Mercosur

• Thursday, January 9th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chilean Ex-Minister Jailed in Scandal

  A judge on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a former cabinet minister and two other former high-ranking officials in a growing corruption scandal affecting the center-left government of President Ricardo Lagos.

• Thursday, January 9th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  President Duhalde finds a candidate.

  Argentine caretaker president Eduardo Duhalde finally seems to have found the candidate for the coming April elections, Governor Néstor Kirchner, a man who should help renew faces in the ruling party and at the same time defeat his greatest opponent, former president Carlos Menem.

• Wednesday, January 8th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentina complies with IMF by lifting currency restrictions

  Argentina's Central Bank on Tuesday night fully lifted all currency market controls with the dual goal of maintaining the current price of the dollar and complying with the demands of the International Monetary Fund.

• Monday, January 6th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Chilean businessmen warn government

  An economic assessment agency that responds to strong Chilean business lobbies forecasted the country will continue, --for the sixth consecutive year--, with a “flat” growth index in 2003, and recommended more dynamism in taking advantage of trade opportunities as well as “austerity and efficiency” in government management.

• Sunday, January 5th 2003 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine optimism rockets

  Argentine public opinion that just a year ago was among the worlds most pessimistic now ranks sixteenth in optimistic expectations for 2003 according to a Gallup poll among 65 countries.

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

  IMF to Send Loan Team to Argentina

  The International Monetary Fund announced Friday that it planned to send a negotiating team to Argentina for discussions on short-term loans following a meeting next week of the agency's executive board.

• 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.