News of business

Brazil to send business leaders to Cuba in push to rebuild ties

02-09-2023 10:32 Delegation of at least 30 Brazilian business leaders will travel to Havana on Monday in search of opportunities to boost trade with Cuba, the latest step in Lula's push to repair relations between the two nations.

BUSINESS

Brazil’s Itaú sells Argentine unit for US$50 million to Banco Macro

25-08-2023 12:59 Itaú Unibanco Holding SA closes binding agreement for the sale of its Argentine unit to Banco Macro for around US$50 million.

Business

Spanish multinational Inditex exits Argentina by franchising Zara

20-07-2023 12:16 Spanish giant Inditex has decided to transfer the management of its brands' operations in Argentina and Uruguay mainly due to import restrictions.

BLOOMBERG

Bunge, Chevron buy Argentine seeds business to meet green diesel demand

05-07-2023 15:45 Bunge and Chevron acquire a seeds business in Argentina as they seek improve access to scarce feedstock needed to meet growing renewable diesel demand.

NEW REPORT

Report: Public employment up 34% in Argentina since 2011, private only 3%

05-07-2023 12:32 New report by IERAL, business school of the Fundación Mediterránea think tank, shows a massive imbalance between the growth of public and private sector jobs in Argentina. Only province in which private-sector jobs grew faster was Neuquén, thanks to Vaca Muerta. Córdoba recruited the fewest state employees.

BANKING & BUSINESS

Banco Itaú in ‘preliminary’ talks to sell Argentine arm to Banco Macro

06-06-2023 12:07 Banco Itaú, one of the largest banks in Latin America, is considering closing its operations in Argentina; Statement confirms “preliminary negotiations” with Argentina’s Banco Macro.

ELECTIONS 2023

Potential presidents catch the eye at AmCham summit

13-05-2023 09:12 Four potential candidates put on their best faces for business community, pitching their plans – and conditions for running.

by James Grainger

AMCHAM SUMMIT

Relief for business leaders as Massa and Rodríguez Larreta charm AmCham

11-05-2023 19:51 Preferred candidates for 2023 election talk up dialogue and air pro-market visions, with talk of alignment with Washington prompting sigh of relief from US business leaders

by Ariel Maciel

Economy minister's plan

Massa bets on IMF and sit-down with businesses, unions

02-05-2023 12:37 Argentina’s economy minister is laying down plans to support the peso throughout May. He will ask the IMF to move forward disbursements and seek a coordinated approach with business leaders and trade union leaders to slow inflation as much as possible.

by Gonzalo Martínez

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Argentina's parallel currency slides as cracks widen

26-04-2023 15:49 The country will hold elections later this year. Whoever wins will inherit an economic disaster.

FORO LLAO LLAO

Election 2023 hopefuls outline economic plans to business leaders

20-04-2023 14:29 Milei, Rodríguez Larreta, Bullrich and Vidal outline their economic plans to the nation’s top business leaders at the Llao Llao Forum in Bariloche – here’s what the leading candidates told the ‘círculo rojo.’

SOARING PRICES

Inflation at 140% – industry leaders forecast alarming new ceiling

17-04-2023 15:52 Industry leaders are adjusting their accounts and forecasting a monthly inflation rate of at least six percent per month until the end of the year – provided there is no devaluation.

by Ariel Maciel

UNITED NATIONS

UN report criticises ‘structural discrimination’ against Argentina's indigenous

23-03-2023 17:43 United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights highlights repeated “evictions and violent interventions” in new report.

by Api Dhadda

Copper boom?

Argentina’s copper rush lures top power generator Central Puerto

07-03-2023 11:11 One of Argentina’s biggest power producers is trying to get in on the nation’s copper boom as the rush for key metals in the global energy transition accelerates.

MARKETS

Venezuela’s nine-cent bonds lure a distressed-debt veteran

28-12-2022 14:16 Trader raising money to buy defaulted Venezuelan bonds amid signs of easing tensions between President Nicolás Maduro, the political opposition and the United States.

NEW YEAR APPROACHES

World economy faces more pain in 2023 after a gloomy year

27-12-2022 09:56 International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to expand in 2023, with growth of 2.7%. The OECD is forecasting 2.2% growth.

BUSINESS

Corporación América Airports emerges from pandemic with sights on Africa

22-12-2022 14:18 After emerging from arguably the worst crisis in the history of the airline industry, one of the world’s largest airport operators is starting to see the benefits of a major shake-up.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Look north or east? Argentina’s tilt in a bipolar world remains unclear

10-12-2022 04:07 Beijing’s massive economic promise continues to stymie Washington’s attempts at democratic coalition in the Americas.

by Sam Forster

LEAKED TELEGRAM MESSAGES

President calls for investigation into alleged political-judicial collusion

05-12-2022 22:18 Alberto Fernandez calls for opening of a criminal investigation into alleged collusion between judges, prosecutors and media entrepreneurs after publication of leaked messages showing a conspiracy to cover-up details of a suspicious trip to Lago Escondido.

HEALTHCARE

AmCham Health Forum showcases opportunities for public-private collaboration

26-10-2022 14:59 American Chamber of Commerce hosts event bringing together top government officials with private industry leaders to discuss areas of growth and development for Argentina’s healthcare system.

by Sam Forster

BRAZIL ELECTION 2022

Brazil's business sector still supports Bolsonaro, but with reservations

27-09-2022 15:12 Elected in 2018 on a promise to reduce state intervention, far-right stayed true to his word with a series of policies favouring business – but support is not unanimous.

Bloomberg

Argentina moves to hike key rate by 800bps with local note offer

28-07-2022 16:44 Argentina’s central bank offered its Leliq note, which is used as the benchmark interest rate, at a rate of 60%, representing an 800 basis-point increase and the largest hike in almost three years.

Bloomberg

IMF sees Argentina committed to programme, with downside risks

26-07-2022 13:27 Officials re-iterate Argentina’s commitment to IMF $44 billion programme, despite economy in deepening crisis and risks on the downside.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Price control chief quits in latest sign of infighting

24-05-2022 09:41 Resignation of Domestic Trade Secretary Roberto Feletti is the latest sign of infighting over the government’s economic strategy as annual inflation approaches 60 percent.

AMCHAM SUMMIT 2022

Guzmán tells AmCham that Argentina needs ‘common sense,’ not ‘fairy tales’

11-05-2022 01:19 Argentina’s economy minister addresses coalition tensions and inflation at AmCham summit; Opposition leaders Horacio Rodríguez Larreta and Patricia Bullrich pitch their visions to business leaders.

BLOOMBERG

Globant plans acquisitions to boost push into Asia and Europe

22-04-2022 18:37 Argentine software giant planning more growth through acquisitions that give it access to new markets and technologies.

LATIN AMERICA: MIGRATION

Disillusioned and 'betrayed,' Brazilians flock abroad

03-03-2022 14:00 Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America but every year thousands of its citizens pack their bags and head for pastures new.

BUDGET FURORE

Government extends 2021 Budget and restructures double severance

31-12-2021 12:35 The extension of the 2021 Budget and the phasing out of double severance were published last Thursday in the Official Gazette, via decrees signed by President Alberto Fernández.

THE YEAR TO COME

World economy now set to surpass US$100 trillion in 2022

29-12-2021 21:54 The world economy is set to surpass US$100 trillion for the first time in 2022, two years earlier than previously forecast, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

BLOOMBERG

Just a year of Brexit has thumped UK’s economy and businesses

22-12-2021 09:31 In the months after Boris Johnson signed his post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, the coronavirus masked the economic damage of leaving the bloc. As the pandemic drags on, the cost is becoming clearer – and voters are noticing.

Bloomberg

Latam Airlines reaches bankruptcy deal that hands reins to creditors

28-11-2021 08:37 Latam Airlines Group SA has reached a deal with key stakeholders that paves the way for the Chilean carrier to slash debt and exit bankruptcy under new ownership.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Tech firms lead job recovery amid company exodus

26-11-2021 15:01 Argentina's tech sector is a bright spot that is creating jobs even as many companies are closing in a hostile business environment.

ELECTIONS 2021

Concern over 15-N: Alberto’s dinners with business leaders

11-11-2021 12:52 Shadows loom over the government's management. Already punished in the PASO elections, with the possibility of a repeat or even worse this coming Sunday, Frente de Todos’ concerns are growing.

by Javier Calvo

90-day freeze

AmCham warns government that price controls are 'time bomb'

26-10-2021 14:08 US companies warn in an emailed statement issued via American Chamber of Commerce in Argentina that “price freezes do not solve the problem" of runaway inflation, rather "they transform it into a time bomb that will explode sooner or later.”

57th IDEA COLLOQUIUM

Fernández warns business leaders over ‘incomprehensible’ price rises

15-10-2021 18:24 President Alberto Fernández, Economy Minister Martín Guzmán and Pope Francis among the names addressing 57th IDEA colloquium.

IMF DEBT TALKS

No IMF deal until early 2021, Fernández tells CEOs

13-10-2021 13:02 President Alberto Fernández reportedly tells a group of eight top businessmen that a deal with the IMF won’t happen until 2022 at the earliest.

PHOTO FEATURE

'Beach' coworking spaces the new craze in São Paulo

07-10-2021 08:44 After 18 months of being locked up by coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Brazil's largest city is breathing again, thanks in part to open air coworking spaces. Rooftops and terraces made out to look like a beach have sprung up all over – and they are no longer the domaine of just internet start-ups.

PANDORA PAPERS LEAK

Chile's opposition accuses President Piñera after Pandora Papers report

06-10-2021 13:01 Opposition lawmakers in Chile said Tuesday they will present a parliamentary charge that could lead to the removal of President Sebastian Piñera following allegations related to the Pandora Papers leak.

PANDORA PAPERS LEAK

Pandora Papers: the latest mega leak on tax-dodging

06-10-2021 09:35 The Pandora Papers leak is the latest – and biggest – to shine a light on tax evasion of the rich and powerful from the whistleblowing International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

PANDORA PAPERS LEAK

Argentina ranks third for offshore bank accounts in 'Pandora Papers' leak

05-10-2021 09:25 New leak of nearly 12 million documents from financial services firms shows how elite use tax havens to stash assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Number of Argentines appear, including Gianfranco and Mariano Macri, Jaime Durán Barba, Daniel Muñoz, Ángel Di María, Javier Mascherano, Mauricio Pochettino and Zulemita Menem.