Mercosur

• Sunday, October 3rd 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Possible resumption of direct Argentina-Falklands flights talks.

  A possible resumption of Argentine-British talks next December in London at Under Secretary level could eventually help reach an understanding regarding charter flights to the Falkland Islands, according to Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa.

• Saturday, October 2nd 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Pinochet closer to tax-evasion charges

  The government yesterday moved to charge former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet with evading taxes on millions of dollars he had stashed away in a US bank.

• Saturday, October 2nd 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Kerry boosted by TV debate.

  Three polls suggested yesterday that US voters who watched the policy-driven confrontation between President George W. Bush and his challenger Sen. John Kerry on Thursday night were impressed by Kerry. Most of those surveyed said he did better than Bush. It was the first of three debates before the Nov. 2 election.

• Friday, October 1st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF proposals for Latinamerica's cyclical crises.

  Latinamerica's problem is not achieving economic growth which it has, but rather the challenge of making it sustainable, said Raghuram Rajan, Director of IMF's Research Department during the official release of the “World Economic Outlook”.

• Friday, October 1st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile's presidential race is on.

  In what is seen as the start of the ruling coalition presidential primary, Chilean president Ricardo Lagos this week reshuffled the cabinet leaving out four ministers, two of which lead the opinion polls as his potential successors in March 2006.

• Thursday, September 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  US economy expands 3,3% in second Q.

  The US economy grew at an annual 3,3% rate during the second quarter of 2004 according to the latest release from the federal government. However it's the lowest rate in the last five quarters since the economy expanded 4,5% during the first quarter and 4,8% in the last twelve months to June 2004.

• Thursday, September 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil among the most bureaucratic for business.

  Brazil is considered among the worst of 53 poor and emerging countries regarding regulations stability, tax load, financing for development and labour costs, according to the latest report from the World Bank released this week in Washington.

• Thursday, September 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula da Silva sees his popularity ratings rise.

  The popularity of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, continued to recover in September, raising hopes for his Workers' party (PT) in Sunday's municipal elections.

• Thursday, September 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur and EU still wide apart.

  The European Union and Mercosur were wide apart yesterday in negotiations to form the world's biggest free trade area despite a new EU offer to settle their differences, diplomats said.

• Thursday, September 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile's wealth distribution: among the world's worst.

  The high income bracket in Chile makes fourteen times more than those at the other end of the scale, according to a book released this week by the Chilean Statistics Institute with the purpose of underlining the unequal wealth distribution in the country.