Europe’s largest bank profits boosted by its operations in Latin America
Spain’s Banco Santander said that 2011 net profits reveal the growing importance of its Latin America operations which contributed with 51% of the bulk. Last year net profits totalled 5.4 billion Euros, down from 8.2 billion Euros in 2010. The growing importance of Latin America was evident in the bank’s loan book during for 2011. Total loans during the year were up 4% as Banco Santander SA boosted business in Latin America that helped buffer decreasing European operations. Europe’s largest bank by…
South American timber and wood products poised for growth
Global trade of wood products has gone up substantially the past two years. Hardwood chip export from Chile, Uruguay and Brail was up 43 percent in 2011 compared to 2009, as reported by the Wood Resource Quarterly. A clear majority of the increase was Eucalyptus chips destined for pulp mills in Japan and Europe. Wood chip exports from South America are on track to reach a record high of almost eight million tons in 2011, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. This would be an increase of seven percent from last…
HSBC has released a report predicting the rise and fall of the world’s economies in the next 40 years.
The global research department of HSBC has released a report predicting the rise and fall of the world’s economies in the next 40 years. The world’s top economy in 2050 will be China, followed by the United States. No surprises there – since China’s reforms in the 1980s, economists have said it’s not a question of if, but when, China’s collective economic might will top the U.S. #adp02 But among the smaller, developing nations, there are several surprises by HSBC prognosticators:But among the smaller,…
Unasur forecasts South America’s decade
A new global order is emerging as a result of the world crisis and recession in developed countries and Latin America has a crucial role to play given its very satisfactory economic performance in recent years, said Unasur Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia. Meeting in Madrid for the tenth anniversary of the Spanish foreign affairs think-tank Royal Institute Elcano, Ms Mejia together with other world experts and politicians were invited to discuss the international crisis, the emergence of new powers…
Investment funds around the world seeking farmland in response to food price hikes
For decades, the world was often swimming in surplus food because farmers were so productive. But rising demand has caught up, and reserves have become so tight that global food markets are vulnerable to even minor shocks. Many analysts say that higher, more volatile prices may be here to stay. The new dynamic reflects in part the rising demand for commodities in developing countries such as China, India and Russia. By 2050, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization projects that world food production will…
Chinese largest agricultural firm to buy farmland in Latin America
China’s largest agricultural enterprise, Heilongjiang Beidahuang Nongken Group, will acquire or lease 200,000 hectares of cropland in countries including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Russia, The Philippines, Australia and Zimbabwe China, the world’s most populous country with 1.34 billion citizens, is experiencing an agricultural deficit that has spurred the authorities to seek access to crops outside its territory. In fact, according to somewhat dated statistics, less than 11 percent of Chinese territory…
