(Bloomberg) — Argentina’s Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced on Sunday night the shake-up of the country’s energy leadership, removing top allies of Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as the government prepares to cut electricity subsidies.
Flavia Royon will take over Monday as Energy Secretary, replacing Kichner’s ally Dario Martinez, Massa said in a tweet. Santiago Yanotti, Federico Bernal and Cecilia Garibotti will be Royon’s undersecretaries, he said.
The move puts one of Argentina’s most politically sensitive offices under Massa after he took over the Economy Ministry last week amid heightened market volatility. Argentina spent close to $11 billion in energy subsidies last year and the government agreed this year to scale back the payouts to reduce the fiscal deficit as part of its deal with the International Monetary Fund.
“Our goal must be energy sovereignty and the transformation of Argentina as a power in this sector,” Massa said.
Martinez, who confirmed his exit in separate tweets, was often at odds with former Economy Minister Martin Guzman, who resigned in early July citing lack of political support. The energy officials close to Kirchner resisted Guzman’s attempts to remove subsidies on utility bills that would translate into higher prices for consumers.
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Raising utility rates poses deep political costs in Argentina, where a large portion of the population equates electric and gas bills to taxes.
Massa, one of the leaders of the ruling coalition that governs the country since late 2019, took over with more political clout than his predecessors. In his first announcement on Aug. 3, he confirmed utility rates would go up and those receiving subsidies would need to limit energy consumption.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
