
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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Argentine ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alicia Castro, openly revealed her support for Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro as protests in the nation continued, while criticizing what she saw as a ferocious media attack carried out by opponents of the head of state.

Brazil and the European Union agreed on Monday to lay an undersea communications cable from Lisbon to Fortaleza to reduce Brazil's reliance on the United States after Washington spied on Brasilia.

Trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur could move quickly once a technical meeting next month has taken place, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after a meeting on Monday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in Brussels and the European Council president Herman Van Rompuy.