Uruguay

• Tuesday, July 5th 2011 - 03:23 UTC

  June’s index shows result of Uruguay’s battle with inflation remains uncertain

  

  Uruguay consumer prices increased 0.35% in June, completing 8.61% in the last twelve months, which remains above the Central bank target of 4% to 6%, and the latest estimate of 7.8% presented last week by the Executive in its additional budget report to Congress.

• Tuesday, July 5th 2011 - 00:20 UTC

  Paraguay and Uruguay claim Argentina is obstructing regional power agreement

  

  Argentina is delaying the sale of Paraguayan power to the Uruguayan market (which must cross Argentine territory) for reasons ‘as least publicly’ unknown for both sides interested in the deal, according to the Uruguayan and Paraguayan press.

• Monday, July 4th 2011 - 05:28 UTC

  Uruguay confirms second round of offshore oil exploration for next September

  

  Uruguay confirmed a second round of offshore lease bidding for hydrocarbons exploration next September. The country’s state run oil refining company ANCAP plans to offer 15 areas with sizes ranging from 2,300 sq km to 12,000 sq km, said sources from the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining.

• Monday, July 4th 2011 - 05:20 UTC

  Canadian bank concludes purchase of Uruguay’s fourth largest private bank

  

  Canada’s Scotiabank announced it has closed the transaction to purchase Nuevo Banco Comercial S.A. (NBC), Uruguay's fourth largest private bank in terms of loans and deposits. The acquisition was announced on December 6, 2010. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

• Saturday, July 2nd 2011 - 05:59 UTC

  Uruguay raises 2011 growth forecast to 6% and inflation to 7.8%

  

  Uruguay has raised its 2011 economic growth forecast to 6% and its inflation to 7.8%, according to a government document published on Friday. The previous estimate was 4.5% and full year inflation of 6%.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 17:42 UTC

  Colombian group takes over Uruguay main supermarkets chain, Disco and Devoto

  

  France’s Casino Guichard-Perrachon Colombian retailing branch, Exito announced the signing of a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of Casino' majority stakes in Uruguay’s main supermarket chain Disco and Devoto in an operation involving 746 million US dollars.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 16:44 UTC

  Uruguay calls on Sao Paulo corporations to help develop (not colonize) Mercosur

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called on Sao Paulo corporations to cooperate with the development of Mercosur partners by adopting a policy of alliances with local companies and leaving aside ‘colonizing’ temptations.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 03:53 UTC

  Mercosur ‘structural convergence fund’ has distributed 1.1bn USD in 37 projects

  

  Mercosur structural convergence fund, Focem, which was created in 2005, has distributed 1.1 billion US dollars among its full members for the implementation of 37 projects basically to improve roads for inter-region and international trade, according to official figures released in Asunción.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 06:12 UTC

  Mercosur summit begins Tuesday among controversy over its effectiveness

  

  The Mercosur summit will be an opportunity to solve asymmetry problems and social inequalities in the region, said Paraguay’ Foreign Affairs minister Jorge Lara Castro. The South American customs union is meeting this week in Asuncion for the first of two annual summits when the rotating chair will be passed on to Uruguay.

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 06:24 UTC

  Parlasur member claims Mercosur summits have become ‘display of empty rhetoric’

  

  Mercosur summits have become a display of empty rhetoric, full of protocol and ‘family photos’ but with no full hearted willingness to achieve a solid, fair integration, claimed the head of the Paraguayan delegation before Parlasur, the Mercosur Parliament.