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Region:
Corruption report card |
| According to
Transparency International’s 2004 rankings, 10 out of 25 Latin
American countries suffer from “rampant corruption”, and most of
the rest fare little better. |
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Venezuela:
Finance outlook |
| Robust oil prices
are supporting the stockmarket, but realisation that President Hugo
Chavez’s populist policies will endure into the foreseeable future
has removed the impetus for a continued rally. |
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USA:
Bush again? |
| Despite a
tightening of the US presidential race, the Economist Intelligence
Unit continues to believe that George Bush stands the better chance
of victory, albeit slim one. |
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USA:
Steady economic growth |
| The US economy
grew by 3.7% in the third quarter, below market expectations but
exactly in line with our forecast. We expect the economy to start
slowing as interest rates rise and tax cuts disappear. |
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China:
Interest rates rise |
| China's surprise
interest-rate hike on October 28th was symbolically important,
indicating a willingness to adopt for the first time in the current
economic cycle an economy-wide approach to policy tightening. |
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EU:
The end of the beginning |
| EU leaders
gathered in Rome on October 29th for the signing of the new
constitution. But before it can enter into force, the constitution
needs to be ratified by all 25 member states. This is unlikely to
happen. |
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Middle
East: Fading icon |
| As doctors tend
to Yasser Arafat, the question of succession is becoming urgent. A
comparable figure is unlikely to emerge, but neither is a descent
into chaos on the cards. RiskWire
examines the issues. |
