Latin America

• Saturday, July 16th 2011 - 07:08 UTC

  Chilean central bank leaves benchmark rate unchanged at 5.25%

  

  The Chilean central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week for the first time since January as signs of slower growth abroad and a moderation in domestic output and demand provided space to delay additional increases.

• Friday, July 15th 2011 - 13:36 UTC

  Charges against 18 executives and British auditor in major Chilean retail scandal

  

  The Chilean Securities and Insurance Supervisor (SVS) announced on Wednesday that it would be pressing charges against more than a dozen executives at Chilean retail giant La Polar.

• Friday, July 15th 2011 - 06:31 UTC

  Chavez to receive cancer treatment in Sao Paulo, say Brazilian government sources

  

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will travel to Brazil for cancer treatment, a Brazilian government source told reporters, following his return home after an operation in Cuba.

• Friday, July 15th 2011 - 06:18 UTC

  March for education reform in Santiago de Chile turns violent with 62 arrests

  

  A haze of tear gas floated through the air, blending in with Santiago’s smog as the Chilean flag atop La Moneda sat in solitude with an occasional breeze. Lemon halves littered the streets as flying glass bottles shattered on the concrete.

• Friday, July 15th 2011 - 06:09 UTC

  “Grain prices are more linked to the US dollar than to food demand”

  

  “Saving in US dollars or in soybeans is the same” cautioned Argentine economist Carlos Melconian, who argued that “grain and oilseed prices are more linked to the value of the dollar than to demand for food produce”.

• Friday, July 15th 2011 - 06:04 UTC

  China forecasted to become Latin America’s second trade partner by 2015

  

  China will become Latin America's second largest trade partner as early as in 2015, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said this week.

• Thursday, July 14th 2011 - 07:22 UTC

  Bolivia gets involved in Chile/Peru ongoing maritime dispute

  

  International relations between Chile and Bolivia are tense and could worsen, considering the impact of a Monday press release from Bolivia’s Ministry of Foreign Relations.

• Wednesday, July 13th 2011 - 21:30 UTC

  South America forecasted to grow 5.1% in 2011, but with serious challenges

  

  Latin America and the Caribbean will maintain the recovery that began in the second half of 2009, following the international economic crisis and are poised to grow 4.7% in 2011 with a strong boost from domestic demand, according to the latest report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Wednesday, July 13th 2011 - 16:24 UTC

  Chavez admits he may need chemotherapy treatment after cancer surgery

  

  Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez acknowledged for the first time he may need radiotherapy or chemotherapy for ongoing treatment after cancer surgery in Cuba, the presidential office said.

• Wednesday, July 13th 2011 - 10:16 UTC

  US loosing Colombian market share to Mercosur claim farmers

  

  United States industry and agriculture lobbies are again advocating forcefully before Congress on the pending free trade agreement with Colombia claiming the delay is costing market share to a more aggressive Mercosur.