Latin America

INDUSTRIAS BACHOCO: POULTRY PRODUCER OFFERS PROTECTION IN TROUBLED MARKET   By Anita Hawser   In times of uncertainty investors often turn to so-called defensive stocks, and Mexico poultry producer Industrias Bachoco is certainly that.   Despite other problems that may ...

ROUNDUP: BRAZIL   By Antonio Guerrero   Healthy demand for Brazilian equities is driving a rush to list on Brazil’s BM&F; Bovespa Stock Exchange.   BM&F; Bovespa: Business is booming With corporations showing an appetite for raising cash to finance ...

COUNTRY REPORT: MEXICO   By Paula L. Green   Safeguards put in place after the Tequila Crisis helped Mexico’s banks ride out the recent global turmoil. Now they’re facing some new challenges.   On the spot: Mexico’s president Calderón faces ...

ROUNDUP: BRAZIL   By Antonio Guerrero   The Brazilian government is taking further measures to halt a currency rally that may dent the country's trade surplus, with the real having gained more than 40% against the dollar since the end ...

MILESTONES: MEXICO   By Antonio Guerrero   While Mexico's economy is recovering from its worst recession in 80 years, the spread of drug-related violence is hindering a more dynamic rebound.   The drug war has claimed more than 30,000 victims ...

ROUNDUP: BRAZIL   By Antonio Guerrero   Rousseff: Getting off to a steady start Brazil's newly installed president, Dilma Rousseff, provided a firm indication of her administration's plan to continue the economic policies of her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da ...

MILESTONES: LATIN AMERICA   By Antonio Guerrero   Looking up: Poverty is declining in Latin America Latin America's robust recovery from the global financial crisis is having an impact even on the poorest people in the region, according to a ...

ROUNDUP   By Antonio Guerrero   Doubling up: Vale plans to ramp up spending next year Mounting concerns over Banco PanAmericano's liquidity sent its shares into freefall and prompted a government bailout. The bank—Brazil's 20th largest by assets—received a $1.5 ...

COVER STORY: MUTUAL BENEFITS   By Antonio Guerrero   Latin America is enjoying growing prosperity as the region develops ever-stronger economic ties with Asia.   When Chinese President Hu Jintao took his first tour of Latin America in 2004, he ...

  NEWSMAKERS: ARGENTINA   By Antonio Guerrero   Kirchner: Hoping to mend fences with the unions A controversial profit-sharing bill submitted to Congress by Argentina's ruling coalition is becoming a proxy fight between the nation's labor and business sectors ahead ...

WINNERS: LATIN AMERICA   Best Derivatives Provider Société Générale Few other banks can claim as vast and deep a reach across the fragmented continent of Latin America—and across all classes of financial derivatives—as Société Générale. This is partly a function ...

A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW   By Denise Bedell   Investors are preparing for post-Lula life after Brazil's drawn-out presidential election.   When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took over as president of Brazil in January 2003, investors and the ...

ANALYSIS : CUBA   By Antonio Guerrero   For the first time in decades, signs are beginning to appear that Cuba may be softening its socialist stance.   When Cuba's former president Fidel Castro told an American journalist in September ...

MILESTONES: MEXICO   By Antonio Guerrero   Mexico’s financing needs taken care of with century bond Mexico may have set the stage for a stampede in October when it successfully issued Latin America's first-ever sovereign century bond, a $1 billion, ...

ROUNDUP   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazil lights up at the prospect of increased foreign investment Sinopec, China's second-largest oil and gas producer, is investing $7.1 billion in the Brazilian unit of Spain's Repsol YPF oil company. The capital increase, ...

SECOND ACT   By Antonio Guerrero   In his second term, Peru’s president Alan Garcia is making amends for the shambles he left his country in after his first term.   Peruvian president Alan Garcia is leading one of the ...

CAN NAFTA FILL THE GAP?   For gaps in Nafta to be plugged, it may take smaller bilateral agreements rather than wide-ranging change to the original FTA.   By Denise Bedell   Renegotiating Nafta: (from left to right) US president ...

MEXICO'S NEXT WAVE   Although it was hit hard by the downturn in the US, Mexico is setting a course for a strong recovery. Its banks are helping to stimulate renewed growth.   By Antonio Guerrero   Long controlled by ...

Roundup   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazil’s leading ethanol processor seals deal with Shell Brazil's Cosan, the world's largest ethanol and sugar processor, and Royal Dutch Shell are merging their Brazilian operations in a deal valued at $12 billion. Under ...

EM REGIONAL BANKING FOCUS: LATIN AMERICA   By Denise Bedell   Latin America is a hotbed of growth, presenting a wealth of opportunities for domestic and international banks.     With some of the highest growth rates seen anywhere worldwide ...