Stories for February 2007

Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Lula da Silva and Vazquez agree to another patch for Mercosur

Presidents from Uruguay and Brazil, meeting in Colonia Monday, seem to have smoothed strained economic and political ties with promises of stronger bilateral relations and a new boost to the battered Mercosur block, although Argentina, just fifty kilometers away was not present at the summit.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
U.S., Brazil should lead bio-fuel plan

Our hemisphere has major oil exporters, such as Canada, Mexico and Venezuela; and oil importers, such as the United States, Chile, Uruguay and nearly all the smaller countries in Central America and the Caribbean.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Repsol looking for another shareholder for the YPF branch

Repsol YPF chairman Antoni Brufau on announcing Tuesday the discovery in Libya of its largest ever oil field and lower profits in 2006, admitted that the company was looking for another shareholder for its Argentine branch YPF.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Climate change champion and Oscar winning Al Gore to visit Chile

Nobel Peace Prize nominee and former Clinton administration vice-president Al Gore will make a trip to Chile this coming May as the guest of 2005 conservative presidential candidate Sebastian Piñera. And a very expensive guest at that: Gore's visit will cost almost 400.000 US dollars.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
China's black Tuesday spills to the global economy

Stock markets round the world slumped Tuesday to record lows of 2001 and 2004, with the US Dow Jones index plummeting by more than 400 points and Latinamerican markets posting sharp losses averaging 4%.
The sell-off was sparked by a near 9% down slide on the Shanghai Composite Index, (the worst in a decade) as investors worried that China may pass rules to limit demand for stocks. Banks, automobiles and steel companies were hardest hit.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
El Niño subsides: fishermen celebrate, farmers fear drought

By next May the “El Niño” phenomenon, which warms the Pacific Ocean by an average of 1.5 degrees Celsius (3.5 degrees Fahrenheit), will have completely disappeared.
While Chile's fishing industry utters a loud sigh of relief ÃÂ¢€“ cooler water means larger catches ÃÂ¢€” the departure of El Niño could cause severe problems for the agricultural sector, which may be facing drought.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Ecuador to repair roads system with funds to repay creditors

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa declared Tuesday a national roads system emergency and ordered the Army to begin the construction and maintenance of the country's road network to be financed with funds originally destined to honor foreign debt payments.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
CIA believes Raul Castro is consolidating as Fidel's successor

The United States government said Tuesday that Raul Castro has consolidated as successor of his brother since last July and admitted that in the event of Fidel's death there will not be an
immediate “positive change”.
Tuesday, February 27th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Argentine strikers cut gas supply to south Chile methanol plant

Canadian company Methanex plant in Chile's southern region of Magallanes has seen natural gas supply fall 10% following an indefinite strike from oil and gas workers union in neighboring Argentina. Methanex is the world's leading producer or methanol.
Monday, February 26th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
Falklands' war 25th anniversary: “Not an easy year” for UK Argentina relation

British Ambassador in Buenos Aires said Sunday that 2007 “will not be an easy year for the relationship” with Argentina because of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the war over the Falklands/Malvinas.