Mercosur

• Saturday, January 4th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil's Silva Delays Air Force Upgrade

  Brazil's new leftist president has delayed a plan to spend $700 million on jet fighters to upgrade the air force after vowing at his inauguration to feed the country's millions of hungry citizens.

• Friday, January 3rd 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Full support for Chavez from Lula

  Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva first day in office began with an early meeting with embattled Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and ended sharing dinner with another close friend, Fidel Castro from Cuba.

• Tuesday, December 31st 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil ends 2002 with record trade surplus

  Brazil's foreign trade surplus more than quadrupled this year to more than $13 billion, the government reported Monday.

• Monday, December 30th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina world's “worst” stock market

  Argentina has been described as the world's worst performing stock market in the British media. British investors lost 62 pence in every pound invested in the Argentine stock market, which fell by over 61 per cent in what the London Times newspaper calls “economic meltdown”. This was nearly twice as bad as the second worst performing stock market ? Germany, which lost 38 per cent of its value.

• Monday, December 30th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Duhalde thanks aides for saving Argentina from “anarchy”

  President Eduardo Duhalde on Monday thanked his ministers for helping to stem over the past year a social, political and economic crisis that took Argentina “only a step away from anarchy.” “One year ago, when we assumed power, the country was just a step away from anarchy, with clashes among Argentines,” Duhalde said at a meeting of some 450 government officials at the Olivos presidential residence.

• Saturday, December 28th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Uruguay pledges strict adherence to debt payments

  Uruguay will “strictly” comply with its foreign debt obligations in 2003, Economy and Finance Minister Alejandro Atchugarry said Friday.

• Friday, December 27th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina expects record tourist season

  Argentina is expecting record numbers of tourists during the Southern Hemisphere's summer season, officials said Thursday.

• Wednesday, December 25th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Beaking News

  Headlines: Argentine Central Bank halts dollar transactions; Foreign investment in Chile down 62 percent; Venezuelan strike pushes up prices of Ecuadorian crude; Court Releases Argentine Media Tycoon.

• Tuesday, December 24th 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil's President-Elect Names Cabinet

  President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva completed his cabinet Monday, naming 12 new ministers including a former presidential rival and a popular musician.

• Monday, December 23rd 2002 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina starts to see positive signs

  A year ago Monday, Argentina committed the biggest sovereign debt default in history. Last week it claimed the country's four-year recession was over.