Bolivia is anxious to capitalise on its resources but political unrest is making this difficult.
Bolivia’s new finance minister, Javier Cuevas, faces a tough task. He has to steer the poor, landlocked country’s economy amid an intense period of political uncertainty.

Mexico’s economy has turned a corner, says finance minister Francisco Gil Díaz. However, much still depends on its giant neighbour, the US.
After several years of economic stagnation, Mexico appears to be turning a corner. The manufacturing industry, led by the maquiladora (in-bond assembly for export) sector, is hiring again. Exports earnings, including those generated by the crucial oil sector, are also up – no small thing, considering exports make up about 25% of Mexico’s economic activity. Interest rates are also trending down and inflation is under control.

Nicaragua’s central bank president, Mario Alonso, says that the HIPC debt relief will enable his country to tackle poverty and push for economic and judicial reform.

US banks reported strong first quarter results on the back of a solidifying economic recovery, demand for banking products and improved asset quality. Here are the highlights of some of the top banks:

The signs for optimism in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are under threat from a cooling of the Chinese economy and a probable rise in US interest rates.

Monica Campbell interviews top officials from Bolivia, Mexico and Nicaragua at the Inter-American Development Bank meeting, discussing the major issues currently affecting their countries.

Argentina’s negotiating strategy of threatening to default on its loans to get its own way has underlined the case for greater IMF independence.

With interest rates falling, Brazil’s banks are losing the drip feed that is government debt and are looking to increase lending and fees. Bill Hieronymus reports from Săo Paulo.

Young Argentines who sold a small internet site to Banco Santander for millions of dollars at the height of the internet bubble are jumping into Brazilian banking to compete with the region’s largest financial institutions.

This month, The Banker publishes its first ranking of trade conditions for Latin America based on 2002 data.