GLOBAL MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Poor show at Evian 06-12-03 (ahram.org.eg) Billed as an opportunity for French diplomacy to reassert itself following divisions between Europe and the United States over the US-led war on Iraq, this week's summit of the world's leading industrialised nations, the so-called G-8, which took place in the French resort town of Evian from 1 to 3 June, was overshadowed by continuing protest in France at government plans to reform the country's pensions and education system
Greenspan: Rising Natural Gas Rates Imperil Economy 06-12-03 (npr.org) Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warns a House panel that the rising cost of natural gas could weaken the U.S. economy. Greenspan says more imports may be necessary in the short term to offset the trend toward higher prices. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley. 
Fed: Economy Sluggish in Most Areas 06-12-03 (Yahoo) "Although reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated some signs of increased economic activity in April and May, conditions remained sluggish in most Districts," the Fed said in its "beige book" report, an anecdotal summary of economic conditions around the country. 
Poll: Bush Approval Drops on Sour Economy 06-12-03 (Yahoo) The Quinnipiac University survey revealed that nearly twice as many American voters were more concerned about the sagging economy than about the possibility of terrorist attacks in the United States. 
Natural Gas Shortage Could Hurt Economy, Greenspan Tells House 06-12-03 (Yahoo) "We are not apt to return to earlier periods of relative abundance and low prices," Greenspan told the House Energy Committee. Natural gas fetched about $2 per million British thermal units, a standard unit measure, through most of the 1990s. That price helped drive industrial demand up, especially among steel makers, chemical companies and fertilizer firms. Many converted their plants to natural gas. 
Natural-gas spike hits US consumers 06-12-03 (csmonitor.com) Conventional wisdom on Capitol Hill is that nothing ever gets done on energy issues - or many others - unless there is a full-blown crisis. If so, the prospect of costly air conditioning this summer and idle factories this winter because of soaring natural-gas prices could be just the boost needed to leverage a long-contested energy bill out of the Senate and into law. Republicans hope so. That's why Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was invited once again to Capitol Hill Tuesday to sound the alarm again on how "very tight supplies" of natural gas could threaten the economic recovery. 
U.S. told dont rely on gas from Canada 06-12-03 (globeandmail.com) The United States shouldn't look northward to ease its worsening natural gas supply crunch because Canadian production won't be able to keep up with soaring demand south of the border, a U.S. congressional committee has heard. 

 LATIN AMERICA
Argentinas latest strongman? 06-12-03 (csmonitor.com) Argentina's new president, Nestor Kirchner, is surprising his compatriots with the speed with which he is asserting control. While most expected him to step gingerly onto the country's center stage, since taking the oath of office May 25 he has 
Argentine faces dirty war trial 06-12-03 (BBC) Mexico's Supreme Court has ordered the extradition to Spain of a former Argentine navy officer to face charges of genocide and terrorism. Ricardo Cavallo was arrested in the southern Mexican resort of Cancun in 2000 after a newspaper report said that five former political prisoners had identified him as their torturer. A Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, has accused Mr Cavallo of human rights crimes during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship. 
Interest rates hit recovery of Brazils factories 06-11-03 (Financial Times) Brazil's industrial production lost its tentative grip on its fragile recovery in April in yet another sign that the economy is unlikely to recover during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's first year as president. Seasonally-adjusted industrial production in April fell 0.1 per cent over the previous month, and slumped 4.2 per cent over the same period last year, the largest fall since December 2001. Mr Lula da Silva has managed to regain investor confidence with strict fiscal and monetary policy since taking office in January. Yet the cost of stability has been a sharp reduction in economic activity. 
Powell pledges support for Argentina 06-11-03 (Financial Times) The Bush administration will help Argentina overcome the difficulties afflicting its economy, Colin Powell, US secretary of state, said on Tuesday. In the first visit by a top US official to Argentina since the country descended into financial chaos 18 months ago, Mr Powell said: "We will try to be as helpful and supportive as we can." Mr Powell described his hour-long meeting with Néstor Kirchner, Argentina's new president, as "very open and cordial, as befitting [the] strong relationship between two friends". 

 AFRICA
Turning Africa Around 06-11-03 (Washington Post) For an early look at what the writer Robert Kaplan has described as "the coming anarchy," you need only read the daily news reports out of Africa. They refute the quaint Hegelian notion that history always moves forward; in Africa, it has been running in reverse for the past two decades. 

 OIL PRICES
OPEC Holds Output, Meets Again in 7 Weeks 06-12-03 (Yahoo) Ministers left supply quotas unchanged and called for improved adherence with individual allocations under combined limits of 25.4 million barrels daily. Steamy world oil prices gave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries the breathing space to wait to make its first cutbacks since the end of 2001. 
Oil Jumps as U.S. Fuel Stocks Fall 06-12-03 (Yahoo) U.S. light crude in New York was up 63 cents at $32.36 a barrel, hitting a peak of $32.50, the highest level in 12 weeks and nearly 35 percent above last year. In London, benchmark Brent crude was 31 cents higher at $28.39 a barrel. 
OPEC maintains production ceiling, demands quota compliance 06-12-03 (Yahoo) "We agreed in April that the ceiling is 25.4 million barrels per day (bpd) from June 1 and today we reconfirmed this agreement. We hope there will be no overproduction (above quotas) during this period," until July 31, he told reporters Wednesday, at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the cartel in Qatar. In a statement released at the end of the meeting, OPEC said: "Stability had been maintained in the market following the decision taken by the (OPEC) conference in April 2003 to reduce actual production to 25.4 million bpd, with prices remaining within agreed levels. 
OPEC to Maintain Current Oil Production 06-11-03 (Yahoo) Before the decision was made, Venezuelan Deputy Oil Minister Luis Vierma had said he thought OPEC might be able to keep its current output levels for the rest of the year. And the Nigerian delegate, Rilwanu Lukman, a former OPEC secretary general, said: "I tend to agree with that."