Mercosur

• Friday, September 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF agreement with “social” targets

  Brazil has decided to renew its current agreement with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, but will insist that the next understanding also includes more growth favourable clauses plus “social” targets.

• Friday, September 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazilian inflation steady.

  Inflation in Brazil last August experienced a slight increase but in the framework of market expectations. According to the latest release from the Brazilian Geographic and Statistics Institute, consumer prices last month increased 0,34% following July's 0,2%.

• Friday, September 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  FAM outbreak cancels US sanitary inspection.

  United States announced the indefinite suspension of a sanitary inspection visit to Argentina scheduled for next month following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in northern provinces neighbouring with Bolivia and Paraguay.

• Friday, September 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Where are you brother?

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner who successfully managed to reach a medium term agreement with the IMF thanked Latinamerican presidents for the support received during the frantic discussions, but also criticized the silence, although without mentioning him, of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

• Friday, September 12th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez poll petition rejected.

  Venezuela's National Electoral Council on Friday deemed invalid the more than 3 million signatures collected by the opposition in an effort to hold a referendum on whether President Hugo Chavez should remain in office.

• Thursday, September 11th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina-IMF medium term agreement.

  Argentina formalized this Thursday the agreement reached yesterday with the International Monetary Fund when it made effective the transfer of 2,9 billion US dollars in arrears to the multilateral financial organization.

• Wednesday, September 10th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina-IMF talks continue.

  The Argentine government officially decided this Tuesday to suspend repayment of an IMF 2,9 billion US dollars credit that was due today. Argentina had anticipated that if an agreement, currently being discussed with the IMF was not reached by September 9 it would take this drastic action which means the country defaulted

• Monday, September 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Low interest rates for some time.

  Most Wall Street operators who deal directly with the Federal Reserve in the bonds market forecast that United States interest rates will remain low for the next twelve, eighteen months, says Reuters.

• Monday, September 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  As broke and polarized as ever.

  Venezuela's Finance Minister Tobías Nóbrega admitted that his country's economy would contract 10/11% in 2003 with inflation reaching 30%. However he anticipated the economy would expand 5% in 2004, with the non-oil sector growing 12,5%, “given the greater exchange rate flexibility expected”.

• Monday, September 8th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  US could resort to bilateralism.

  United States threatened to resort to an own agenda of bilateral agreements if the current global trade negotiations in the framework of the World Trade Organization rounds are not achieved by January 2005.