Mercosur

• Monday, September 26th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Record cruise season forecasted for Punta Arenas

  Following the confirmation of the Chilean flagged “Antarctic Dream” and “Le Diamant” from Noble Caledonia, Punta Arenas 2005/06 cruise season will complete 148 calls of domestic and international vessels.

• Monday, September 26th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean president most admired by regional elites

  Chilean president Ricardo Lagos is the Latinamerican leader most admired by the “elites” of the region according to an opinion poll from Zogby International contracted by the Business Administration School from the University of Miami and released Sunday by The Miami Herald.

• Sunday, September 25th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Aerolineas Argentinas begins flying again

  Aerolineas Argentinas ground staff and pilots voted to return to work Friday evening after reaching a tentative agreement with the company putting an end to a 36 hours industrial action that left almost 10,000 passengers stranded in Buenos Aires City two main airports, Ezeiza and Aeroparque.

• Sunday, September 25th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  China makes technical adjustment to floating Yuan

  China made a technical adjustment Friday to its currency trading rules two months after it revalued the yuan for the first time in a decade.

• Sunday, September 25th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina demands respect for its economic program

  Economy minister Roberto Lavagna said Friday in Washington that Argentina is ready to work with multilateral credit organizations as long as the current economic program which is being implemented is respected.

• Sunday, September 25th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Dirceu involves Lula da Silva in bribes scandal

  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva bears is partly responsible for the corruption crisis hammering the ruling Workers Party, PT, said former chief of staff Jose Dirceu in an interview published Sunday.

• Sunday, September 25th 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  US denies setting up military base in Paraguay

  The United States Embassy in Asunción has denied an allegation which caused concern in Mercosur that Washington was planning to set up a military base in Paraguay.

• Friday, September 23rd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil oil self-sufficient by end of 2005, says Petrobras

  Brazilian petroleum output should be enough by the end of 2005 to meet the country's demand reported in Brasilia Jose Sergio Gabrielli, CEO of Petrobras, Brazil's government owned oil corporation.

• Friday, September 23rd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  “Paraguay is not thinking of leaving Mercosur”

  Paraguay is not thinking of leaving Mercosur and “we don't exchange security for free trade”, said Paraguayan Foreign Affairs Minister Leila Rachid, thus rejecting growing concerns in the trade block that it was about to loose one of its members.

• Thursday, September 22nd 2005 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF forecasts “volatile inflation and elastic recovery”

  Inflation in Latinamerica will probably remain volatile as a consequence of changes in commodities prices, said Wednesday the International Monetary Fund in its annual World Economic Outlook. Nevertheless IMF estimates Latinamerica will expand 4,1% this year and forecasts 3,8% in 2006.