According to the report issued by the shareholders assembly of Bancolombia, the biggest financial organization in the country, the bank registered profits of 946,881 million pesos during 2005. This report includes the results of the merger with Conavi and Corfinsura as well as Fiducolombia, Suvalor, Colcorp and Leasing Colombia. The record number represents growth of 18.2% for Bancolombia compared with 2004, when it obtained gains that amounted to 801,106 million pesos.
Brazil may become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050, according to a report by international consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, published in British newspaper The Times. According to Pricewaterhousecoopers, Brazil will lose only to China, the United States and India. The report is based on demographic tendencies and is guided by the principle that Brazil has a young population that is growing rapidly in comparison to that of the European countries.
Standard & Poor's has issued a warning that endemic factors could increase the Venezuelan private sector's financial and operational risks. Even though the rating agency admits that Venezuela's credit rating has improved, it suggests that it could be hampered by government interference in the economy. It forecasts a gradual shift to a more authoritarian bureaucracy and warns that unpredictability in decision-making and actions affecting businesses will endanger domestic and foreign investment.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government has made economic provisions for a capital blockade by the United States, Minister for Integration and Foreign Trade Gustavo Màrquez disclosed. Màrquez explained that some nations, such as Argentina, have been contacted to shield Venezuela and prevent any interference such as US intervention in the purchase of Spanish aircraft. "Endogenous development, enhanced integration and attaining strength and independence through integration are part of these initiatives. Of course, Venezuelan sovereignty and actual independence will be accomplished as long as we do not depend on any political conditions," said the Minister.