Walter Finance and Investment

The Central Bank announced that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 4.1% in the first three months of the year, one point less than the 5.1% in the same period of 2012. The figure is the lowest since the first trimestrer of 2011 (3.2%), reaching 4.4% below the preliminary estimate in the Monthly Economic Activity Index (Imacec) and is 1.6 points lower to 5.7% of previous quarter.

Furthermore, stood below the projection between 4.5 and 5.5% set by the Central Bank for the growth of the neighboring country’s economy in the current year, although Finance Minister Felipe Larrain , already warned that the activity showed a deeper slowdown than was expected.

The first quarter growth was mainly due to domestic demand, which rose 6.8%, driven by consumption (5.5%) and investment 9.6%). In seasonally adjusted terms Chilean GDP increased by 0.5% over the previous quarter. In 2012 trasandino economy had grown by 5.6%. The result, by sector, was led by mining (7.8%), trade (6.9%), transport (4.7%), construction (4.5%), communications (4.0% ), personal business services (3.2%) and electricity, gas and water (2.7%). Continue Reading »

Today, the Bank of Korea (BOK) kept the seven-day repo rate unchanged at 2.5%.

The decision came a month after the BOK reduced the rate by 0.25% to 2.5% due to slowing exports and weaker growth. The decline in May was the first rate cut in seven months. The decision to leave rates unchanged was in response to, among others, the likelihood that the Federal Reserve System U.S. decrease its monetary easing sooner than expected.

“One possibility to reduce earlier than expected U.S. monetary easing and fiscal consolidation in major countries are considered as downside risks to the global economy, “the central bank said in a statement.

The recent sharp decline in Japanese yen could also have been taken into account in the decision of the bank’s board members. The export-driven economy of South Korea has been hit by declining Japanese yen. A lower yen makes Japanese exports cheaper in the markets in the two Asian countries qie compete. Continue Reading »

Evolution Of Bank Credit In Argentina – As reported by the Central Bank of Argentina (CBA) through its Financial Stability Report, bank credit to the private sector has been exhibiting continuously increases over the past five years as of March 2013 represents 16, 7% of GDP.

In the last 12 months bank finance grew 1.5 percentage points, and showed an increase of 5 percentage points since late 2009.

The Central Bank said that “In the framework of the powers conferred by the new charter, the Central Bank implemented in the second half of 2012 Credit Line for productive investment, whereby a proportion of private sector deposits captured should be for financing to businesses at a preset low interest rate and term of not less than three years. “

The new loans have been beneficial for SMEs, and to date, they receive 30% of total loans granted to companies.

To give an idea of ??the size and the consequences that is gaining economic crisis in Italy, a report by the General Confederation of Italian Industry, known as Confindustria, reports that in the Mediterranean country 55 000 manufacturing companies closed between 2009 and 2012 and the number of workers in that sector fell 10% in that period. It also warns that between 2007 and 2012 were lost 539,000 jobs and that in coming months the scenario could get worse.

It adds that “Italy remains the seventh industrial power but its production base is at risk by the depth of the fall in demand”, so says the Italian industry is in danger due to the size and time of duration of the economic crisis.

The study states that the productive capacity collapsed the leading Italian automotive manufacturing with 40% drop and downs of at least 20% in 14 of 22 manufacturing sectors.

Among the measures that the Government of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay has announced to reduce the appreciation of its currency against the U.S. dollar is the provision of a “fit” of 50% on the amount of Treasuries Uruguayan peso investors acquire outsiders, from July, among others.

It happens that the hard currency has depreciated the value of the dollar in the neighboring country, risking some “macroeconomic balance” and affecting their export competitiveness.

The policy package was defined yesterday Uruguayan economic authorities at a meeting of Macroeconomic Coordination Committee.

These new guidelines seek to discourage capital inflows “speculative” to the republic sister, who have arrived cuantiosamente after Uruguay regained investment grade non-speculative (investment grade) at the beginning of last year, combined with “high levels of uncertainty” internationally, “Policies unusually expansive” and “very low interest rates in industrial countries”. These capital flows were concentrated in government securities. Continue Reading »