Latin America

• Friday, November 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Ecuador auditing commission suggests halting bond payments

  A commission auditing Ecuador's foreign debt has recommended that the country halt payments on three bonds worth 3.9 billion USD after finding “illegalities” in the obligations.

• Friday, November 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile's balanced budget threatened by less copper surplus

  Plummeting prices for copper and molybdenum, Chile's main exports, are expected to have a negative impact on the country's finances and for the first time in six years, in 2009, the country could end with a budget deficit.

• Friday, November 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Santiago airport plan to double passenger traffic

  

  Santiago de Chile's international air terminal Pudahuel will be expanded to receive 20 million passengers annually from its current 9 million. The original plan was for the reform to become operational in 2018/19 but given the rapid growth of air traffic plans were advanced to 2013/14.

• Friday, November 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Spanish bank says Latinamerica will avoid global crisis

  

  For the first time a global economic crisis will not hit Latinamerica and in 2009 “the region's economy will experience positive growth” in the range of 2%, according to the president of one of Spain's leading banks.

• Friday, November 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Magallanes ten years of growth based on energy projects

  

  In spite of the global recession and the international gloomy atmosphere, Magallanes region in the extreme south of Chile has been forecasted ten years of 6.3% annual average growth speared by investments in energy related projects.

• Thursday, November 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile shocked with surfacing of vanished political prisoner

  The reappearance of a man who was officially dead has shaken and outraged some in Chile which still mourns 1,196 other political prisoners who vanished in the hands of the 1973/1990 military dictatorship.

• Wednesday, November 19th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Communist allies China, Cuba hold landmark summit

  

  China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday was to wrap up a landmark visit to Cuba where he brought millions of dollars in aid and promises of closer trade ties.

• Tuesday, November 18th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Financial pyramids force Colombia into state of emergency

  

  Colombia, a country that has adjusted to living with four decades of guerrilla warfare and drug cartels declared a 30 day state of emergency Monday to crack down on illegal investment schemes that lured millions of people with promises of high payouts, only to collapse amid rioting.

• Tuesday, November 18th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Chavez' home state and family becoming election liabilities

  

  With less than a week left for next Sunday's municipal and governor elections Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez arrived in his homeland to boost the campaign of his family who are candidates for the main posts of the province of Barinas and the city of Sabanera.

• Tuesday, November 18th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Chinese president in Cuba on leg of Latam tour

  

  President Hu Jintao began a two-day visit to Cuba by agreeing to increase Chinese purchases of Cuban nickel and sugar, and send farm goods to the communist-run island as it recovers from three devastating storms.