Mercosur

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2016 - 06:25 UTC

  Petrobras losses in 4Q climb to US$ 10bn; more staff cuts expected

  

  Brazil's state-run oil company, Petrobras, reported a record quarterly loss of $10.2 billion on Monday due to a large reduction in the value of some assets amid lower oil prices. Petrobras has been at the center of a sprawling corruption scandal that has ensnared some of Brazil's most powerful lawmakers and business executives.

• Friday, March 18th 2016 - 03:03 UTC

  It's official: Mercosur and EU will exchange offers for a trade accord on 8 April

  

  Argentina is willing to “make concessions” in order to move forward with a free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU), which will likely allow a greater export of agricultural produce, according to Argentina's Trade Secretary Miguel Braun who then reveled that trade offers will be exchanged on April 8.

• Tuesday, March 15th 2016 - 05:06 UTC

  Lula prepared to accept a ministry to avoid arrest, according to Brazil's leading media

  

  Former Brazilian leader Lula da Silva has accepted a key ministerial role in President Dilma Rousseff's government, leading media in Sao Paulo have reported. Members of the governing Workers' Party say his appointment will strengthen her beleaguered administration. In becoming a minister, Lula will also have some legal protection. Allegedly the two are to meet on Tuesday in Brasilia.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 23:36 UTC

  Argentina not planning a trade deal with the US, “it's a joint task for Mercosur”

  

  It would be 'hasty' to consider that Argentina is ready to sign a trade agreement with the United States, but in any case the issue must be addressed by Mercosur, and it's the whole group that should advance in that direction, said Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 11:35 UTC

  Falklands experiences steady growth in cruise visitors and leisure tourists

  

  By Joshua Peck - The number of cruise passengers visiting the Falkland Islands is projected to increase for the third season in a row. Each tourist season, lasting from October to March, sees numerous cruise vessels arrive in the Falklands, with passengers typically disembarking for a single day onshore. The last cruise vessel for the current season is scheduled to arrive on 31st March.

• Monday, March 14th 2016 - 11:33 UTC

  Argentina's February inflation 4.8%; minister anticipates 1% during second quarter

  

  February’s inflation in Argentina reached 4.8% and has accumulated 33.9% in the last twelve months, according to the so called “congressional inflation index” released laast week. But Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay from Chile anticipated that consumer prices will fall to nearly 1% during the second quarter.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 23:17 UTC

  Mercosur/EU will exchange trade proposals in April, is announced in Argentina

  

  Mercosur and the European Union will exchange trade proposals in April, a key step for the long delayed trade and cooperation agreement between the two blocks and which has gained strength since the change of administration in Argentina with president Mauricio Macri.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:49 UTC

  Argentina's government release of 2015 fiscal results triggers strong controversy

  

  Argentina's Finance Ministry finally released its fiscal results for the 2015 period, which showed a deficit amounting to more than 5% of GDP. The figure is likely to be subject to much controversy and discussion, as the government of president Mauricio Macri introduced new methodology to calculate its figures.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:40 UTC

  Oil at US$ 67 in Argentina has all the Majors converging

  

  By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com
  
  Argentina offers one of the few places on earth where oil companies are not suffering from the full force of the collapse in prices. Argentina regulates oil prices, a policy originally intended to insulate the public from the whims of the market, protecting people from triple-digit crude prices. But with the crash in prices since mid-2014, the effect of the regulation has reversed: motorists are now effectively subsidizing the oil industry.

• Sunday, March 13th 2016 - 22:27 UTC

  Falklands: Mar del Plata bishop blesses “Identity Crossing” swimmers, and 250 rosaries

  

  Mar del Plata bishop Monsignor Antonio Marino met with the swimmers that are planning to cross the Falklands' sound, or “Identity Crossing”, and blessed rosaries they will be taking to the Argentine memorial in Darwin.