Mercosur

• Tuesday, July 4th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil forecasted to grow 4.5% in 2006

  Pushed by strong private and government investment Brazil's economy is in position to grow 4.5% in 2006, said Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

• Tuesday, July 4th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  First round for the whales: Navy sonar banned

  A United States federal judge temporarily blocked the US Navy from using active sonar during a major multi-nation exercise off Hawaii until it could negotiate a settlement with environmentalists who say the sound waves would harm whales and other marine mammals.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexico poll 'too close to call'

  Mexico's presidential election was too close to call Sunday, with voters bitterly divided between a leftist offering himself as a savior to the poor and a conservative warning that his rival's free-spending proposals threaten the economy.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Over 252.000 tons of squid landed in Argentina

  Argentina' squid landings between January and May this year totalled 253.517 tons, up 97% over the same period last year which reached 128.567 tons according to a release from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SSPA).

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile and Argentina advance with trans-Andean train

  Mendoza City mayor Julio Cobos announced Saturday that the presidents of Chile and Argentina, Michelle Bachelet and Néstor Kirchner, will meet in August to finalize the planning for a new trans-Andean train that will connect Santiago with Mendoza.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexican hopefuls promise to respect election result

  Mexican presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador softened his stance Monday saying he will accept defeat in Sunday's election as long as it was clear that voting had been “free and clean”, with a precinct by precinct review”.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Good prospects for 2006/07 South American tourism

  Preliminary results for the first four months of 2006 point to some 236 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, or 10 million more than in the same period of 2005, reflecting the sustained growth in global tourism demand started in 2004.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Regional autonomy becomes Morales great challenge

  Bolivian president Evo Morales proclaimed a three tier victory for his administration and political party in Sunday's election for the nomination of a Constitutional Assembly that will be tasked with drafting a new charter to ensure the re-foundation of Bolivia including its aboriginal population.

• Monday, July 3rd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF praises Uruguay but insists with structural reforms

  In a positive report on the Uruguayan economy, the International Monetary Fund praised the country's robust growth and inflation control but also recommended the implementation of “crucial” structural reforms, sustained macroeconomic policies and strengthening labour market flexibility

• Sunday, July 2nd 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Mexicans go to polls in crucial race

  With leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon running neck-and-neck, the elections which will also decide both Houses of Congress, five governors seats and local posts hinge on class divisions that have seldom been talked about so openly in Mexican politics.