![\"\"](\"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/hemisphere-west-300x277.gif\" "\\"hemisphere-west\\"")
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This story\u00a0 confirms the prevailing consensus that we are prepared to withstand the economic storms ahead.\u00a0 This from Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
Most Latin American nations are well- prepared to confront a worsening debt crisis in Europe and slower growth in the U.S. as China\u2019s commodities purchases give the region a \u201cminimum\u201d level of economic support, Moody\u2019s said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t anticipate ratings changes in the region,\u201d said Mauro Leos, senior Latin America analyst for Moody\u2019s, in an interview today in Buenos Aires. \u201cMost countries are well- prepared\u201d after suffering through earlier financial and economic shocks in the 1990s and 2000s, he added.<\/p>\n
Mexico, Colombia and Central America are likely to be hardest hit by any global slowdown as a result of their close ties to the U.S., Leos said in an interview today in Buenos Aires. Argentina, which hasn\u2019t had access to international debt markets since a 2001 default, and doesn\u2019t have a contingency credit line with the International Monetary Fund, has more limited options to face a global slowdown, Leos said.<\/p>\n
Growth forecasts for Latin America will likely be lowered through the end of the year and expansions will be below historic trends of about 4 percent in 2012, Leos said. China\u2019s purchases of soybeans, copper, iron ore and other commodities, while stabilizing for the region\u2019s economies, aren\u2019t enough to outweigh a financial crisis in Europe and a U.S. slowdown, he added.
\nSlower Growth<\/p>\n
The IMF said in a report yesterday that it expects Latin America\u2019s growth to slow to 4.5 percent this year and 4 percent in 2012, compared with a 5 percent expansion in the first half of the year. Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela will lag behind the rest of the region, while Panama will post the fastest expansion of 7.2 percent, the report said.<\/p>\n
Policy makers in Latin America should be prepared to use interest rate cuts and consider fiscal measures to protect their economies in the event that the global economy stalls, the IMF said.<\/p>\n
Should recessions in Europe and the U.S. materialize and spill over to Asia, commodity producers in the region may face a \u201ctriple shock\u201d from weaker terms of trade, declining exports and tighter global credit markets, the Washington-based lender said.<\/p>\n
Argentina, which hasn\u2019t had access to international debt markets since a 2001 default on $95 billion of bonds, is less prepared than others in the region to confront an extended slowdown, said Gabriel Torres, Moody\u2019s Argentina analyst.
\nPeru Concerns<\/p>\n
Latin American nations such as Peru and Uruguay have strengthened institutions and follow more predictable policies that foster longer-term growth, Leos said during a presentation at a Moody\u2019s conference in Buenos Aires. He cited investor concern about Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, a former ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, before he took office in July, as one example.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe so-called \u2018bad\u2019 candidate won in Peru and policies haven\u2019t changed,\u201d Leos said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This story\u00a0 confirms the prevailing consensus that we are prepared to withstand the economic storms ahead.\u00a0 This from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[21,42,16,29,18,22,19,49,14,11,6,105,20,51,31,7,15,44,17],"class_list":["post-3515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-articles-panama-perpsective","tag-energy","tag-estate-homes-in-panama","tag-estate-planning","tag-exchange-property-in-panama","tag-foundations","tag-hydro-electric","tag-investments-in-panama","tag-labor-in-panama","tag-legal-issues","tag-offshore-real-estate","tag-panama","tag-panama-canal","tag-panama-economics","tag-panama-hotels","tag-panama-property-exchange","tag-panama-real-estate","tag-tax-issues","tag-travel-to-panama","tag-trusts"],"yoast_head":"\n