Economy

• Thursday, January 11th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Morales announces 2007 nationalization of mining industry

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales renewed his pledge to nationalize his country's mining industry, saying he would complete the task this year.

• Thursday, January 11th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile in US list of “intellectual property” rigging

  The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced this week that Chile has been elevated from its “Watch List” to its “Priority Watch List” for alleged failure to comply with U.S. standards for intellectual property rights protection. The USTR cited the software and pharmaceutical industries in Chile as presenting the greatest threats to American business interests.

• Thursday, January 11th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Oil plunges to its lowest level price since May 2005

  

  Oil plunged Thursday to its lowest level price since May 2005, below 52 US dollars a barrel, following the continued steep rise in heating oil stocks in United States and a resumption of crude pumping top Europe by Russia.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Venezuela's nationalization plans spook markets and investors

  Investors scared by President Hugo Chavez's nationalization plans rushed to sell off Venezuelan stocks Tuesday, while U.S. officials and financial analysts warned that increasing government control in the power, telecom and oil sectors is a mistake.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile stamps definitive 33% tariff on Argentine wheat flour

  Chile decided on Tuesday to increase to 33%, and during three months, safeguard tariffs on Argentina wheat flour, reported in Santiago the Minister of Agriculture Alvaro Rojas.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  China's trade soaring: 969 billion exports last year

  China's trade surplus in 2006 reached a mind bogging 177.5 billion US dollars compared to 102 billion in 2005, reported Wednesday the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile's largest meat producer caught selling rotten goods

  Agrosuper, Chile's largest meat producer could face serious fines or a shutdown of its factories by health authorities after workers of its Huechuraba plant denounced the sale of decomposing meat.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil manufactures record number of automobiles

  Brazil manufactured a record number of automobiles last year, 2.61 million, up 3.1% over 2005, according to a release Wednesday in Sao Paulo from the Association of Automobile manufacturers, Anfavea.

• Wednesday, January 10th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Car sales in Chile soaring and clogging Santiago

  A record 711.000 cars were sold in Chile's Metropolitan Region in 2006, up 7.6% more vehicles than last year.

• Tuesday, January 9th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine reserves yield a record of nearly 1.4 billion dollars in 2006

  

  Argentina's Central Bank in 2006 obtained nearly 1.4 billion dollars out of investing its foreign currency reserves at a yearly yield of 5.7 percent – the highest since a crippling five-year recession ended in 2002 — and close to the 1.47 billion dollars the country reportedly spent last year in subsidies to keep inflation under two digits.