EPU (Peru’s ETF) now trading on Mexico’s stock exchange
Atención a todos los inversionistas mexicanos. ETF del Perú, ahora se cotiza en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores!
Now lets compare the two ETF’s.
Mexico – EPU.mx (Bolsa)
United States – EPU (NYSE)
Atención a todos los inversionistas mexicanos. ETF del Perú, ahora se cotiza en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores!
Now lets compare the two ETF’s.
Mexico – EPU.mx (Bolsa)
United States – EPU (NYSE)
Argentina’s trade surplus contracts 42.8% during September – MercoPress
Argentina’s September trade surplus narrowed 42.8% from the same month a year ago, with exports falling even faster than imports, the government said this week. September’s 926 million US dollars surplus, which fell short of analysts’ expectations, is the smallest since January.
Brazil Soybean Growers Speed Up Planting on Rains, Safras Says – Bloomberg
Soybean growers in Brazil, the world’s second- largest producer, are speeding up planting of the oilseed as above-average rains improve soil conditions, Safras & Mercados analyst Flavio Franca Jr. said.
Soybean planting was 17 percent complete as of Oct. 16, compared with 8 percent a year earlier and an average of 5 percent in the past five years, said Franca Jr., who is based in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Brazil Bank Keeps Rate, Signals No Increase Imminent – Bloomberg
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — Brazil’s central bank kept its key interest rate at a record low last night and said its level was “consistent” with a non-inflationary recovery, signaling that no increase in borrowing costs is imminent.
The bank, in a statement accompanying the board’s unanimous decision to keep the benchmark rate at 8.75 percent, repeated word-for-word the communique issued Sept. 2 when it paused after five straight cuts this year.
Colombian drug lord gets 45 years – Reuters
Cocaine kingpin, Diego Montoya, the former head of Colombia’s Norte del Valle cartel is sentenced in a Miami court to 45 years in prison.
Pemex May Renegotiate Oil-Service Accords, Minister Kessel Says – Bloomberg
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — Petroleos Mexicanos, Latin America’s largest oil producer, may seek to renegotiate oilfield-service contracts with companies such as Halliburton Co., Schlumberger Ltd. and Weatherford International Ltd. to try and boost output.
New laws allow state-owned Pemex, as the company is known, to offer performance-based contracts, Mexican Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said yesterday in an interview in Mexico City.
Peru’s BCP to Sell Benchmark Dollar Bonds in Overseas Markets – Bloomberg BCP, as the bank is known, hired Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to arrange the bond sale, said the person, who declined to be identified because terms aren’t set. The company will begin marketing the offering Oct. 26. A benchmark issue is typically for at least $500 million.
Uruguay’s presidential election next Sunday too tight to call – MercoPress
Uruguay’s coming Sunday presidential election is proving to be more nerve-racking and difficult to forecast than anticipated, with the ruling coalition just a few inches away from repeating in spite of the falling performance of the main opposition candidate.
OAS can’t agree on Cuba, while Havana ridicules the organization
The task force created by the Organization of American States, OAS, in an attempt to bridge different members’ proposals to consider the readmission of Cuba seems to have stalled with the main actors clearly underlining their stance.
Colombia Cuts Benchmark Lending Rate to Record Low 5% to Stimulate Growth
Colombia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record today and signaled it’s ready to lower it further in an effort to ward off an extended recession as inflation eases
Braskem Taps Peru, Venezuela in $3.6 Billion Expansion Outside of Brazil
Braskem SA, Latin America’s largest petrochemicals producer, plans to invest $2.5 billion in a polyethylene plant in Peru, said Cleantho de Paiva Leite, Braskem’s director of international projects.
Sao Paulo-based Braskem, which holds a 50 percent share of Brazil’s resins market, also is working on engineering studies for a $1.1 billion petrochemical plant in Venezuela with state- owned Pequiven SA, de Paiva said in an interview in Lima.
Venezuela Expropriations: Chávez Talks Himself into Trouble with Argentina’s Fernández de Kirchner
The spark for the conversation sought by Fernández de Kirchner was a remark Chávez is reported to have made in private to Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva. That remark, it’s said, was to the effect that Venezuela was on course to take over foreign companies except for Brazilian ones.
President Hugo Chávez’ strategy of nationalizing companies including foreign ones, and a remark he did or did not make in seriousness to Brazilian President Ignacio Lula da Silva, appear to have posed problems for him and his Argentine friend and colleague, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Chávez has depicted Fernández de Kirchner as an ally and soulmate in his bid to build a regional alliance to counter what he sees as the undue influence and power of the United States in Latin America. But his peremptory takeover of steelmaker Sidor and his tendency to talk off the top of his head may well have put her in between the proverbial rock and a hard place at home.
Argentina May Be Sanctioned By Manhattan Judge in Bondholder Litigation
Argentina may be sanctioned for failing to comply with a U.S. court order to turn over to bondholders documents regarding its pension funds, a federal judge in Manhattan said.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa ruled in October that Argentine pension funds nationalized by that country’s government and held in the U.S. may be used to satisfy bondholder judgments against the republic. Argentina has appealed. Griesa later ordered the South American nation to turn over documents related to its pension funds to bondholders.
Argentina’s Construction Activity Declined 5.5% in April From Year Earlier
Argentine construction activity fell the most in five months in April, as Argentines delayed investment plans amid the global financial crisis and political concern ahead of next month’s mid-term elections.
Mexico GDP to Sink Most Since 1932 in Fall `Hard to Fathom,’ Goldman Says
Mexico’s economy will contract this year by the most since 1932 as a slump in the U.S. curbs demand for exports and slows dollar flows from tourism and remittances, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
Latinamerica foreign trade forecasted to contract 9 to 11% in 2009
The main impact for Latinamerica of the global financial crisis and economic slowdown has been the contraction of trade, so far in the range of 9 to 11%, revealed Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal.
“The strongest impact we are seeing in the region is the fall in trade volumes. I believe that the “shock” of the contraction of global demand for our goods and services is our most relevant issue”, said Bárcena in an interview with the Cuban daily Granma.
She recalled that when the last big crisis Latinamerica’s foreign debt was equivalent to 24% of GDP, while in 2008 it had dropped to 8%.
Latinamerican Liberals hold congress in “Bolivarian” Venezuela
Liberal political parties and thinkers from Latinamerica are holding their annual congress this week in the Venezuelan capital Caracas. The event is in the framework of the 25th anniversary of the local branch Cedice-Libertad and will promote debates on liberal policies to address poverty and the current global slowdown.
…
The congress is bound to spark some reaction among President Chavez followers since his Bolivarian revolution and XXIst Socialism stand at the opposite end of the political spectrum from the Liberals and the concept of individual freedom.
The two events will be taking place during a particularly sensitive week since President Chavez has ordered the nationalization of oil industry subcontractors, banks, steel industry, food processors and farm land considered idle.
Foreign direct investment to Latam reached 139 billion USD in 2008
Direct foreign investments in Latinamerica and the Caribbean are showing a significant resistance to the global crisis and in 2008 reached a record 139 billion US dollars, up 9.4% from the previous year according the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Latinamerica’s bicentennial independence festivities begin in Bolivia
Bolivia’s commemoration on Monday May 25th of the 200th anniversary of the first uprising in Latinamerica against the Spanish colonial empire will also mark the beginning of similar independence celebrations along the continent which will peak in 2010.
Third re-election running “inappropriate” admits Colombia’s Uribe
Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe says it would be “inappropriate” for him to seek a third consecutive term. His statement comes two days after the Senate approved a referendum that would ask voters to permit him to run again. Uribe did not, however, clearly rule out a re-election bid.

Bolivia and US agree to improve bilateral ties
Bolivian President Evo Morales has called for a complete overhaul of his country’s strained ties with the US. He urged “mutual respect” between the two nations, saying Washington should not interfere in Bolivia’s affairs.
Venezuelan Bonds Sink to Six-Week Low as Chavez Takeovers Fuel `Distrust’
Venezuela’s benchmark bonds fell to a six-week low after President Hugo Chavez announced the government will take over the hot-briquetted iron industry and other metal companies.
Chavez Takes Control of Venezuela’s Hot-Briquetted Iron, Steel Industries
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the government will take over the hot-briquetted iron industry and other metal companies, increasing its control over the nation’s mineral-wealth industries.
Venezuelan Oil Keeps Attracting Bidders in Bets That Chavez Isn’t Forever
Chevron Corp. and Total SA are pursuing new Venezuelan oil projects after President Hugo Chavez tore up past agreements, seized assets of contractors and expelled producers that wouldn’t accept new terms.
Cash short Venezuela negotiating loans from Brazil
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose administration is facing cash shortages as oil revenues plunge, is negotiating loans from Brazil’s development bank to fund infrastructure projects, revealed the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
Brazilian Stocks Gain on Signs of Rising Demand, Commodities; Bolsa Rises Brazil’s
Bovespa index climbed, capping a weekly advance, on speculation domestic demand is recovering and as investors bought commodities to hedge against a weakening dollar.
Brazil’s Vale Lowers This Year’s Planned Investments to $9 Billion From $14 Billion
Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s biggest iron-ore producer, said falling costs and a stronger dollar allowed it to cut 2009 planned capital spending by 37 percent.
Mexican Billionaire Salinas May Enter California to Boost Hispanic Banking
Banco Azteca, controlled by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas, says the financial crisis offers the bank a chance to enter the U.S. market and lure Hispanic customers.
Pemex Is `Too Optimistic’ About Chicontepec Development, Board Member Says
Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, should reconsider its $11.1 billion plan for the Chicontepec field because lower oil prices make the investment less attractive, said newly appointed board member Fluvio Ruiz.
[Reuters] — May 15 – Latino workers in Japan have been offered money by the Japanese government to leave after losing jobs.
** click here to access the Reuters video (problems with the embed)