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Peru Banks Ratings Placed On Review

Banco de Credito del Perú and BBVA Banco Continental have benefited from the improving conditions of the sovereign rating of the Republic of Peru and have both had their Moody’s B1 long-term foreign currency deposit ratings placed on review for possible upgrade. The Agency also placed on review for possible upgrade the Ba2 rating for the $120 million in subordinated notes maturing in 2021 issued by Banco de Credito del Perú’s Panama branch.

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Cemex Bid Earns Australian Regulator Approval

Mexican cement maker Cemex has received approval from Australian regulators for its hostile takeover bid for local building materials firm Rinker, according to Bloomberg. Cemex’s $11.7 billion offer last November was rejected by the company as “opportunistic” and “far too low”. Cemex is still awaiting approval from US regulators. The Mexican firm may have to sell some of its US assets to comply with US anti-trust requirements.

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Mexican Senate Fails to Confirm Hurtado

Mexico’s Senate has failed to confirm the nomination of Carlos Hurtado to the vacant seat on the board of directors of Banxico, Mexico’s Central Bank. Hurtado was nominated by President Felipe Calderón. Opposition lawmakers voted 68 to 45 to block the appointment because of Hurtado’s former position as deputy finance minister in charge of spending under Vicente Fox’s administration. The five-member Banxico board has had a vacant seat since the end of last year.

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Ecuador Constitutional Reform Continues To Provoke Conflict

Ecuadorian police have intervened in the continuing conflict between the country’s electoral court, TSE, and Congress over a proposed referendum on constitutional reform. The TSE suspended the political rights of 57 lawmakers after they voted to remove the Court’s president, Jorge Acosta. Correa has made constitutional reform a priority since coming to power in January. Shortly after his inauguration he called for a March 18 referendum to let the general public decide whether they want to rewrite the country’s constitution. Meanwhile, economy minister Ricardo Patiño has reportedly signaled that Ecuador will honor the second interest payment of $30.6 million on its global bonds due on May 15. Despite much talk of debt restructuring and even hints at a default by Correa during the election campaign and immediately after taking power, the government has so far met its foreign debt obligations.

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