News of finance

PIX, the e-payment system revolutionising Brazil

29-08-2022 16:13 In under two years, PIX has become the most popular form of payment in Brazil, surpassing credit and debit cards.

IMF-Ukraine talks to be overseen by veteran Argentina negotiator

18-08-2022 18:22 The negotiator who led IMF-Argentina talks, Juli Kozack, will lead International Monetary Fund loan discussions with Ukraine.

Nicolás Dujovne: ‘This government’s economic programme is inflationary’

17-06-2022 08:00 Former economy minister Nicolás Dujovne on the Cambiemos administration, the IMF debt deals and Argentina’s ongoing struggle with inflation.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

Argentina raises benchmark rate to 52% as inflation stays hot

16-06-2022 16:54 Central Bank raises benchmark interest rate for the sixth time this year as the government struggles to cool inflation expectations. 

Argentina’s Central Bank raises key rate to 42.5%

18-02-2022 03:00 Second rate hike this year; IMF staff have called for interest rates in Argentina to exceed annual inflation.

IMF urges El Salvador to remove Bitcoin as legal tender

25-01-2022 18:45 The IMF on Tuesday called on El Salvador to change course and stop using Bitcoin as legal tender, citing "large risks" posed by the cryptocurrency.

Argentine fintech start-up Ualá starts its own brokerage service

08-12-2021 08:51 Company to allow dollar purchases at parallel exchange rate; Start-up is ramping up investment after last funding round.

Argentine officials travel to Washington for IMF talks

02-12-2021 16:15 A technical mission team with officials from Argentina's Economy Ministry and Central Bank will travel to Washington on Saturday to meet with representatives from the International Monetary Fund.

In a win for Argentina, G20 statement to mention IMF surcharges

30-10-2021 17:15 In a diplomatic nod to Argentina, leaders at the G20 Summit in Rome are planning to task their finance chiefs to look at the surcharge policy at the International Monetary Fund.

Brazil hikes interest rate by most in two decades

27-10-2021 21:42 Brazil's Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points Wednesday – its biggest hike since 2002 as it struggles to tame surging inflation.

Pre-election jitters send blue dollar, country risk rate soaring

22-10-2021 21:56 Peso weakens in parallel and informal exchange rates, sending JP Morgan ‘country risk’ rate soaring.

Argentines are desperate for dollars as bets on devaluation soar

21-10-2021 14:31 Argentine investors are growing increasingly pessimistic on the peso, betting it’s inevitable the government will be forced to speed up devaluation after November elections.

Pandora Papers: the latest mega leak on tax-dodging

06-10-2021 09:35 The Pandora Papers leak is the latest – and biggest – to shine a light on tax evasion of the rich and powerful from the whistleblowing International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Argentina ranks third for offshore bank accounts in 'Pandora Papers' leak

05-10-2021 09:25 New leak of nearly 12 million documents from financial services firms shows how elite use tax havens to stash assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Number of Argentines appear, including Gianfranco and Mariano Macri, Jaime Durán Barba, Daniel Muñoz, Ángel Di María, Javier Mascherano, Mauricio Pochettino and Zulemita Menem.

In world first, bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador

07-09-2021 08:39 El Salvador officially becomes the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender.

Cuba lays groundwork to legalise cryptocurrency transactions

30-08-2021 10:43 Communist government is trying to legalise and regulate the growing use of cryptocurrencies on the island as citizens ramp up transactions to evade state controls. 

Argentina makes US$334-million interest payment to IMF

02-08-2021 18:57 Argentina makes US$334-million interest payment to the International Monetary Fund.

Peru's new finance minister says president backs economic agenda

02-08-2021 14:37 Peru’s Finance Minister Pedro Francke , a former World Bank economist, says he has been given assurances from the new government that he’ll be able to implement his economic programme.

Not even 50% inflation will make Argentina boost interest rates

23-07-2021 16:47 Central Bank rules out increasing interest rates for the foreseeable future, even as currency pressures mount and annual inflation climbs above 50%.

Argentina loses emerging market status on FX controls

25-06-2021 01:55 Argentine stocks were cut from emerging market status by index provider MSCI Inc on the country’s continued capital controls.