US Diplomats Tout Latin American Economies

Two United States ambassadors to Latin American countries and the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Brazil are on tour in a recession-torn U.S. touting the booming Latin American economies to U.S. businesses large and small.

The tour for the diplomatic party of three – U.S. Ambassador to Peru Rose M. Likins, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Alejandro Wolf and U.S. Deputy Mission Chief to Brazil Todd C. Chapman – began this week in Memphis with a luncheon hosted by FedEx Corp. and the Business Council for International Understanding.

Mexico economic activity rises briskly in July

MEXICO CITY, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Mexico's agriculture
sector expanded in July to drive economic activity surprisingly
higher while upticks in the services and industrial sector were
also bright spots for Latin America's second-largest economy.

Economic activity MXIGAE=ECI rose 0.88 percent in July
from the previous month, government statistics institute INEGI
said on Wednesday, more than double analysts' median forecast
in a Reuters poll for a rise of 0.33 percent.

Argentina: Latin America's Highest Growth

Argentina and Panama lead Latin American GDP growth this year, while El Salvador and Venezuela are the laggards.

Peso Bonds Slump in Split From Treasuries Amid Greek Crisis: Mexico Credit

Mexico’s bonds, the emerging-market securities most correlated with U.S. Treasuries, are no longer moving in lockstep with debt from its northern neighbor as Europe’s debt crisis curbs demand for all but the safest assets.

Yields on Mexico’s peso bonds due in 2021 rose 37 basis points in last week to 6.73 percent, the most since they were issued in February, while those on similar-maturity Treasuries sank 21, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 120-day correlation coefficient between Mexican bonds and Treasuries dropped to a nine-month low of 0.29 from a high of 0.57. A reading of 1 indicates the two always move in the same direction. Mexican securities now track Turkish bonds more closely than Treasuries.

Mexico posts $71 mln adjusted trade surplus in Aug

Mexico posted a small trade surplus in August as gains in petrol exports made up for a slide in factory exports that drive Latin America's second-largest economy.

The trade surplus was $71 million in August when adjusted for seasonal swings, down from a revised $276.5 million deficit in July, the national statistics agency said on Monday.

Latin American Economies Doing Well Inspite of Global Economic Problems Say Economic Ministers

Latin America and the Caribbean continue to weather relatively well the problems currently afflicting the global economy, Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno said today at a meeting of central bankers and finance ministers.

Speaking to members of the Group of 30, Moreno said: “Indeed for many countries, the external environment has been relatively positive, and the region has made significant and fundamental advances. Still, the region is in a position to advance even further.”

Colombia housing market reflects region's growth

A decade ago, the country was mired in conflict with leftist rebels. Now people are investing in homes — a trend across much of Latin America.

Reporting from Pereira, Colombia—
The 50-year-old teacher is about to do something she's never done, something remarkable in Colombia: Buy a home.

Inez Angel has her eye on a $35,000 split-level condo in the Villa Verde subdivision in the western Colombian city of Pereira. It is priced right, and the 15-year mortgage at a fixed 7% interest rate is affordable.

Mexican Peso ‘Clearly Undervalued,’ Central Bank Head Says

Mexico’s peso is undervalued after tumbling 11 percent against the dollar in the past month, central bank Governor Agustin Carstens said.

The peso rallied today after tumbling for 11 consecutive days on concern slower economic growth will undermine commodity prices. The Mexican currency appreciated 3.8 percent to 13.5630 to the dollar as of 4:58 p.m. New York time.

Latin America Resilient, But Risks Are Growing

Economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, expected to moderate to 4½ percent in 2011, is still strong but the uncertain global recovery could cause growth rates in the region to fall further, said Nicolás Eyzaguirre, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department.

“Fears of a global slowdown and waning confidence have started to weigh on the region’s financial markets. Equities and more recently currencies are taking a hard hit,” Eyzaguirre said September 23 at a press briefing during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.

Argentine economic plan: Raise spending, salaries

While the U.S. and Europe struggle to revive their economies by imposing austerity measures, South American leaders have generally done the opposite, spending their way to growth and the voters' acclaim.

Few have gone farther afield from the economic doctrines of Washington and Brussels than Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, who proudly says that her government is doing more than any other in Latin America to improve the buying power of her citizens.

Mexico Needs No Stimulus to Withstand U.S. Slowdown, Meade Says

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade ruled out boosting spending to fight off a U.S. slowdown that the International Monetary Fund says will hurt Latin America’s second-biggest economy more than its neighbors.

Meade, in an interview, said he’s sticking by a 4 percent growth forecast for this year even after the IMF yesterday slashed estimates for Mexico’s economic performance this year and in 2012. Mexico is committed to spending restraint, a policy that served it well during the global financial crisis when other countries saw inflation accelerate and debt loads rise as a result of excessive fiscal stimulus, he said.

China says its trade ties with Latin America boosts economic growth

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday said its economic relations with Latin America boosted the region's economic and social development.

"China and Latin America have innovated ways of cooperation, realized rapid development of trade cooperation and robustly boosted their respective economic growth," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

Real Sinks to 16-Month Low, Extends Month’s Drop to 15 Percent

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s real tumbled, bringing its decline this month to 15 percent as the worst performer in Latin America, on growing concern the central bank is mismanaging interest-rate policy at a time when global economic conditions are deteriorating.

The real extended losses after Federal Reserve policy makers said there are “significant downside risks to the economic outlook.” The currency slumped as much as 5.8 percent to a 16-month low of 1.8960 per dollar and ended trading down 4.8 percent at 1.8756 as of 5 p.m. in New York.

IMF Cuts Latin America 2011 GDP Forecast on Slowing Demand

The International Monetary Fund cut its 2011 economic growth forecast for Latin America as domestic demand slows on tighter macroeconomic policies and weaker global growth.

Driven by commodity producers, Latin America and Caribbean economies should expand 4.5 percent this year, below the forecast of 4.6 percent made in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Update in July, the fund said in a report today. Argentina and Chile will lead the region, growing 8 percent and 6.5 percent respectively, while the region’s biggest and second-biggest economies -- Brazil and Mexico -- will both climb 3.8 percent.

South bears the brunt of America's rising poverty rate

Poverty rate rose faster in the South than anywhere else. Behind the raise in poverty rate: inmigration of minorities and reliance on jobs in industries hit hard by the recession.

Poverty rose everywhere in the United States in 2010, but the region to see the biggest increase was the South.

Macquarie Said to Close Latin America Fixed-Income Group

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia's largest investment bank, closed its Miami office and shut down its Latin America fixed-income business, according to a person familiar with the matter.

John Welch, chief emerging-market strategist for the bank, was among those fired in the move, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information hasn't been made public. Paula Chirhart, a spokeswoman in New York for Sydney- based Macquarie, declined to comment.

China Media Amps Up Latin America Coverage

A new forecast by the International Monetary Fund predicting slower economic growth is providing some tough love for the global recovery. But a new highway linking Peru's Pacific ports with the Amazon and China's strategic investments in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia could provide a silver lining for Latin America's economic future.

China's version of dollar diplomacy is helping to insulate Latin economies from the crisis. But it's also creating disputes over dumping, energy policy and technology that are similar to those that exist between Latin nations and the United States.

Brazil July Retail Sales Underscore Strong Demand

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones)--Brazilians continued their spending spree in July, shrugging off higher interest rates and stiffer credit terms to keep domestic demand in Latin America's largest economy heated.

Retail sales in July climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.4% from June, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said Tuesday. July sales were also up 7.1% from July 2010, and have advanced 8.5% over the past 12 months. The advance was greater than the median forecast of analysts polled by the Estado news agency, which projected a sales gain of 1.03% in July versus June. The forecasts fell within a range between growth of 0.3% and 1.6%.

Iranian vice president due in Latin America

TEHRAN (ISNA) – Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi departed for Havana Tuesday morning to take part in Iran-Cuba 15th joint commission meeting on commerce and meet with Cuban officials.

After his visit to Cuba, Rahimi is supposed to travel to Ecuador and meet with the officials.

“Iran’s relation with Latin American countries has broadened in recent years,” said Iranian vice president before his departure to Cuba.

Latin America’s blind love with China may be over

After a decade of record Latin American exports to China, which helped the region grow significantly despite the recent global recession, there are signs that the honeymoon may be coming to an end.

Growing numbers or Latin American business leaders and trade experts are complaining that China is buying almost exclusively raw materials from the region, while refusing to purchase more sophisticated — and expensive — Latin American goods, thus preventing the region from having more diversified economies.

October Rate Cut Prediction Shows U.S. Slump Spilling Over: Mexico Credit

Mexico will follow Brazil and Turkey in cutting interest rates next month to help shield the economy from a slowdown in the U.S., swaps trading shows.

Yields on futures contracts for October, known as TIIE, sank 11 basis points in the past month to 4.73 percent, indicating traders expect central bank Governor Agustin Carstens to lower the benchmark 4.5 percent rate when the board meets Oct. 14. Those wagers signal a reversal for traders who expected as recently as Aug. 25 that Carstens’s next move would be to raise borrowing costs from a record low.

Brazil 2011 inflation forecast tweaked higher

SAO PAULO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Economists raised their forecast for Brazil's benchmark inflation index this year to 6.38 percent from 6.31 percent previously, according to a weekly central bank survey published on Monday.

Economists forecast growth of 3.67 percent in Latin America's biggest economy this year, down from a 3.79 percent forecast in the previous survey.