Latin America

• Wednesday, November 7th 2012 - 04:39 UTC

  Opening the Falklands to Latin America; the testimony of a Guatemala journalist

  

  Luis Alberto Velasquez is a journalist with the Guatemalan newspaper La Prensa Libre and recently visited the Falkland Islands with a group of journalists from Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In the guest post below Luis Alberto shares some thoughts about his recent trip.

• Wednesday, November 7th 2012 - 04:34 UTC

  Ex Mexican finance minister named IMF Western Hemisphere director

  

  Mexican economist Alejandro Werner was named on Tuesday to the position of IMF Director, Western Hemisphere Department. His appointment will become effective early in January 2013. Mr. Werner succeeds Mr. Nicolas Eyzáguirre, who resigned effective July 26, 2012.

• Wednesday, November 7th 2012 - 04:27 UTC

  Soy crop prospects fin South America down: Argentina excessive water, in Brazil lack of rain

  

  South America’s crop prospects deteriorated because of excessive rainfall in Argentina and dry conditions in central Brazil, according to Oil World. Argentina’s estimated 55/56 million tons soybean crop could drop anywhere from 3 6o 6 million tons because of delays in sowing caused by torrential rains and flooding.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 18:22 UTC

  Uruguay confirms in Argentina incentives for arriving tourists this summer season

  

  The Uruguayan government confirmed on Monday a raft of measures to attract Argentine tourists and compensate the restrictions in Argentina to purchase foreign currency (dollar-clamp) and the 15% retention fund for credit or debit cards operations outside the country.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 06:59 UTC

  Mujica after in-depth discussion on ‘a real integration of Mercosur” with Chavez

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica has plans to meet two, probably three times before the end of the year with his peer from Venezuela, Hugo Chavez to address “a real integration” of Mercosur, not limited to trade, but at the same time admitting that Venezuela is rapidly becoming one of the main markets for Uruguayan exports.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 06:56 UTC

  G20 adopts soft approach on deficits fearing risks of worsening the slowdown

  

  The world's leading economies gave themselves a bit more space on Monday to meet targets for cutting budget deficits rather than risk worsening a slowdown in many countries, chief among them the United States.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 06:43 UTC

  Chilean presidential campaign virtually takes off with reshuffle of cabinet

  

  Chilean President Sebastian Piñera shuffled his cabinet to allow ministers with presidential aspirations to leave, as his embattled conservative coalition seeks support before presidential elections in November 2013.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 06:28 UTC

  Latam labour market ‘fairly resilient’ to the slowdown of the regional economy in 2012

  

  According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), labour markets in Latin America and the Caribbean were fairly resilient to the slowdown in the regional economy in the first half of 2012, which bodes well for a positive outcome in this year's employment and unemployment indicators.

• Tuesday, November 6th 2012 - 06:20 UTC

  US group prepares to take over debt-laden Spanish chain NH Hotels

  

  Spain's NH Hoteles has received a preliminary offer from US private equity firm KKR to buy bonds that can be converted into shares of the debt-laden hotel chain. NH Hoteles, Europe's third largest business hotel operator based on rooms, has long been tipped as a private equity target given its large debt and that of its savings bank shareholders, which together own nearly a third of the firm.

• Monday, November 5th 2012 - 15:43 UTC

  Hispanics growing influence in US elections could be decisive for Obama

  

  US Hispanics are over 50 million according to the 2010 census and as the most important minority their influence could be decisive on Tuesday 6 November when the presidential and legislative election. Between the two censuses (2000/2010) Hispanics’ growth rate was four times the overall population rate.