SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s retail sales smashed market estimates in March, growing more than the highest forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, in a positive reading for the country’s broader first-quarter economic performance despite high interest rates. Retail sales rose 0.8% in the month compared with February, data from statistics agency IBGE showed…
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil faces challenges in consolidating disinflation despite progress made so far, central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Wednesday, again highlighting concerns with rising inflation expectations. During his online participation in the bank’s annual conference, Campos Neto pointed out that inflation had dropped from 12.1% in April 2022 to 4.2% in…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund’s no. 2 official said on Wednesday she sees sizeable risks that inflation will remain high or accelerate in many emerging markets and urged central banks to keep monetary policies tight. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath told a conference hosted by the Central Bank of Brazil that…
By Horacio Soria BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – In Juan Capano’s shoemakers’ workshop on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, 109% inflation makes a painful daily impact: constantly changing input costs for the leather, laces and rubber that workers assemble into boots at whirring machines. Argentina is battling one of the highest inflation rates in the world,…
By Daina Beth Solomon and Jose Luis Gonzalez CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) – After hours of waiting on the U.S. side of the border and hoping the Texas National Guard would let them seek U.S. asylum, a group of 15 migrants crossed a shallow green river back to Mexico, their faces drawn in disappointment. After…
By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador’s National Assembly on Tuesday began an impeachment hearing against President Guillermo Lasso, who could be removed from his post, though the process increases the likelihood he will dissolve the legislature to avoid a final vote. Ninety-two votes from the 137-member assembly are needed to remove Lasso, who opposition politicians…
By Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Finance Ministry is preparing a new set of initiatives to increase tax revenue, including a review of deductions and exemptions for income tax on individuals, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The potential measures aim to shore up Brazil’s fiscal stability as leftist…
By Brendan O’Boyle MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Negotiations over the sale of Citigroup Inc’s Mexican retail bank Citibanamex are “going really well” and the government is upbeat about conglomerate Grupo Mexico’s possible purchase, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday. Lopez Obrador said the mining and transport conglomerate remains one of the possible buyers of the…
(Reuters) – A Colombian man has been sentenced to five years and two months in prison for spreading “fake news” about the actions of Russian armed forces in Ukraine in a rare case of Russia applying its war censorship laws against a foreigner, independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported on Tuesday.Alberto Enrique Giraldo Saray was…
By Erwin Seba HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil refiners aim to run at up to 94% of a total 17.9 million barrels per day processing capacity this quarter, according to company forecasts and analysts, driven in part by expectations of seasonal travel demand. Strong prices and demand since late 2021 have encouraged refiners to run…
