With two quarters running of GDP decline, Brazil is technically in recession. The official statistical institute, Ibge, has dismissed this by saying that `the concept of recession is quite complex and its interpretation is quite subjective.'
ARGENTINA | Wrist-slap with last IMF disbursement. On 28 August the IMF board approved the release of the remaining US$310m of the current US$3bn standby arrangement. The announcement included a slap on Argentina's wrist for having incurred in a `breach of obligation' by misreporting the number of `competitiveness' (tax break) schemes that had been eliminated.
After saying that this was `highly regrettable', the Fund granted a waiver.
A day earlier Argentina's chamber of deputies had approved two related laws promised to the IMF, one establishing deposit recovery priorities when banks go under (small depositors first) and barring provincial and municipal governments from issuing quasi-currencies, the other allowing the central bank to lend to the executive for the purpose of repaying multilateral lenders.
CHILE | Industrial output down ... or up. The national statistical institute, INE, reports that industrial output in the first seven months of the year was 3.2% higher than in the same period of last year, but that in July it was down 2.9% year-on-year. (Sales appeared headed in the other direction: up 3% in the first half, 3.2% in July). Not for the first time, the industrialists' association, Sofofa, disagreed. Their figures for July showed production up 0.6% (yoy), and sales also up, but only by 0.5%.
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