Latin America learns the price of growth

RIO DE JANEIRO — Latin America is starting to learn the ironic lesson of its stunning economic growth: with it comes rising currencies and inflation which threaten to reverse many of the gains made.

Brazil's real soared on Monday to the highest level against the dollar since 1999, when the South American giant delinked from the US currency.

Peru's Humala faces critical test to boost economy

LIMA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Former military commander Ollanta Humala was inaugurated Thursday as Peru's new president amid concerns of whether he will stick to his election promises to enhance social inclusion through economic growth.

Analysts said Humala would have to move swiftly to start implementing profound social reforms and show Peruvians his resolution to fulfil election promises.

Colombian central bank statement on interest rates

Colombia on Friday raised its benchmark interest rate for the sixth straight time this year by 25 basis points in a widely expected move to prevent Latin America's fifth largest economy from overheating.

EMERGING MARKETS-Latam stocks rebound on U.S. economic data

SAO PAULO, July 28 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks rose
on Thursday on stronger--than-expected U.S. economic data,
helping pare steep losses in the previous session sparked by
concern over the U.S. debt ceiling deadlock.

Analysis: In debt row, hints of emerging-economy crises

Debt default. A ratings downgrade. Political deadlock. Such terms, once associated primarily with the developing world, now abound in the mighty United States.

As the U.S. Congress flirts with the once-unthinkable prospect of not paying the country's bills, the heated battle over a usually routine vote to lift the country's debt ceiling is dealing another blow to America's image.

OECD Promotes Panama to List of Financially Transparent Countries

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the signing of a double taxation agreement with France on July 6, the Republic of Panama was placed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on its list of countries who have substantially implemented international standards for exchange of information, commonly known as the "White List."

Latin America swings to the left

LIMA, PERU -- The morning after Ollanta Humala won a photo-finish runoff for Peru’s presidency, rumors flew -- of a run on a grocery store in a high-end suburb, that the well-to-do would pull their money out of the country, that companies would pack up and take their investments elsewhere.

Even before official election results were announced, right-leaning media called for the left-leaning former army colonel to name his economy minister immediately, to calm fears.

Mexico inflation accelerates in early July

MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's annual inflation
rate accelerated more than expected in the first half of July
but not enough to change bets on the timing of interest rate
hikes next year.

Avoiding Brazil-Like Inflation Triggers Delay in Rate Bets: Mexico Credit

Traders are delaying forecasts for interest-rate increases in Mexico for the tenth time this year as slumping U.S. growth and declining food prices restrain inflation.

Yields on 28-day interbank rate futures due in April, known as TIIE, fell 16 basis points this week to 5.01 percent, indicating traders are betting the central bank will wait until that month to increase the key rate from a record low of 4.5 percent. In Brazil, traders are betting the central bank will raise its key rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, to 12.50 percent today, the fifth increase this year.

Role reversal: Latin America taunts U.S. on debt woes

(Reuters) - After three decades spent battling their own debt crises and getting constantly lectured about them by Uncle Sam, many Latin Americans are watching the countdown to a possible default in Washington with a mix of schadenfraude and fear of what a collapse might mean for them.

For everybody from presidents on down to street vendors, seeing U.S. politicians argue over where to make painful budget cuts has also been a reminder that those days are over in Latin America. For now, at least, as most of the region enjoys an era of economic prosperity and comparatively tiny deficits.

Mexico factory, industrial output jump in May

MEXICO CITY, July 12 (Reuters) - Mexico industrial
production in May rose more than expected, reversing three
months of declines, as an expansion in the factory sector gave
a boost to Latin America's second-largest economy.

Industrial production grew by 1.1 percent in May from April
MXIP=ECI, the national statistics agency said on Tuesday.
Analysts expected to see only a 0.3 percent month-on-month
expansion, while the year-over-year figure MXIPY=ECI grew by
4.6 percent compared to the forecast 3.4 percent

Brazil’s Gol Agrees to Buy Webjet to Gain Market Share

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil’s second-largest airline by market share, agreed to acquire Webjet Linhas Aereas SA for 96 million reais ($61 million), as it seeks to recover market share in Latin America’s biggest economy.

Sao Paulo-based Gol said in a regulatory filing today that the deal valued closely-held Webjet at 310.7 million reais, according to a regulatory filing. Webjet, a low-cost carrier based in Rio de Janeiro and controlled by Guilherme Paulus, is Brazil’s fourth-largest airline, with 5.2 percent of the country’s airline market.

Chavez's 'reverse miracle' with Venezuela's economy

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's critics took advantage of his absence for cancer treatment in Cuba to blame him for all kinds of misdeeds, but it's time to give him credit for having performed a true economic miracle in his country.

I'm not kidding. What Chavez has done in Venezuela over the last 12 years is nothing short of an economic miracle: Despite benefiting from the biggest oil boom in Venezuela's history, he has somehow managed to turn the country into a shambles.

Mexican Bank Holds Rates Steady On Tame Inflation, Slow Growth

MEXICO CITY—The Bank of Mexico on Friday left its overnight interest rate target unchanged at 4.5%, highlighting a slowdown in economic activity and a lack of overall inflation pressures in the economy.

The decision to leave the policy rate at the level it has been at since July 2009 came as no surprise, with the central bank widely expected to keep rates unchanged until the second quarter of 2012.

Peru May Hold 4.25% Rate for Second Month as GDP Slows Over Humala Concern

Peru’s central bank will probably keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged for a second month as inflation and economic growth slow on concern President-elect Ollanta Humala’s policies may damp investment in Latin America’s sixth-biggest economy.

The seven-member board will keep the overnight rate at 4.25 percent today, according to 16 of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, after unexpectedly holding the rate unchanged at last month’s meeting for the first time this year. One analyst predicts a quarter-point increase to 4.50 percent. The board will announce its decision at about 7 p.m. New York time.

Brazil's Mantega mulls new currency measures

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Brazil will continue to act to
curb the strength of its currency, with restraining excess
speculation in the futures and derivatives markets among
possible options, the country's finance minister said on
Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in London,
Finance Minister Guido Mantega also said Latin America's
largest economy was on track for growth of around 4.5 percent
this year -- a forecast higher than the 4.0 percent predicted
by the central bank and the 3.94 percent seen by analysts.

SABMiller lifts Latin America beer target on economy boost

SABMiller, the world's No. 2 brewer and Anheuser-Busch InBev rival, raised its forecast on Tuesday for beer volume growth in its biggest region, Latin America, due to price cuts and a strengthening economic recovery.

The London-based brewer of Grolsch, Peroni and Miller Lite, which is bidding for Australian group Foster's, said regional beer volume in April-June was up around 6 percent while its key Colombian market had seen 10-percent plus volume growth in June.

In Americas, Brazil's Slide Speaks Loudly

While many Latin American stock markets took a hit during the second quarter as the global economic recovery sputtered, Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa index has not only been the worst performing in the region but also one of the weakest in the world.

Global crises such as the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan and Greece's continuing debt woes have crimped the economic recovery and weighed heavily on the index of Latin America's biggest economy. The commodity-heavy Ibovespa lost 9% in the second quarter, as Brazilian policy makers raised interest rates to stem inflationary pressure.

The Brazilian real has soared to a 12-year high against the dollar, reigniting Brazil’s currency war fears and worsening the economic headache for President Dilma Rousseff.

The real traded at a high of 1.5523 versus the US currency on Friday, its strongest level since just after it was first floated in 1999, as investors sought higher-yielding assets following the easing of the Greek debt crisis.