Mercosur

• Friday, December 12th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  G.20 prepare for the WTO Geneva talks

  Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 or G-20, a main player in the agricultural subsidies battle are gathered in Brasilia preparing for the next World Trade Organization confrontation in Geneva the coming week, following the collapse of the Cancun talks.

• Thursday, December 11th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  OPEC may trade oil in Euros.

  OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva said the organisation is considering trading oil in euros to compensate for the US dollar's decline in value.

• Thursday, December 11th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile Signs Tax Agreement, Talks Trade with N. Zealand

  New Zealand signed a tax agreement with Chile that will complement a proposed free-trade agreement between the two nations and Singapore, Finance Minister Michael Cullen said in a statement.

• Thursday, December 11th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Immunity given to witness arms-smuggling scandal

  An Argentine court on Wednesday offered immunity to a former army colonel in exchange for his testimony about illegal arms sales to Ecuador and Croatia in the 1990s.

• Thursday, December 11th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  “More liabilities than assets”

  President Néstor Kirchner yesterday marked 20 years since democracy was restored after the military dictatorship, describing Argentina's worst-ever economic crisis with a subdued euphemism, “liabilities outweigh assets.”

• Wednesday, December 10th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Strong public opinion support for Lula

  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva administration approval rating stands at 41,9%, according to a public opinion poll released this week.

• Wednesday, December 10th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  The “give and take” game moves to Geneva

  The European Union members reached in Brussels a new “active and constructive” negotiation stand for the World Trade Organization, WTO, round that is scheduled to resume discussions next December 15 in Geneva.

• Wednesday, December 10th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Federal Funds rates remain at 1%

  The Unites States Federal Open Market Committee decided Tuesday December 9 to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 1 percent arguing that “with inflation quite low and resource use slack, the Committee believes that policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period”. According to the official FOMC release:

• Wednesday, December 10th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina's fisheries “dissuasion” policy

  In coincidence with the South Atlantic fisheries talks scheduled to begin this Thursday in Buenos Aires, the Argentine government leaked to the local press that it has reinforced its fisheries patrolling policy with the purpose of “dissuading” the 300 jiggers operating in the high seas.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Toughened stance taken on authorisation of Korean factory vessels.

  The Chilean government has requested a report from Korean fishing authorities regarding the 80 vessels that were authorised to work opposite the Chilean coast, reported the Foreign Secretary, Soledad Alvear