
Brazil's surprise move to privatize Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA sent the utility's shares soaring nearly 50% on Tuesday as investors bet the plan augured further moves to loosen the government's grip on the economy.

A Chinese automaker is deeply interested in buying Jeep, an iconic American brand, from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a move that likely would face political opposition in the U.S. and create angst among workers. Great Wall Motor told trade publication Automotive News it also has indirectly expressed interest in acquiring the brand known for its rugged, off-road vehicles.

Brazilian company FS Bioenergia inaugurated a corn ethanol plant, the first in the country, to produce 210 million liters year. The plant was built by a joint venture between the local agro-company Fiagril and US-based Summit Agricultural Group with investments of BRL 450 million (US$ 141.1m), said the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Farming.

The flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Latin America and the Caribbean shrank 7.9% in 2016 compared with 2015, totaling US$167.043 billion, representing a 17% decline from the peak reached in 2011, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) revealed at its headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

Argentine farmers will increase investments in the next corn planting season despite fears about a political comeback for former President Cristina Fernandez, who implemented export taxes and restrictions despised by the sector, according to industry leaders.

President Mauricio Macri anticipated on Tuesday that investments in Argentina would multiply after what he predicted will be a triumph for his Let's Change Coalition in October's mid-term elections. While Macri said his allies would win “by a lot” nationwide, he admitted polls showed a tight race between his party's candidate and ex president Cristina Fernandez for a Senate seat in Buenos Aires province.

On 28 July, British agri-tech experts and companies presented their work, products and services to Uruguayan companies and institutions at an event hosted at the British Residence.

The technical tie for the Senate seat in the province of Buenos Aires is being closely followed by the business community and potential investors in Argentina, fearing that a victory by ex president Cristina Fernandez over the candidate sponsored by president Mauricio Macri, could be interpreted as a longing for the hand-out and subsidies policies of Kirchnerism and rejection of the current economic reforms which have yet to deliver enough jobs and stable prices.

France said it was ready to seek other buyers for its biggest shipyard should Italy refuse a 50-50 ownership split, before both countries pledged to find a solution next month. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, told the Corriere della Sera daily that a deal with Fincantieri might not be thrashed out.

The UK's Brexit negotiations have not begun well amid differences inside the cabinet, a former head of the diplomatic service has said. Sir Simon Fraser, chief mandarin at the Foreign Office until 2015, said the UK side had been a bit absent from formal negotiations in Brussels.