Mercosur

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia completes oil and gas nationalization

  Bolivian President Evo Morales completed his ambitious oil and gas nationalization plan early Sunday with the last-minute signing of contracts allowing several international companies to continue operating in the country under state control.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Magallanes with lowest unemployment in Chile: 4.3%

  Magallanes Region in the extreme south of Chile has retained the lowest unemployment mark with just 4.3% during the July-September quarter according to the latest report from the country's Statistics Office, INE.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Deafening NO in Misiones resounds in Buenos Aires

  The northern Argentine province of Misiones extended Sunday a resounding NO to the aspirations of an “indefinite or perpetual” re-election sponsored by Governor Carlos Rovira a strong ally of President Nestor Kirchner.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Re-elected Lula dreams with continental Mercosur

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who was re-elected Sunday with a landslide 61% said he dreams with a Mercosur which represents “all Latinamerican countries”.

• Monday, October 30th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China announces cautious “floating” of the Yuan

  China will press ahead with changes to its foreign exchange rate mechanism giving a greater role to demand and supply plus liberating interest rates, announced Monday China's central bank.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile experiencing resurgence of national pride

  The old stereotype of Chile as a timid, conformist and morose nation will have to be revised, according to the latest Bicentennial Survey published by UC-Adimark. For the survey, 2,042 people over 18 were asked questions about topics such as national pride, emigration, and religion.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China limits exports of energy intensive commodities

  China plans to increase taxes on exports of metals, oil and steel in an effort to contain excess investment in energy intensive industries, and simultaneously will reduce tariffs for the import of commodities reported the Finance Ministry in Beijing.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Dominican UN candidacy has US and Venezuela's blessings

  Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Uruguay are potential alternative candidates to end the fierce but seemingly endless dispute between Guatemala and Venezuela for the region's non permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina's eyes fixed on Misiones referendum

  Voters in northern Argentina will be electing Sunday 35 members of a controversial Constituent Assembly that is tasked beforehand with reforming one article of the provincial Constitution and thus opening the way for the Argentine politics temptation of Executive “indefinite or perpetual re-election”.

• Sunday, October 29th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil Votes in Presidential Runoff Election

  Brazilians go to the polls Sunday to cast ballots in a runoff presidential election with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expected to win another term in office.