After two postponements, the Mercosur presidential summit (due to be attended by the leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) was due to be held in Caracas at the end of January, but as we went to press was delayed again until the first fortnight in February. In the run-up to the meeting, the list of disputes and issues requiring the attention of the heads of state was looking daunting. As with most big international summits, the Mercosur presidential summit is likely to conclude with an up-beat statement talking of progress and positive steps towards the group’s aims of…

On 8 January the Colombian government ordered the US-owned Drummond mining company to halt all coal-loading operations at its port of Ciénaga, in Santa Marta Bay on the Caribbean coast. The order triggered an immediate 3.2% increase in European coal prices to US$81.5/tonne. After Russia, Colombia is the second largest coal supplier to the European Union (EU) and Drummond’s clients include Electricité de France (Edf). The decision was taken because Drummond has failed to move from an open air crane-and-barge loading system, which is said to cause coal dust pollution, to a covered direct-loading conveyor belt system. President Juan Manuel…

UPDATE [24 January 2014]: Argentina – a tense weekend ahead The recent fall in foreign exchange reserves, and the rise in the black market ‘Dólar Blue’ exchange rate, has prompted many commentators to suggest that Argentina is headed imminently towards an inevitable – and major – currency and monetary crisis. On 24 January the government announced that it would loosen some of its tight foreign exchange controls, a day after the peso suffered its steepest daily decline in 12 years to close the day at ARS8.4/US$ officially, and ARS13.1/US on the black market. In a terse five-minute announcement, Cabinet Chief…