Mercosur

• Thursday, July 17th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF praise for Uruguay

  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised Uruguay after having completed the third review under the Stand-By Arrangement for Uruguay anticipating the immediate availability of a disbursement of SDR 145.7 million, about US$204 million. The current Stand-By Arrangement was initially approved on March 25, 2002 in an amount of SDR 594.1 million (about US$823 million) for a 24-month period. The arrangement was augmented by SDR 1.16 billion (about US$1.6 billion) on June 25 2002 and by SDR 376 million (about US$521 million) on August 8, 2002.

• Wednesday, July 16th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Breaking News

  Headlines:
  Brazil targets another record crop;Chilean pork with dioxin;
  Euro-zone lowers growth estimate.

• Wednesday, July 16th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  US economy “sluggish”

  Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan in his twice yearly speech to Congress said the central bank was cutting its 2003 growth estimate for the United States economy by 0,75 percentage point, to between 2,5% and 2,75%.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur meeting in England

  The three Latinamerican presidents participating in the Progressive Governance conference taking place in Bagshot, south England, called for an “extraordinary meeting” of Mercosur members to improve South American integration and advance in physical infrastructure projects.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Deflation in Brazil

  Cost of living in Brazil was negative for the first time in four and a half years.
  According to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE, consumer prices in Brazil last June dropped 0,15% after having increased 0,61% in May.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  German bank optimistic forecast.

  One of Germany's leading banks, Dresdner expects a doubling of capital inflow to Latinamerica in 2003, which should significantly help the foreign accounts of the region's countries.

• Tuesday, July 15th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Third highest US trade deficit record

  United States trade deficit last May was the third highest ever, reaching 41,84 billion US dollars, pushed by weak exports and record imports of oil.

• Monday, July 14th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Breaking News.

  Headlines:
  Brazil is the world's main beef exporter; Sanitary rifle in Paraguay; Argentina seeks boost for economy.

• Monday, July 14th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile urges IMF to change financial aid conditions.

  The president of Chile has called for the International Monetary Fund to change the conditions it imposes on countries seeking financial support.

• Monday, July 14th 2003 - 21:00 UTC

  Kirchner links Argentina's decadence to IMF

  Argentine president Nestor Kirchner linked multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, with Argentina's decadence, but also pointed out that the country is now in the “reconstruction path” and the “recovery of international trust”.