Latin America

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 11:29 UTC

  Canadian group Cooke Aquaculture has set its eyes on (Pescanova) Pesca Chile

  

  The process of selling Pesca Chile continues, despite Pescanova's attempts to slow down the liquidation of the company and its Chilean subsidiaries until the situation of the Galician multinational in Spain is resolved.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:35 UTC

  A frustrated Mujica calls for a readjustment of Mercosur legal framework

  

  Uruguayan president José Mujica said that members of Mercosur must readjust the block's legal framework ‘to make it work’ so that differences among its partners can be resolved in an institutional framework. He insisted on a review and amendment of mechanisms with greater flexibility and more adapted to current circumstances.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 07:27 UTC

  Nicaragua announces that construction of inter-ocean canal begins this year

  

  President Manuel Ortega said on Saturday that the construction of a massive inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua that could significantly alter global trade would start at the end of 2014. Ortega gave a Chinese group a concession to manage the future shipping channel for 50 years, with the possibility to renew the contract for another 50.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:10 UTC

  Maduro names new cabinet but main ministries remain unchanged

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed seven new ministers. His announcement was made during an event with the Movement for Peace and Life. Venezuela has been shocked by the extent of crime and killings, which means according to private organizations stats that only two out of ten cases ever are caught and face trial.

• Monday, January 13th 2014 - 06:04 UTC

  Argentine government struggling to stay on its feet, says The Economist

  

  The English business and finance weekly The Economist is no fan of Argentina's Cristina Fernandez but its articles have an expansive repercussion, and even when it does not add much to the current situation of Argentina, it does undoubtedly have a reference influence.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 06:49 UTC

  Brazil's inflation off target in 2013 and prospects in election year not encouraging

  

  Brazilian consumer prices ended 2013 higher than expected at 5.91%, above the upper limit of the government target, after inflation surged in December, official statistics released Friday showed. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said last month's inflation figure of 0.92% was the highest for December since 2002, and compared with 0.54% a month earlier.

• Saturday, January 11th 2014 - 06:30 UTC

  Airlines operating in Venezuela have 3.3bn dollars trapped by currency controls

  

  International airlines operating in Venezuela have 3.3 billion trapped because of currency controls, the International Air Transport Association, IATA, revealed. Airlines have to wait around 12 months for the government to convert their Bolivar earnings into dollars, with the time lag growing, according to the Venezuela Airline Association.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  The delayed Mercosur summit will have to address the EU new foreign aid policy

  

  When Mercosur finally holds its much delayed summit in Venezuela at the end of the month following two postponements (12 December and 17 January), besides its normal agenda of agreements and disagreements, it will have to address a new challenge, this time from the European Union which has redefined its development support policy, leaving all Mercosur members, except Paraguay out of its tariffs and market access benefits.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 06:40 UTC

  Brazil treasury pays highest yield to launch new 10-year fixed-rate domestic bond

  

  Brazil's Treasury on Thursday paid the highest yield ever to launch a new 10-year benchmark fixed-rate domestic bond. The Treasury said it sold two million NTN-F bonds maturing in January 2025, worth 1.64 billion Reais (683 million dollars), at a yield as high as 13.3899%. The bond is expected to become Brazil's new 10-year benchmark paper.

• Friday, January 10th 2014 - 06:27 UTC

  Construction of Monsanto plant in north Argentina halted on environmental grounds

  

  A labor appeals court in north-central Argentina ruled that the construction of a Monsanto plant is unconstitutional, halting work on the site. The three judge court ruled 2-1 in favor of the activists who filed a legal appeal against Monsanto’s GMO seed plant on environmental protection grounds in the municipality of Malvinas Argentinas, located in central Cordoba Province.