Latin America

• Friday, January 24th 2014 - 02:09 UTC

  Argentine 2013 trade surplus down 27%, helping with the dollar shortage

  

  Argentina's trade balance during 2013 left of surplus of 9.24 billion dollars, 27% less than in the previous year (12.42bn), according to the latest release from the official stats office, indec. Exports in the past year grew by 3% to reach a value of 83bn dollars, while imports rose by 8% and totaled just over 74bn.

• Friday, January 24th 2014 - 02:07 UTC

  Blatter confident it will be a great Cup, after meeting Brazil president Rousseff

  

  FIFA president Sepp Blatter played down concern about sluggish World Cup preparations on Thursday, even when his deputy warned Curitiba must prove it can finalize work to remain a venue. Blatter met visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at FIFA headquarters in Zurich and the pair both made positive noises about Brazil's ability to deliver come the big kick-off on June 12.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 23:36 UTC

  Argentina after Israeli fighter planes; concern in London and Brasilia, says defense expert

  

  Argentina is considering the purchase from Israel of 18 multipurpose combat aircraft Kfir Block 60 after negotiations with Spain for 16 Mirage F1 fighter bombers fell through, according to a report from Buenos Aires daily Clarin.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:26 UTC

  Panama Canal expansion will be completed in 2015 “no matter what”, says minister

  

  Work to enlarge the Panama Canal will be completed in 2015 no matter what, Panamanian Finance Minister Frank De Lima said on Wednesday, despite the continuing feud over cost overruns with contractor GUPC. The Panama Canal authority “has strongly affirmed that the canal would be complete in 2015, with or without” the GUPC consortium, the minister told the media on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:22 UTC

  Christ the Redeemer head and hands under repairs but still open to the public

  

  Repairs have begun on Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue after lightning damaged the 38 meters statue's head, right finger and thumb. The iconic statue of Christ overlooking Rio de Janeiro was struck again last week during a violent storm, damaging its right thumb.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 21:21 UTC

  Brazil's vulnerable transport system again exposed as Rio commuter train accident sowed chaos

  

  A commuter train in Rio de Janeiro left the tracks and hit a pole supporting power lines early Wednesday, causing no injuries but sowing widespread chaos across the overburdened public transportation system of Brazil's Olympic city which next June/July will host several World Cup matches.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 20:57 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez is back on stage and announces program to help the young unemployed

  

  Forty two days after her last public speech, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez was back on stage on Wednesday evening on national television to criticize the media, question the opposition and announce a new social plan to aid young unemployed and encourage them to study.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 09:47 UTC

  Almagro and Timerman discuss bilateral agenda and possible Cristina Fernandez-Mujica meeting

  

  A meeting of the presidents from Argentina and Uruguay, Cristina Fernandez and Jose Mujica has not been agreed but is 'in the agenda' said Uruguayan foreign minister Luis Almagro following an hour long meeting with his counterpart Hector Timerman on Wednesday in Montevideo.

• Thursday, January 23rd 2014 - 09:26 UTC

  US dollar with no cap in Argentina: climbs 3.4% in a single day

  

  The US dollar in the Argentine official market on Wednesday soared 23 cents to 7.125 Pesos, establishing a new record in the midst of uncertainty and frantic trading. The last time the greenback price climbed 3.4% in a single day was back in April 2002. Since the beginning of the year the Argentine peso has plunged 9% against the dollar and a year ago the dollar stood at 5 Argentine Pesos.

• Wednesday, January 22nd 2014 - 11:29 UTC

  Uruguay warns trade negotiations with EU could leave “a Mercosur member out”

  

  Uruguayan foreign minister Luis Almagro said it should not come as a surprise if the negotiations for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union does not include all four original full members and leaves one out, although the objective is for all members to be part of the accord.