GLOBAL MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Aid the economy: Save? Or spend? 05-01-03 (philly.com) Americans better start saving more or this economy is going to be in real trouble. No, wait. Let me rephrase that. Americans better not cut back their spending or this economy is going to be in real trouble. No, wait. The savings rate in this country is a disaster. We have to do better, or... No, wait. Consumer spending is the only thing standing between us and another recession. Are you confused? Do you stand in front of the ATM machine anxiously wondering whether it's more socially responsible to take the cash to the mall or leave it right where it is? 
Alan Greenspan Undercuts Bush Tax Cut 05-01-03 (Yahoo) Meanwhile, a key House Republican proposed lowering capital gains tax rates as an alternative to the top Bush priority — eliminating taxes on stock dividends. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., told Republicans on his panel that the idea of treating dividends like capital gains — and cutting capital gains taxes — stands a better chance of approval than simply doing away with taxes on dividends, the most costly and most debated part of the president's proposal 
Greenspan Sees Economic Rebound but Cites Risk 05-01-03 (Yahoo) The Fed chief, in testimony prepared for delivery to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said conditions appeared to be in place for a faster recovery in the second half of this year with consumers feeling more confident and factories already seeing enough orders to cause backlogs. "I continue to believe that the economy is positioned to expand at a noticeably better pace than it has during the past year, though the timing and the extent of that remains uncertain," Greenspan said in the closely watched testimony. 
Greenspan Says Future Path of U.S. Economy Isnt Clear 05-01-03 (Yahoo) "Unfortunately, the future path of the economy is likely to come into sharper focus only gradually," Mr. Greenspan said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee. "In the interim, we need to be mindful of the possibility that lingering business caution could be an impediment to improved economic performance." Mr. Greenspan said the Federal Reserve has had "limited readings" on broader economic conditions since mid-March when the war started, and what information the Fed has had has been "mixed." 
Greenspan says US economy set for postwar rebound 05-01-03 (Yahoo) The US economy grew at a sluggish annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2003, latest government figures show. "Unfortunately, the future path of the economy is likely to come into sharper focus only gradually," the powerful central bank chief told the House of Representatives financial services committee 
Iraq success boosts US market 05-01-03 (abc.net.au) The success of US-led forces in Iraq has sparked a big lift in consumer confidence in the United States. Together with some encouraging profit reports, that has raised hopes of improved economic prospects. The impact on Wall Street has been positive overall, although there has been a reasonable amount of see-sawing in share prices. The rise in US consumer confidence has been the biggest in 12 years. The private-sector Conference Board's April measure has surged 19.6 points to 81, with American households reassured by the quick outcome in Iraq. 
The good-news-bad-news economy 05-01-03 (BBC) It's sort of a good-news-bad-news situation," one grandee at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meetings tells BBC News Online. 

 LATIN AMERICA
Five dead, thousands evacuated in Argentina floods 05-01-03 (Yahoo) Argentina (AFP) - Five people are dead and 60,000 forced from their homes in central Argentina, officials said, amid widespread flooding that President Eduardo Duhalde has dubbed a "national catastrophe
Argentina declares flood disaster 05-01-03 (BBC) The authorities in Santa Fe, northern Argentina, have evacuated at least 50,000 people amid the most severe flooding in the province's history. Local officials say that seven people are known to have died in Santa Fe province, with another man dead in neighbouring Entre Rios. 
Brazil, Bolivia To Continue Gas Price Revision Talks 04-30-03 (Yahoo) RIO DE JANEIRO -(Dow Jones)- The Brazilian (news - web sites) and Bolivian governments will continue to discuss ways to lower current prices on natural gas contracts between Brazil's federally run Petroleo Brasileiro and Bolivian state gas supplier Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos
Latin Amers Oil Prospects Good, But Challenging-Oil Executive 04-30-03 (Yahoo) WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Dow Jones)- The chairman of ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE:CVX - News) said Tuesday the company is optimistic about future investment prospects in Latin America, but warned that key conditions must be addressed to enhance the possibility of further investments. 
The Final Duel for Argentinas Presidency 04-30-03 (businessweek.com) Both candidates are billing it as a high-noon showdown between divergent economic models. But the only sure thing about Argentina's presidential runoff is that a Peronist will win. Unable to unite behind a single contender, Argentina's ruling Peronist Party fielded three candidates in the Apr. 27 elections. 
No more tension between Santiago and Washington: Chilean FM 04-30-03 (Yahoo) Relations between the United States and Chile are no longer strained, Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear told reporters after meeting here with US Secretary of State Colin Powe

 RUSSIA
From Russian Oligarch to Oil Kingpin 04-30-03 (businessweek.com) In an industry and a country equally smitten with size, the merger between Russia's two fastest-growing oil producers, Yukos and Sibneft, is surely one for the history books. Newly created YukosSibneft Oil Co., with a market capitalization of $35 billion, will rank as the world's fourth-largest oil producer, with current output of 2.3 million barrels per day. It will also be the third-largest holder of oil and gas reserves, behind Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal/Dutch Shell Group

 ASIA
DOH: SARS watch in Baguio 05-01-03 (philstar.com) BAGUIO CITY — Worries about a possible outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in this city have intensified after health officials officially listed a female Indian missionary as a suspected SARS case. Officials said they have also isolated four persons, including two foreigners, who have had contact with the 21-year-old Indian. 
Japan sinks G8 move on tanker safety 04-30-03 (atimes.com) Japan Japan sinks G8 move on tanker safety By Julio Godoy PARIS - Maritime measures to prevent spills from oil tankers will be off the agenda at the Group of Eight (G8) meeting in June. Japan scuttled a German proposal to include the issue on the agenda, according to documents from preparatory discussions among environment ministers of the eight countries. The Russian delegation is reported to have backed the Japanese objections 
Virus could affect the global economy 04-30-03 (kansascity.com) The spontaneous emergence of a nasty, deadly bug has reminded me again how the trajectory of economics can shoot off in unexpected ways for unanticipated reasons. Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in a matter of weeks has infected thousands, mostly in Asia, and killed dozens. 

 AFRICA
King Mohammed stresses Africas prosperity depends on citizens and human resources upgrading 04-30-03 (arabicnews.com) Morocco's King Mohammed VI stressed here on Monday that "Africans, their leaders and elite, are all aware that they share a common destiny. They know that their prosperity depends on how much we care about the African citizen and about the upgrading of the human resources that this continent boasts." 
Crude Futures Slip Amid Unrest in Nigeria 04-30-03 (Yahoo) Crude set for June delivery lost 25 cents to settle at $25.24 a barrel in midday trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange. May heating-oil futures were off 0.10 cent to 73.04 cents a gallon, while May gasoline fell 1.3 cents to 82.94 cents a gallon. June natural gas added 4.6 cents to close at $5.236 per million British thermal units. In Nigeria, 100 foreign oil workers -- including 21 U.S. and 35 British nationals -- were being held hostage by striking Nigerian workers aboard offshore installations. 
Fears for Nigerian oil hostages 04-30-03 (BBC) Local employees took control of the platforms in deep water south of the Niger Delta, after some of their colleagues were sacked, but their specific demands remain unclear. The siege has been going on for more than a week but has only recently come to public attention. 

 OIL PRICES
Powell says Alaska-style oil revenue sharing could work in Iraq 05-01-03 (Yahoo) "It is under consideration, we're looking at that," Powell told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. "It's a concept that applies in the case of Iraq at least for consideration." "The ultimate judgement, of course, is up to the Iraqi people," he said, stressing that the United States believed that Iraq's oil reserves were the property of its citizens and would not seek to determine how they are handled. 
Saddams Legacy Haunts Oil Repair Efforts 05-01-03 (Yahoo) The unexploded bombs littering Iraq (news - web sites)'s oil fields aren't the only obstacle to rebooting the country's once booming petroleum sector. 
Nigerian navy launches operation to end oil rig hostage crisis 05-01-03 (Yahoo) Nigeria's navy launched a "peaceful" operation to secure four offshore oil platforms where a strike has trapped scores of British, US and European workers, the force's spokesman told AFP
Norway wont cut oil production 05-01-03 (aftenposten.no) Norway's Oil and Energy Minister Einar Steensnaes told Aftenposten that Norway has no plans to stem oil production at the moment, despite the wishes of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The OPEC nations want Norway to contribute to the stabilization of oil prices and have signaled a wish to cut production - something Steensnaes says is not on the agenda now.