Latest news with #economía
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mexico's Sheinbaum Finds Unlikely Ally in Young Heir to Corn-Flour Fortune
Leer en español Days after winning Mexico's presidential election last year, Claudia Sheinbaum tried to calm traders who were dumping their pesos. Investors feared what her left-leaning party would do with its almost perfect victory—her coalition had also won most state governorships and congressional seats. She sat down with executives from BlackRock Inc., the world's largest money manager, and Altagracia Gómez Sierra, the then 32-year-old heir to a corn-flour fortune. Gómez Sierra has become Sheinbaum's guide to the world of commerce, an unlikely ally for a party that rails against what it calls the 'mafia of power.' She chairs Promotora Empresarial de Occidente SA (Business Promoter of the West), a family enterprise with interests in agrochemicals, consumer goods, transportation and real estate. Its shares of publicly traded Grupo Minsa SAB de CV, a seller of corn flour for tortillas, are alone worth more than $200 million. Uncommonly young and outspoken for Mexico's business world, known for its aging crop of billionaires, Gómez Sierra plays up her difference with long eyelashes, floor-length dresses and glimmering headbands that, if you squint, look like tiaras.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Argentina economic activity grows 7.7% in April, above expectations
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's economic activity rose 7.7% in April compared with the same month last year, marking its sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, official data showed on Monday. The figure for Latin America's third-largest economy came above the 6.6% expansion projected by analysts polled by Reuters. The pace of growth accelerated from the 5.4% expansion it reported for March. Most economic sectors expanded in the month, led by the Financial sector, which jumped 28.4%, and construction, which registered a 17.1% increase. On a month-on-month basis, Argentina's economic activity increased 1.9% in April. The government of libertarian President Javier Milei has implemented a series of tough austerity measures as it looks to lift Argentina's economy out of a crisis marked by steep and persistent inflation. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Arab News
28-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Drilling for water in Venezuela's parched oil town
MARACAIBO: In Venezuela's oil capital of Maracaibo, a drilling frenzy has led to dozens of new wells — but the valuable liquid being pumped out is just water, not petroleum. In a symbol of the woes of Venezuela's crumbling economy, the once flourishing oil town of 2 million people is parched. Experts blame the nationwide shortage of drinking water on corruption and years of underinvestment and mismanagement by national and local governments, resulting in frequent water cuts. The corroding infrastructure has led to schools, homes, businesses, churches and health centers all digging their own wells — at a huge expense. A private well costs between $1,000 and $6,000, a fortune in the sanctions-hit Caribbean country where the minimum monthly wage is around $200. As a result, homes that come with a ready-made well and generator — Venezuelans also live with recurring power cuts — sell for a premium. While water rationing has been in place in Venezuelan cities for years, the situation in Maracaibo has become critical, as pumping stations break down, old pipes leak and reservoirs run dry. No water came out of the taps in certain parts of the city for over a month at the start of 2025. Manuel Palmar and six other families in the lower-middle-class neighborhood of Ziruma saw the writing on the wall four years ago. They each paid $2,500 to build a 12-meter-deep (40-foot) well, which can store up to about 80,000 liters (21,000 gallons) of spring water each week. Now when Palmar turns on the tap, water gushes out for free. The water is not fit for drinking due to its high salinity — saltwater from the Caribbean Sea seeps into Lake Maracaibo, a coastal lake used as a freshwater source — but 'it's perfect for washing clothes and flushing toilets,' he explained. 'It's a blessing!' the 34-year-old accountant said. There's a solution of sorts for every budget. Some residents fill 200-liter drums at official filling stations or communal taps for $2-$3. Others order a water truck to fill their building's tank for between $40 and $60. Some even recycle the water produced by the tropical city's ubiquitous air conditioners or collect rainwater. But those are all quick fixes. Over the past six years, more and more residents have begun digging wells to guarantee their long-term supply for the future. Gabriel Delgado has built about 20 wells in Maracaibo, including at a heart disease clinic and four private schools. He also built one at his mother-in-law's home: a gray cement cylinder, one and a half meters in diameter, buried under metal sheeting and rocks. Cobwebs dangle just above the water level, but as soon as he activates the pump, water pours forth. It's crystal clear, unlike the yellowish liquid that flows from the city's taps during the rainy season, and Delgado eagerly sips it. Venezuelans must receive authorization from health and environmental authorities before drilling a well, and they are required to provide water samples for testing to ensure it is fit for consumption once it's built. But not everyone bothers. Javier Otero, head of Maracaibo's municipal water department, told AFP that he had come across shallow artisanal wells built near sewers or polluted ravines. 'Some people drink water that is not potable, that is brackish,' he told AFP. The municipality has built seven wells to supply Maracaibo's poorer neighborhoods.
CNA
27-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Bolivia crypto transactions up over 530% amid currency woes
Bolivia's central bank on Friday reiterated a dramatic uptick in transactions of digital assets, following a Reuters report that showed how more Bolivians were turning to crypto exchanges like Binance and stablecoins like Tether as a hedge against the depreciation of the local boliviano currency. According to new figures published on Friday by the Bolivian central bank, transactions using Electronic Payment Channels and Instruments for Virtual Assets (VA) soared more than 530 per cent, from $46.5 million in the first half of 2024, to $294 million in the same period of 2025. New figures showed monthly transactions at a record $68 million in May. "These tools have facilitated access to foreign currency transactions, including remittances, small purchases and payments, benefiting micro and small business owners across various sectors, as well as families nationwide," the bank said in a statement. Cryptocurrencies were outlawed in Bolivia until June last year. Since the ban was lifted, transaction volumes reached $430 million across more than 10,000 individual operations, the bank said. The Bolivian government was working on a "comprehensive regulatory framework for financial technology companies," that aligns with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), the bank added. Bolivians are facing an acute economic crisis, with reserves of dollars near zero, inflation at 40-year highs and fuel shortages causing long lines at the pump. The South American country's currency has lost half its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention. That has meant more Bolivians are looking for alternatives to protect their savings and make transactions. Crypto proponents have pushed blockchain-based tokens as an answer, though economists warn that these digital offerings come with risks. "This (crypto uptick) isn't a sign of stability," said former central bank head Jose Gabriel Espinoza. "It's more a reflection of the deteriorating purchasing power of households."
Reuters
27-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Crime costs Chile $8 billion a year as violence chokes economic growth
SANTIAGO, June 27 (Reuters) - La Piojera in downtown Santiago has been a lively bar for over a century, drawing locals and tourists with typical Chilean foods, drinks and music, but now its doors are shutting earlier and sales are plummeting as rising crime has strangled the country and the economy. Chile is losing an average of 2.6% of its gross domestic product, about $8.2 billion a year, due to rising crime according to a study released by CLAPES UC, a research center at Chile's Universidad Catolica. The report attributed the economic impact due to businesses, like La Piojera, closing earlier or shutting down in high-crime areas, the loss of investment and increased spending in security. "My sales are down 60%," Mauricio Gajardo, manager of La Piojera, told Reuters on a Saturday night, when only a few patrons were at the bar. Gajardo said La Piojera used to be full at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night and would close past midnight. Now, on average, he closes at about 8:30 p.m. "The city helped me with a few municipal guards, but people still insist the area is dangerous," Gajardo said. Other businesses are trying another approach, offering discounts to customers to keep them throughout the night. "After 10 p.m. we've noticed our business drops ssignificantly," said Cristian Gonzalez, manager of Bar & Vuelvo. "So we try to prepare and face this with discounts or offers after 11 or 12 at night." Chile has seen an uptick in murders since 2016, rising to 6.0 in 2024 from a low of 2.32 per 100,000 in 2015. The elevated rate is still one of the lowest in Latin America, but researchers say this makes the economic impact more significant than a similar rise in more dangerous countries like Colombia or Mexico. "Countries (with a high murder rate) have in some way normalized the situation and the impact of a rise in the murder rate is less when the rate is already very high," said Leonardo Hernandez, a professor and one of the authors of the study. This has been the case for Jose Tomas Rodriguez, a local university student, who says he and his friends have already changed the way they go out. "It's not just me, but my whole social circle, we're changing our routine and going out earlier, maybe go out in the afternoon," Rodriguez said. "I think it's something that everyone has been changing."
