President Michelle Bachelet’s state-of-the-union speech was interrupted over the weekend as protesters tossed bombs and damaged property, according to BBC. The public is in an uproar over the government’s failure to fix the economy, including a corruption scandal tarnishing Bachelet’s legacy. One security guard was killed during the violence.
For more than a year now, Chileans have endured a crisis of cash access. Despite global moves toward new forms of payment such as contactless and mobile transfers, the crisis in Chile highlights the continuing importance of ATMs in today’s payment ecosystem for many people worldwide – particularly those with lower incomes.
Chile’s government is introducing new regulations that will prevent the wealthy from writing off groceries as a corporate expense, reported Bloomberg on Monday.
The month-old administration of President Michelle Bachelet will reportedly grant tax inspectors power to review every credit card purchase on a business account; while supermarket spending claimed as a tax deduction will be rejected out of hand, though people can appeal.
Unseasonal snow and low temperatures in recent weeks have caused an estimated $1 billion worth of damage to fruit crops in Chile, reported Reuters on Thursday, with the government declaring a state of emergency after nearly 60 percent of its fruit exports had been affected.
Chile is an upper middle income economies coming under Latin American and Caribbean region as to the classification made by the World Bank on the basis of income and region for the year 2006.
Chile economy is one of the best examples of the market-oriented economies over the world. The international trade and commerce has brought tremendous success for the country’s economy. Its friendly Foreign Direct Investment policies have attracted most of the investors over the world to make further investments.
Chile has long had an economy based primarily on the market, which means significant foreign imports and exports, as well as a reputation for having a sound economic policy and strong financial institutions. With this, the country has gained popularity for being one of the best in South American for trade. In fact, the export business of Chile accounts for about 40% of the Gross Domestic Product or GDP and for the remainder, the country relies on commodities. For the government’s revenue, copper alone provides approximately 35% of revenue.
EconomyWatch.com received this personal account from one of the team’s relatives, who lives in Santiago:
The Chilean Earthquake, February 2010
EconomyWatch.com received this personal account from one of the team’s relatives, who lives in Santiago:
