Economy & Business - August 2024

Bolivia’s struggling natural gas sector received a shot in the arm on 15 July when President Luis Arce announced the discovery of a major gas reserve in La Paz department.... Read More

In less than a year in office Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has faced an energy crisis, a bloody war against drug cartels, and struggled to pull the country back from the brink of debt default.... Read More

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro had imagined a different start to the legislative period that began on 20 July and marked the halfway point of his four-year term.... Read More

PERU | Rate cut cycle resumed.... Read More

When it’s not the asymmetrical economies of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) that are out of sync, then it’s the political leadership of the South American trade bloc that undermines its unity.... Read More

Argentina’s President Javier Milei may not have obtained the authorisation from congress to privatise Aerolíneas Argentinas, but he is doing everything he can to streamline the loss-making flagship carrier by boosting its competition.... Read More

In July, the state of São Paulo completed the sale of its water utility company, Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp) – a controversial sell-off, raising questions about whether it will bring net benefits to society.... Read More

When David Vélez founded neobank Nubank in Brazil just over a decade ago, he was ridiculed for trying to break into a banking sector dominated by a handful of juggernauts, the oldest of which has been around for over 200 years.... Read More

BRAZIL | Government announces budget freeze.... Read More

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has announced measures designed to make basic goods more affordable as he searches for ways to address growing economic concerns at the beginning of his second term in office.... Read More

Panama’s new President José Raúl Mulino faces a complicated economic panorama after taking office on 1 July, but has promised to boost growth, access to public services and job creation.... Read More

At the start of July Hurricane Beryl blasted a pathway between Grenada and St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), causing widespread damage as it intensified to Category 5, then easing back but still causing destruction in other countries in its flight path, including the north of Venezuela, Barbados, Jamaica, and Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, before turning into a storm over Texas.... Read More

Following its third review of the Barbadian economy at the end of June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave the green light for further disbursements.... Read More

COSTA RICA | Exports up.... Read More

With most of the top appointments in her incoming government now confirmed, it is clear that Mexico’s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum is treading a fine line between continuity and change as she prepares to take power on 1 October.... Read More

As Mexico becomes embroiled in the growing trade war between the US and China, local officials have insisted that a new agreement with the US to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium shipments diverted through its southern neighbour would not harm the national steel industry.... Read More

In July, President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum repeated campaign pledges to address issues surrounding water supplies in central Mexico.... Read More

MEXICO | Inflation continues to rise.... Read More