Uruguay

• Tuesday, June 7th 2011 - 06:07 UTC

  Argentina hosts first meeting of Unasur Economy and Finance Council

  

  Argentina will be hosting on Thursday the first meeting of the South American Economy and Finance Council that will bring together Economy ministers and Central bank governors from members of Unasur, Union of South American Nations.

• Saturday, June 4th 2011 - 02:40 UTC

  Hard times, even closure for some Uruguayan abattoirs, anticipated Mujica

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica warned that several abattoirs will run into deep trouble and might have to close down because of the lack of livestock ready for slaughtering. He also cautioned that “there is not much more the Executive can do”.

• Friday, June 3rd 2011 - 23:44 UTC

  Consumer inflation in Uruguay climbs to an annualized 8.53%

  

  Consumer prices in Uruguay rose sharply again in May, led by steep increases in prices at restaurants and hotels, for housing and for health costs accumulating 8.53% in the last twelve months and 4.34% in the five months of 2011.

• Friday, June 3rd 2011 - 23:19 UTC

  Greece is not Uruguay; the Athens debt case is more like Argentina, says economist

  

  Past voluntary debt re-profiling in Latin America have worked to varying degrees, but “soft” restructuring is not going to solve Greece's debt problems, according to Stuart Culverhouse, chief economist of frontier markets specialist Exotix.

• Friday, June 3rd 2011 - 01:52 UTC

  Chinese Vice-president arrives in Uruguay to sign 17 agreements

  

  China’s Vice-president Xi Jinping and tipped as a leading candidate to succeed President Hu Jintao will be visiting Uruguay June 7 to 9 as part of a tour that includes Italy, Cuba and Chile.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:52 UTC

  US dollar looses 1.85% against the Uruguayan Peso in May; 7.44% in five months

  

  The US dollar continues to slide in the Uruguayan foreign exchange market having lost 1.85% in May vis-à-vis the Uruguayan peso, completing the steepest monthly drop so far in 2011.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 08:46 UTC

  Soaring imports push Uruguay’s trade deficit in the first quarter

  

  Uruguay’s trade balance registered a deficit of 790 million US dollars in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the central bank. Exports totalled 1.681 billion USD, up 30.5% over the previous year while imports totalled 2.470 billion USD, up 49.5%.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 03:59 UTC

  Uruguay rejects Zamin Ferrous mining project environment impact report

  

  Uruguay made a long list of objections to the environment impact assessment study presented by the Aratiri mining project which plans open-pit extraction of magnetite (ferrous component) from vast resources in Valentines, the heart of the South American country.

• Thursday, June 2nd 2011 - 00:46 UTC

  Uruguay's fiscal deficit steady at 1.6% of GDP; lack of rains fuels power bill

  

  Uruguay’s fiscal deficit increased 0.7 percentage points of GDP in April reaching 1.6% of GDP in the accumulated twelve months, reports the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The 1.6% of GDP is the fiscal budget deficit target established by the government for the whole of 2011, which was recently increased.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 10:33 UTC

  The unstoppable march of the tobacco giants

  

  By Emily Dugan - The following piece from The Independent on Sunday describes how in spite of the World NO tobacco Day (May 31) the industry ruthlessly exploits the developing world and makes huge profits even when smoking in the richer countries has been falling sustainedly.