Economy

• Thursday, October 2nd 2014 - 06:34 UTC

  Magallanes region in extreme south Chile has the lowest unemployment rate

  

  The extreme south region of Chile, Magallanes continues with record low unemployment, less than half the national average, according to the official stats for the mobile June/August quarter. While the Chilean national average unemployment is 6.7% in Magallanes it stands at 3.3%, and 0.8 percentage points less than a year ago.

• Wednesday, October 1st 2014 - 21:28 UTC

  Industrial production in Argentina declines for the 13th consecutive month

  

  Argentine industrial output fell 2.3% in August compared to a year ago and 2.8% in the last twelve months in non seasonally adjusted terms according to a report from the Ministry of Economy.

• Wednesday, October 1st 2014 - 08:09 UTC

  US calls on Argentina “to normalize relations with all bondholders”

  

  While the US State Department again called Tuesday on Argentina 'to normalize relations with all its bondholders’, the government of President Cristina Fernandez deposited a 161 million dollars bond interest payment with a newly appointed local trustee on Tuesday, defying a U.S. judge who held Argentina in contempt of court on Monday for taking illegal steps to meet its debt obligations.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2014 - 22:50 UTC

  Argentina/China trade forecasted to boom in Yuan-denominated operations

  

  Trade between Argentina and China could see a rise in Yuan-denominated operations after the bilateral currency swap deal that was sealed earlier this year, according to key leaders of the Sino-Argentine business community in Buenos Aires.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2014 - 07:00 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez claims US is responsible for Judge Griesa's decision

  

  President Cristina Fernandez said US Judge Thomas Griesa decision to declare Argentina 'in contempt of court' in the dispute with speculative funds, was in violation of international law, the UN chart and the OAS (Organization of American States) chart.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2014 - 05:11 UTC

  Argentine reserves below 28bn dollars; bonds payments of 170m on Tuesday

  

  The informal of “blue” dollar in Argentina fell back 15 cents to 15.55 Pesos after it skyrocketed 75 cents last week and scraping 16 Pesos. The formal US dollar meantime advanced three cents to 8.49 Pesos at the end of trading in Buenos Aires City banks and foreign exchange offices. The gap between the two rates dropped to 83.9%.

• Tuesday, September 30th 2014 - 04:55 UTC

  Brazil will give exporters 3% tax refunds to help struggling businesses

  

  The Brazilian government will offer tax rebates for exporters beginning in October, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Monday, in the latest measure to help struggling businesses just days ahead of a presidential election.

• Monday, September 29th 2014 - 21:16 UTC

  Judge Griesa declares Argentina in contempt of court, but deferred financial penalties

  

  New York district judge Thomas Griesa declared on Monday Argentina in contempt of court, due to the country's actions in attempting to change debt jurisdictions as a result of the ongoing judicial conflict with holdout investors presided over by the US magistrate.

• Monday, September 29th 2014 - 09:22 UTC

  Venezuela's Bolivar hits a record low of 100 to the US dollar

  

  Venezuela's Bolivar currency hit a record low 100 to the U.S. dollar on the black market on Friday, making the dollar 16 times more expensive than the strongest official rate, according to a website that tracks it.

• Monday, September 29th 2014 - 08:54 UTC

  Uruguay needs to improve infrastructure, “especially roads and port facilities”

  

  Finland's UPM, one of the largest forestry groups in the world, does not intend for the moment to build any new pulp mills in Uruguay, said Jaakko Sarantola, vice president of the cellulose division of the company, who also pointed out that Uruguay needs to improve infrastructure to facilitate logistics.