Indicators.COLOMBIA Colombia (kəlŭm`bēə, Span. kōlōm`byä), officially Republic of Colombia, republic (2005 est. pop. 42,954,000), 439,735 sq mi (1,138,914 sq km), NW South America. Bogotá is the capital and largest city. THE ANDEAN An·des A mountain system of western South America extending more than 8,045 km (5,000 mi) along the Pacific coast from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. The Andes rise at many points to more than 6,710 m (22,000 ft). DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, a multilateral mul·ti·lat·er·al adj. 1. Having many sides. 2. Involving more than two nations or parties: multilateral trade agreements. lending institution Noun 1. lending institution - a financial institution that makes loans financial institution, financial organisation, financial organization - an institution (public or private) that collects funds (from the public or other institutions) and invests them in , approved two credit lines totaling US$400 million for Colombia. The country will use the funds to expand capacity at Interconexion Electrica, an electricity company. The loans will also help finance reforms at the Finance Ministry needed to make the country more competitive. HAITI Haiti (hā`tē), Fr. Haïti (äētē`), officially Republic of Haiti, republic (2005 est. pop. 8,122,000), 10,700 sq mi (27,713 sq km), West Indies, on the western third of the island of Hispaniola. THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) international organization founded in 1959 by 20 governments in North and South America to finance economic and social development in the Western Hemisphere. , a multilateral lending institution, approved a US$270 million lending facility for Haiti. The package of grants and loans will help the country strengthen its economy and public sector through 2006. THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, a multilateral lending institution, earmarked US$20 million to finance technical assistance programs needed to improve infrastructure across Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and the Caribbean. The fund will support the Plan Puebla Puebla, city, Mexico Puebla, city (1990 pop. 1,007,170), capital of Puebla state, E central Mexico. Its official name is Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, in honor of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza, who defeated the French forces there in 1862. Panama Panama, country, Central America Panama (păn`əmä'), Span. Panamá, officially Republic of Panama, republic (2005 est. pop. (PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) The most popular method for transporting IP packets over a serial link between the user and the ISP. Developed in 1994 by the IETF and superseding the SLIP protocol, PPP establishes the session between the user's computer and the ISP using ), which integrates Mexico Mexico, city, Mexico Mexico or Mexico City, Span. Ciudad de México (Méjico), city (1990 pop. 8,236,960; 1991 met. area est. 20,899,000), central Mexico, capital and largest city of Mexico. with Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. , and other regional integration initiatives. THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, a multilateral lending institution, approved a US$16.6 million loan for Honduras Honduras (hŏnd  r`əs, –dyr`–; Span., ōnd . Proceeds will
finance improvements to healthcare programs.One of a kind Venezuela Venezuela (vĕnəzwā`lə, Span. vānāswā`lä), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, republic (2005 est. pop. 25,375,000), 352,143 sq mi (912,050 sq km), N South America. has been the only country in the region able to increase international reserves quickly. It's it's 1. Contraction of it is. 2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its. it's it is or it has it's be ~have clear why: The country sits on top of a lot of oil. In January January: see month. 2003, a crippling crip·ple n. 1. A person or animal that is partially disabled or unable to use a limb or limbs: cannot race a horse that is a cripple. 2. A damaged or defective object or device. tr.v. strike paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. the economy for two months, forcing hard-currency reserves to their lowest level in three years, to US$11.30 billion. Today, that figure has more than doubled to $24.30 billion. Apart from high crude prices, which have pumped foreign currencies into the country's coffers, reserves also are high thanks to capital controls imposed by the Central Bank. Such controls have kept foreign monies inside Venezuela's borders. The upward trend should continue, experts say. "I expect the international reserves to continue to rise but not in a huge way," says Richard Francis Richard Francis (dates unknown) was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. Francis is known to have been a Surrey man by birth and he had played for Surrey teams before moving to Hampshire. He made 47 known first-class appearances from 1773 until 1793. , associate director of sovereign SOVEREIGN. A chief ruler with supreme power; one possessing sovereignty. (q.v.) It is also applied to a king or other magistrate with limited powers. 2. In the United States the sovereignty resides in the body of the people. Vide Rutherf. Inst. 282. ratings at Standard & Poor's in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Venezuelan President Hugo HUGO - A bytecode-interpreted transaction handler from Geac. Chavez has said he wants legislation to cap foreign reserves at $20 billion and to allocate To reserve a resource such as memory or disk. See memory allocation. the excess to financing social programs. One thing for sure is that Venezuela is the only country in the region with that luxury.--Andres F. Velazquez Come On Down! Foreign direct investment (FDI FDI See: Foreign direct investment ) in Latin America and the Caribbean rose 44% in 2004 to reach US$56.4 billion, posting its first gain since 1999, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America Noun 1. Economic Commission for Latin America - the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean ), Brazil Brazil (brəzĭl`), Port. Brasil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, republic (2005 est. pop. 186,113,000), 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km), E South America. , Mexico and Chile Chile (chĭl`ē, Span. chē`lā), officially Republic of Chile, republic (2005 est. pop. 15,981,000), 292,256 sq mi (756,945 sq km), S South America, west of the continental divide of the Andes Mts. took in the lion's share all, or nearly all; the best or largest part; - from Æsop's fable of the lion hunting in company with certain smaller beasts, and appropriating to himself all the prey. See also: Lion of the region's FDI, which excludes money going into stock markets or strictly financial transactions. Latin Lat·in n. 1. a. The Indo-European language of the ancient Latins and Romans and the most important cultural language of western Europe until the end of the 17th century. b. American American, river, 30 mi (48 km) long, rising in N central Calif. in the Sierra Nevada and flowing SW into the Sacramento River at Sacramento. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill (see Sutter, John Augustus) along the river in 1848 led to the California gold rush of economies have been recovering from a series of crises in 2002 and 2003, and now investments are returning. While South American economies grew heavily on Asian demand for their commodities, Mexico grew as the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. economy recovered, says Geoffrey Geoffrey (jĕf`rē), 1158–86, duke of Brittany (1171–86); fourth son of Henry II of England. Betrothed (1166) to Constance, heiress of Brittany, he was recognized as heir to the duchy in 1169 and succeeded to it on the death of her Dennis Dennis is a male first name derived from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius meaning "servant of Dionysus", the Thracian god of wine, which is ultimately derived from the Greek Dios (Διος, "of Zeus") combined with Nysos or Nysa (Νυσα), where the , managing director for Latin American equity research at Citigroup Citigroup U.S. holding company formed in 1998 from the merger of Citicorp (itself a holding company incorporated in 1967) and Travelers Group, Inc. The $70 billion merger included one of the largest U.S. investment banks, Salomon Smith Barney Inc. . Many U.S. companies, even small businesses, run their manufacturing operations Manufacturing operations concern the operation of a facility, as opposed to maintenance, supply and distribution, health, and safety, emergency response, human resources, security, information technology and other infrastructural support organizations. in Mexico. "You had a significant economic performance in 2004," says Dennis. The United States remained the region's largest investor with 32% of FDI flows. --Jones Forrest For·rest , Nathan Bedford 1821-1877. American Confederate general who was active at the battles of Shiloh (1862) and Chickamauga (1863). He was a founder and the first leader (1866-1869) of the Ku Klux Klan.
foriegn direct investment
(US$ billions)
Brazil 18.2
Mexico 16.6
Chile 7.6
Colombia 2.4
Trinidad and Tobago 1.8
Argentina 1.8
Note: Table made from bar graph.
SOURCE: ECLAC
Latin Trade Index
December '04
% CHANGE
DECEMBER '04/'03
Total trade US$ 69.2 billion 24.5%
Exports US$ 35.5 billion 23.2%
Imports US$ 33.7 billion 25.9%
Monthly combined exports and imports of Latin
America's eight largest economies: Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela
[GRAPHICS OMITTED]
Latin America and the Caribbean
GDP Industrial production
% change on year ago % change on year ago
LT Consensus Forecast * latest
latest 2004 2005F 2006F
Argentina 9.1 Q4 '04 9.0 5.7 3.3 9.6 Dec '04
Brazil 4.9 Q4 '04 5.2 3.8 3.9 8.3 Dec '04
Chile 6.4 Q4 '04 5.8 5.1 4.8 10.2 Dec '04
Colombia 4.3 Q4 '04 4.0 3.5 3.4 5.5 Dec '04
Ecuador 4.5 Q4 '04 6.6 3.5 3.2 6.8 Dec '04
Mexico 4.9 Q4 '04 4.4 3.8 3.7 3.9 Dec '04
Peru 6.8 Q4 '04 5.1 4.1 3.9 9.1 Dec '04
Venezuela 11.2 Q4 '04 17.3 5.1 4.1 -- --
Unemployment
% rate
latest
Argentina 12.1 Q4 '04
Brazil 9.6 Dec '04+
Chile 7.5 Nov Jan '05
Colombia 12.1 Dec '04
Ecuador 9.9 Dec '04
Mexico 3.0 Dec '04+
Peru 8.8 Dec '04
Venezuela 10.9 Dec '04
Producer prices Consumer prices
% change on year ago
LT Consensus Forecast *
latest 2004 2005F 2006F
Argentina 7.9 Dec '04 6.1 8.8 6.8
Brazil 14.7 Dec '04 7.6 5.6 5.0
Chile 7.8 Dec '04 2.4 2.7 3.0
Colombia 4.6 Dec '04 5.5 5.5 5.3
Ecuador 4.3 Dec '04 2.0 1.8 1.4
Mexico 8.0 Dec '04 5.2 3.9 3.8
Peru 4.9 Dec '04 3.5 2.5 3.0
Venezuela 22.4 Dec '04 19.2 20.4 23.3
Exchange rates Current account
end of period per US$ as % of GDP
LT Consensus Forecast * LT Consensus Forecast *
2004 2005F 2006F 2004 2005F 2006F
Argentina 2.98 3.00 3.14 4.9 0.8 -0.6
Brazil 2.65 2.83 3.03 2.0 0.4 -0.4
Chile 560 596 604 2.8 1.0 0.0
Colombia 2,390 2,580 2,704 -1.5 -1.3 -1.3
Ecuador 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.7 0.3 -1.6
Mexico 11.2 11.71 11.93 -1.3 -1.6 -1.7
Peru 3.28 3.36 3.43 -0.1 -0.8 -1.4
Venezuela 1,920 2,183 2,562 14.1 9.9 6.4
International reserves
US$ billions
LT Consensus Forecast *
2004 2005F 2006F
Argentina 18.9 23.2 25.1
Brazil 52.7 55.1 50.7
Chile 16.0 17.1 17.1
Colombia 13.4 14.5 14.7
Ecuador 1.1 1.7 1.5
Mexico 61.5 61.4 62.6
Peru 12.0 13.3 13.7
Venezuela 24.3 27.3 28.4
* LATIN TRADE Consensus Forecast includes ABN AMRO, Banamex, J.P.
Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Santander Central Hispano
Investment, Smith Barney, UBS Warburg, LATIN TRADE
+ open unemployment (economically active, seeking work)
Consumer prices Interest rates
% change on year ago % per year
latest year ago deposit lending
Argentina 6.1 Dec '04 3.7 3.01 5.78 Dec '04
Bolivia 4.6 Dec '04 3.9 4.94 13.01 Dec '04
Brazil 7.6 Dec '04 9.3 17.01 53.70 Dec '04
Chile 2.4 Dec '04 1.1 2.80 5.28 Dec '04
Colombia 5.5 Dec '04 6.5 7.76 15.04 Dec '04
Costa Rica 13.1 Dec '04 9.9 9.50 23.67 Dec '04
Dominican Rep. 28.7 Dec '04 42.7 21.27 30.88 Dec '04
Ecuador 1.9 Dec '04 6.1 3.47 7.35 Dec '04
El Salvador 5.4 Dec '04 2.5 3.29 6.43 Dec '04
Guatemala 9.2 Dec '04 5.7 4.29 13.50 Dec '04
Honduras 9.2 Dec '04 6.8 10.95 19.67 Nov '04
Jamaica 13.7 Dec '04 14.1 7.57 17.72 Dec '04
Mexico 5.2 Dec '04 4.0 3.11 9.01 Dec '04
Panama 1.5 Dec '04 1.4 2.23 8.78 Dec '04
Paraguay 2.8 Dec '04 9.3 3.29 22.53 Dec '04
Peru 3.5 Dec '04 2.5 3.20 14.70 Dec '04
Trinidad & Tobago 4.3 Sep '04 4.2 3.27 9.50 Oct '04
Uruguay 7.6 Dec '04 10.2 -- -- --
Venezuela 19.2 Dec '04 27.1 13.77 17.00 Dec '04
Exchange rates
March 18, 2005
currency per US$ per euro
Argentina Peso 2.92 3.90
Bolivia Boliviano 8.07 10.79
Brazil Real 2.72 3.63
Chile Peso 586.50 784.27
Colombia Peso 2,375 3,175
Costa Rica Colon 466.85 624.27
Dominican Rep. Peso 26.19 35.02
Ecuador Sucre 1.00 33,430
El Salvador Colon 8.75 11.69
Guatemala Quetzal 7.59 10.14
Honduras Lempira 17.99 24.06
Jamaica Dollar 61.00 81.57
Mexico Peso 11.19 14.96
Panama Balboa 1.00 1.33
Paraguay Guarani 6,260 8,371
Peru Sol 3.26 4.36
Trinidad & Tobago Dollar 6.26 8.37
Uruguay Peso 25.44 34.01
Venezuela Bolivar 2,145 2,868
Exports of goods Imports of goods
US$ millions US$ millions
trailing trailing
latest 12 months latest 12 months
Argentina 2,962 Dec '04 34,347 2,095 Dec '04 22,310
Bolivia 193 Dec '04 2,230 188 Dec '04 1,888
Brazil 9,194 Dec '04 96,475 5,684 Dec '04 62,790
Chile 3,316 Dec '04 31,799 2,398 Dec '04 24,871
Colombia 1,512 Dec '04 16,483 1,759 Dec '04 16,745
Costa Rica 495 Dec '04 6,297 676 Dec '04 8,268
Dominican Rep. 1,459 Q4 '04 5,750 2,168 Q4 '04 7,845
Ecuador 593 Dec '04 7,591 783 Dec '04 7,861
El Salvador 254 Dec '04 3,046 500 Dec '04 5,119
Guatemala 445 Dec '04 5,036 858 Dec '04 9,477
Honduras 130 Dec '04 1,535 411 Dec '04 3,926
Jamaica 294 Q3 '04 1,323 927 Q3 '04 3,659
Mexico 15,957 Dec '04 188,933 18,313 Dec '04 197,156
Panama 1,484 Q3 '04 5,672 2,061 Q3 '04 6,510
Paraguay 106 Dec '04 1,626 264 Dec '04 2,652
Peru 1,373 Dec '04 12,533 971 Dec '04 9,816
Trinidad & 845 Q1 '04 4,681 1,209 Q1 '04 4,201
Tobago
Uruguay 264 Dec '04 2,922 288 Dec'04 3,114
Venezuela 10,848 Q4 '04 39,371 5,431 Q4'04 17,318
International
reserves ([dagger])
US$ millions
latest year ago
Argentina 18,884 Dec'04 14,153
Bolivia 872 Dec'04 717
Brazil 52,740 Dec'04 49,111
Chile 15,994 Dec'04 15,840
Colombia 13,394 Dec'04 10,784
Costa Rica 1,918 Dec'04 1,836
Dominican Rep. 798 Dec'04 253
Ecuador 1,070 Dec'04 813
El Salvador 1,927 Dec'04 1,943
Guatemala 3,426 Dec'04 2,833
Honduras 1,970 Dec'04 1,430
Jamaica 1,846 Dec'04 1,195
Mexico 64,141 Dec'04 58,956
Panama 631 Dec'04 1,011
Paraguay 1,168 Dec'04 969
Peru 12,176 Dec'04 9,777
Trinidad & 2,904 Nov'04 2,403
Tobago
Uruguay 2,508 Dec'04 2,083
Venezuela 18,375 Dec'04 16,035
([dagger]) Excluding gold, IMF definition
SOURCE: IMF, individual countries. Oanda, Latin Trade
Rest of the World
GDP
% change on year ago
LT forecast
latest 2004 2005F 2006F
Belgium 2.6 Q4 '04 1.5 1.9 2.0
Canada 1.7 Q4 '04 2.7 3.1 3.5
China 9.5 Q4 '04 9.5 8.5 8.5
France 2.1 Q4 '04 2.3 2.2 2.3
Germany 1.5 Q4 '04 1.0 1.0 1.8
Hong Kong 7.1 Q4 '04 8.2 5.0 5.1
India 6.6 Q3 '04 6.5 6.5 7.0
Italy 1.0 Q4 '04 1.1 1.1 2.0
Japan -0.5 Q4 '04 2.6 1.1 2.0
Korea 4.6 Q3 '04 4.7 3.0 5.0
Netherlands 1.3 Q4 '04 1.3 1.4 2.5
Russia 6.7 Q4 '04 7.1 5.8 4.5
Spain 2.7 Q4 '04 2.7 2.4 2.7
Switzerland 1.2 Q4 '04 1.7 1.6 2.1
United Kingdom 2.9 Q4 '04 3.1 2.6 2.5
United States 3.8 Q4 '04 4.4 3.9 3.4
Consumer prices
% change on year ago
LT forecast
latest 2004 2005F 2006F
Belgium 2.3 Dec '04 1.2 1.3 1.4
Canada 2.1 Dec '04 1.8 2.3 2.5
China 4.3 Oct '04 4.0 4.0 4.5
France 2.1 Dec '04 2.3 1.7 1.5
Germany 2.1 Dec '04 1.8 1.4 1.2
Hong Kong 0.2 Dec '04 -0.5 0.5 --
India 4.2 Nov '04 4.4 6.0 --
Italy 2.0 Dec '04 2.3 1.7 1.6
Japan 0.2 Dec '04 0.0 0.1 0.5
Korea 3.0 Dec '04 3.6 3.5 3.5
Netherlands 1.2 Dec '04 1.4 1.1 1.4
Russia 11.7 Dec '04 11.7 14.0 10.0
Spain 3.2 Dec '04 3.1 2.4 2.4
Switzerland 1.4 Dec '04 0.8 1.1 1.2
United Kingdom 3.5 Dec '04 1.3 1.7 1.9
United States 3.3 Dec '04 2.7 2.6 2.8
Interest rates
% per year
Lending
Belgium 6.70 Dec '04
Canada 4.25 Dec '04
China 5.58 Dec '04
France 6.60 Dec '04
Germany 2.05 Dec '04 ([double dagger])
Hong Kong 5.00 Dec '04
India 10.75 Sep '04
Italy 2.16 Dec '04 ([double dagger])
Japan 1.73 Dec '04
Korea 5.60 Nov '04
Netherlands 2.75 Dec '04
Russia 10.40 Nov '04
Spain 2.05 Dec '04 ([double dagger])
Switzerland 3.21 Dec '04
United Kingdom 4.75 Dec '04
United States 5.14 Dec '04
International reserves
Exchange rates ([dagger])
March 18, 2005 US$ billions
per US$ per euro latest year ago
Belgium 0.75 -- 10.4 Dec '04 11.0
Canada 1.20 1.61 34.4 Dec '04 36.2
China 8.27 11.05 614.5 Dec '04 408.2
France 0.75 -- 35.3 Dec '04 30.2
Germany 0.75 -- 48.8 Dec '04 50.7
Hong Kong 7.80 10.43 123.5 Dec '04 118.4
India 43.53 58.20 126.6 Dec '04 98.9
Italy 0.75 -- 26.4 Dec '04 30.4
Japan 104.54 139.82 833.9 Dec '04 663.3
Korea 1,001 1,338 199.0 Dec '04 155.3
Netherlands 0.75 -- 10.1 Dec '04 11.0
Russia 27.48 36.75 120.8 Dec '04 73.2
Spain 0.75 -- 12.4 Dec '04 19.8
Switzerland 1.16 1.55 55.5 Dec '04 47.7
United Kingdom 0.52 0.69 45.3 Dec '04 41.9
United States -- 1.34 75.9 Dec '04 74.9
Unemployment rate
% rate
latest
Belgium 7.9 Dec '04
Canada 6.6 Dec '04
China -- --
France 9.9 Dec '04
Germany 10.8 Dec '04
Hong Kong 6.4 Nov-Jan'05
India -- --
Italy 8.1 Q3 '04
Japan 4.4 Dec '04
Korea 3.6 Dec '04
Netherlands 6.4 Nov Jan'05
Russia -- --
Spain 10.4 Q4 '04
Switzerland 4.0 Dec '04
United Kingdom 2.6 Dec '04
United States 5.1 Dec '04
([dagger]) Excluding gold, IMF definition. ([double dagger]) Money
market rate.
SOURCE: IMF, individual countries, Oanda, Latin Trade
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