Bloomberg Línea — Argentina’s statistics bureau INDEC has revealed that the country’s minimum salary is not enough to cover the total basic food basket, the cost of which increased by 7% in February.
Chile’s Constitutional Convention, charged with drawing up a new constitution that will be put to vote in an obligatory plebiscite on September 4, this week approved the creation of a national health service, which was one of the main demands of the social unrest in 2019. Under the proposal, the system will be financed, at least in part, through a tax on all workers.
On the region’s stock markets, Argentina’s Merval (MERVAL) resisted the downward trend seen in the United States and on the rest of the Latin American stock exchanges, while Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV) slid 2.86% to close with the worst performance in the region on Friday.
Following is a roundup of Friday’s news from Bloomberg Línea and Bloomberg reporters across Latin America.
Argentina:
- Argentina’s statistics bureau INDEC has revealed that the country’s minimum salary is not enough to cover the total basic food basket, the cost of which increased by 7% in February.
- In an interview with Bloomberg Línea, Gastón Taratura, CEO of Argentine unicorn Aleph, talks about the company’s IPO plans and how Argentina, and also Uruguay, need to harvest their talent to build companies and kickstart their economies.
Chile:
- Chile’s Constitutional Convention, charged with drawing up a new constitution that will be put to vote in an obligatory plebiscite on September 4, this week approved the creation of a National Health Service, which was one of the main demands of the social unrest in 2019. Under the proposal, the system will be financed, at least in part, through a tax on all workers.
- Chile’s copper miners are showing negative results. For example, Antofagasta Minerals, part of the Luksic Group, reported a 24.2% drop in its copper production in the first quarter.
Colombia:
- Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel has completed the acquisition of Colombian conglomerate Grupo Orbis, whose portfolio includes well-known brands in the country such as Pintuco paints. The agreement was first announced in June 2021, but the acquisition was not completed until this year.
- Left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro has widened his lead ahead of the May presidential elections in Colombia, and would win in a second round against right-wing Federico Gutiérrez with a difference of almost eight percentage points, according to an opinion poll.
Ecuador:
- Ecuador has begun the extradition process of former president Rafael Correa from Belgium, who was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for bribery.
Guatemala:
- The sustained growth in exports reflected by some countries in the Central American Integration System, such as El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica; and the potential shown by Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic, is spurring the Guatemalan food and beverage sector to expand its exports.
Mexico:
- Mexico’s annual inflation accelerated more than expected in the first half of April, driven by food, gasoline and vacation costs, as the central bank evaluates further interest rate hikes. With these increases, Kimberly Clark Mexico (KIMBERA), a leading producer of toilet paper and other consumer products, is analyzing reducing its promotions during this summer’s bargain season as part of its strategy to circumvent inflationary pressures on its costs.
Uruguay:
- Standard & Poor’s has ratified its credit rating of Uruguayan debt at BBB, one notch above the minimum in investment grade. The company maintains a stable outlook for the country, while expecting that the government’s fiscal adjustment and the end of economic support due to the pandemic will contribute to stabilize debt levels after several years of increase.
Venezuela:
- New appointments within the ministerial cabinet of Nicolás Maduro’s administration were announced this Friday, with which Maduro surprised observers by announcing the return of Juan Carlos Loyo, who was dismissed by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez in 2012 from the Agriculture and Lands portfolio.
