MEXICO CITY, Jan 30- Peru is in the best shape in Latin America to withstand an economic meltdown while Venezuela and Argentina have the weakest defenses, according to an analysis by International Monetary Fund economists.
*Chile December manufacturing down 2.5 percent year on year. *Less workdays and fall in wine and chemicals output cited.
*Earnings worries hit Saipem, Imperial Tobacco, Antofagasta. LONDON, Jan 30- European shares fell from two-year highs on Wednesday, dragged lower by concerns over earnings in the tobacco and oil services sectors, including a profit warning from Italy's Saipem.
*Colombia joins Peru and Costa Rica in flows defense. Colombia cut interest rates on Monday and said it would ramp up dollar purchases. Peru plans to pre-pay up to $1.5 billion in foreign debt this year and is intervening aggressively to curb currency gains.
SINGAPORE, Jan 29- London copper rose on Tuesday after a business spending survey suggested a recovery in the United States was taking root, but traders were cautious ahead of a U.S. monetary policy meeting and a raft of U.S and China data this week.
*China economy could grow 8 pct in 2013- sovereign wealth fund. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose to $8,069.25 a tonne at 1448 GMT, up 0.5 percent from Friday's close of $8,030 a tonne.
*Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico to lift tariffs. *Four nations belong to pro-free trade Pacific Alliance. SANTIAGO, Jan 27- Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico said on Sunday they would lift tariffs on 90 percent of goods before March 31 in a further push to open up their growing markets.
*Debt crisis humbles Europe in hunt for economic growth. SANTIAGO, Jan 27- Five years ago during the closing speeches of a summit in Chile, Spain's king told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" in an exchange that epitomized the fruitless meetings between Europe and Latin America at the time.
WASHINGTON- Automatic spending cuts postponed at the start of the year will go into effect as scheduled in March but "no one" is talking about allowing a U.S. government shutdown, the Republican House of Representatives Budget Committee chairman says.
*Brazil, Costa Rica nominate hopefuls to replace Lamy. Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica have nominated candidates to replace Pascal Lamy as director general of the WTO, which is struggling to remain relevant after repeated failures to revive global trade liberalization talks.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- The United States and the European Union are wrapping up final preparations for talks on a free-trade agreement that would encompass half the world's economic output, Europe's trade chief said on Saturday, while warning of "difficult negotiations."
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- EU leaders won a promise from Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to revive stalled talks on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it emerges from crisis, but disputes over key issues mean a breakthrough appears distant.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- The European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur will exchange offers on opening up their markets by the end of this year, the EU's trade chief said on Saturday as both sides try to unblock long-stalled free-trade negotiations.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- Latin America's economy should grow less than forecast this year, as the export-dependent region faces threats from stimulus measures in the developed world and an unresolved debt crisis in Europe, the Inter-American Development Bank said on Saturday.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- Siemens wants to grow in Latin America and intends to maintain its investment pace in the dynamically-growing region, the CEO for South America, excluding Brazil, told Reuters on Saturday.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- Argentina and Brazil need to open up to European goods and push ahead with the long-stalled Mercosur free-trade talks, the European Union's trade chief said on Saturday before EU and Latin American leaders meet to try to break the deadlock.
SANTIAGO, Jan 26- EU leaders urged Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to open up their markets and push ahead on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it battles to emerge from three years of economic crisis.
Jan 25- European Union leaders are meeting their Latin American counterparts this weekend in Santiago to win investments and speed up trade flows to lift Europe's stalled economy. *Bilateral trade has more than doubled over the last decade to reach some 200 billion euros last year, and Europe is the top foreign investor in Latin America and the Caribbean.
SANTIAGO, Jan 25- Spain told Latin America on Friday to respect its investments after Argentina and Bolivia nationalized three companies last year, but it trod carefully before a summit where the EU will seek to boost trade with the region.
LONDON, Jan 25- Visitors to London have marked its hotels as the worst in a list of 100 cities due to overpriced minibars, lousy breakfasts and slow service, according to a survey released on Friday. Close behind Dresden in the list of cities with good hotels were Hanoi in Vietnam, Tokyo, Chicago, and Krakow in Poland.
DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg says web traffic on his search engine, billed as an alternative to Google that doesn't store your private information, surged 33 percent after the NSA news broke. Weinberg discusses the model of his search engine, and how the company makes money.
Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 6:31 AM ETJohn Silvia, Wells Fargo Securities, and Barbara Marcin, Gabelli Dividend Income Fund, discuss whether investors should reconsider allocating their portfolios as the Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting.
Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 8:53 AM ETKen Langone, Invemed Associates chairman and president, called Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke a "lame duck."