Cuba announced Friday that it will have to spend 25% more than its original estimates to pay the cost of food imports due to the international surge in commodity prices.
Argentina’s 2011 economic growth forecast was raised to 8% from 5% by Nomura Securities International based on a strong surge from domestic demand and rising commodity prices. Government primary spending is expected to continue since 2011 is electoral year.
Venezuela and Argentina recorded the highest rates of inflation in South America during the first quarter of 2011 according to the latest data available.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gutch together with Colombian Minister for Trade Sergio Diaz-Granados Guida and Peruvian Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Carlos Posada Ugaz, celebrated Wednesday in Brussels the initialling of an ambitious trade agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru.
The Central Bank of Chile (CBC) hiked interest rates by 50bps to 4.5% on Wednesday but with the near-term outlook for growth very good and inflation likely to top 5% in Q4, further policy tightening is on the way, reports Capital Economics that estimates rates to reach 6% by year-end.
The number of gun owners has decreased over the past year in Chile from 5.3% to 4.9%. Yet one economic sector—the wealthiest Chileans from the socioeconomic level ABC1—continue to buy firearms at an escalating rate.
Chile has some of the worst social indicators of the 34 countries that make up the Paris based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the latest releases from the group.
The Chilean fruit industry is being threatened by the rapid decline of the country’s bee population, a product by the country’s ongoing drought.
Water shortages across central Chile are withering the flower buds, depriving bees of their sustenance, the nectar.
Inflation risks are building in all Latin American countries except Mexico, where price gains are low and economic expansion should outpace Brazil this year, according to the the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook.
The Chilean wine company Viña Montes plans to invest 20 million US dollars in vineyards on the other side of the Andes in neighbouring Argentina, where it expects to double production over the next five years.