Kimberly-Clark to sell international tissue business in $3.4 billion deal
June 5 (Reuters) - Kimberly-Clark will sell its international tissue business in a deal valued at about $3.4 billion, including debt, to Brazilian pulp maker Suzano (SUZB3.SA), opens new tab, the Kleenex tissue maker said on Thursday.
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In Argentina, reserves build-up stalls as dollars exit
BUENOS AIRES, June 6 (Reuters) - The last eleven months have seen a net outflow of $12.3 billion from Argentina, affecting the central bank's ability to accumulate reserves, according to the bank's latest report. As President Javier Milei has attempted to maintain the value of the peso to combat high inflation, relatively high prices for domestic goods and services have encouraged imports and discouraged tourists. The report said that in April, 636 million more dollars left Argentina than entered, the latest in almost a year of outflows. This does not include funds from Argentina's recent deal with the International Monetary Fund. Argentina currently has 38.7 billion in dollar reserves and the $12 billion Argentina has received from the IMF so far has allowed it to lift capital controls that had long blocked foreign investment. "Payments for imports, the negative balance in services and interest, and the structural tourism deficit explain the deterioration of this account this year," it said. "The services sector registered a deficit of $1.161 billion in April ... This deficit was explained by net outflows under 'Travel, tickets, and other card payments,' 'Other services,' and 'Freight and insurance' …, partially offset by net inflows under 'Professional and technical business services,'" the central bank reported. Analysts predicted that the current trend is unlikely to reverse in the short term. "It is happening in an election campaign, with macroeconomic factors supporting the outflow of funds - purchase of goods and services, travel - and in a few months agricultural exports will decrease because of seasonal factors," with major harvests ending, said Pablo Besmedrisnik, economist and director of VDC Consulting. The same central bank report describes how the large fluctuations in the goods sector and continued deficits in the services and primary income, which includes interest payments and dividends, pose a challenge for the government's access to foreign currency.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's Lula bets on agriculture to drive higher growth in 2025
June 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that growth in the agriculture sector may allow Latin America's largest economy to defy current projections and expand this year more than in 2024, when it notched growth of 3.4%. Lula's optimistic remarks diverge from his own government's forecast, as the Finance Ministry sees Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing to 2.4% in 2025 amid tight monetary conditions. The comments followed the publication of Brazil's first-quarter GDP figures last week, which showed year-on-year growth of 2.9% fueled by a jump in agricultural activity thanks to a bumper harvest of soybeans, the country's top farm export. The South American country is the world's largest exporter of soy, coffee, cotton, sugar, beef and chicken, as well as a top supplier of corn and pork. "Our first-quarter growth demonstrates that we can once again surprise the world and grow above the global average," Lula told an event in Paris, where the country was recognized as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. "If last year we grew 3.4% with agriculture not expanding as much as we expected, I think agriculture growth this year can allow us to think about growing a bit more," the leftist leader added. Private economists polled on a weekly basis by the central bank expect Brazil's GDP to grow 2.13% this year.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
IMF says Latin America must maintain fiscal plans amid uncertainty
ASUNCION, June 6 (Reuters) - Countries in Latin America should maintain prudent fiscal policies to strengthen their economies amid a swift escalation of trade tensions and policy uncertainty, Nigel Clarke, the International Monetary Fund's deputy managing director told Reuters on Friday. "Now is not the time to change policy frameworks or abandon fiscal plans," Clarke said in a written response ahead of a visit to Paraguay on Friday, where he will launch a regional training program to "strengthen analytical and institutional capacity across the region," according to Clarke. Latin America weathered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic better than expected, he acknowledged, withdrawing emergency support policies introduced during the health crisis in a timely fashion. Since then, however, countries including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay have returned to similar debt levels observed at the height of the pandemic in 2020. That means their economies are exposed to more risk from market volatility, particularly in the United States, at a time when it is more difficult to project global growth. "Our message to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is to continue implementing the necessary structural reforms and to strengthen the resilience of their economies," Clarke said, adding that trade should be deepened by reducing trade barriers. The IMF in April revised down its growth estimate for Latin America and the Caribbean to 2.0% from last year's 2.4% expansion, down from a January estimate for 2.5% growth. That revision was mainly driven by Mexico's economy, strongly intertwined with that of the United States, as U.S. trade tariffs bite into exports. Clarke on Friday will launch a regional IMF training program in Paraguay for South America and Mexico to support countries in professional formation and updating data. The regional training program, hosted by Paraguay's Central Bank, kicks off on Friday with eight courses spread over the next twelve months, with the first course focusing on macroeconomic and fiscal policies.
