Source: Merco Press

Inflation in Uruguay was not only far above target domestically but also figures among the ten highest in the world, and in Latam only behind Argentina and Venezuela

Uruguay ended 2011 with 6.8% inflation, above the target range of 4% to 6%, which nevertheless completes a seven year period below two digits, the longest since stats started back in 1939.

However Uruguayan economists are divided as to the future approach: some believe it’s not so important the actual percentage increase but the fact that the acceleration of prices is under control. They argue that in a global volatile environment it’s not necessarily advantageous to strictly implement “monetary policy”.

Although monetary policy helps contain prices it also slows the economy and job creation, and helps an increase in imported goods and services because a stronger currency (and cheaper dollar) means Uruguayan goods (particularly with a high component of local …

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Source: Merco Press

Latin America trade with India could go up to 50 billion dollars by 2014 on the back of projected high economic growth in both the regions, said R. Viswanathan, India’s ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

”The region (Latin America) is going to be a regular source of imports of crude oil, edible oil, minerals, timber and other products which India needs to sustain its high growth. Agribusiness, food processing, energy and mining are the growth areas of Latin America and the Indian companies should target them for trade and investment“ said the top Indian official.

At present, the Latin American region accounts for 4% of India’s trade. Two-way trade between India and Latin America was recorded at 23 billion dollars in 2010. It included 9 billion of India’s exports to Latin America and imports of 14 billion.

India targets to increase its exports to Latin America to …

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By Patrick Haller

Argentina‘s students didn’t take to the streets recently like students in Chile and Colombia did, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to see some changes to the country’s education system. While literacy rates and primary school completion are high for the region, access to university to study IT or other advanced subjects essential for a thriving technology sourcing environment is often limited. Low income, and the system for granting higher-level degrees, are usually the culprits.

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Source: Hispanic Business

President Obama said the U.S. will strengthen relations with Argentina, after Cristina Fernandez began her second term as Argentine president last week.

In an interview with Argentine newspaper La Nacion published Monday, Obama said closer bilateral ties will help the two countries “to achieve even more.”

The U.S. and Argentina will openly discuss new challenges of the bilateral relations in a responsible way to be sure that any disagreement can be effectively resolved, the report cited Obama as saying.

Obama also said he hopes Argentina will deepen cooperation with the international community in countering terrorism, curbing drug smuggling and tackling the Iranian nuclear issue.

Obama and Fernandez met at a G20 summit in Cannes, France, in November when they discussed cooperation in science, technology and energy.

During the meeting, the two leaders promised to expand cooperation in the peaceful use of the space and joint research on global climate change, …

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Source: I Love Chile

On Dec. 10, President Sebastián Piñera attended the inauguration ceremony for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the President of Argentina, for her second term in office, pledging to strengthen the relationship between Argentina and Chile.

He stated that Chile’s main objective was “to have the best relationship with every country in the world, but particularly with our neighbors.”

Those present at the ceremony included presidents Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, Evo Morales of Bolivia, José Mujica of Uruguay and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, among other dignitaries.

Although relations between the two countries have been a little bumpy, there has been no major direct conflict since the 1970s, which was a territorial conflict. Since the transitions to democracy in Chile in 1989 and Argentina in 1983, there has been greater economic integration, though Chile has had more of stable growth while Argentina has had ups and downs. Now, the …

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By Dennis Barker

In the big international competition with India and other low-cost outsourcing destinations, some Nearshore IT providers have been taking their game to the next level (apologies for the sports cliche) by adopting agile software-development methods. And one of the keys to helping teams become skilled agile players is to hire or train good coaches – leaders who are certified scrum masters.

(Scrum is defined by the Scrum Alliance as “an agile framework for completing complex projects.” The term was adapted from rugby – hence the sports cliche – in a 1986 study by Takeuchi and Nonaka that alluded to a team trying to “go the distance as a unit, passing the ball back and forth.”)

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Source: Buenos Aires Herald

Argentina will receive a loan worth US$400 million, or 1.7 billion pesos, from the Inter-American Development Bank to carry out infrastructure improvements in poor neighbourhoods, the government said yesterday. The decision follows an about-turn made by the US to approve credits to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government after several refusals to do so.

According to the Planning Ministry, which announced the new loan, the programme will help the urban and social inclusion of households living in precarious conditions. “Up to 70,000 families will benefit from infrastructure improvements including the provision of drinking water, sewers, gas, lighting for streets and homes and public spaces,” it said in a statement. That means that around 280,000 people who live in shantytowns or irregular housing will be affected for the better by the investment which will finance phase three of the so-called Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (PROMEBA).

The funds …

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By: Patrick Haller 

Brazil makes it difficult. Costa Rica is complex but straightforward. Colombia requires a lot of paperwork as does Argentina. Mexico and Chile reputedly provide a smooth road by comparison to the others. We are talking about immigration procedures in Latin America. Navigating through the sometimes confusing, often confounding, maze of immigration regulation can be frustrating at best.  Nearshore Americas examines what is involved with obtaining and keeping, work-related visas across Latin America.

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Source: Fox News Latino

Poverty in Latin America has dropped overall 17 percentage points in the last 20 years with two major exceptions, according to the United Nations regional economic body.

From 1990 to 2010 the poverty rate fell from 48.4 percent to 31.4percent, meaning that roughly 177 million people now live in poverty in the region. However, Honduras and Mexico trended the opposite way with poverty rates rising 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, according to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In regards to Mexico, the comparison was made with the poverty rate for 2008 so the figure does not only reflect the economic growth in Mexico in 2010, but also the major GDP per capita contractions in 2009, a press release from ECLAC stated.

“Poverty and inequality continue to decline in the region, which is good news, particularly in the midst of …

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Source: Total Telecom

Countries aim to cut costs with $100 million plan to build 2,000 kilometres of new cable.

Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and other countries in South America are proposing building fiber-optic links between their networks to cut costs and save time, Brazilian communications minister Paulo Bernardo said Tuesday.

The countries in the region already have their own fiber-optic networks, and they could be linked together with the construction of as few as 2000 kilometers of new cable, mostly along existing rights-of-way, Bernardo said at a press conference.

The connections could be built in about two years, at a cost of about $100 million, he told reporters. Right now most of the connections between countries in the region go via the U.S., adding to the cost and to the time of calls and data transmissions.

As much as 85% of Internet traffic in South America passes through Miami, the Inter-American Development …

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