MercoPress https://en.mercopress.com/ South Atlantic News Agency en Copyright 2026, MercoPress. https://en.mercopress.com/web/img/en/mercopress-logo.gif MercoPress http://en.mercopress.com/ <![CDATA[Alan Greenspan, Fed chairman who served with four presidents and faced several recessions has died at 100]]> Alan Greenspan, El Maestro and author of “The Age of Turbulence”, was Fed chair under Reagan, Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr. One of the most influential economic policymakers in the last four decades and chairman of the Federal Reserve for almost twenty years, under four different United States presidents from different parties, Alan Greenspan died this week at the age of 100.

]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2026 05:43:00 GMT <![CDATA[Tenth anniversary of Brexit, UK GDP per head cost of 8% in 2025, LSE professor estimates]]> Falklands were hit hard with tariffs and quotas in its exports to EU because of Brexit Ten years ago, June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU and since then, an extensive body of research has studied the impact of Brexit on the UK economy.

]]> Sat, 20 Jun 2026 20:56:00 GMT <![CDATA[Bank of England keeps rate at 3.75%; inflation 2.8% but energy prices remain volatile]]> The impact of the energy shock and Middle East events on the UK economy remains uncertain, BoE MPC The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 7–2 to maintain Bank Rate at 3.75%. Two members voted to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4% during the MPC meeting on June 18.

]]> Sat, 20 Jun 2026 06:28:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazil softens Selic rate but concerns grow about fiscal stimulus on election year and impact of El Niño]]> Inflation expectations have risen steadily as President Lula da Silva rolls out measures boosting household spending as he bids for re-election in October Brazil’s central bank interest rate-setting committee, Copom, ‌unanimously voted on Wednesday to lower its benchmark Selic rate by 25 basis points to 14.25%, a level last seen in May 2025, ‌but acknowledging a tougher inflation outlook given the risks from election-year fiscal stimulus and the impact of a likely El Nino weather pattern shock.

]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:53:00 GMT <![CDATA[Fed keeps rates unchanged; new chairman Warsh anticipates FOMC summaries will be shorter…and to facts]]> Warsh acknowledged the changes to the committee’s statement. “It’s a bit shorter, a bit simpler and it dispenses with some older language,” he said. The Federal Open Market Committee from the US Federal Reserve voted unanimously to keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate anchored in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. It was the first meeting of the Fed with the newly appointed chairman, Kevin Warsh.

]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:54:00 GMT <![CDATA[US-Iran memorandum sets Hormuz reopening, $300 billion reconstruction and sanctions relief]]> The memorandum establishes an oversight mechanism for its implementation and provides for the definitive agreement to be ratified by a binding UN Security Council resolution The United States government on Wednesday released the official text of the agreement reached with Iran to end the war, a 14-point document called the "Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding" that provides for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a reconstruction plan of at least $300 billion and the lifting of sanctions. The text, read by a senior official of Donald Trump's administration, will be signed on Friday in Switzerland and will open a 60-day period to negotiate the definitive agreement.

]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:21:00 GMT <![CDATA[Uruguay enjoys 'positive discrimination' but must lift investment and productivity, BBVA says]]> The bank forecasts that Uruguay's economy will grow 1.3% this year, below the 2.2% projected in the Budget law and the 1.6% to which the Ministry of Economy later adjusted its estimate Uruguay enjoys a "positive discrimination" relative to other economies for its institutional solidity, respect for agreements and political maturity, but its economic growth has been low over the past decade and its potential GDP —now at 2.1%— is declining. That was the assessment of economists from BBVA Research, one of Europe's largest banks, at the "Situación Uruguay" webinar, where they said the country's main challenge is to boost investment and raise productivity.

]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:27:00 GMT <![CDATA[Brazilian stocks slip as the US-Iran deal sinks oil prices and hits Petrobras]]> The shares that lost the most value were those of the private oil firms Prio (-6.9%) and Petroreconcavo (-6.5%), also affected by the fall in crude São Paulo's stock exchange closed on Monday down 0.42%, dragged by the plunge of the state oil company Petrobras after the international crude price fell, linked to the preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran. The Ibovespa, the benchmark index of Latin America's main exchange, ended the session at 170,415 points.

]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:50:00 GMT <![CDATA[Chile's Kast government reaffirms Valparaíso's bid to host the High Seas Treaty secretariat]]> Known as the “Pearl of the Pacific,” Valparaíso lies 110 kilometers northwest of Santiago and was the most important commercial port in the South Pacific during the 19th century Chile's government on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to Valparaíso's candidacy to host the Executive Secretariat of the High Seas Treaty, a key instrument of ocean governance, and held that the port city has "relevant strengths" to secure it. The Foreign Ministry said the bid responds to the importance that Chilean foreign policy places on protecting the ocean and to the country's "maritime vocation."

]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:35:00 GMT <![CDATA[Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX's record stock debut]]> SpaceX shares began trading on the Nasdaq, under the ticker “SPCX,” at $150, above the $135 listing price Technology magnate Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire on Friday, after his aerospace company SpaceX made its stock-market debut. Following the IPO, which raised a record roughly $75 billion and valued the company at about $1.77 trillion, the net worth of the owner of Tesla, the social network X and Neuralink stood at around $1.1 trillion.

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:09:00 GMT