MIAMI, Aug 27 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities want to
extradite from the Turks and Caicos Islands a Jamaican banker
accused of running a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of
nearly $300 million in one of the Caribbean’s biggest financial
fraud cases, a law enforcement official said on Friday.

U.S. prosecutors have filed criminal charges against David
A. Smith, who is currently under investigation but on bail in
the Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territory.

MIAMI, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The world’s No. 1 golfer, Tiger
Woods, and his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, divorced on Monday
following the torrid sex scandal that engulfed Woods late last
year.

Woods, reputed to be the world’s wealthiest sports star,
and Nordegren, a former model and nanny, issued a statement
confirming the divorce, which had been widely anticipated for
months after his public confession of infidelity in a blaze of
publicity.

MIAMI (Reuters) – The world’s No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods and his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren said on Monday they had divorced following the torrid sex scandal that engulfed Woods late last year.

The news of the divorce between Woods, who is reputed to be the world’s wealthiest sports star, and his wife, a blond former model and nanny, had been widely anticipated for months following his public confession of infidelity in a blaze of media publicity.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s economy has rebounded dramatically since its virtual collapse nearly a decade ago but many investors fear it is still locked in a boom-bust cycle and could easily unravel again.

Although the government expects 5 percent growth in 2010, driven by robust public spending and an expected record year for farm exports, President Cristina Fernandez’s policies may be undermining the prospects of steady growth in the future.

BUENOS AIRES, May 21 (Reuters) – Argentina’s economy grew
at its fastest pace in nearly two years in March, expanding a
sizzling 8.1 percent from a year earlier as brisk industry
activity strengthened a recovery, the government said.

There were other signs that Latin America’s No. 3 economy
is putting last year’s sharp slowdown behind it. Factory
production soared in April and the trade surplus narrowed as
demand for imported goods continued to pick up.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica, the leader in Argentina’s mobile phone network in terms of revenue, sees its broadband Internet business growing 15 percent this year, a senior executive said on Friday.

In the first quarter of 2010, revenue growth from Telefonica’s broadband business outstripped income in its fixed-line service in Argentina for the first time, Eduardo Caride, the company’s top executive for Argentina, said.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Soaring food prices hitting Argentina’s poor will hurt the chances of any candidate backed by President Cristina Fernandez in next year’s presidential election, an opposition leader said on Wednesday.

Eduardo Duhalde, a former president who governed during the country’s 2001-2002 economic crisis, intends to compete for the candidacy of the ruling Peronist Party ahead of the October 2011 vote.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s debt swap will help Argentine businesses return to global credit markets as they look to take advantage of the country’s economic recovery, the head of Argentina’s largest real estate firm said on Monday.

Argentina launched an offer this week to exchange bonds and cash for $18.3 billion in defaulted debt, hoping it will allow the country to issue new international bonds for the first time in more than eight years.

MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) – Raging drug violence, a
tepid economic recovery, flagging momentum on economic reforms
and declining oil output are all risks to watch for this year
in Mexico, which needs to keep up investor confidence to
maintain its debt ratings and emerge from recession.

DRUG WAR

Since President Felipe Calderon came to power in late 2006
and launched an army-led campaign against drug traffickers, he
has had some success in removing cartel leaders, but turf wars
between rival gangs have spun out of control, worrying
Mexicans, foreign investors, tourists and the U.S. government.

BUENOS AIRES, April 23 (Reuters) – Argentine industrial
output outstripped market expectations in March, powered by an
increase in auto production, the latest sign a rebound is
gathering steam in Latin America’s No. 3 economy.

Also, Argentina’s trade surplus narrowed sharply in March,
government statistics showed, falling 77 percent as imports
rose.