Latin America

• Thursday, February 27th 2014 - 04:41 UTC

  Brazil raises basic interest to 10,75%; same rate as when Rousseff took office

  

  Brazil's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday to 10.75% from 10.5%, and left the door open for more rate increases while slowing the pace of the hikes. The move continues the bank's yearlong fight against inflation even as rising interest rates and the poor performance of the country's exporters jeopardize already feeble growth in an election year.

• Thursday, February 27th 2014 - 03:21 UTC

  Russia with plans for military bases in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela

  

  Russia is planning to expand its permanent military presence outside its borders by placing military bases or seeking permission for navy ships to use ports in a number of foreign countries, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday. The list includes Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, Singapore and several other countries

• Thursday, February 27th 2014 - 03:08 UTC

  Argentine social programs praised by FAO and World Bank, says government

  

  Argentina praised some of the “positive and favorable comments” by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank regarding the country’s social and economic agenda, regretting that “certain” media “downplay” such news.

• Thursday, February 27th 2014 - 00:36 UTC

  Total fortune of wealthiest Argentines estimated at 26.85bn dollars

  

  The total fortune of the 15 wealthiest Argentines has been estimated at 26.85 billion dollars, falling just shy of the 27.679 billion dollars currently in the Central Bank’s foreign reserve account, according to a list of the country’s richest people published recently by the local edition of Forbes magazine.

• Thursday, February 27th 2014 - 00:31 UTC

  IMF lets fresh air in and addresses income inequality and redistribution debate

  

  Income inequality can lead to slower or less sustainable economic growth, while redistribution of income, when measured, does not hurt and can even help an economy, IMF staff found in a research study released on Wednesday. Although the study by IMF economists does not reflect the Fund's official position, it is another sign of a shift in its thinking about income disparity.

• Wednesday, February 26th 2014 - 23:13 UTC

  OAS Permanente Council special meeting on Venezuelan situation suspended

  

  The meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS), Permanent Council convened to evaluate the possibility of holding a meeting of ambassadors to address the current political situation in Venezuela, has been postponed after pressure from the Venezuelan Government, said Carlos Ponce, coordinator for the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy (Redlad).

• Wednesday, February 26th 2014 - 20:33 UTC

  Brazil farmers want a Mercosur/EU trade agreement even leaving Argentina out

  

  Brazil would like free-trade talks between the European Union and Mercosur to include Argentina, but would be prepared to proceed without its regional ally if an understanding can't be reached on March 7, according to the head of Brazil's farming confederation.

• Wednesday, February 26th 2014 - 07:10 UTC

  Paraguay will chair Mercosur in the next six months, says Dilma Rousseff

  

  Paraguay will hold the following rotating chair of Mercosur, (if the group's summit to be hosted by Venezuela and which has been delayed on several occasions really takes place). The announcement was made by Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff during her visit on Monday to Brussels for the Brazil/EU summit, who underlined that Brazil supports dialogue as the way out to the current situation in Venezuela.

• Tuesday, February 25th 2014 - 20:35 UTC

  US orders three Venezuelan diplomats out of the country in reprisal for similar measure from Maduro

  

  The United States ordered three Venezuelan diplomats to leave in reprisal for President Nicolas Maduro's expulsion of three US embassy staff accused of fomenting unrest that has killed at least 13 people.

• Tuesday, February 25th 2014 - 04:29 UTC

  ENAP Magallanes begins production at new well; company's profits soar in 2013

  

  Chile's state-owned oil and gas company ENAP successfully put into production the well “Paraguaya 2” at Intracampos Block (100% ENAP) in Tierra del Fuego, with an initial flow rate of 160 cubic meters per day of oil, equivalent to 1,006 barrels.