Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts

March 27, 2008

Argentina, Brazil to drop US dollar in commerical transactions

Argentina, Brazil to drop U.S. dollar in bilateral commercial transactions


www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-16 14:03:09

BUENOS AIRES, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Argentina and Brazil are to scrap bilateral commercial transactions in U.S. dollars and start using their own currencies from August, an official in charge of currency settlement at the Argentine Central Bank said here Saturday.

The new payment system is aimed at reducing costs in commercial transactions and would benefit small and medium-sized enterprises, the official said.

Under the new system, there will be a unified exchange rate between the real and peso, the so-called reference rate, which will be applied by Brazilian and Argentine central banks at the end of each day.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reached an agreement to establish a new payment system with his Argentine counterpart Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner during his visit to Argentina in February.

Technical preparations are underway for the new system, which the two countries will adopt in several steps due to the large amount of bilateral trade.

Brazil is Argentina's largest trading partner, while Argentina is Brazil's second-biggest trading partner after the United States.

Bilateral trade stood at around 23.6 billion U.S. dollars last year.


Editor: Song Shutao

February 09, 2008

EARTHCHANGES - Volcanic times in South America

Volcanic times in South America

Volcano1_2 It's volcano season in the Andes. Of course, volcanoes are more epochal than seasonal, and don't comport to any quadrants of the calendar.

But it has been a jumpy few months on the South American edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where folks are all too aware of volcanoes' destructive force. Spectacular eruptions and shattered nerves have been the norm in the vicinity of several fuming behemoths.

Volcano2_2_2 In Ecuador, hundreds have been evacuated from the proximity of the Tungurahua volcano, about 85 miles south of Quito, the capital. Authorities have declared a red alert, reports El Universo. And on the other end of the continent, El Mercurio says Chilean villagers were on the run from the Llaima volcano, which has spewed out a river of lava more than a mile long, illuminating the night sky.

Patrick J. McDonnell and Andres D'Alessandro in Buenos Aires

Photos: The Tungurahua volcano erupts (Dolores Ochoa/Associated Press); Ecuadorians wear masks to keep out the ash near Tungurahua volcano. (Pablo Cozzaglio/AFP/Getty Images)


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