Wednesday, April 24, 2002

Leaders fail to reach agreement on resource-rich Caspian Sea "Presidents of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea failed to agree Wednesday on how to divide its wealth, leaving the vast undersea oil and gas reserves untapped. The cache of undersea oil and gas is believed to be the third largest in the world. Even a vague general declaration that had been expected to be signed on the exploitation of the Caspian eluded the presidents of Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan." 1:29:07 PM  Google It!  comment  []

In Argentina's Bank Holiday, Cash Is Most Scarce Commodity "The banks were shut, the cash machines were empty, his friends and neighbors had no money to lend, and now he couldn't even use a credit card to buy gasoline." "This country of 37 million people has been crippled for months by the worst economic crisis in its history. But last Friday afternoon, after banks and many businesses had closed for the weekend, the Argentine economy entered the financial equivalent of the twilight zone. To stop an accelerating flow of money out of bank accounts, President Eduardo Duhalde ordered that all bank transactions simply be halted until further notice." "Since business resumed on Monday, an eerie stillness has prevailed across Argentina, with shops empty as consumers tried to limit their expenditures to the bare necessities. Workers cannot cash their paychecks. Department stores, newsstands, flower vendors, restaurants, taxicab drivers and others who deal in what are now seen as frivolous luxuries have seen their sales plummet to almost nothing. Even lottery vendors have been hit." "Those hit hardest by the government's measure are ordinary working families on fixed incomes." 1:18:32 PM  Google It!  comment  []