Mercosur

• Thursday, July 1st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Lula and his administration loosing ground.

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his administration continue to loose ground in the latest public opinion polls released this week in Brazil.

• Thursday, July 1st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Save electricity?if not blackouts.

  China has launched a massive national campaign to save electricity and avoid waste which includes raising air conditioners temperature and warnings of supply cuts to hotels that do not comply.

• Thursday, July 1st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Unemployment figure surprises Chile.

  An unexpected raise in the national unemployment rate reaching 9,4% in the March-May quarter surprised Chilean authorities and market analysts who were expecting a slight decline closer to 8,8%. The 9,4% index represents a 0,7% increase over the previous quarter and 0,6% over the same period in 2003.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Double trade in the next four years.

  Doubling trade in the next four years is the main commercial objective of the current state visit of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner to China, said Secretary of Economic International Relations Martin Redrado.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Breaking News.

  Headlines:
  Live spectacle by killer whales; Tanker involved in Magellan Strait accident abandons yard; Punta Arenas fishermen honor St. Peter; Ambitious energy program in Magellan Strait.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Fisheries News.

  Headlines:
  French catch Patagonian toothfish poacher; Argentina: Concern with Patagonian toothfish stock; Albatross petition calls for an end to pirate vessels.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  ”We're fed up with (US) meddling in our affairs”.

  Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Bielsa said the Argentine government “was fed up” with foreign meddling in Argentina's internal affairs following a statement from a United States official expressing concern about the growing picketers street violence in the country.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  President Bush popularity at its lowest.

  The popularity of US president George Bush dropped to its lowest ever, 42%, with only four months to the presidential election according to the latest public opinion poll aired by CBS and published by The New York Times this Tuesday.

• Wednesday, June 30th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Pessimism about EU-Mercosur talks.

  Reaching a cooperation and free trade association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union by next October, as committed by both sides, seems ever distant, according to Argentine diplomatic sources.

• Tuesday, June 29th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Worst income distribution in decades.

  Argentina currently has the worst wealth distribution of the last thirty years with a growing gap between the richest and poorest brackets according to a report published last weekend by Buenos Aires daily Clarin.