Latin America

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 11:38 UTC

  Peru will host leaders’ summit of Arab and South America countries in October

  

  Peru will be hosting next October the III Summit of heads of state and government from South America and Arab nations which is expected to bring together 32 countries, according to Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Jose Beraún.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 11:03 UTC

  China only interested in commodities, not in products that reach supermarkets

  

  Trade with China for Argentina has great opportunities but also great threats because the Asian giant is only interested in produce with no added value, warned the head of Argentina’s Industrial Union, Ignacio De Mendiguren.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 10:13 UTC

  Attractiveness Survey shows foreign investors remain with great interest in Brazil

  

  A stable economy, a burgeoning domestic market and huge untapped reserves of natural resources have led foreign investors to become increasingly interested in Brazil as an investment destination although there are challenges to sustaining this attractiveness according to Ernst & Young's first annual Brazilian Attractiveness Survey.

• Saturday, August 11th 2012 - 10:04 UTC

  Paraguay sounding the possibility of joining the Pacific Group

  

  Paraguay is sounding the recently created Pacific Block made up of Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico with the possibility of considering applying to join it, revealed the country’s Foreign affairs minister Jose Fernandez Estigarribia.

• Friday, August 10th 2012 - 22:28 UTC

  Mexico Ousts Brazil as Investors’ Top Choice in Latin America

  

  Due to increasing economic stability and a growing population, Brazil is now widely considered an economic powerhouse capable of maintaining and attracting foreign direct investments.(1)(2) However, recent corruption schemes, changes in monetary policy, and the ongoing 2008 global financial crisis have undermined Brazil’s shining reputation. In light of Brazil’s governmental intervention, the number of state-controlled enterprises, the growing debt-to-GDP in the private sector, and inflation rates, investors have begun to turn their attention to other economies in Latin America, especially Mexico.(3)

• Thursday, August 9th 2012 - 06:45 UTC

  Protesting students clash with police in Santiago: 49 police injured and 75 arrests

  

  Police in Santiago used water cannons and tear gas as thousands of students took to the streets, raging against the government's policy on education. Vandals set buses ablaze and attacked government property amid violence that left 49 Carabineros injured and 75 people arrested.

• Thursday, August 9th 2012 - 06:38 UTC

  Chilean inflation flat in July; accumulates 2.5% in the last 12 months

  

  The Chilean consumer price index showed no variation in July in contrast to the surprise 0.3% drop in June, as increases in food and non-alcoholic drinks offset falls in clothing, footwear and utilities, according to the national statistics agency INE.

• Thursday, August 9th 2012 - 06:33 UTC

  Venezuela inflation slows down for seventh month running: 19.4% in last 12 months

  

  Venezuela's annual inflation slowed for a seventh straight month in July, coming in below 20% for the first time in years. Finance Minister Jorge Giordani said annual inflation to July was 19.4% percent, below the 20 to 22% estimated in the government's budget for this year.

• Thursday, August 9th 2012 - 06:29 UTC

  Venezuelan currency overvalued by 83% according to the Big Mac index

  

  The Big Mac index computed by The Economist showed that the Venezuelan Bolivar is the most overvalued currency worldwide with respect to the US dollar, reflecting the imbalance of the Venezuelan economy.

• Thursday, August 9th 2012 - 06:18 UTC

  Seventeen nations in military exercise for the protection of the Panama Canal

  

  This year’s PANAMAX exercise kicked off on Monday involving representatives from 17 hemispheric countries with the purpose of practicing methods of protecting the safe passage of commercial traffic through the Panama Canal while ensuring its neutrality and respecting national sovereignty.