Recently added articles from America's Insider:

War in Colombia to intensify as support for military solution grows.(efforts to end civil war are examined)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... BOGOTA -- US pressure and rebel intransigence are dealing new blows to Colombia's battered peace process at a time when many Colombians appear to be ready to support a military solution to the country's guerrilla wars. Two weeks before US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due ...

Chile and Peru are gatekeepers for Bolivia's export ambitions.(political disputes inhibit development of gas industry in Bolivia)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... LA PAZ -- More than a century after the war that cost Bolivia its access to the sea, Chile and Peru stand in the way of Bolivian aspirations to become a major supplier of energy to the Pacific Basin. Until 1884, Bolivia was a seafaring nation with a fishing industry and navy ....

Ecuador announces measures intended to wean country off dependence on oil revenues.(economic policy development)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... QUITO -- Finance Minister Jorge Gallardo announced the government's latest fiscal reform package on Monday, detailing plans that would cut the country's public debt burden from today's 63.6% of GDP, to a more manageable 40%, via a fiscal responsibility law, as well as creating a fund to ...

Sales figures show Mexican economy continues to weaken.(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... MEXICO CITY -- The slowdown of the Mexican economy was underlined at the end of last week by yet another fall in retail and wholesale sales, with the National Statistics Institute (INEGI) reporting that retailers saw sales rise by a disappointing 0.9% year-on-year in June. Wholesale sales ...

White House and Republicans in Congress locked in dispute over Cuba travel.(efforts to limit illegal travel to Cuba)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... WASHINGTON --Congress began another assault on US restrictions on travel to Cuba as President George W. Bush appeared to crack down on illegal travel to the island. In late July, Rep. Jeff Flake, a freshman Republican from Arizona, led the charge against the embargo's ...

Opposition protests against cuts.(budget cuts to provinces in Argentina source of dischord)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... BUENOS AIRES -- Governor belonging to the Justialista party, backed by labor unions, are opposing government efforts to reduce payments to the provinces. While the federal government has imposed budget cuts on state employees, retirees and a wide range of government ministries, the ...

Economic news bolsters debt.(economic conditions in Brazil)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... SAO PAULO -- Brazilian debt continued to rebound this week, with the '05 bond rising as high as 92 1/2, with the yield falling to 12.08%, following Tuesday's release by the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) of July's fiscal accounts. Markets were pleased to see this month's 2.7 billion real ...

Growth forecast revised again.(Mexico's economic conditions)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... MEXICO CITY --The Banco de Mexico revised down its growth forecasts for 2001 yet again on Wednesday, to 0.77% of GDP, against earlier hopes of a 1.7% expansion, admitting that the business climate and confidence levels were continue to show weakness. Even this revised figure depends upon a ...

AES bid for CANTV lifts markets.(stocks of Venezuelan companies)(Brief Article)

Aug 30, 2001 ... CARACAS -- Venezuelan shares rose sharply on Thursday, extending Wednesday's 1.54% jump, with the IBC stock index rising to as high as 7229.08 points or a 3.55% gain, on the back of AES Corp's $1.4 billion bid for a controlling stake in the domestic telecom company CANTV. Although the ...

Argentine bailout is short-term fix as investors wait to see results.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... BUENOS AIRES -- The deal between the IMF and Argentina heads off the danger of an imminent default, but it will make little difference to most Argentineans, who appear to be in for a protracted period of austerity. The deal also represents a significant roll back of what was supposed to be ...

Venezuelan spending slump reflects bad bookkeeping, incompetence.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... CARACAS -- Halfway through the year, government figures indicate that spending is a fraction of forecast levels. Official figures show that only 3.9% of the money budgeted for infrastructure investment has been spent so far this year, and virtually none of the huge allocation ...

Ethics proposal seeks to rehabilitate image of Congress.(Brazilian politics)(Brief Article)

Aug 23, 2001 ... SAO PAULO -- In the midst of a series of political scandals that have discredited Brazil's legislative processes, a group of congressmen lead by the recently elected President of the Congress, Aacio Neves are proposing new laws that would increase the accountability of Brazil's ...

Investors, opposition politicians agree that privatization is not attractive.(state-owned industry in Brazil)(Brief Article)

Aug 23, 2001 ... SAO PAULO -- Since the overwhelming success of the privatization of state-owned bank Banespa last year, investor interest in state companies as well as new public service concessions has been soft. This coincides with growing opposition by opposition parties to new privatizations in the ...

Kuczynski confirms deficit will exceed targets but pledges to control spending.(Finance Minister of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... LIMA -- Peruvian Finance Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski confirmed this week that this year's fiscal deficit of 2.2% of GDP will exceed the IMF target, but pledged that the government would try to control the budget and seek to reduce the shortfall to 1.9% of GDP in 2002 and 1.4% in 2003. ...

Exile group's implosion could mean loss of influence in Washington.(Cuban American National Foundation)(Brief Article)

Aug 23, 2001 ... WASHINGTON -- Turmoil in the Cuban American National Foundation, which has split the powerful organization into warring factions, may damage the lobbying clout of the Cuban exile group and weaken support for US economic sanctions against Havana. The resignation of 22 CANF ...

Economy weathering regional economic crisis well.(Chilean economy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... Chile's economy appears to be resisting many of the economic pressures its neighbors are experiencing, posting strong first-half growth of 3.5%, as its policy of low real interest rates, and the resulting weak peso, appears to be succeeding in insulating it from the regional slowdown ....

Banco Santiago poised to outperform.(Chilean banking industry)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... The Chilean banking sector performed strongly in the second quarter, with net income rising by 92% year-on-year in constant peso terms, and return on equity in the sector rising to 15%. Out of all these stocks, Banco Santiago looks to be the strongest pick, with its results outperforming ...

IMF continues support after tax cut.(economy in Ecuador)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... Despite the dire warnings expressed earlier this year that Ecuador would face the immediate cessation of multilateral aid if the country did not implement an IMF-proposed hike in the rate of VAT, from 12%, to 14%; in the end, these fears seem misplaced. Although clearly unhappy that the ...

Rates continue to tumble.(Mexican interest rates)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Aug 23, 2001 ... The downward trend in Mexican rates showed no signs of abating, with 28 day yields tumbling a further 40 basis points at this weeks Cetes auction, to 6.97%, the lowest level since their inception in 1982. Rates all along the curve mirrored this fall, with the 90-day yield falling 61 basis ...

Central Bank autonomy at risk.(Banco de Venezuela)(Brief Article)

Aug 23, 2001 ... Venezuela appears to be continuing down the interventionist path with the passage of a new law regulating the role of the central bank. The bill was finally passed on Tuesday, after months of delays in the national assembly. Although the government has celebrated the bill as a blueprint ...