Source: Business Week

Billionaire Carlos Slim was out of context and off the mark in his criticism of a study finding a lack of competition in Mexico’s phone industry, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

Slim told reporters yesterday that the group’s report, released earlier this week, seemed to use data “pulled out of thin air.” The 72-year-old, who controls Mexico’s largest wireless and landline-phone companies, denied the study’s claims that Mexican carriers overcharged consumers $13.4 billion a year for phone and Internet services from 2005 to 2009.

Mexico’s government, which commissioned the study, is using it to validate efforts to create more competition in telecommunications. The findings support the government’s plan to auction off fiber-optic lines owned by the state power company and contracts to push high-speed Internet into communities where it’s not available, Communications and Transportation Minister Dionisio Perez-Jacome said this week.

“The OECD stands by its …

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Jamaica’s growing reputation as a top Caribbean destination for investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other key growth sectors is set to take centre stage on March 1-2, 2012, as the island lays out the red carpet for investors seeking opportunities in the region’s largest English-speaking economy.

The Jamaica Investment Forum 2012, which will be staged at the new Montego Bay Convention Centre, will focus on the business opportunities that exist in ICT, as well as other priority areas such as Tourism, Manufacturing and major privatization and development projects.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, will head a high profile slate of local and international speakers at the Forum, which is being organized by JAMPRO, the country’s investment promotion agency, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Compete Caribbean Programme. The opening of the event will feature presentations from Anthony Hylton, the …

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Source: MercoPress

President Cristina Fernandez has more power than Juan Domingo Peron “ever had” and Peronism in Argentina is guarantee of governance, according to Carlos Corach a former Interior minister from the former President Carlos Menem administration and a respected solicitor and political analyst.

“Cristina Fernandez is probably the president which has enjoyed more power in the history of Argentina. I’d say even more, she has more power than what Peron had. Peron had to deal and negotiate with very strong corporations, and economic and political sectors”, said the former minister.

Corach added that Peron (the Army Colonel who was president from 1946/1952, re-elected in 1952 but ousted by a military coup in 1955, to return triumphantly in 1973) had to learn to live with the Armed Forces, a very powerful Catholic Church and an opposition that also had strong and charismatic leaders”.

 

“Currently the majority of those players don’t hold such …

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Source: CNN

The rise of Brazil as an economic force has brought with it a policy challenge familiar here in the United States: immigration.

Recently crowned the world’s sixth-largest economy, Brazil has become an immigration magnet, both to low-skilled workers –some of whom enter illegally — and high-skilled workers looking for opportunities in the country’s thriving sectors.

Brazil historically has been welcoming to immigrants, but the challenge now is more pronounced as the government seeks to accept foreigners while protecting its hard-won prosperity.

The country faces two simultaneous challenges: how to deal with recent illegal immigration, mostly from Haiti, and how to make it easier for highly educated immigrants to get work permits. A number of Brazilian ministries have either proposed or are deliberating policies as the country ushers in a new era of immigration.

“You cannot become the sixth economy in the world with impunity,” Defense Minister Celso Amorim, a former foreign …

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Source: MarketWatch

Financial market analysts and economists reduced their forecasts for Brazil’s inflation this year for the ninth consecutive week, a survey by the Central Bank of Brazil showed Monday.

Economists now expect the country’s inflation to average 5.28% this year, down slightly from a forecast of 5.29% a week earlier, according to the survey. The forecast is still above the central bank’s inflation target of 4.5% for the year.

Brazil’s inflation rate reached 6.50% last year, the highest since hitting 7.6% in 2004.

For 2013, respondents kept their inflation forecast at 5%.

The central bank’s weekly survey tracks the opinions of 100 analysts and economists and reports the average of their expectations.

The forecast for the central bank’s benchmark Selic interest rate at the end of 2012 remained at 9.50%, while the forecast for end-2013 was raised to 10.38% from 10.25%.

Respondents kept their estimate for Brazil’s 2012 gross domestic product growth at 3.27%. …

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Source: The Jamaica Observer

Although mandated studies have found an estimated overall 64 per cent level of “compliance” in the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), the harsh reality is that it is yet to be “fully embraced” by a number of member states.

That, basically, is the assessment of findings in reports submitted to the Georgetown- based Caricom Secretariat with free intra-regional movement of services and the right of establishment identified as the two areas of “major deficiencies” among the five “core regimes” of the CSME.

Additionally, there continues to be disappointment and discomfort with respect to the pace of progress in addressing the old problem of free movement of Caricom nationals with particular concern in relation to advancing the process of free movement of skilled nationals of the 15-member community.

The five “core regimes” of the CSME — the often claimed “flagship project” of Caricom which will mark …

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Source: The Next Web

Telefonica‘s startup accelerator Wayra and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) signed a global partnership, the two entities announced. The agreement was signed during the launch of Mexico’s Wayra Academy.

As we reported, Wayra is an initiative promoted by Telefonica Digital to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in the ICT sector. Wayra works as a startup accelerator, selecting ten projects in each country in which it operates, which then receive mentoring and other resources at one of the newly opened Wayra spaces.

Initially launched in seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela), Wayra is now expanding to Europe, starting with the imminent launch of a Wayra Academy in Madrid.

Following Wayra’s agreement with MIT, the two entities will collaborate on a series of initiatives in Latin America. Wayra academies in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Argentina are the first to join the …

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Second Annual Nearshore Nexus Comes to New York City this April

Nearshore Nexus, the only North America investor conference focused entirely on the Caribbean and Latin America IT and BPO sector, will take place on Thursday April 19, 2012, in New York City.

Nearshore Nexus will feature the best minds in global services to examine the growing role Latin America is playing in delivering quality outsourcing services to businesses across the Americas. The outsourcing sector in Latin America has been growing at over 20 percent per year – noticeably higher than the global average. The theme for the 2012 edition of Nexus is: “Intelligent Analysis of Outsourcing in the Americas.”

“I’m very proud of the fact that we will attract delegates and sponsors from over 15 countries in Latin America. This testifies to …

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Source: The Santiago Times

Chile has emerged as the most globalized economy in Latin America and moved up to 25th place in the world, according to global consulting firm Ernst & Young.

Chile is among the countries to improve their position despite global economic uncertainty, the firm’s annual Globalization Index found.

“Unlike other countries, the policies of Chilean governments have promoted openness in times of turbulence, taking the sufficient precautions so the economic turmoil does not hit the country hard,” Cristián Lefevre, senior partner of Ernst & Young Chile, told El Mercurio.

The globalization measurement is based on five factors: foreign trade, capital movement, exchange of technology and ideas, labor movement, and cultural integration.

Chile’s greatest strength in 2011 was the arrival of foreign capital, which ranked fourth globally, behind Ireland, Hong Kong and Belgium. Chile also scored high in foreign trade.

Technology and cultural integration were cited as the country’s weakest …

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An elite group of Chilean entrepreneurs are beginning a one-month immersive work experience at SRI International to advance venture opportunities. The five teams participating in SRI’s Venture Readiness Program were selected from more than 75 teams representing the top Chilean universities, in a program sponsored by CORFO, the Chilean Economic Development Agency.

The work experience is part of CORFO’s “de la Idea al Mercado: Go to Market” program, which identifies early-stage venture opportunities for entrepreneurs who could benefit from relationships with Silicon Valley experts. The program is part of Chile’s overall strategy to develop sectors of their economy into globally competitive industries.

“We warmly welcome this group of Chilean entrepreneurs to SRI as they embark on an important step in their efforts to commercialize their visions on the global stage,” said Stephen Ciesinski, SRI vice president of Strategic Business Initiatives. “We will work with each team to develop components needed for market …

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