Latin America

• Monday, July 7th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  Lagarde cautious about growth momentum; infrastructure investment needed

  

  Global economic activity should strengthen in the second half of the year and accelerate in 2015, although momentum could be weaker than expected, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said, hinting at a slight cut in the Fund's growth forecasts.

• Saturday, July 5th 2014 - 09:32 UTC

  Moody's confirms Peru as one of South America's strongest economy

  

  Peru's sustained macroeconomic performance has been recognized through the recently announced upgrade to A3 of its sovereign debt by Moody’s Investors Service. According to the credit rating agency, Peru' government debt was lifted two notches to A3 from Baa2, with a stable outlook for the economy.

• Saturday, July 5th 2014 - 09:26 UTC

  Peru Interior minister accused of killing a journalist in 1988; refuses to resign

  

  Peru’s newly named interior minister has acknowledged being formally accused of murder in the 1988 killing of a journalist when he was a young army intelligence officer fighting Shining Path rebels. But Daniel Urresti faced reporters and proclaimed his innocence and said he had no plans to resign.

• Saturday, July 5th 2014 - 09:13 UTC

  Uruguay's inflation index for June slightly down: 9.08% in twelve months

  

  Uruguay's inflation index experienced a slight deceleration during the twelve months to June, from 9.18% in May to 9.08%, basically because of cheaper fresh food, frozen public utility rates including fuel, while a stabilized exchange rate for the US dollar with a strong Peso, helped with imported goods.

• Saturday, July 5th 2014 - 08:48 UTC

  The Economist on Argentina: “The Luis Suarez of international finance”

  

  In its latest edition The Economist writes about Argentina’s debt stand-off, and states this “reflects a teenage attitude that rules are there to be broken”.

• Friday, July 4th 2014 - 06:00 UTC

  OAS supports Argentina on hedge funds issue; Timerman regrets “US attitude”

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) voted on Thursday to support Argentina’s position against holdout investors, as well as expressing concern over what the entity called “the behavior of speculative agents that affect global financial stability.”

• Wednesday, July 2nd 2014 - 08:00 UTC

  Uruguay presents Foreign minister Almagro as OAS Secretary General candidate

  

  Uruguay has presented the candidacy of its current Foreign minister Luis Almagro to succeed Jose Miguel Insulza as head of the Organization of American States, OAS Secretary General, it was reported on Tuesday from Montevideo.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2014 - 23:16 UTC

  Could gang violence end Mexico's shale dream?

  

  Violence in Mexico could thwart hopes of a budding shale boom, as oil and gas companies operating in Texas may think twice about moving south of the border.
  Mexico holds an estimated 545 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas and 13 billion barrels of shale oil, but progress in developing those resources has been slow.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2014 - 10:16 UTC

  Mercosur waking up to the significance and impact of the Pacific Alliance

  

  Mercosur leaders called for dialogue with the Pacific Alliance over its perception that Mercosur is becoming an obstacle to integration and wider growth in the region. Uruguayan Vice-President Danilo Astori seemingly sparked the debate a few weeks ago when he said that “Mercosur mustn’t be a terminal station,” calling for formal trade deals with the Pacific Alliance.

• Tuesday, July 1st 2014 - 08:16 UTC

  Obama and 'second favorite Michelle' exchange praise at the White House

  

  President Barack Obama and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet pledged to work together to strengthen the ties between both nations, including projects on energy, education and free trade. Obama met in the Oval Office on Monday with Bachelet, whom he called his second favorite Michelle.