Mercosur

• Sunday, June 11th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Even President Lula backs off when it's football

  Football and politics, politics and football, it's hard to find the leading thread particularly in Brazil that has won the World Cup five times and is considered among the favourites for this edition in Germany.

• Sunday, June 11th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil working hard for “energy independence”

  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva inaugurated Saturday the lay out of a gas pipeline that will connect the southeast with the northeast of the country, in another step to ensure energy independence.

• Sunday, June 11th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Fuel prices in Chile rocket to 5 US dollars per gallon

  As of next Monday gasoline prices in Chile will soar to an average 700 pesos a litre, the highest ever, which is equivalent to five US dollars a gallon.

• Sunday, June 11th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Land value in Uruguay soars 127% in four years

  Price of land in Uruguay has soared in the two last years with the average going price for a plot of good grazing selling in the range of 1.400 US dollars a hectare, according to the latest report from the Uruguayan Landholdings Institute.

• Saturday, June 10th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean students end strike

  Chilean high school students agreed Friday to end their nationwide strike and the protests they have kept up for a month demanding a better quality of education, and announced they would return to class next week.

• Saturday, June 10th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bolivia's gas plan may hit Chile's supply

  Chile could face power shortages as a result of Bolivia's plan to nationalise its gas sector, energy experts have warned.

• Friday, June 9th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Iguazu falls short of water; tours cancelled

  Shortage of rainfall and the closing of several dams upstream to retain water have forced the cancelling of nautical tours next to the world famous Iguazu falls, one of the world's most impressive sights.

• Friday, June 9th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Oil addiction threatening US economy warns Greenspan

  Rising energy prices are pushing up inflation and increasingly threatening the U.S. economy, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified this week before Congress.

• Friday, June 9th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bank of England leaves interest rate unchanged, 4.5%

  For the tenth month running the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.5%, a decision expected by financial markets.

• Friday, June 9th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

  Bush optimistic with US economy sustained growth

  The United States economy is set to grow 3.6% this year compared with earlier estimates of 3.4% according to President George Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, revealed Thursday outgoing Treasury Secretary John Snow.
  However consumer prices are forecasted to reach 3% instead of the original 2.4%.