GLOBAL MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
US widens free-trade deals 08-08-03 (BBC) Chile's wines may now go further Singapore and Chile have become the first Asian and first South American nations to gain free trade relationships with the US. 
No Investment With Wars Chissano 08-07-03 (allafrica.com) MAPUTO The second summit of the African Union (AU) ended in Maputo on Saturday with a new leadership to oversee collective action to end the civil wars tearing the continent apart. 
Summit Opens in Abuja With Tributes to Founders Legacy 08-07-03 (allafrica.com) The sixth Leon H. Sullivan Summit opened Saturday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, with President George Bush praising the "vision" of the event's late founder. 
Drifting away 08-07-03 (denverpost.com) Once in high demand, technical workers in Colorado and across the nation are seeing their jobs sent overseas, where labor is cheaper. Many fear such 'offshoring' will hurt the economy and nationa l security.
Free-market democracy is often a bad fit 08-07-03 (rockymountainnews.com) Free-market democracy is the answer to many of the world's nagging ills, or so most Americans seem to assume. This belief undergirds U.S. policy toward Iraq, for example, as well as the official attitude toward many other developing nations. 
Double standard on globalization 08-07-03 (boston.com) F YOU get into a conversation with a billing representative of your credit card provider or phone company, you may notice a faint Indian accent. That's because the services industry is shifting more back room operations to India, where labor costs are a fraction of those in the United States. IBM, likewise, will soon move several thousand computer programming jobs to India, where programmers get far lower salaries. This decision has angered IBM employees and is contributing to a rare unionization drive at the high-tech giant, a company that once prided itself on never laying anyone off. 
Arab world dignitaries coming to Detroit economic forum 08-07-03 (freep.com) Organizers of an economic forum to be held in Detroit next month are hoping to shore up relations between the United States and the Arab world. 

 LATIN AMERICA
Chiles Media Watchdog 08-08-03 (inthesetimes.com) On the same May 12 afternoon that Michael Copps, dissident commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, was in San Rafael, California, speaking out against the commission’s (later successful) efforts to ease media ownership restrictions, veteran Chilean journalist Ernesto Carmona was in nearby Berkeley, California, railing against the media conglomerates in his own country. 
Chiles leader concerned WTO might talks stall 08-08-03 (globeandmail.com) OTTAWA -- If coming World Trade Organization talks in Mexico stall, key players such as the United States may decide to focus their energies elsewhere, hobbling a 17-year quest to open global commerce, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos says.
Canadian may hold key to identifying Chilean blob 08-08-03 (globeandmail.com) A large and mysterious blob of grey flesh that washed up on a Chilean beach may be the remains of a never-before-seen species of giant octopus, and researchers are using a genetic test developed by a Canadian scientist to find out.
Venezuela tries to pull politics out of the classroom 08-08-03 (csmonitor.com) CARACAS, VENEZUELA – If it weren't for the violence, one might say that Venezuela's schoolchildren have been able to witness Latin American history in the making - a real-life civics lesson without equal. 
Latin Americas Oil Legacy 08-08-03 (npr.org) July 2003 -- The U.S. imports more oil from Latin America than from all Middle Eastern countries combined. Oil wealth has long generated dreams of prosperity but in the lands of production, the reserves have often been a Midas curse of political and economic instability.
Venezuelan oil producer in financial turmoil 08-08-03 (Financial Times) Venezuela's state-owned oil company is in financial disarray, with more than $2.2bn (€1.9bn, £1.4bn) in unbilled oil deliveries and several hundred million dollars' worth of unpaid exports, according to documents obtained by the FT. 
A Different Tack on Brazil 08-07-03 (Washington Post) R ubens Barbosa, Brazil's ambassador to Washington, who says he is upbeat by nature, has an even more positive outlook these days. He said a summit here last month between Presidents Bush and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defied all expectations and could lead to long-term benefits for both countries. 

 RUSSIA
OPEC and USA Want To Win Russias Support 08-07-03 (pravda.ru) When OPEC, a powerful oil cartel, gathers for a meeting in Vienna, sheikhs will not be smiling that much as they did before. The organization of oil exporters is currently suffering from two problems: the resumption of the export of the Iraqi oil and the continuing mess within the cartel.

 ASIA
Democracy in the Philippines is under threat 08-08-03 (taipeitimes.com) President Gloria Arroyo's claim that the end to a mutiny last weekend was a `victory for democracy' is not quite true By Ronald Meinardus 
Philippine Senator Charged Over Mutiny 08-08-03 (Yahoo) MANILA, Philippines - Police named an opposition senator as a leader of last week's failed military mutiny, charging him, four senior officers and two civilians Monday with backing the attempt to topple President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites). 
Philippine police probe assassination plot against President Arroyo 08-08-03 (Yahoo) MANILA (AFP) - Police are investigating a reported plot to kill or kidnap Philippines President Gloria Arroyo as part of a failed coup attempt, a senior aide said. 
An obstacle to global recovery 08-07-03 (iht.com) Asian currencies are on the move from the business pages to the front page. Just as the overvaluation of Asian currencies in the mid 1990's helped create conditions for the Asian financial crisis, so undervaluation now is an obstacle to restoration of global financial equilibrium.
India rejects World Bank gloom 08-07-03 (BBC) India's economy has survived drought and hard times Indian finance officials have dismissed as "doom and gloom" a report from the World Bank, which on Monday called for Delhi to rein in spending or face possible economic catastrophe. 

 AFRICA
Analysis: Africas Future 08-07-03 (npr.org) Robert Siegel talks with Ted Dange, Africa specialist at the Congressional Research Service, about the significance of President Bush's trip to Africa and Africa's changing relationship with the United States and the West. 
11 African Nations to Set Up Task Force 08-07-03 (Yahoo) ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Eleven African nations have agreed to set up a U.S.-backed regional task force to respond to disasters and terrorist attacks, a senior U.S. military officer said Wednesday. 
Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need of investment 08-07-03 (npr.org) While President Bush travels around Africa this week, NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need of foreign economic investors. While President Bush travels around Africa this week, NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need of foreign economic investors. 

 OIL PRICES


FT: US Energy Group Eyes UK Power Plants 08-07-03 (Yahoo) LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. energy group is seeking to raise more than $1.60 billion of private finance to buy some of Britain's power stations, the Financial Times Web Site reported on Sunday, without citing sources. 
British Energy gambles on Brussels u-turn 08-07-03 (guardian.co.uk) Adrian Montague, British Energy's chairman, yesterday staked the future of the stricken nuclear operator on winning EU approval for a £4bn-plus government ADVERTISEMENT rescue plan that Brussels has so far ruled illegal.