Argentine price controls are getting riskier.
The promise of better days ahead generated by Argentina's
adroit handling of its 2001-2002 financial crisis has now dwindled into
the discouragement amply illustrated by the inflationary growth . . .
What will Argentina do about inflation?(Brief article)
At minimum, Argentina has been slow to recognize that fighting
inflation with price controls alone is not working. A Bloomberg News
wire story from London dated June 22, 2006, quoted the head . . .
El Salvador consumers hurt by an unlikely source.
Something incredible must have happened in El Salvador in 1996. The
drop in household expenditure growth (the yellow line in the graph
above) confirmed by a similar drop in wholesale/retail sales . . .
Chilean study on the female consumer.(Saints or Materialists:
Paradoxes and Coercions in Female Consumption Patterns published )
"Today, social integration is achieved through consumerism-a
realm that has the power to include, exclude and generate identities.
The purpose of our work was to examine how women can change . . .
Promising developments for Panama's economy.
Later this year, Panamanians will go to the polls to cast their
vote in a national referendum. The issue: Should the Panama Canal be
widened to accommodate a new generation of huge container . . .
EMV smart cards.(Europay (the 'E'), Mastercard
(the'M') and Visa (the 'V'))
Smart cards, which are the next generation of credit cards, have
begun to be introduced around the world, are now proliferating in the
Latin American region.
Smart cards contain a small computer . . .
Consumer spending rises in Brazil.
Brazil's consumers are in an increasingly favorable position.
This conclusion is drawn from a series of Bloomberg News reports
emanating from Latin America's biggest economy.
Two of the four . . .
Recorded Music in Latin America.
Sales of recorded music fell overall in the Latin America region
during 2005. But the region had a better year than the world generally.
Sales in the region declined 0.4 percent in 2005 compared . . .
Bolivia begins redistributing land.
On the same day that the current Bolivian president seized the
assets of oil and gas companies operating in Bolivia, May 1, 2006, he
announced a program to fulfill one of the key promises of . . .
Residential housing finance.
When Mexico's current president was running for office six
years ago, he promised that by the last year of his term, Mexicans would
have financed access to 750,000 new housing units. According to . . .
Growth picks up in Bolivia but is still slow.(Brief
article)
Bolivia's economy is growing and could end 2006 with a showing
of 4.1 percent, according to an April 2006 prediction by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). If Bolivia does reach this level, . . .
Optimism in Uruguay appears justified.(economic progress in
Uruguay)
In addition to being a successful politician, Uruguay's
current president is a physician-an oncologist, in fact. Another
interesting fact about him says something about Uruguay's . . .
Bolivia promises consumers jobs and income.(Brief
article)
In announcing a landmark government program to reduce poverty and
create jobs, Bolivia's planning and development minister said that
the us$6.8-billion project was part of an effort to
"dismantle" . . .
Political crisis imperils Ecuador's economy.
Of the many reports about Ecuador's recent decision to seize
the assets of a major United States (US) oil company, the following
stood out. Business Week (May 18, 2006) said Ecuador's president,
". . . .
Contraband trade booming in Venezuela.(pirated goods are
available openly)(Brief article)
According to a May 27, 2006 Reuters report from Caracas, Venezuelan
consumers were able to purchase a DVD of "The Da Vinci Code"
even before the movie opened on local screens. Unfortunately, the . . .
Mexican growth gains strength.(Brief article)
The financial news wire of Agence France-Press-AFX-said, on July
28, 2006, that the Bank of Mexico (BANXICO) had released
"surprisingly strong data." The data instigated yet another
upward revision . . .
Mexico takes a halting step forward.(North American Free Trade
Agreement)
As of this writing, Mexico's election is not officially
decided. The left wing candidate, who election officials say lost by the
narrowest of margins, will challenge the results in the . . .
Peru's inflation lowest in Latin America.(Brief
article)
Even though the leftist candidate lost in Peru's presidential
election in June 2006, the country's consumers can thank him for
his one positive contribution to the economy. Inflation, according to . . .
Peru avoids extremism.
The closely watched Peruvian presidential election delivered an
unexpected result remarkable more for who did not get elected than for
who did get elected.
The runoff vote, held on June 4, 2006, . . .
Uruguay's economy viewed more favorably.
A view of Uruguay's economic performance was advanced slightly
by Fitch Ratings, the global rating service. Uruguay moved from
"stable" to "positive"-meaning that a credit upgrade
is possible over . . .
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