Latin America

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:51 UTC

  Uruguay's primaries give birth to a new young leader in the ruling coalition

  

  Yet more surprises from last Sunday's primaries in Uruguay to choose candidates for the October presidential election. Not only did the main opposition vote overwhelmingly for renewal, but now it has emerged that in the ruling coalition, which suffers from a generation of Jurassic leaders, a young challenger has emerged as the most voted and is now demanding a place in the presidential ticket.

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:44 UTC

  Good news from Brazil: trade surplus in May and primary surplus in April

  

  Some good news for the beleaguered Brazilian economy and President Dilma Rousseff's bid for re-election next October. According to the latest data supplies by the government, Brazil posted a trade surplus of 712 million dollars in May, recovering from a weak start to the year but still below historical levels.

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:34 UTC

  Argentina and Brazil closer to an auto industry agreement

  

  Argentina and Brazil have 'cut differences' and advanced significantly in negotiations for an auto integration understanding that could be ready to be signed next week, according to industry sources in Buenos Aires.

• Tuesday, June 3rd 2014 - 05:26 UTC

  Latin America losing its competitive edge as demand for commodities slows down

  

  The United States ranks as the most competitive country in the world in a survey of 60 countries by IMD, a leading global business school in Switzerland. The survey finds Europe is recovering some of its competitive edge, while emerging economies, particularly in Latin America are struggling to hold their own.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 08:21 UTC

  Moody's upgrades Uruguay's rating to Baa3, based on reduced 'vulnerabilities'

  

  Moody's Investors Service last Friday announced it had upgraded Uruguay's government bond rating to Baa2 from Baa3, and assigned a stable outlook to the Baa2 rating. The upgrade was driven by the strengthening of Uruguay's sovereign credit profile, as reflected by the convergence of fiscal and debt metric, an overall government debt profile that is currently associated with moderate credit risks, and the country's reduced vulnerabilities to regional and commodity shocks.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 07:55 UTC

  Former guerrilla commander sworn in as El Salvador president

  

  Former guerrilla commander Salvador Sanchez Ceren on Sunday was sworn in as president of El Salvador for the second consecutive five-year mandate of the FMLN, an ex-guerrilla movement and current political party.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 07:13 UTC

  Vazquez, Lacalle Pou and Bordaberry: one the three will be Uruguay's next president

  

  Sunday's primaries in Uruguay cleared the way for the candidates of the four parties with legislative representation that will be disputing the presidential election next October 26, with a run-off a month later if none of them manages 50% plus one of ballots.

• Monday, June 2nd 2014 - 01:09 UTC

  Pacific Alliance to hold round of integration 'informative' talks with Mercosur

  

  Pacific Alliance members meeting in Mexico agreed to hold an “informative” ministerial round of talks with their Mercosur and associates' counterparts to talk about regional integration. The announcement was done following a closed doors meeting of Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru foreign ministers who are preparing the agenda for the next Pacific Alliance summit.

• Saturday, May 31st 2014 - 07:03 UTC

  US Chamber of Commerce delegation on potential business tour of Cuba

  

  A delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce has begun its first visit to Cuba in 15 years. Chamber president Thomas Donohue said he was in Cuba to assess the economic changes taking place under President Raul Castro.

• Saturday, May 31st 2014 - 06:08 UTC

  Uruguay's FDI equivalent to 5% of GDP and mostly in alternative energies, said Eclac report

  

  Foreign direct investment in Uruguay totaled 2.79bn dollars last year, which is slightly higher than the 2.68bn of 2012, equivalent to 5% of GDP, according to the latest report on FDI for the region from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.