Mercosur

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed leaves rates unchanged but “inflation risks remain”

  The Federal Open Market Committee decided Wednesday to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 5.25% reflecting the reduced impetus from energy prices and contained inflation expectations.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner in UN calls for Falklands sovereignty talks

  Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner claimed before United Nations that Britain has been remissive in complying with the mandates of the General Assembly for the resumption of sovereignty talks on the Falkland Islands.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chavez rails at 'devil' Bush in UN address

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called George W. Bush “the devil himself” at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, saying the U.S. president had left the smell of sulphur hanging in the chamber from his appearance the previous day.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  China's “positive” impact on Latinamerica

  China's soaring economy has been “most positive” for Latinamerican exports even when some specific sectors have suffered, claims a paper from the World Bank released in Singapore.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  With spring bloom come El Niño and deadly algae

  Chilean investigators warned this week that temperatures in Chile's coastal waters have increased by half a degree since August, setting the stage for the arrival of “El Niño” by the end of this year.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Housing slump expected to leave Fed rate unchanged

  House construction in United States dropped 6% in August while producer prices rose by just 0.1% following on moderate energy costs.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Leading Ecuadorian candidate rides on anti-US feeling

  The Ecuadorian presidential candidate leading public opinion polls said that if elected he will not extend a current agreement enabling United States to undertake counter drugs operations from a strategic air base in Ecuador.

• Tuesday, September 19th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia's second attempt to nationalize oil and gas

  Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera warned oil companies that time is running out for agreeing new contracts in compliance with the country's nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry.

• Monday, September 18th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF recommends Argentina to invest in energy

  Argentina needs more productive investment, particularly in the energy sector, if it wishes to sustain the current rates of growth, said Anoop Singh, head of the IMF Western Hemisphere Department during a press conference Saturday in Singapore.

• Monday, September 18th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  UN marks Ozone Layer Preservation Day

  Efforts to protect the ozone layer are showing signs of progress, but much remains to be done to restore this life-saving part of the earth's atmosphere that filters out the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message marking the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.