Banco Compartamos’ 4Q 2009 NI rose by 49.1% YoY to MXN516 mn, while FY 2009 NI rose by 33.0% YoY to MXN1,490 mn. The total loan portfolio increased by 33.4% YoY during 4Q 2009 to MXN7,645 mn. Tier 1 Ratio remained strong at 42.2%, while ROAE was 54.3% for 4Q 2009 and 43.1% for Fy [...]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last Thursday that his government will seize one of the local units of Gruma, Molinos Nacionales CA, maker of Robin Hood flour known as Monaca. Gruma is Mexico’s largest maker of corn flour for tortillas. The news sent the stock into a steep drop. Gruma is a leader in corn [...]

Chile’s government reported a 2009 budget deficit of $7.2 bn, the equivalent of to 4.5% of GDP. Chile’s 2009 budget deficit exceeded expectation of 4.1% and was its widest since 1990, driven by a surge in government boosted spending aimed at addressing the adverse economic effects of the global financial crisis. Early in 2009 the [...]

A newspaper report on Friday indicated that Brazil’s federal government is expected to renew concessions for many state-controlled electric utilities, including Cia Energetica de Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s largest state-controlled electric companies, along with Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais [USIM6 BZ], Cemig [CMIG4 BR], and Copel [CPLE6 SA] in the state of Parana. However, [...]

The January 22 survey published today indicated that inflation expectations, as measured by the benchmark IPCA index, for FY 2010 have risen to 4.6% from 4.5% in the previous survey, while FY 2011 expectation was unchanged at 4.5%.