America January 2007

• Argentina’s third quarter economy grew 23 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
  
  
• Brazil’s Q3 GDP rose 0.5 from the previous quarter and 3.2 percent compared to Q3 2005. The agriculture and livestock sector contributed the most to the quarterly growth, as coffee and sugar cane crops as well as livestock netted positive performances during the quarter. The country’s October unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent from September to 9.8 percent. That represents the lowest rate in nine months, yet it’s still 2-percent higher than the October 2005 rate.
  
  
• Canada’s economy grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter and 3.9 percent from a year prior. The country’s jobless rate increased 0.1 percent in November to 6.3 percent, a 0.1-percent drop from November 2005.
  
  
• The Central Bank of Brazil dropped the benchmark Selic interest rate 50 basis points in late November to 13.25 percent, the lowest the rate has been since the Monetary Policy Committee was established in July 1996. The rate reduction is the 12th straight drop of at least 0.50 percent since the rate stood at 19.75 percent in August 2005.
  
  
• Venezuela’s Dec. 3 presidential elections resulted in a landslide victory for incumbent Hugo Chavez. Chavez ran on a socialist platform, often expressing disdain for U.S. influence in Latin America.