As the world grits its teeth and grabs another glass of something to chase the blues away, South American wine producers are watching exports bounce. International wine sales from places like Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru are up in the first quarter of 2009, and industry professionals are saying the crisis has been positive for them.
Peace talks on whales and whaling are to continue for a further year. Delegates to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) annual meeting in the Portuguese island of Madeira agreed it was worth extending reform talks that began a year ago
The Mercosur presidential summit has been postponed for July 24 and 25 it was reported Monday from Asunción, Paraguay, the host of the event. Three of the four full members of the trade group, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, proposed the change from the original July 3 and 4 arguing political and electoral reasons.
With hands extended towards the blue sky and at six Celsius below zero, thousands gathered on June 21st to receive the first sun rays from Tata Inti (Sun God) in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, in coincidence with the celebration of the winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere which signals the beginning of New Year Aymara 5517.
Recession and political mistakes by the first couple point to a change in the balance of power. But will Argentina at last acquire a more coherent opposition?
The Brazilian Executive will present a bill aimed at increasing government control of offshore oil reserves to Congress in July before an annual legislative holiday. However the existing oil exploration rights which have been sold under the current auction system will not be changed with the new proposals.
Brazil’s currency, Real fell the most in four months battered by the World Bank’s prediction of a deeper recession in 2009 pushed by investors fleeing higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.
Britain’s opposition Conservative Member of Parliament Tory John Bercow won the race to replace Michael Martin as Speaker of the House of Commons. Mr Bercow, MP for Buckingham, topped all three secret ballots - beating his only challenger in the third round, Sir George Young - by 51 votes.
The influential economist Nouriel Roubini, who rose to prominence for predicting the global credit crisis, said there is a risk that advanced economies will suffer a double dip recession and pointed out he saw more signs of yellow weeds than the green shoots of economic recovery.
The head of Argentina’s powerful Industrial Union, UIA, said the country is going through “a political crisis” which is more severe than the economic crisis and ventured that the current electoral climate “does not offer significant political alternatives or leaderships”.