
Venezuela’s consumer inflation, already the world’s highest, will more than double this year surging to 720% in 2016 from 275% last year, according to a note published by the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Director, Alejandro Werner.

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2015 to reach a total of 1,184 million in 2015, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Some 50 million more tourists (overnight visitors) travelled to international destinations around the world last year as compared to 2014. 2015 marks the 6th consecutive year of above-average growth, with international arrivals increasing by 4% or more every year since the post-crisis year of 2010.

President Dilma Rousseff said on Friday that her cash-strapped government could consider tapping into Brazil's sizeable foreign reserves at a given moment, an idea that troubles investors already worried about the country's economic decline.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has confirmed she will stand for a second term. Ms Lagarde threw her hat into the ring during an appearance on French television.

Slumping crude prices have investors and analysts warning of a potential messy default in Venezuela, with state-owned oil company PDVSA owing some US$10 billion in external debt payments due this year. With crude hovering around US$28 per barrel, Venezuela could have trouble satisfying its obligations.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri met on Thursday with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Davos as both leaders attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The atmosphere of the meeting was described as 'very positive' and several steps of a new relationship were announced, while the Falklands/Malvinas issue was left for further on.

The United Kingdom government has released a statement pointing out the “three areas” British Prime Minister David Cameron and President Mauricio Macri “covered” during their Davos meeting on Thursday.

The United States is ending its policy of opposing most lending to Argentina from multilateral development banks, the US Treasury Department announced. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew informed Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay of the move on Thursday when the two met in Davos, Switzerland, the department said in a statement.

Pope Francis told members of the world's wealthy political and economic elite that they should not be deaf to the cry of the poor and must consider their own role in creating inequality. New technologies such as robotics must also not be allowed to replace humans with soulless machines, he said in a message to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay is planning to meet with IMF's Christine Lagarde at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss resuming formal ties with the international lender, according to a report published by Bloomberg.