Business News South America

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 16- When opposition presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez addressed a crowd of supporters after his landslide victory in Argentina's primary election, there was one notable absence from the stage: former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Fernandez de Kirchner, a firebrand leftist who is reviled and revered by Argentines in...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 16- When opposition presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez addressed a crowd of supporters after his landslide victory in Argentina's primary election, there was one notable absence from the stage: former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Fernandez de Kirchner, a firebrand leftist who is reviled and revered by Argentines in...

BRASILIA, Aug 16- Brazil's backsliding on Amazon conservation under right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and a likely Peronist return to power in Argentina could delay or even derail ratification of an EU-Mercosur trade agreement that took two decades to negotiate. Two former Brazilian environment ministers, Jose Sarney Filho and Izabella Teixeira, said...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 16- A collapse in Argentina's peso currency this week and soaring borrowing costs have fueled investors' concern that Latin America's third-largest economy is heading for another debt restructuring. The International Monetary Fund's next review of the country's $57 billion lending program on Sept. 15 should provide a sign of whether...

BRASILIA, Aug 16- Brazil's decision to sell dollars on the spot market for the first time in a decade is a sign the central bank is finally willing to reduce its $385 billion pile of foreign exchange reserves, analysts said. "This is a change of tactic, as well as signaling that there is no problem with selling FX reserves as long as it is a measured sale," said Cleber...

SAO PAULO, Aug 15- Brazil will pull out of the Mercosur trade bloc if the opposition party wins Argentina's presidential elections later this year and closes the economy with protectionist policies, Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday. Guedes also questioned how dependent Brazil's economy is on its Mercosur partner, which lurched into...

SAO PAULO, Aug 14- Brazilian cosmetics group Natura SA said on Wednesday its second-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year ago, slightly above market expectations, helped by solid sales growth in all segments as well as cost cuts. In the quarter ended June 30, Natura posted net revenue of 3.4 billion reais, up 9.8% from the second-quarter of 2018..

BRASILIA, Aug 14- Brazilian financial markets slumped on Wednesday, with stocks posting their biggest fall since March and the currency at its weakest level since May as fears grew that a recession in the United States could be on the horizon. The benchmark Bovespa index fell almost 3.0% and the real fell 2% to below 4.05 against the dollar, also feeling the heat...

LIMA/NEW YORK, Aug 14- Latin American cocoa could soon demand a minimum price of $3,200 per tonne if a proposal from Peru finds support at a gathering of regional producers on Thursday, one month after their counterparts in West Africa announced a shift in how they price beans. Support for a price floor in Latin America has grown since West Africa's pricing reform,...

BRASILIA, Aug 14- Brazil's government should resist calls to relax spending cap rules to avoid a sharp deterioration in public finances, Treasury Secretary Mansueto Almeida said on Wednesday. Some say it's too harsh and is making the public sector unworkable, so the rule has to be more flexible, "he said at an Economy Ministry seminar in Brasilia.

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 14- Sales of everything from cars to food and beauty products slowed in Argentina following a collapse in the peso currency, as suppliers held back shipments while trying to calculate how the devaluation will affect consumer prices. Uncertainty has reigned in Argentine markets since business-friendly President Mauricio Macri was...

SAO PAULO, Aug 14- Brazilian planemaker Embraer on Wednesday swung to a $7.2 million profit in the second quarter as higher revenue at its executive jets business offset lower commercial jet sales, but reaffirmed it would report a loss for 2019.. The company had reported a quarterly loss of $131 million a year earlier, impacted by a runway incident involving a new...

Aug 13- Chile's LATAM Airlines Group, South America's largest airline, posted a narrower loss of $63 million in the second quarter, boosted by growing revenue in Brazil but dragged down by a recession in Argentina. The loss was a significant reduction compared to the same period last year, when it posted a $206 million loss, at the time dragged down by a weak currency...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 13- Argentina's peso closed weaker again on Tuesday following a second day of market turmoil triggered by opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez's landslide victory in a primary election that dealt a severe blow to President Mauricio Macri's re-election chances. The currency had hit an all-time low on Monday of 65 to the dollar, a drop of 30%,...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 13- Argentina's peso closed weaker again on Tuesday following a second day of market turmoil triggered by opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez's landslide victory in a primary election that dealt a severe blow to President Mauricio Macri's re-election chances. The currency had hit an all-time low on Monday of 65 to the dollar, a drop of 30%,...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 13- Argentina's peso and dollar-denominated bonds dropped again on Tuesday as market turmoil spilled into a second day following opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez's landslide victory in a primary election that dealt a severe blow to President Mauricio Macri's re-election chances. The currency had hit an all-time low on Monday of 65...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 13- Argentina's peso and dollar-denominated bonds dropped again on Tuesday as market turmoil spilled into a second day following opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez's landslide victory in a primary election that dealt a severe blow to President Mauricio Macri's re-election chances. The currency had hit an all-time low on Monday of 65...

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 12- Argentina's key grains export sector became instantly more competitive on Monday when the local peso weakened over 15% against the U.S. dollar, but farmers said they would wait to see where the currency settles before selling. With some analysts forecasting an even weaker peso ahead and growers fearing a return to interventionist...