamental legal milestone in regional integration, and a turning point in the history of member countries, said Uruguay's foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa during a conference celebrating the 25th anniversary, (March 1991), of the founding of the South American group, who nevertheless admitted serious challenges.