
Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Bank of Nova Scotia have been accused of attempting to rig the price of silver, in a lawsuit filed in the US. The plaintiff alleges the banks, which set the price of silver each day, abused their position in the market.

The Dutch government released a former Venezuelan general who was detained on US drug charges when he arrived in Aruba to serve as his country's consul on the Dutch Caribbean island, sending him home Sunday night and defusing a diplomatic fight with its neighbor.

The private sectors from Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia agreed to form a business lobby, Urupabol, with the purpose of actively combating protectionist policies and other obstacles implemented inside Mercosur, mainly by senior members Argentina and Brazil.

Uruguay's president Jose Mujica will be attending the next Mercosur presidential summit scheduled for Tuesday, 29 July in Caracas, when the creation of an economic forum Mercosur/ALBA/PetroCaribe will for consideration as part of the agenda.

President Cristina Fernandez left on Friday for Santa Cruz province, where she will stay for the weekend and analyze New York Argentine/holdouts case briefings. The Argentine delegation returned on Friday to Buenos Aires after two meetings with appointed mediator Daniel Pollack in New York, where no resolution was reached.

The IMF's chief economist warned that a default by Argentina in its battle with holders of its defaulted debt may hurt its economy and the global financial system. Argentina continues to face the fallout of its 2001 debt default, which plunged the country into an economic crisis it is still battling to overcome.

Argentina failed to reach a breakthrough with the U.S. court-appointed mediator in its battle with holdout creditors in New York on Friday in talks that lasted just an hour. The Argentine delegation is flying back to seek instructions from its government, mediator Daniel Pollack said, while the country's economy ministry underscored it would continue the dialogue with him over the next few days.

Uruguay's president Jose Mujica proposal to shelter Syrian children refugees from the ongoing Middle East conflict has the support of 66% of the population and is rejected by 23%, according to a public opinion poll released this week by a local television channel.

Banco Santander Brasil SA, apologized for a note sent to some of its high-income clients in Brazil saying the economy would worsen if President Dilma Rousseff’s chances of being re-elected stabilized or improved.

A judge in Aruba ruled Friday that the highest-ranking Venezuelan official ever arrested on a U.S. warrant will remain behind bars pending an extradition request on drug charges. Hugo Carvajal, a former head of Venezuelan military intelligence and close confidant of the late president Hugo Chavez, was arrested upon arriving at Aruba’s airport, officials said Thursday.