Brazil Industry Suffers As Strong Real Stokes Imports

RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- Output at Brazil's mines and factories continued to slow in July as growth in Latin America's largest economy buckles under the weight of towering interest rates and a strong currency that has fueled a flood of cheap imports.

July's 0.5% growth in industrial production, which followed a 1.2% slide in June, was affected by "the greater presence of imported products and lower demand in the domestic market," said Andre Luiz Macedo, coordinator of the industrial output survey at the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, or IBGE. Higher interest rates and other measures aimed at reining in credit and tamping down domestic demand are being reflected in industrial production, Macedo said.

Brazil to end rate rises as slowdown mounts

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank will likely call a halt to this year's flurry of interest rate hikes on Wednesday as it responds to growing signs of a slowdown in Latin America's largest economy.

With annual inflation running above 7 percent, policymakers will be reluctant to start reducing the country's lofty borrowing costs just yet and are expected by economists to leave the benchmark Selic rate at 12.5 percent.

Vivendi profits boosted by games and Brazilian business

Vivendi, Europe's biggest telecom and entertainment group, has reported results boosted by its games business and its Brazilian unit.

The company's net profit came in at 3.31bn euros ($4.78bn; £2.93bn) for the first six months of the year, which was 58.8% up on the same period last year.

Mining companies agree to pay Peru an extra billion dollars annually

Peru has reached an agreement with mining companies that will raise the industry’s annual payments to the government to about one billion dollars, the government said on Thursday, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Ollanta Humala.

Humala took office in late July, vowing to tax mining companies' windfall profits to bolster social programs in a country where one of every three people is poor. Mining accounts for 60% of Peru's export revenue.

Brazil loosing industry to Mercosur members with cheaper costs and lower taxes

The strong growth of the Brazilian economy, almost to full capacity, and the Super Real have Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay increasingly attracting Brazilian companies while factories and jobs are lost to Mercosur members, complain industry leaders.

“Business missions sent by the governments of Uruguay, Paraguay and other Latin American countries are frequently visiting Brazil and meeting with associations from the different industrial sectors with the purpose of attracting them to invest in their countries. The bait is not the potential of local markets but more competitive costs than in Brazil”, said Raquel Landim in a piece for O Estado de Sao Paulo.

Latin American central banks ready to reverse policy and cut interest rates

Brazil and Chile have anticipated such a possibility and Mexico on Friday stunned markets by opening the door to rate cuts.

The region’s policymakers were among the most aggressive in tightening policy after the global financial crisis. They may now be among the first to start easing, following in the footsteps of Denmark, Turkey and Switzerland.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar heads to LatAm in Panama and Colombia for FTA talks

NEW DELHI: After shunning Latin America two years ago, the government is now seeking closer economic ties with the region as part of its initiative to diversify markets for Indian merchandise.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar will be visiting Latin America this week to explore avenues of improving economic cooperation with the countries of the region. Khullar, who will be leading a high-level business delegation, will also look into the possibility of signing free trade agreements (FTAs) with Panama and Colombia, which could serve as a gateway to Latin America.