
The Panama flagged cruise vessel M/V Ushuaia is expected to arrive early next week in South Georgia to pick up the stranded 114 passengers and crew of a similar small cruise M/V Plancius which after experiencing serious propulsion trouble took shelter at King Edward Point Research Station in Grytviken.

Spanish officials warned Argentina on Friday that the country risks becoming an international pariah if it follows through on its threats to take control of Spanish-owned energy company Repsol's majority stake in its YPF unit.

Former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo ended his bid to become World Bank president on Friday, leaving two candidates in an unprecedented challenge to US control of the global development institution.

Argentina and Uruguay presidents Cristina Fernandez and Jose Mujica agreed Monday evening to discuss their trade differences in the framework of Mercosur and promote “positive discrimination” measures for Uruguayan exports to help compensate the restrictions imported to all imports by the Argentine government.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica arrives Thursday in neighbouring Brazil to discuss with his peer Dilma Rousseff trade expansion, productive and energy complementation and above all opening Mercosur to third countries in search of new markets.

The Economist argues that with the latest legislation, the Argentine central bank has lost its legal independence and become the piggy bank of President Cristina Fernandez government.

Brazil will extend a payroll tax break to some manufacturers as part of a package of new measures to help struggling industries in a move to help the recovery of Latin America's top economy, a senior government source revealed to the local media.

The Argentine government ratified its trade policies before the World Trade Organization, following the criticism of Argentine trade restrictions from twelve countries, including the US, EU and Japan, and assured it will continue to decide on its trade policies in a sovereign manner.

Uruguay’ Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Almagro revealed that the government of President Cristina Fernandez is fully involved in the implementation of a plan called “Argentina 2020: substitution of imports” and therefore bilateral trade negotiations that are difficult, will continue on that same path for several years.

Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro said that the Uruguayan government does not oppose trade with the Falkland Islands and any undertaking to that effect by the private sector is welcome since “Uruguay does not agree with any commercial or economic blockade of the Islands”.