Mercosur

• Saturday, November 1st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chilean peso stronger and stronger.

  Following positive news about a bull market for copper and a strong recovery of the US economy in the third Q, the Chilean currency kept appreciating against the US dollar.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Unemployment in Santiago 13,4%

  Unemployment in Santiago last September reached 13,4%, a 0,2% drop from the last quarter (April-June) and 0,3% less that a year ago, according to the Economics Department of the University of Chile.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  EU predicts gradual Latinamerican recovery.

  The European Commission predicts a gradual recovery of Latinamerican economies in the next two years, particularly Argentina, but warns about slower growth in Venezuela and Uruguay.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  EU-Mercosur insist with trade agreement

  European Union and Mercosur delegates participating in a business forum in Brasilia said they were confident that both regional blocks will reach a free trade agreement before 2005, even when differences subsist mainly in agriculture.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Uruguayan debt “non payable”.

  Uruguayan foreign debt is “non payable” and will need a considerable write off, indicated in Santiago Chilean economist Ricardo Ffrench-Davis working for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica, CEPAL.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chile combats hepatitis and cholera.

  The largest sewage treatment plant in Latin America capable of recycling some 75% of metropolitan Santiago wastewater and controlling water-spread diseases was inaugurated Wednesday by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos.

• Friday, October 31st 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazilian Central Bank declares recession over.

  The threat of recession is behind and the Brazilian economy is ready to begin growing at an annual rate of 3%, said this week Central Bank president Henrique Meirelles.

• Thursday, October 30th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Foreign investment still cautious about Brazil.

  Brazil could fall short of the government's goal of attracting 10 billion US dollars in foreign investment this year and will probably end up with only around half of the 16.5 billion it obtained in 2002 according to independent economists.

• Thursday, October 30th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine gov't pledges to halt wave of abductions.

  The Argentine government vowed Wednesday to battle kidnappings by criminals like the ones who horrified a Buenos Aires family and much of the nation by sending the finger of a victim and “indescribable and explicit” videotapes to press their demand for ransom.

• Thursday, October 30th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Aznar throws Spain's support behind Lula.

  Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Wednesday expressed support for the economic reforms sought by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and also voiced sympathy for Brazil's aspirations to gain a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.