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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, September 20th 2024 - 08:51 UTC

Latin America

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

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

    The high middle-class countries such as most Mercosur members have been left out of the easy access to the European market

    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

    Dilma Rousseff faces re-election this year and there are fears she might be unwilling to cut spending

    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

    Activists had been blockading the construction site for 113 days, preventing workers from completing work on the plant

    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.

  • Thursday, January 9th 2014 - 06:54 UTC

    Panama Canal expansion discussions stall; Italian company demands an extra 1bn

    “Impossible ... They are completely outside the contract and that's not going to happen,” said ACP Jorge Quijano.

    The Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, said on Wednesday it would be “impossible” to meet the demands of Italian builder Impregilo, which has called on the government agency to make an additional payment of up to 1 billion dollars to cover cost overruns affecting a project to expand the international waterway.

  • Thursday, January 9th 2014 - 06:43 UTC

    Exporters on high alert as strikes hit Chile’s ports once again

    Fruit Exporters Association President Ronald Bowen warned losses could reach 50 million dollars

    Stoppages spread across Chile as workers claim they are owed thousands of dollars in compensation agreed to in resolution to strikes last year. Fruit exports in Central Chile and copper shipments in the North have been stalled as workers from several major ports across the country have gone on strike, raising fears the export-oriented economy could see a repeat of last year's strikes which lasted three weeks and cost millions of dollars.

  • Thursday, January 9th 2014 - 06:35 UTC

    People living in Buenos Aires shanty towns increased 52% in ten years

    Some settlements have expanded their areas and most are growing upwards and are already in the fourth floor

    The number of people living in shanty towns or “misery villages” in Argentina and particularly in the capital Buenos Aires keeps increasing despite a decade of sustained growth at almost Chinese rates. According to data from the latest census of 2010, the number of people living in 'misery villages' in Buenos Aires was 163.587 compared to the 107.422 in 2001, with a 52% increase.

  • Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:43 UTC

    BOT Turks and Caicos former premier extradited from Brazil to face corruption charges

    Misick is accused of money laundering, bribery and misuse of government land

    The former premier of the British Overseas Territory Turks and Caicos has been extradited back to the territory to face corruption charges, officials said Tuesday. Michael Misick arrived at JAGS McCartney International Airport in the capital Grand Turk early Tuesday from Brazil, the Turks and Caicos Islands Governor's Office said.

  • Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:39 UTC

    IDB loans, guarantees and grants totaled nearly 14bn dollars in 2013

    President Moreno said it is imperative for the region to improve the quality of education

    According to preliminary data, in 2013 the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, approved 167 financing packages worth some 14 billion dollars, a figure surpassed only by that of 2009, when the Bank´s financing hit a 15.9bn in response to the global economic crisis.

  • Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:34 UTC

    When talking fuel, Mexico and Argentina the better off; Colombia and Uruguay bottom of the list

    An average salary in Mexico is equivalent to 1.057 liters of fuel; in Uruguay, 376 liters

    Taking as reference the ratio between the average salary and the price of gasoline in six Latam countries, Mexican and Argentine consumers are the better off when it comes to filling up the tank while for Uruguay and Colombia the ratio is the least favorable.

  • Wednesday, January 8th 2014 - 05:19 UTC

    Panama Canal and construction companies closer to understanding on over-costs

    Spanish minister Ana Pastor with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli

    Panama Canal officials offered Tuesday to share the burden in a 283 million dollars fund to end a spat with a consortium threatening to halt the waterway's expansion over huge cost overruns. The proposal came after two days of intense talks under mediation of a Spanish cabinet minister who flew to Panama City for emergency meetings aimed at preventing a shutdown of the major project.