Economy

• Monday, January 19th 2015 - 07:48 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez meets with economist Piketty expert on wealth distribution

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez met with Thomas Piketty at the Olivos official residence for two hours on Saturday as part of the French economist's tour of Latin America.

• Monday, January 19th 2015 - 07:36 UTC

  Argentine central bank confirms policy restricting access to foreign currency

  

  Argentina will not end its controls restricting access to foreign currency in the near term, Central Bank President Alejandro Vanoli was quoted as saying in an interview published on Sunday in the government supported newspaper Pagina 12.

• Monday, January 19th 2015 - 07:19 UTC

  Obama wants tax increases on the wealthy to help middle class families

  

  President Obama is to use Tuesday's State of the Union speech to call for tax increases on the wealthy to help the middle class, officials say. The proposals would raise 320 billion dollars over a decade, to fund benefits such as tax credits.

• Monday, January 19th 2015 - 07:10 UTC

  Brazil central bank expected to raise interest rates this week for third time running

  

  Brazil's central bank is expected to raise interest rates for a third straight meeting this week to quell any doubts about its commitment to ending years of high inflation.

• Saturday, January 17th 2015 - 08:03 UTC

  Argentina downplays WTO adverse ruling and considers possible negotiations with litigants

  

  The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against Argentina triggers “no immediate modification” of the country’s trade administration, Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich pointed out adding a “comprehensive and detailed analysis of the ruling’s terms” is needed.

• Saturday, January 17th 2015 - 07:46 UTC

  Booming California overtakes Brazil as the world's seventh largest economy

  

  California is overtaking Brazil as the world’s seventh-largest economy, bolstered by rising employment, home values and personal and corporate income, a year after the US most-populous state surpassed Russia and Italy.

• Friday, January 16th 2015 - 06:49 UTC

  Bilateral trade between Mercosur main partners dropped 21.2% in 2014

  

  Bilateral trade between Mercosur two main partners, Brazil and Argentina (first and third largest economies in Latin America) dropped 21.2% last year and with a 139 million dollars deficit for Argentina, according to the Argentine Commerce Chamber, CAC.

• Friday, January 16th 2015 - 06:15 UTC

  In a surprise move Swiss central bank abandons Euro peg: frank soars 30%

  

  The Swiss franc soared as much as 30% in chaotic trade after the central bank abandoned the cap on the currency's value against the Euro. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said the cap, introduced in September 2011, was no longer justified. It also cut a key interest rate from -0.25% to -0.75%, raising the amount investors pay to hold Swiss deposits.

• Friday, January 16th 2015 - 06:10 UTC

  US, EU and Japan win case at WTO against Argentine import restrictions

  

  The World Trade Organization on Thursday rejected Argentina’s bid to overturn a ruling in favour of the United States, the European Union and Japan against the Buenos Aires licensing rules used to restrict imports.

• Friday, January 16th 2015 - 05:23 UTC

  YPF increased output during 2014; refinery strike threatens supply of fuel

  

  YPF's oil and natural gas production rose in 2014 for the second year running, Argentina's state-run energy company said on Thursday. Oil production rose 8.7% last year, while gas output was up 12.5%, YPF said, although the company did not publish annual output volume.