Economy

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 06:12 UTC

  Car sales in Argentina plunged 28% last year compared to 2013

  

  Sales of new cars in Argentina plunged 42% in December, compared to the same month of 2013, a steep drop that managed to raise eyebrows in an industry that had gotten used to declines month after month. It was steeper than the already strong 37% drop seen in November.

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 05:34 UTC

  Maduro announces 20bn dollars in investment credits from China

  

  President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday he had secured a total of more than 20 billion dollars in investment from major creditor China for economic, social, and oil-related projects.

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 01:13 UTC

  Falklands contribution to the development of sheep farming in Magallanes

  

  The close historic and farming links between the Falkland Islands and the Magallanes Region, were underlined in a recent article by Punta Arenas researcher Silvestre Fugellie dedicated to sheep farming, the 'golden fleece' that changed the economy of those barren lands in the extreme south of Chile over a century ago.

• Thursday, January 8th 2015 - 01:08 UTC

  Authorities raid Buenos Aires HSBC accused of aiding tax evasion

  

  Authorities on Wednesday conducted a court-ordered search of the Argentine headquarters of London-based bank HSBC, which faces allegations of aiding tax evasion, it was reported in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2015 - 06:52 UTC

  Argentina and Chile agree on three tunnel projects drilling the Andes

  

  Argentina and Chile signed on Tuesday in Santiago the creation of a bi-national entity responsible for the Las Leñas Pass tunnel project (Ebileñas) to be drilled in the Andes connecting the two countries.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2015 - 06:20 UTC

  Brazil sends foreign minister to China/Celac meeting in Beijing

  

  Brazil's new foreign minister Mauro Vieira has left for Beijing to attend the first ministerial meeting between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, according to reports from Brasilia.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2015 - 23:11 UTC

  Energy crisis as early as 2016

  

  Low oil prices today may be setting the world up for an oil shortage as early as 2016. Today we have just 2% more crude oil supply than demand and the price of gasoline is under $2.00/gallon in Texas. If oil supply falls too far, we could see gasoline prices doubling within 18 months. For a commodity as critical to our standard of living as oil is, it only takes a small shortage to drive up the price.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2015 - 22:49 UTC

  Aurelius hedge fund denies being part of lawsuit filed against Petrobras

  

  Aurelius Capital Management, one of the main plaintiffs against Argentina in New York District Judge Thomas Griesa’s courtroom, has denied being part in a lawsuit filed against Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras, in response to accusations by Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2015 - 07:50 UTC

  Brazil posts first trade deficit since 2000: slower economy, fall in commodities' prices

  

  Brazil registered its first annual trade deficit since 2000, according to official data released on Monday. Latin America's largest economy slowed down in 2014 and prices fell for iron ore, soybeans and other key commodities exports.

• Tuesday, January 6th 2015 - 07:41 UTC

  US oil price falls below 50 dollars threshold, and markets decline sharply

  

  The US oil price fell below the symbolic threshold of $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009, before finishing the day at $50.05. The price of Brent crude also fell on Monday, dipping 6% to $53 a barrel.