Stories for May 17th 2006

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Chile on track to diminish Argentine gas dependence

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet inaugurated Tuesday the construction of a re-gasification plant that officials say will reduce the country's high dependence on (Argentine) imported natural gas.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Latam nationalisation threatens oil supplies

Recent moves by Latin American countries to increase state control of oil resources may cause production to fall as governments siphon off cash needed to keep fields pumping, analysts said.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

White House Says Ecuador Trade Talks Stall

The Bush administration said Tuesday it had broken off negotiations on a free trade agreement with Ecuador following the South American government's decision to annul an operating contract with Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Britain's farmers rack up debt

Britain's farmers are used to receiving bad news and so it was a familiar feeling when the Bank of England announced last week that farming debt has reached a new record high of just over 9 billion pounds.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Magallanes Region expanded 7.5% in first quarter

Chile's Regional Economic Activity Index (Inacer) carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE) shows the country's central and southern regions performed best in this year's first quarter. The INE excludes the Santiago Metropolitan Region in its assessments.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Peruvian presidential candidates debate next Sunday

The two Peruvian presidential candidates have agreed to an hour long television debate next Sunday.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Sao Paulo back to normal; residents blame Judiciary

After four days of organized gang attacks and a ferocious police backlash with a primary death toll of 115, including 49 police officers, the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo seemed on Wednesday to be returning to normal.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Brazilian farmers take to the streets to protest

Thousands of small farmers took to the streets in several Brazilian cities to protest President Lula da Silva's administration tight credit policy and to demand better living conditions for the country's millions of peasant families

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

US consumer prices rising at an annualized 5.1%

United States consumer prices index rose 0.6% in April, the highest in three months and core inflation which does not include energy or food costs 0.3%, according to the latest release from the US Labour Department.

Wednesday, May 17th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

One out of three Chileans fearful of leaving homes

One out of three Chileans prefer not to leave their houses fearing the actions of criminals, according to the latest survey from the Santiago Freedom and Development Institute released this week.