Mercosur

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Shepherd, union leader, congressman, president

  Evo Morales, 46, who January 22 will become Bolivia's first-ever Indian president is a leftist leader of coca-leaf farmers and former llamas shepherd born to a highland couple who saw three of their six children die in infancy.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Morales will have to prove his pragmatism

  In spite of what seems a landslide victory in last Sunday's presidential race (51% of the vote), Bolivian Indian leader Evo Morales won't have a majority in Congress and will need to build alliances both in the Lower House and the Senate.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  US economy steams ahead with low inflation

  The United States economy continued to grow at a fast pace despite the impact of hurricanes and record high oil prices with third quarter GDP expansion reaching 4,1%.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine fishing industry annual turnover: 658 million US dollars

  The Argentine fishing industry had an annual turnover equivalent to 658.8 million US dollars in 2003, mainly from sales of goods produced by fishing companies, as indicates the last survey performed by the Statistics and Census National Institute, INDEC, based on 2003 data.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile to post record GDP of 112 billion US dollars

  Chile is forecasted to post a record GDP equivalent to 112 billion US dollars given the current rate of expansion and business growth expectations for November and December.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Kirchner promises fiscal and monetary prudence

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner confirmed that next January 2 Argentina will repay the whole pending debt with the International Monetary Fund, which amounts to 9.810 billion US dollars.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Four hemispheric countries in IMF debt write-off

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to write off 3.3 billion US dollars in debts owed by the poorest countries in the world including Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras and Guyana.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  Sixty days “truce” for contested pulp mills construction

  The World Bank's private sector arm released Monday a draft study of the expected social and environmental impacts of two contested pulp mills in neighbouring Uruguay, and said it would not decide on funding the projects for at least two months.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  “No problem” with Bolivia's elected government gas policy

  Bolivian elected president Evo Morales said Monday that the “gas business” with neighboring Argentina and Brazil will remain unchanged but “will no longer be a business among multinational companies, but rather between governments”.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2005 - 20:00 UTC

  China underlines Yuan's “stability and flexibility”

  China's new exchange rate system is operating in a stable manner and flexibility of the yuan is gradually improving, said Tuesday the Chinese central bank.