The Rio Times

Silver rose 1.5% to about US$61.24 an ounce on Monday while gold edged up to about US$4,143, as US services prices hit a four-year high.

Colombia’s COLCAP rose 2.69% and the peso gained about 1.8% to about 3,196 per dollar.

Argentina’s Merval rose 3.7% to 2,869,488 and country risk fell 49 points to 599 as Brazil’s vote lifted assets.

Francis Allison, mayor of Magdalena del Mar, trails López Aliaga by 0.86 points in Lima.

Fifteen Peruvian regions are headed for a governor runoff on 29 November 2026.

Lima’s mayor is undecided: López Aliaga leads by about 44,900 votes, but 1,924 disputed tally sheets sit with election juries.

Miguel Prieto, 37, led Ciudad del Este until his removal in 2025.

Paraguay’s Colorados won a record 187 of 263 towns but lost Asunción.

Soledad Núñez, 43, a civil engineer and former housing minister, won Asunción for the opposition.

Camilo Pérez accepted defeat in Asunción on 5 October and blamed “betrayal” by Colorado councillors for his 5,024-vote loss to Soledad Núñez.

Cali in October 2026: Kraken and Ryan Castro on 17 October, World Salsa Festival from 23 October, Bunbury on 31 October, with venues and US$ prices.

Free Book Fair to 18 October, Detour film festival from 9 October and a full Teatro Solís season: what is left of October in Montevideo.

Abidjan in October 2026: Kajeem on 10 October, TAYC on 11 October, a diaspora week and Gadji Celi on 31 October, with prices.

Brazil stocks closed at a record 206,912 points on 5 October, up 7.7%, as the real gained 4% after Flávio Bolsonaro led the first round.

Two Fraijanes escapees from the Barrio 18 gang, a US-designated terrorist group, were caught near Cancún on 5 October.

A Chile rain alert forecasts up to 55 mm in Santiago and three other central regions from early Tuesday 6 October to Wednesday afternoon.

Guatemala fuel tax exemption rules were published on 5 October, making stations report prices daily and show savings of up to US$1.18 a gallon.

The Costa Rica exchange rate eased on Monday 5 October as the dollar slipped for a second day on Monex, after a 3.1% rebound from its 2026 low.

An ETECSA outage on Monday 5 October cut Cuba's Nauta internet and Transfermóvil payments, as power shortages hit the state phone company.

Venezuelan crude shipments to Spain reached 641,000 tonnes in August, edging past US supplies for third place, official data published on Monday show.

The Dominican Republic fiscal deficit hit US$3.18 billion by 25 September, 67% of the 2026 plan, as the opposition warns of a wider 2027 gap.

The Escondida strike in Chile is on hold after BHP requested mandatory mediation on 5 October, giving talks with supervisors five more working days.

Colombia exports rose 15.1% to US$4.46 billion in August 2026, DANE said on 5 October, as gold, coal and oil sales grew while coffee fell.

Ethiopia's central bank is reviewing bids from two foreign banks to open fully owned subsidiaries, almost two years after a law ended a five-decade ban.

South Africa's petrol price rises by up to US$0.20 a litre on 7 October, taking 95 unleaded in Gauteng to a record of about US$1.82 as oil tops US$100.

Honduras returned migrants reached 36,658 from January to September 2026, official data show, with 32,851 sent back from the United States.

The Bolivia fuel shortage persisted on Monday despite extra YPFB deliveries, as officials blocked repeat buyers and drivers pushed for higher fares.

Panama Canal neutrality gains a new backer as Singapore says it will join the 1977 treaty protocol during President Mulino's state visit on 5 October.

Ecuador homicides fell to 117 last week, the lowest weekly total of 2026, President Daniel Noboa said, after a curfew that saw 2,561 people detained.

Ecuador blackouts will spare homes, President Daniel Noboa pledged on 5 October, while more than 9,000 firms take rotating 48-hour power cuts.

Costa Rica high-security prison for organised crime opens on 14 October, the Presidency says.

The Colombian peso closed at 3,210.92 per dollar on Monday 5 October, 1.9% firmer than the official rate, after a rate hike and with Brent above US$100.

Kenya's market regulator has approved depositary receipts that let Kenyans join Nigeria's Dangote Refinery IPO before the offer closes on 13 October.

Prediction markets make Flávio Bolsonaro the clear favourite to beat Lula on 25 October.

A US judge orders the boat-strike memo to court, the UN renews Haiti's Gang Suppression Force and Argentina receives a second F-16 batch.

Ethiopia's new parliament opened on 5 October and Abiy Ahmed was sworn in for five more years.

The Tanzania stock market lost about US$166 million in the week to 2 October 2026 as bank shares fell, led by NMB, while the index stays far above last year.

DR Congo is strengthening electricity regulation with African Development Bank help, including a study of real power costs and draft grid rules.

International banks provide €500 million (US$563 million) to Benin over 12 years, with an African Development Fund guarantee and Islamic Development Bank Group insurance sharing the risk.

South African farmers hit by foot-and-mouth disease must still pay the R30.23 (US$1.81) minimum wage, while imported vaccines fill the gap.

Nigerian forces killed ISWAP commander Abdussamad Ohida in Ondo State, far from the group's north-east base.

The IMF approved about US$50.16 million for Liberia after two programme reviews, citing 5.1% growth and a VAT planned for 2027.

Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round by about 2.2 million votes.

Atiku Abubakar wants the N11.2 trillion (US$8.4 billion) in NNPC receivables itemised and asks whether federal contractors fund Tinubu's campaign.

A former aide to Sport Minister Gayton McKenzie now runs Cricket South Africa's ticket seller, Ticketpro, ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

Cape Town would build a link bridge first, then a tunnel and homes on 15 hectares.

The naira fell below N1,500 per euro for the first time in over two years, but a weaker euro, not a stronger naira, did most of the work.

The Central Bank of Kenya is expected to hold its key rate at 8.75% on October 7, 2026, balancing rising inflation against slower growth.

Spain votes on 29 November 2026 after Pedro Sánchez lost a housing vote.

AMRO warns Asia's AI dependence could reverse, pressuring copper and lithium prices and exposing Chile, Peru and Argentina to a sharp slowdown.