Stories for August 2008

Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Euro zone inflation at its fastest; unemployment 7.3%

Inflation in the Euro zone accelerated to its pace in more than 16 years in July, 4.1% from 4% in June, according to the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg. A separate report showed unemployment was 7.3% in June.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Argentina and Brazil try to mend fences following WTO talks

Mercosur must do its utmost to find a common position and talk as an only voice said Brazil's Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim following the aftermath of the recent Doha round effort in Geneva where Brazil and Argentina stood on different sides.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
LAN Chile's profits up 7.4% in spite of rising cost of fuel

Compared with this time last year, Chile-based LAN Airlines has seen a 7.4% increase in profits – despite the rising cost of gas, which accounts for 36% of the company's overall costs.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Argentine gov. planning review of farm export taxes

The Argentine government is re-drafting modifications to the grains and oilseeds exports tax system with the purpose of raising the levy on soy but reducing it for wheat and corn, according to reports in the Buenos Aires media.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
FAO rescues Peruvian alpacas suffering from cold spell

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has provided urgently needed medical supplies to poor farmers in the Peruvian highlands whose livestock are suffering as a result of a severe unseasonable cold spell, known locally as “El friaje.”
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Brazil's Embraer record sales and doubles profits

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer this week that profits more than doubled in the second quarter, driven by strong sales of midsize commercial jets and the company's new, popular executive jets.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Mrs. Kirchner with a sustained negative rating of 50%

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has a negative image rating of 50.4% and a positive one of only 19.2%, according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by the Giacobbe & Asociados consultancy which were released recently.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Unemployment in Chile 8.5% but Magallanes 2.2%

Magallanes in the extreme south of Chile remained during the second quarter as the region with the lowest unemployment according to the latest release from the country's Statistics Institute, INE.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Chile expands list of infectious salmon anemia outbreaks

Chile's National Fishing Service (SERNAPESCA) has expanded its official list of Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) outbreak sites yet again, adding four Region X fish farms in its latest fortnightly report. ISA is a highly contagious virus that can be lethal to fish but does not affect humans.
Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Lula and Cristina meet to prop Mercosur and trade

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil is expected in Argentina on Sunday to have his first meeting with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner since the two nations clashed at the Doha round trade negotiations which collapsed on Tuesday in Geneva.