Politics

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:31 UTC

  Tax revenue in Brazil surges 9.7% in March on the back of consumer demand

  

  Brazil's tax revenue surged in March on the back of consumer demand that has continued to be robust the federal tax authority said this week.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:28 UTC

  Chile and Argentina working to complement their power grids

  

  Chile is studying supplying neighbouring Argentina with electricity during the southern hemisphere's summer, when demand spikes, daily newspaper La Tercera reported Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:25 UTC

  Inflation and unemployment confirm Brazilian economy overheated

  

  March inflation in Brazil accelerated to its fastest rate since November 2008, driven by food, beverages and fuel prices. Consumer prices as measured by the IPCA-15 index rose 6.44% in the year through mid-April, the national statistics agency announced Wednesday in Rio do Janeiro.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 06:18 UTC

  Syria lifts 50 year emergency rule but permission is needed for demonstrations

  

  The Syrian authorities' arrest of a leftist opposition figure overnight suggests that a bill passed by the government to end emergency rule after 48 years will not halt repression, rights campaigners said.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 03:20 UTC

  Chile looking for a new icebreaker to strengthen presence in Antarctica

  

  The Chilean Navy icebreaker is scheduled to be decommissioned in four years time so “we are in the task of considering a replacement” revealed Third Naval Zone Commander Rear Admiral Rafael Gonzalez during a press conference in Punta Arenas to review results of the last Antarctic season.

• Thursday, April 21st 2011 - 03:14 UTC

  Brazilian central bank raises benchmark rate 0.25 percentage points to 12%

  

  Brazil’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rates a quarter of a percentage point from 11.75% to 12%. The decision surprised the market since it was a smaller raise than two previous hikes of half a percentage point earlier this year.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:27 UTC

  Brazil trusts the Fed will end liquidity program in July thus boosting the US dollar

  

  Brazil believes the impact of an undervalued US dollar which is appreciating other currencies such as the Brazilian Real, ‘won’t last long’ according to forecasts from Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

• Wednesday, April 20th 2011 - 02:19 UTC

  China urges US to adopt “responsible measures” to guarantee investors interests

  

  China, the top holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, urged the United States Tuesday to adopt “responsible measures” after ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the outlook on U.S. sovereign debt to negative.

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 21:55 UTC

  Falklands’ war book reveals Israel’s arms and equipment support for Argentina

  

  Israel’s role during the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict as a willing supplier of arms, equipment and other materials to Argentina has been revealed in a book titled “Operation Israel: the rearming of Argentina during the dictatorship (1976/1983)” written by Hernan Dobry, with an advance published over the weekend in Buenos Aires daily La Nacion.

• Tuesday, April 19th 2011 - 17:30 UTC

  Uruguay admits to IMF concern over inflation, but rejects capital flow controls

  

  Uruguay’s concern with inflation risks and instruments to ‘mitigate’ its impact was underlined by the region’s representative at the IMF Monetary and Financial Committee meeting in Washington where the IMF and World Bank are holding their spring meetings.