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	<title>108HQ</title>
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		<title>Uruguay Insulated From Global Crisis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Recent comments by Uruguayan vice president Danilo Astori have put the current economic crisis in a disturbing light: “I have no doubts we are before the most significant financial crisis capitalism has faced in contemporary history”, Mr. Astori remarked when asked about the ramifications for Uruguay of the stumbling trend in the US dollar and Euro. The vice-president said that Uruguay is much better prepared commercially and economically, should another crisis occur. Astori referenced the fact that following the August 5th decision by Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the rating of US debt from AAA to AA+, world markets collapsed, down in some cases as much as 11%. World commodities bore some abuse, and the hardest hits were apparent in oil. “In coming months we might be faced with scarce availability of credit, and therefore it is possible we will be seeing a tendency for interest rates to increase”, predicted Astori, a former economist who held the Minister of Finance position from 2005 to 2008.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/uruguay-insulated-from-global-crisis-292043.htm</link>
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		<title>Asian Investors Order Out For Brazilian</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Early in August, Japanese beverage and beer giant acquired a massive stake in Brazil's Schincariol, part of a growing hunger for South American commodities by Asian investors. For example, that same week, China's JAC Motors announced it would invest $900 million in a Brazilian auto plant. Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) have all been deemed hot investment properties at roughly the same stage of development. Brazil is widely viewed as the manufacturing powerhouse of South America, though it’s unstable fiscal policies are a worry to some. China, in desperate need of energy, mineral and food resources worldwide, has surpassed the United States, becoming Brazil's largest trading partner and the largest investor there in 2010, injecting about $30 billion.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/asian-investors-order-out-for-brazilian-292034.htm</link>
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		<title>Costa Rica Haven For Ecotourism</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Known the world over as one of the greenest and happiest countries in the world, Costa Rica, which literally means “rich coast”, has become an outstanding ecotourism center. In 1949, the army of Costa Rica was decommissioned in order to channel more funding into health care and education- an environmentally friendly, peaceful solution which has bettered the economy as a whole. Costa Rica also houses 5% of the world's biodiversity and the country contains roughly 500,000 different species. Costa Rica contains various individual microclimates because of its geo-locational proximity to the equator and situation between two oceans. Dry forests as well as rain forests dot the country, and it is also blessed with a number of active volcanoes. All of this contributes to Costa Rica's biodiversity, making it a logical choice for conservation, and a natural destination for ecotourism. 
]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/costa-rica-haven-for-ecotourism-292020.htm</link>
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		<title>UNASUR Allays Fears</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Finance ministers and other high ranking officials from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) trading group of South American nations announced August 5th that the group is attempting to build confidence ahead of any possible apparent crisis. Luis Miguel Castila, the Peruvian Finance Minister stated that the group's meeting Friday should bolster investor’s confidence. and that countries in the groups are managing their economies well, and are trying to increase integration in order to confront any global economic challenges. "I think that it is a signal that should provide confidence to the rest of the world among a scenario [sic] of uncertainty," the finance minister stated stated.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/unasur-allays-fears-291998.htm</link>
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		<title>Brazil Courts Real Estate Investment</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The government of Brazil has recently taken steps to improve the transparency of real-estate funds in an attempt to lure more investment to Brazil’s booming real estate sector. Breifs, as the Brazilian real estate funds are called, have ballooned in recent years, hand-in-hand with a real-estate boom driven by 10 years of strong, reasonably consistent economic growth. Real-estate values in some desirable regions of the country have skyrocketed, which is causing analysts to suspect a bubble. Others, however, still see plenty of room for growth, pointing to the fact that real-estate financing amounts to only 3% of GDP. Breifs- similar financial instruments to U.S. real-estate investment trusts, also known as REITs- buy and rent commercial properties in and around developed areas of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, although the fund’s structure is versatile, and they can be used for other purposes, like financing. One thing that separates them from their U.S. counterparts is that the Brazilian funds can't take on loans to inflate returns.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/brazil-courts-real-estate-investment-291991.htm</link>
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		<title>Aid Dependent On White Ownership</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai disagree strongly about the nation’s land redistribution policy, but both have recruited South Africa to persuade Prime Minister David Cameron to "honour Britain's obligations" by funding land reform efforts in Zimbabwe. The controversial land seizures have been taking white owned lands and redistributing them to black veterans of Zimbabwe’s revolutionary war since 2000. Mugabe recently vowed that his land seizures would continue, in defiance of the global political agreement (GPA) which requires an end to the practice. The formal disbandment of the Namibia-based SADC Tribunal ruling, has accelerated the land grabs from white farmers in recent months. Prime Minister Tsvangirai has called for an immediate stop to the accelerated land grabs and an audit to determine who owns what. This would shed light on the multiple ownerships and to ensure security of tenure for all farmers, black and white. Mugabe, a former leader of the liberation movement has denied the land audit every time it arises.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/aid-dependent-on-white-ownership-291973.htm</link>
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		<title>Saudi Housing Woes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to several sources, the Saudi Arabian property market is expected to boom thanks in large part to a boost in government spending. The stimulus has been significant enough to affect economic growth forecasts by the IMF. The forecasts for 2011 were around 6.5 percent, up 2.4 percent from 2010. The stimulus in question was announced in March, when King Abdullah vowed to spend 30 percent of Saudi Arabia's economic output, or approximately $130 billion on public spending, such as mass housing and job creation. $67 billion of the funds will go towards building 500,000 homes, in addition to earlier investments of $15 billion to bankroll the construction of 1.65 million homes in the next five years. A ministry will also be established with an annual budget of $4 billion. The IMF and other observers are speculating that these measures will increase the productivity of the country as a whole. "We will have to see how this new supply affects the market," said Mike Williams, the senior director of Middle East Research and Consultancy at CB Richard Ellis, in relation to the supply of new homes that will come on the market.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/saudi-housing-woes-291983.htm</link>
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		<title>Bedouins Robbed, Billed</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In a ruling being called everything from dictatorial to Kafkaesque, the inhabitants of a Bedouin village in Israel's Negev desert are being held financially liable for the expense of vacating and demolishing their own homes. The Israeli government filed a roughly $500,000 claim with a court on July 26 for the expense of demolishing the structures and evicting the residents of the al-'Araqib village, Amnesty International claims. The villagers have been evicted almost 28 times over the past year, most recently on July 25. The resident have long claimed that the settlement is part of their ancestral lands, but authorities claim that they are illegally squatting.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/bedouins-robbed-billed-291966.htm</link>
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		<title>Falklands War II: The Nuclear Option</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Argentinian authorities have announced plans to develop a nuclear-powered submarine for it’s navy, which it plans to arm with conventional weapons, for the time being. The armament of choice for such subs is typically nuclear torpedoes. Despite political rhetoric to the contrary, many South American countries are spending their gains from the current commodities boom on military endeavors, expensive new war toys, and rearmament of aging military forces. Richer countries, such as Venezuela, which benefits heavily from oil exports, have even borrowed against future income to arm their military. Though Argentina is only the third largest economy in South America, and has not benefited as much as other states from the commodities boom, the country seems bent on a nuclear sub. ]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/falklands-war-ii-the-nuclear-option-291953.htm</link>
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		<title>South America&#8217;s Currency Plans</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In order to address the distortions on local currency caused by increased worldwide liquidity and import dumping, South America’s top economic analysts, policymakers and monetary authorities will be meeting in Lima and later in Buenos Aires to formulate a plan of action. The announcement was made by Argentine president Christina Fernandez and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, during July 29th  ceremony inaugurating the Argentine embassy in Brasilia. Referring to a joint statement by the presidents, Ms. Roussef said,“We must define joint and specific actions to defend our countries from the excessive liquidity that artificially revalue our currencies, and from the avalanche of manufactured goods which can’t find a market in advanced countries and impact on employment and industry in our region.” The plans for the meetings were originally made during the UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) meeting held in Lima on July 28th, following the official inauguration of Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, who chaired the UNASUR meeting.]]></description>
		<link>http://108hq.com/south-americas-currency-plans-291948.htm</link>
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