Mercosur

• Monday, November 3rd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine-Chilean military exercise cancelled

  A joint military exercise involving the three armed services of Argentina and Chile had to be cancelled at last moment because the Argentine Congress did not grant approval on time claims the Buenos Aires newspaper La Nación.

• Sunday, November 2nd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Virus stricken cruise expected in Gibraltar.

  The P&O British cruise liner “Aurora” with 400 passengers on board infected with a highly contagious gastro-intestinal virus is scheduled to arrive this Monday in Gibraltar on a return journey to Southampton. The “Aurora” was denied docking in Athens because of the sanitary condition.

• Sunday, November 2nd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  FTAA 2005, a “realistic” goal.

  Chilean Minister of Interior Jose Miguel Insulza said it was realistic to believe that the Free Trade Association of the Americas, FTAA, could be signed and operative for 2005, according to schedule.

• Sunday, November 2nd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  IMF top marks for Brazil.

  Brazil has amply achieved in the last quarter, the targets agreed in the current accord with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, said the Brazilian Central Bank.

• Sunday, November 2nd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Criticism for the “Buenos Aires Consensus”.

  Chilean economist and former World Bank official who currently teaches in the University of California, Sebastian Edwards criticized the “Buenos Aires consensus” recently signed in Buenos Aires between Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Nestor Kirchner.

• Saturday, November 1st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentines Bang Pots to Protest Crime.

  Thousands of Argentines banged pots and pans on street corners and apartment balconies across the capital Friday to protest rising crime in Argentina.

• Saturday, November 1st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chilean peso stronger and stronger.

  Following positive news about a bull market for copper and a strong recovery of the US economy in the third Q, the Chilean currency kept appreciating against the US dollar.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Santiago 13,4%

  Unemployment in Santiago last September reached 13,4%, a 0,2% drop from the last quarter (April-June) and 0,3% less that a year ago, according to the Economics Department of the University of Chile.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  EU predicts gradual Latinamerican recovery.

  The European Commission predicts a gradual recovery of Latinamerican economies in the next two years, particularly Argentina, but warns about slower growth in Venezuela and Uruguay.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  EU-Mercosur insist with trade agreement

  European Union and Mercosur delegates participating in a business forum in Brasilia said they were confident that both regional blocks will reach a free trade agreement before 2005, even when differences subsist mainly in agriculture.