
Argentina's recently nationalized oil and gas producer YPF SA and the US Chevron Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore for unconventional energy in Vaca Muerta, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen.

Uruguay’s attempt to auction the bankrupt national airline Pluna aircraft collapsed because none of the groups that showed an initial interest turned up arguing that the 136 million dollars for the seven Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen was “not attractive” and considered the whole business deal “non viable”.

Brazil rolled out additional stimulus measures to bolster its sluggish economy on Thursday, extending tax breaks to more than two dozen industries and reducing the cost of acquiring capital goods in a bid to help struggling local businesses.

The US central bank announced on Thursday it will resume its policy of pumping more money into the economy via so-called quantitative easing which consists of buying additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of 40 billion dollars per month.

Switzerland will keep its special low-tax deals for wealthy foreigners such as music and sports celebrities but increase the amount of tax they pay following a vote by parliament which faced pressure to scrap the system.

South America's cruise industry has been growing fast and holds vast potential, but the region must work together to tackle issues, create demand and rein in costs, said speakers at the Seatrade South America Cruise Convention in Buenos Aires.

Russia's plans to build the world's biggest nuclear-powered icebreaker could attract more trade to the country, says a leading UK analyst. The new ship is meant to be more efficient at breaking ice and able to navigate in deep Arctic waters as well as shallow Siberian rivers.

By Trent Boultinghouse - This week marked the 39th anniversary of the Chilean coup d’etat that ousted the constitutional president of Chile, Salvador Allende, from office and gave rise to the vicious dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet was known for his adherence as an unabashed apostle to a hard-lined laissez-faire free market economic policy that was widely seen as the impetus for Chile’s economic revival.

Anticipating a greater demand for housing from oil developers and support activities the Falkland Islands government is advancing plans to further expand Stanley. Additional funding to take in phase two of the Sapper Hill housing development to the south of Stanley has been approved by the Standing Finance Committee totalling £1.3 million for a further 27 housing plots.

The individual average annual income of the Falkland Islands residents totals £ 20.100 (approx 32.000 US dollars) according to data from the latest 2012 Census, which also showed an exceptionally high economic activity rate and a very tight labour market with just 1% unemployment and 20% of residents with a second job.