Economy

• Monday, September 29th 2014 - 08:47 UTC

  Opening the economy “would be a disaster for Brazilian industry” states Rousseff minister

  

  Anticipating what could be policy under a second government of President Dilma Rousseff, her Trade Minister Mauro Borges told Brazilian daily Folha do Sao Paulo that opening the country to more foreign trade would be a “disaster for Brazilian industry” and lead to the “mexicanization” of the economy, in reference to the light assembly factories known as “maquiladoras” that dominate Mexico’s non-oil exports.

• Monday, September 29th 2014 - 08:39 UTC

  Argentine stats on economic growth again come under suspicion

  

  Argentina’s government released some hopeful economic statistics last week with numbers showing that the economy climbed out of recession in the last quarter. But with skepticism over the numbers, combined with a free-falling peso, in light of Argentina’s debt dispute with holdout creditors, economists still have a grim outlook the Mercosur member economy.

• Saturday, September 27th 2014 - 09:24 UTC

  Argentina lashes Griesa for not making a final decision on the Citibank dispute

  

  Argentina's Economy minister Axel Kicillof lashed out at US Judge Thomas Griesa after he authorized Citibank a one-off payment of Argentine bonds' coupon next Tuesday saying he once again failed to address the heart of the issue and also in fact recognized that bonds under Argentine law do not belong to his jurisdiction.

• Saturday, September 27th 2014 - 09:12 UTC

  Griesa allows Citibank to process a one-off payment of Argentine bonds

  

  US District Judge Thomas Griesa has enabled Citibank to process a one-off payment on US dollar-denominated bonds issued under Argentine law, during a hearing held at Manhattan federal court on Friday.

• Saturday, September 27th 2014 - 09:08 UTC

  Relief for Dilma: unemployment rate in August remained at 5%

  

  Brazil's jobless rate rose in August to its highest in six months despite stronger job creation, adding to signs that the economic recession is eroding a robust labor market. The non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 5.0 percent in August, up from 4.9% in July, statistics agency IBGE announced.

• Saturday, September 27th 2014 - 08:47 UTC

  US economy grows at an annual rate of 4.6% pushed by exports and investment

  

  The US economy grew at an annual rate of 4.6% between April and June, faster than the previous estimate of 4.2%, according to revised figures from the US Department of Commerce. The revision was due to larger rises in exports and business investment.

• Thursday, September 25th 2014 - 06:44 UTC

  Brazil calls for 'true reform' of Security Council and the 're-launching' of global economy

  

  Following the opening remarks by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff was the first head of state to address the General Assembly on Wednesday. She called for a “re-launching of global economy” and a “true reform” of the UN Security Council.

• Thursday, September 25th 2014 - 06:34 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez claims holdouts are committing “economic and financial terrorism”

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernández accused holdout investors of committing “economic terrorism” and reiterated her wish for a multi-lateral framework to regulate sovereign debt, during her speech before the United Nations 69th General Assembly on Wednesday.

• Thursday, September 25th 2014 - 05:17 UTC

  Argentina must explain to Judge Griesa why it is not in contempt of court

  

  New York district judge Thomas Griesa has asked Argentina to show cause and explain why the country should not be declared in contempt, following its decision not to pay holdout investors full amount for their defaulted bonds as the judge’s ruling ordered on August 8.

• Thursday, September 25th 2014 - 05:11 UTC

  US dollar brushes 16 Argentine Pesos, settles at 15.95; monthly devaluation 12.4%

  

  The informal rate for the US dollar in Argentina kept climbing on Wednesday and after brushing 16 Pesos, finally closed 53 cents higher at 15.95 Pesos, while the gap with the formal dollar soared to 89%. Distrust with government policy, plain speculation and hikes in the stock exchange rate were blamed for the situation.