By Nathan Gill April 2 (Bloomberg) — Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s approval rating rose to 62.2 percent in March, the highest since she took office two years ago, according to a poll published today by Santiago-based Adimark Gfk. Finance Minister Andres Velasco’s popularity also rose, giving him a 57.1 percent backing and making him the… Read More Chile President Bachelet’s Approval Rating Increases to a Record High
By Nathan Gill April 2 (Bloomberg) — Anglo American Plc will invest $500 million in its Los Bronces copper mine in Chile this year, Chilean Mining Minister Santiago Gonzalez said. An expansion project at the mine could create 4,000 jobs by the beginning of 2010, Gonzalez, chairman of Chile’s state-run mining company, Codelco, said today… Read More Anglo American to Invest $500 Million in Chile Copper Mine
By Nathan Gill April 2 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s inflation rate will fall to the central bank’s 3 percent target ‘soon” as prices for energy and food continue to decline, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said. Chile’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to a decade-high of 8.25 percent last year after inflation surged to… Read More Chilean Inflation to Slow to 3% ‘Soon,’ Finance Minister Velasco Says
By Nathan Gill March 31 (Bloomberg) — Chilean billionaire Sebastian Pinera will present his presidential campaign platform this week, highlighting his plans for boosting employment and improving education in South America’s fifth-biggest economy. Pinera, running as a candidate for the Alliance for Chile coalition, said his proposal would add 1 million jobs in five… Read More Pinera to Run for President in Chile on Employment, Education
By Nathan Gill March 31 (Bloomberg) — Chilean government spending will help create jobs, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said today after the unemployment rate rose to a two-year high last month. The government’s $4 billion economic stimulus package and “solid and credible” institutions will allow Chile to limit the damage from the global financial… Read More Chile Stimulus Plan to Spur Job Growth, Velasco Says
By Nathan Gill and James Attwood March 27 (Bloomberg) — Chileans stormed pharmacies and the government pledged a crackdown after the country’s second-biggest drugstore chain said it joined with rivals to raise prices of life-saving medicine. Crowds gathered outside pharmacies in downtown Santiago, waving placards and shouting their opposition to high prices, according to… Read More Chileans Storm Pharmacies to Protest Price-Fixing on Medicine
By James Attwood and Nathan Gill March 25 (Bloomberg) — Farmacias Ahumada SA, Chile’s second-biggest pharmacy chain known as Fasa, said it fixed medicine prices with rivals and will pay a $1 million fine. Fasa reached an agreement with antitrust regulators in a case involving products sold from November 2007 to March 2008, the… Read More Chile’s Fasa Agrees to Pay $1 Million for Collusion
March 21, 2009 (Southern Affairs) — Peru, home of the ancient Incan Empire, is trying to win back by reason what it lost by force. On March 19, Peru asked the United Nations to settle a century-old dispute with its southern neighbor Chile over some of South America’s richest fishing grounds. Jose Garcia Belaunde, Peru’s… Read More Peru Restarts War of the Pacific with UN Lawsuit against Chile
By Nathan Gill March 19 (Bloomberg) — Cap SA, Chile’s biggest steel and iron-ore producer, rose for a fifth day in Santiago trading as commodities surged on speculation the Federal Reserve’s steps to revive the U.S. economy will boost demand for raw materials. Santiago-based Cap gained 2 percent to 8,920 pesos, the highest since… Read More Chile’s Cap Gains for a Fifth Day as Commodities Rise
By Nathan Gill March 19 (Bloomberg) — Peru presented the United Nations International Court of Justice in The Hague today with its claim to some of the world’s richest fishing grounds now held by Chile, Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde said. Garcia Belaunde said he’s confident the court will agree to hear the… Read More Peru Seeks UN Ruling on Chile Maritime Dispute, Garcia Says
By Nathan Gill March 17 (Bloomberg) — Banco de Credito e Inversiones, Chile’s fourth-largest lender, rose to the highest in two weeks in Santiago trading on speculation lower interest rates will boost lending. BCI, as the bank is known, gained 2.6 percent to 11,390 pesos. Larger rivals Banco Santander Chile and Banco de Chile… Read More BCI Gains to Highest in 2 Weeks on Lower Rates
By James Attwood and Sebastian Boyd March 13 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s government-owned Banco del Estado de Chile today said it will cut interest rates to consumers, adding pressure on the country’s private banks to follow suit. Chile’s central bank last night slashed its benchmark interest rate by 2.5 percentage points, bringing cuts this year… Read More Chile State Bank Cuts Rates, Pressuring Private Banks
By Nathan Gill March 12 (Bloomberg) — Cia. Sudamericana de Vapores SA, Latin America’s largest container ship company, plunged as much as 13.9 percent and closed at a six-year low on speculation it will struggle to pay maturing debt. The share tumble, which followed an 8.7 percent slide yesterday, prompted the Santiago Stock Exchange… Read More Chile’s Vapores Sinks to 6-Year Low on Cash Concerns
By Sebastian Boyd and Nathan Gill March 12 (Bloomberg) — Chilean President Michelle Bachelet replaced her foreign and defense ministers as the government works to confront an economic slump. Mariano Fernandez, former ambassador to the U.S., was named foreign minister, replacing Alejandro Foxley, who is returning to the economic research group he used to… Read More Chile’s Bachelet Replaces Foreign, Defense Ministers
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd March 11 (Bloomberg) — Chile will spend savings accumulated from record copper prices to fight unemployment and will emerge stronger from the global economic slowdown, President Michelle Bachelet said. The government’s $4 billion economic stimulus package offers long-term solutions rather than populism, she said today in a speech to… Read More Chile to Spend Savings in ‘Lean Times,’ Bachelet Says
March 10 (Southern Affairs) — Unasur’s defense ministers met again in Santiago today to kick off the South American Defense Council. Amid handshakes and congratulations, the ministers emphasized the historic nature of the meeting which they say will help ensure peace and democracy throughout the continent. What the ministers did not discuss publicly was how… Read More Unasur Defense Ministers Play Down Regional Conflicts at South American Summit
Citation Becker, Marc, and Silvia Tutillo. Historia Agraria y Social de Cayambe. Quito: Abya-Yala, 2009.
By Nathan Gill March 5 (Bloomberg) — Cencosud SA, Chile’s biggest retailer, fell to the lowest in two months on expectations that weak economic activity will increase the nation’s unemployment rate and hurt consumers’ ability to spend. Cencosud dropped 2.4 percent to 976 pesos, the lowest price since Jan. 5. Chile’s central bank reported… Read More Cencosud Falls to Two-Month Low on Economic Slowdown
By Sebastian Boyd and Nathan Gill March 5 (Bloomberg) — Chilean economic activity shrank by the most in almost a decade in January, fueling expectations that policy makers next week will cut interest rates for the third time this year. The economy contracted 1.4 percent in January from the same month a year earlier,… Read More Chile Economy Shrank 1.4% in January, Most in Decade
By James Attwood and Nathan GillMarch 4 (Bloomberg) — Cap SA, Chile’s biggest steel and iron-ore producer, rose the most in a month on speculation Chinese stimulus spending will limit iron-ore price declines. Cap gained 4.3 percent to 8,211 pesos, the steepest increase since Feb. 5. The stock dropped 11 percent last week. … Read More Cap Gains as China Speculation Eases Price Concern
By Nathan Gill and Sebastian Boyd March 2 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s central bank will probably lower its benchmark lending rate for the third time in as many months at its next meeting on March 12, bank President Jose de Gregorio said today The bank “took very aggressive action in its monetary policy in its… Read More De Gregorio Says Chile Bank Will ‘Probably’ Cut Rates
By Nathan GillFeb. 27 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador may renew diplomatic relations with Colombia if certain conditions are met, President Rafael Correa said today in a statement posted on the presidential Web site. Correa asked Colombia to reveal all the details of an air raid last year in Ecuadorean territory, repay Ecuador for unspecified damages, support… Read More Correa Says Ecuador Willing to Renew Relations With Colombia
By Nathan Gill Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — Ecuadorean Oil and Mines Minister Derlis Palacios said Perenco SA has until March 3 to pay taxes or state-owned PetroEcuador will take steps to seize the French oil company’s assets. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Feb. 14 that he had given the order to begin a lawsuit against… Read More Ecuador May Seize Perenco Assets Over Tax Dispute
By Nathan Gill Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s Economic Policy Minister, Diego Borja, defended the country’s use of the U.S. dollar and said President Rafael Correa wasn’t planning to abandon the system. “The president has been clear, we are going to defend dollarization,” Borja said today in an interview broadcast on Quito-based television station TeleAmazonas.… Read More Ecuador’s Borja Vows to ‘Defend’ Use of U.S. Dollar
By Nathan GillFeb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said today that he has given the order to begin a lawsuit against Repsol YPF SA, Spain’s largest oil company, and Perenco SA, a French oil company, over their failure to pay taxes. Correa said during his weekly address to the nation that both companies… Read More Ecuador’s President Calls for Lawsuit Against Repsol, Perenco
By Nathan GillFeb. 14 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador will use a grace period to decide whether it will make a payment scheduled for tomorrow on its 2030 bonds, Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri said last night in a statement posted on the presidency’s Web site. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa in December halted payment on foreign bonds… Read More Ecuador to Use Grace Period for 2030 Bond Payment
By Lester Pimentel and Nathan GillFeb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador is asking investors who own the country’s bonds maturing in 2012 and 2030 to identify themselves, according to a letter posted by the Emerging Markets Traders Association. Bondholders should contact adviser Lazard Freres, according to the letter signed by Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri. A… Read More Ecuador Asks Bondholders to Identify Themselves in a Letter
By Nathan Gill Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa met yesterday with representatives of state-owned oil company Petroamazonas SA to discuss the $820 million needed to finance four new oil fields in the nation’s Amazon rain-forest region. Petroamazonas is seeking joint ventures with companies including Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield-services provider, to… Read More Ecuador Petroamazonas Wants $820 Million for Amazon Oil Fields
By Nathan Gill Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador’s Economic Policy Minister Diego Borja said the Inter-American Development Bank agreed to loan the country about $500 million to help finance a projected budget deficit. Borja said he and Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri met last week in Washington with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno to request… Read More Ecuador Says IDB to Loan $500 Million for Budget Gap
By Nathan Gill and Lester Pimentel Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Ecuador may announce tomorrow whether it will make an interest payment on its bonds due Feb. 15, Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri said. Viteri, speaking at a press conference today in Quito, said the announcement may come tomorrow or Feb. 15. Ecuador has a $134… Read More Ecuador May Announce Bond Payment Decision Tomorrow
By James Attwood and Nathan Gill Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) — Cia. Sudamericana de Vapores SA fell to the lowest in six weeks on concern that losses will worsen as the global financial crisis saps shipping demand. Latin America’s biggest container ship company slumped 2.1 percent to 411 pesos in Santiago trading, the lowest price since… Read More Vapores Extends Decline After Warning of More Losses
Citation Gauderman, Kimberly. Women’s Lives in Colonial Quito: Gender, Law, and Economy in Spanish America. University of Texas Press, 2009.
By Nathan Gill Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — Chile’s unemployment rate was unchanged for a third straight month in December at 7.5 percent, the National Statistics Institute said. The rate reported today was higher than the 7.3 percent median estimate of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey. President Michelle Bachelet today signed into… Read More Chile Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 7.5% in December (Update1)
