Brazil IGP-M inflation slows in May to 0.43 pct

SAO PAULO, May 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's broadest inflation
index rose less than expected in May, adding to signs that
price pressures in Latin America's biggest economy could be
receding after a worrisome advance earlier this year.

India, China lead global economic recovery: UN

The emerging economies of India, China and Brazil are leading the global economic recovery, according to a UN report released on Wednesday.

"The rebound has been led by the large emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, particularly China, India and Brazil," the report said.

From Currency wars to Trade wars

Economic growth in emerging markets is more than twice that in advanced economies (7.3% versus 3% in 2010, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund). Not surprisingly, emerging markets are attracting capital inflows and have higher inflation rates (6.2% versus 1.6%). This is the case in much of Latin America. In its recent World Economic Outlook, the IMF recommends monetary tightening in emerging markets and continued monetary accommodation in the advanced economies. Alas, both pieces of advice could breed protectionism if not accompanied by effective capital controls.

S&P raises Brazil credit outlook

Standard & Poor’s has raised its outlook on Brazil’s credit rating to positive from stable, praising the Latin American country for diversifying its economy, increasing exports and fostering the growth of the middle classes.

The rating agency’s more bullish view follows Fitch’s upgrade to Brazil’s local and foreign currency debt to BBB in April this year and comes at a time when several European countries are struggling to emerge from the global financial crisis and suffering downgrades.

Latin American currencies rebound on German confidence

(Reuters) - Latin American currencies strengthened on Tuesday, led by Brazil's real and Mexico's peso, after stronger-than-expected economic confidence data in Germany, the world's fourth-largest economy.

The data lifted oil, copper, coffee and other commodities, the backbone of many Latin American economies, following yesterday's declines. That gave further support to the region's currencies.

Euro-zone fears drive Latin American stocks to 8-month low

Latin American stocks fell to an eight-month low on Monday as concerns that Europe's debt troubles were deepening combined with signs of slower growth in China and Europe to undermine equities around the world.

The MSCI Latin American index .MILA00000PUS fell 1.21 percent and closed at its lowest level since September as stocks in Brazil ended at their cheapest since July 2010.

Argentina is a risk worth taking

Argentina is a frontier market with an unpalatable tendency for suffering economic crises and political instability. But it is also one where risk-takers can reap rewards.

That is why, despite the warning signs of economic overheating and inflation expected to climb to around 30 per cent this year, institutional investors are finding appeal, especially in the fixed income market.

Drawn into an ever closer embrace

This month the vessel that will come to define early 21st-century trade between Latin America and Asia arrived in Guanabara Bay, the picturesque harbour of Rio de Janeiro.
The Vale Brasil, commissioned by Vale, the Brazilian miner and the world’s largest exporter of iron ore, is the first of a new breed of bulk carrier, known as the Chinamax. With a capacity of 400,000 tonnes and measuring 362m in length and 65m in width, this goliath can carry twice as much iron ore as most vessels now plying the route between Brazil and China.

Rising food prices could sway voters in Latin America

The rising cost of food in Latin America is squeezing workers and families already struggling to survive below the poverty line and could give opposition parties a boost in elections from Peru to Mexico.

Governments are scrambling to contain food prices and inflation in general, handing out discounted beef in Argentina and helping small Mexican food producers buy contracts in financial markets to buffer against higher corn prices.

Chile Economy Grows 9.8%, Most in 15 Years, as Nation Rebuilds After Quake

Chile’s economy expanded the most in 15 years in the first quarter, outpacing other major Latin American economies as consumer spending jumped and manufacturing recovered from the biggest earthquake in half a century.

The economy grew 9.8 percent from a year earlier, the central bank wrote on its website today, matching the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Venezuela’s Recovery From Latin America’s Longest Slump Gaining Momentum

Venezuela’s gross domestic product expanded at the quickest pace in almost three years in the first quarter as government spending backed by higher oil prices helped the economy emerge from Latin America’s longest recession faster than expected.

The country’s GDP rose 4.5 percent in the first three months of the year from the same period in 2010, the central bank said today in an e-mailed statement. Growth was more than twice as fast as the 1.7 percent median estimate of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Securing global economic security

Inflation is a significant factor of global economic security and has the innate capacity to upend carefully laid plans

Cuba-Mexico Inter-parliamentary Meeting Ends

Mexico, May 14.- The XII Mexico-Cuba Inter-parliamentary Meeting, which began Thursday, closed this Saturday in Merida, Yucatan.

Today’s discussions dealt with issues relating to Latin American integration, the situation in the Caribbean and Cuba.

These kinds of meetings are regularly held to boost bilateral economic cooperation and tourism, as well as talks on climate change and natural disaster prevention.

EDP May Sell as Much as 14% of Brazil Unit in Public Offering

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- EDP-Energias de Portugal SA, the biggest power company in Portugal, said it may sell a stake of as much as 14 percent of its Brazilian unit in a public offering as Latin America’s biggest economy expands.

The Portuguese utility currently holds 64.8 percent of the EDP-Energias do Brasil SA unit, Lisbon-based EDP said in a filing posted on the website of Portugal’s securities regulator.

Spanish economy weighs heavy on Telefónica

Spain’s stuttering economy weighed on Telefónica in the first quarter as growth at the eurozone’s biggest telecoms operator continued to be driven by its Latin American operations.

Telefónica said that revenues in its Spanish business fell by 5.6 per cent in the first quarter to €4.37bn ($6bn) driven by high levels of unemployment and increased price-based competition among domestic operators.

Peru, hawkish Chile hike rates in inflation fight

SANTIAGO/LIMA, May 12 (Reuters) - Chile surprised markets
with a third aggressive rate hike on Thursday and Peru kept up
its monetary tightening as the Latin American countries fought
inflation expectations driven by global food and oil prices.

Chile's central bank defied forecasts for a more moderate
hike, raising its benchmark rate 50 basis points to 5.0
percent, its highest level in over two years. It said more
increases would be needed.

Latin America must trace its own path out of crisis, Fernandez says

SANTO DOMINGO.- President Leonel Fernandez yesterday said he regrets that since the two years when the global economic crisis began, the formulas to solve it have yet to be found, for which he suggests that Latin America adopt a regional position to surpass it.

He also proposed fusing the neoliberal and neopopulist economic currents, to look for a third option as a viable solution to the crisis. "It’s there, where we were at the moment, how to look for the solution, overcoming neoliberalism and neopopulism, and perhaps the answer is to integrate the two, in linking State with market, that’s the other great polemic."

Latam inflation slows, easing rate hike pressure

SAO PAULO/SANTIAGO, May 6 (Reuters) - Inflation slowed in
Brazil and Chile in April as price-fighting efforts by
policy-makers gained traction, prompting some economists and
investors to scale back expectations for interest rate hikes.

The slower pace of inflation in April eases pressure on
central banks in both countries to raise interest rates sharply
to contain prices, which would risk derailing brisk growth.

Foreign Investment Returns to Latin America

MEXICO CITY—Foreign direct investment in Latin America and the Caribbean is recovering from pre-crisis levels thanks to the boom in commodities and the rising interest of China in the region.

Investment by foreign entities rose by 40% in 2010 to $113 billion, a report by the United Nations showed. South America, and in particular Brazil, was the primary beneficiary of the funds, followed by Mexico, said Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC.)

Latin America in bloom

HSBC’s head of macro and investment strategy Philip Poole recounts his time in Latin America and the progress the region has made recently.

I recently spent a fortnight in some of the smaller markets in Latin America – countries that historically have not received the level of attention the larger regional markets have been benefitting from for some time now.

IMF warns Latin America of "overheated" economy, high inflation

PANAMA CITY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Latin American countries face an economic "overheating" with high consumer inflation, the International Monetary Found (IMF) said on Wednesday.

Luis Cubeddu, assistant director of regional studies for the IMF, said the current favorable economic conditions for the region will not be permanent. Cubeddu was speaking at a joint press conference held here together with the IMF representative for Central America, Fernando Delgado.

Brazil Output Slowed Less Than Expected in March as Economy Remains Heated

Brazil’s industrial output slowed less than economists expected in March, raising concern that Latin America’s biggest economy is still expanding at a pace that stokes inflation.

Output rose 0.5 percent in March from the previous month, the national statistics agency said today in Rio de Janeiro. That’s more than the 0.2 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 31 analysts. Production fell 2.1 percent from a year ago, the first year-on-year decline since 2009.

GE targets Latin America for growth

Revenues at General Electric’s Latin American operations surged 30 per cent in the first quarter of this year from the same period in 2010 and should continue to climb as the rapidly growing region rushes to improve its creaking infrastructure, the US industrial group has told the Financial Times.

Emerging market countries, and especially Brazil, which is preparing to host the soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games two years later, are increasingly being seen as a strategic base for GE as it looks to slim down its financial businesses and focus more on industrial projects.