
South America’s crop prospects deteriorated because of excessive rainfall in Argentina and dry conditions in central Brazil, according to Oil World. Argentina’s estimated 55/56 million tons soybean crop could drop anywhere from 3 6o 6 million tons because of delays in sowing caused by torrential rains and flooding.

The Uruguayan government confirmed on Monday a raft of measures to attract Argentine tourists and compensate the restrictions in Argentina to purchase foreign currency (dollar-clamp) and the 15% retention fund for credit or debit cards operations outside the country.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica has plans to meet two, probably three times before the end of the year with his peer from Venezuela, Hugo Chavez to address “a real integration” of Mercosur, not limited to trade, but at the same time admitting that Venezuela is rapidly becoming one of the main markets for Uruguayan exports.

The world's leading economies gave themselves a bit more space on Monday to meet targets for cutting budget deficits rather than risk worsening a slowdown in many countries, chief among them the United States.

Chilean President Sebastian Piñera shuffled his cabinet to allow ministers with presidential aspirations to leave, as his embattled conservative coalition seeks support before presidential elections in November 2013.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), labour markets in Latin America and the Caribbean were fairly resilient to the slowdown in the regional economy in the first half of 2012, which bodes well for a positive outcome in this year's employment and unemployment indicators.

Spain's NH Hoteles has received a preliminary offer from US private equity firm KKR to buy bonds that can be converted into shares of the debt-laden hotel chain. NH Hoteles, Europe's third largest business hotel operator based on rooms, has long been tipped as a private equity target given its large debt and that of its savings bank shareholders, which together own nearly a third of the firm.

US Hispanics are over 50 million according to the 2010 census and as the most important minority their influence could be decisive on Tuesday 6 November when the presidential and legislative election. Between the two censuses (2000/2010) Hispanics’ growth rate was four times the overall population rate.

Peruvian Ambassador to Buenos Aires, Nicolás Lynch, resigned to his post after he met with members of an organization suspected to be linked with guerrilla group Shining Path, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry informed.

Peru slashed its commercial fishing quota as warmer water temperatures and controversial practices deplete stocks of anchovy in one of the world’s richest fisheries. The government cut its quota for this summer’s anchovy season by 68% to 810.000 tons, the smallest allowance in 25 years.