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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (23254)	9/28/2007 1:06:26 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217605

Brazil's Lula urges U.S. initiatives in Latin America. Tells Bush to stop being childish. Brazil's Lula urges U.S. initiatives in Latin America Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:40pm EDT BRASILIA (Reuters) - The United States needs to drop its preoccupation with left-wing leaders in Latin America and play a bigger role in helping developing the region's economy, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday. "The United States needs to understand that the Cold War is over, this issue of who is Communist and who isn't, is over," Lula said when asked about the rivalry between Venezuela and the United States during a television interview. "I've told Bush, the United States needs to have a pro-active policy toward Latin America," Lula told Record News television channel. "All countries want to develop ... and the United States can help." Any cooperation between U.S. President George W. Bush and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would be the first between two leaders whose governments clash over everything from oil prices to arms deals to democracy. U.S. officials say Chavez, who calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor, undermines Venezuela's democracy and is a destabilizing influence in the region. Lula, who began his second term in January, said Brazil had good relations with both countries because they were important trading partners. Washington and Caracas had historic differences because "Chavez thinks Bush ordered a coup against him," Lula said, adding that part of their difference were merely rhetoric. Lula and Chavez have worked together toward South American integration as a counterbalance to the interests of wealthy countries in the region. But Lula has distanced himself of Chavez's nationalist and anti-market policies. Brazil and the United States forged a strategic alliance this year to promote ethanol production in the region.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (23254)	9/28/2007 1:53:36 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217605

Rapid growth there, and in the rest of the Middle East, is luring American investors. Oh! isn't that nice? At the moment that anyone is talking about ligtining up the pyrotechnics to salvage Bush's legacy? Private equity funds devoted to investing in the Middle East and North Africa grew to $5.2 billion in 2006, from $316 million in 2004, according to Zawya Private Equity Monitor. crosscurrents of investment are increasing the economic ties between the Persian Gulf countries and the United States — ties that have been strained after Sept. 11. Indeed, 9/11 was a turning point in the flow of capital into the region. ELMAT: Lets hope Israelis don't sabotage the efforts once again! The days of the Middle East just being a source of capital are over — it’s become a destination. The region has spent $64 billion so far this year on investments abroad, according to Dealogic, compared with $30.8 billion in all of 2006. For Carlyle, the decision to wade into the Middle East is particularly delicate. For the last five years, the firm has tried to distance itself from what was seen as Middle East ties and its political connections. Former President George H. W. Bush and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III had been advisers, which opened up relationships for the firm to raise money in the 1990s. As a result, however, the firm collected money from the bin Laden family. The firm has spent six years trying to rid itself of the image that created. nytimes.com