
As the world grits its teeth and grabs another glass of something to chase the blues away, South American wine producers are watching exports bounce. International wine sales from places like Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru are up in the first quarter of 2009, and industry professionals are saying the crisis has been positive for them.

Brazil’s government is considering changes to the country’s oil law that would open the way for the creation of a separate state owned company to manage development of the sub-salt and deep sea hydrocarbons resources.

The Brazilian government confirmed Wednesday that the fund to promote home farming and gardening will have at its disposal 7.6 billion US dollars. This represents a 525% increase since the administration of President Lula da Silva took office in 2003.

Chile’s Lan Cargo signed a twelve year agreement with the Aviation Department of General Electric for the maintenance, upkeep and repair of the GE90-110B engines of its fleet of four Boeings 777. The operation involves 135 million US dollars.

Argentine oil and gas company Pan American Energy will invest 80 million US dollars in the first phase of an offshore exploration program in the San Jorge Gulf in Patagonia, next to Comodoro Rivadavia, the company said Tuesday in a statement.

Uruguay and the Brazilian state of Matto Grosso are disputing the massive investment of almost two billion US dollars in a pulp and paper plant which one of Portugal’s largest corporations is planning to build in South America, reported this week the Lisbon business daily Economico.

A consortium led by Spanish oil firm Repsol YPF SA (REP) plans to explore for oil in international waters between Argentina and the Falkland Islands, officials from the company said Monday.

The global airline industry has nearly doubled its expected losses for the year to $9bn amid what it calls an unprecedented crisis.

Principal Airlines’ (PAL) imminent domestic service between Santiago, Antofagasta, and Iquique has officially received flight authorization from the Chilean Civil Aviation Authority.

Nine Peruvian police officers were killed Saturday after security forces regained control of a petroleum facility in a remote jungle region from indigenous groups that are protesting against logging and oil exploration rights awarded by the government.