Mercosur

• Wednesday, July 6th 2016 - 06:54 UTC

  Brazil asks Mercosur chair transfer to Venezuela to be delayed until August

  

  The deep differences among Mercosur members as to who should hold the group's rotating chair this second half of the year surfaced openly in Montevideo with the surprise visit of Brazilian foreign minister Jose Serra and ex president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. The Brazilin delegation formally requested Uruguay, which currently holds the six/month Mercosur chair to suspend the transfer to Venezuela until at least August.

• Wednesday, July 6th 2016 - 04:40 UTC

  Macri pushes in Berlin for EU-Mercosur accord, but Merkel sides with France in the agriculture issue

  

  President Mauricio Macri met on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin with both leaders holding a press conference to address the current state of talks regarding a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur.

• Thursday, June 30th 2016 - 13:22 UTC

  Paraguay does not accept Venezuela as Mercosur pro tempore chair; group split in half

  

  Mercosur is again split over Venezuela because Paraguay, and apparently Brazil, have not been consulted regarding the decision to hand the pro tempore presidency of the block to Venezuela in July, as was agreed in Montevideo by Uruguay and Argentina.

• Thursday, June 30th 2016 - 06:40 UTC

  Argentine economy grows 0.5% in first quarter: fishing and transport compensate fall in agriculture and construction

  

  Argentina's economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter the government said on Wednesday, adding that it saw activity leveling out this year before accelerating in 2017. The year-on-year result, published by the newly revamped Indec statistics agency, followed analysts' forecasts for a 1.3% contraction for the January through March period.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 11:22 UTC

  “Welcome to Hell”, Rio police and firefighters tell arriving passengers

  

  There was a nasty surprise awaiting passengers in the arrivals hall at Rio De Janeiro's Galeao International Airport on Monday. Along with the relatives carrying flowers and taxi drivers waiting with name boards there were lines of off-duty police with banners that had a far more ominous message: “Welcome to Hell”.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 05:23 UTC

  Argentina cuts rate reference for eight weeks running as double/digit inflation eases

  

  Argentina's double-digit inflation has shown signs of easing this month, the central bank said on Tuesday as it cut its 35-day reference rate for the eighth week in a row. As part of its effort to get Latin America's No. 3 economy out of the doldrums while containing consumer prices, the bank sliced 75 basis points off the interest rate to 30.75%.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 05:12 UTC

  Pacific Alliance, under Chilean presidency will speed closer links with Mercosur

  

  The Pacific Alliance under the helm of Chile, beginning next July first will reach out for closer links with Mercosur, particularly since Argentina's decision to join the block as an observer. “The Argentine decision to join the Pacific Alliance as an observer fully harmonizes with Chile's strategy of making both blocks converge”, according to Andres Rebolledo, head of Chile's Directorate of International Economic Relations.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 05:04 UTC

  Brazil inflation should reach Central bank target by second half of 2018

  

  Brazil's inflation will again miss the government target next year, but will be getting much closer at 4.7%, the Central Bank said on Tuesday. For this year, inflation is forecast at 6.9%, well off the 4.5% target. However, even that represents relief for Latin America's largest economy, but sickly economy where annual inflation hit 9.32% in May.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2016 - 04:57 UTC

  Investors suing Petrobras argue top executives knew of the massive bribery scheme

  

  Investors suing Petrobras to recoup billions of dollars in losses argued on Tuesday that the arrests and plea deals of top company executives prove that it knew of a massive bribery and political kickback scheme. Lawyers for the investors asked U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan to rule, ahead of a trial set for Sept. 19, on claims that the company violated U.S. securities laws, according to a court filing.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2016 - 07:28 UTC

  Rousseff signed budget decrees without congressional approval, claim Senate experts

  

  A nonpartisan team from the Brazilian Senate budget analysts on Monday handed potential legal ammunition both to opponents and supporters of suspended President Dilma Rousseff as she tries to survive n impeachment trial.