Fuente: Bio Bio

The Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, did not rule out the use of public force if truckers do not unblock the routes in the north of the country and summoned them to comply with the agreement by reaching Saturday, where it was determined to decree the State of Exception and increase security on the roads.

A call to comply with the agreement signed on Saturday on increasing road safety and decreeing a State of Exception was made by the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, to the truckers who persist in keeping the routes blocked in the north of the country.

"Just as the Government has to comply, of course those who also sign on the other side have to comply and in that sense a large part of the leaders complied yesterday," the authority stated in MegaNoticias, regarding the partial block of the routes and that has forced the cancellation of flights to and from Iquique.

Delgado confirmed having spoken with one of the leaders who lead one of the cuts in the north of the country and that he has seen videos where it is observed that they are unblocking the roads.

He also highlighted that after several hours of conversation an agreement was reached, among which is related to security and migration.

“Indeed, after an agreement, what was appropriate, what was announced was the unlocking, but I understand that one guild in particular had the peculiarity that it has many sub-leaders (…) I think that everyone was satisfied with the measures, maybe some want to see things now, ”said the head of the Interior.

The portfolio manager also reaffirmed that, in any case, today's blockades are much smaller than those that began two days ago, dropping from 20 to about 5 partial roadblocks.

The state miner reported that it had surpluses of US $ 3,675 million in the first semester.

The state mining company Codelco reported this Friday that it recorded surpluses of US $ 3,675 million in the first half, a figure almost 10 times higher than that recorded in the same period last year, and which also represented the highest level in the last decade.

The result was favored by the increase in the price of copper and an increase in production.

In effect, the mining company's fine copper production totaled 796 thousand tons, 7% higher than that registered in the first six months of 2020.

In this regard, the president of the Codelco board of directors, Juan Benavides, highlighted that "production even exceeded our goal of 755 thousand tons."

He also indicated that “Codelco is transforming itself to be more competitive and deliver surpluses to the country for the next 50 years; for this reason, it is not enough that we start up new fields, as we are doing, but an administration of excellence is essential ”.

The increase was due to an increase in the level of processing at Radomiro Tomic and El Teniente, coupled with better ore grade at Ministro Hales, he added.

Benavides also highlighted that the increase in production was achieved despite the operational complexities resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the executive president of the mining company, Octavio Araneda, explained that “the price of copper was, without a doubt, a factor that positively influenced the results, but so did the increase in production, costs lower than those budgeted, the higher sales of our main product and the better performance of the subsidiaries ”.

During July, the construction became the star of the Business Confidence Index (ICE) produced every month by the Center for Studies in Economics and Business (CEEN) of the Universidad del Desarrollo: it rose 16 points compared to the previous month, which It allowed us to go from a neutral state - neither good nor bad - to a slightly optimistic one.

A performance that left it 38 points above the level seen a year ago - in the midst of a pandemic - thanks to recent favorable business results, even above expectations, as well as a greater willingness to hire workers.

In fact, in this important branch of the economy some of its actors have noticed a certain shortage of labor in specific functions.

Business confidence in the industry also improved once again starting the second part of the year to settle in the optimistic box (+9 points). Profit figures more positive than those forecast in this area were influenced by a better perception of national demand and the expected business situation for three months.

In the same period, mining said goodbye to a slight pessimism to reach a neutral state, that is, neither good nor bad. In addition to more auspicious results, in this case there was an expected improvement in the country's economic situation and the hiring of workers for three months.

Trade completes this table of items with more favorable views with a slight optimism.

Rises in profits of almost 50% in dollars, or an increase in the Ebitda of the sector linked to trade of 500%, are the bets of investment banks for the results season that started last week.

Increases of more than double digits in the profits of the IPSA companies, and some sectors with a multiplication of several times in their income, are the estimates of the investment banks for the results of the second quarter.

The season started last week, and there are already some surprises. Sonda reported a year-on-year increase in its profits of 741% in the second quarter, bottling Andina in 14%, Enel Chile reported profits reached $ 63,440 million as of June 2021, compared to a loss of $ 327,941 million registered in the same period of the previous year .

In its report on estimates of results for the second quarter, BCI Corredor de Bolsa estimated that at the local level “we observe the recovery that economic activity has shown, largely explained by a low comparison base 2Q20”, and that “we highlight the strong growth of 18.1% year on year that showed the economic activity in May. One of the sectors that showed the greatest rebound was the commerce sector, growing 51.3% year-on-year. On the other hand, the service sector showed an expansion of 16.8% year on year ”.

For this reason, the entity points out that "our consolidated coverage would present a growth in income of 28% year-on-year (measured in pesos) and a significant expansion of 47% year-on-year (measured in dollars)", and the "Ebitda of our coverage would grow 62.9% year-on-year (measured in pesos) and 87% year-on-year (measured in dollars) ”.

Along these lines, the growth in income from the commodities (66.8%), forestry (70.3%), retail and commercial real estate (32.47%) sectors would stand out.

For its part, Credicorp Capital estimated that for the second quarter the companies under its coverage “will benefit from a low comparison base, given that many sectors faced a challenging start to the pandemic. Additionally, the high levels of household liquidity will benefit sectors such as retail, beverages and banks ”.

Along with that, he points out that higher commodity prices will boost the results of CAP, CMPC and Copec, and that “for the electricity sector we expect a strong recovery this quarter despite the difficult operating context of Chilean generators, due to the weak hydrology , the lower availability of gas and the increase in spot prices ”.