November 1, 2005        www.LatinEPR.com          LatinEPR News Wire

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COMMUNICATIONS/MEDIA

Internet Trends: Blogging, RSS, and Social Networking on the Rise

According to data released at the recent 2005 Forrester Research’s Consumer Forum,  consumers are increasingly abandonning traditional media and advertising in favor of consumer-to-consumer communication like blogging, mobile messaging, and comparison shopping.  Studies found that ten percent of consumers read blogs once a week or more, compared with five percent in 2004.  Weekly use of Real Simple Syndication (RSS) and social networking stood at six percent, up from 2% and 4%, respectively, in 2004.  The significance of these trends is not only that consumers have the option, through technology, to tune businesses out, but that businesses conversely have the possibility to use that same technology to gain greater customer insights at a lower cost. Says Forrester Research Vice President and Research Director Chris Charron, "these insights give businesses an opportunity to use consumers' ideas and creativity to drive their innovation of products, services, marketing, and design,” an approach Charron calls “consumer-driven innovation”

Sony Pictures Partners with Fremantle Media to Bring Latin Idol

On the heels of the success of Indian Idol, which has broken ratings records for Sony Pictures Television International’s (SPTI) Sony Entertainment Television (SET) channel in India, SET has partnered with FremantleMedia to bring a local version of the worldwide phenomenon to Latin America. SET Latin America is one of the leading entertainment channels in Latin America, running some of the top-rated US, including Desperate Housewives, CSI, and American Idol.

Only Primetime News and Information Program On U.S. Spanish-Language Broadcast TV

TeleFutura Network, the US Spanish-language national broadcast network, premiered the first primetime news and information program for Hispanic viewers this month.  The creation of TeleFutura En Vivo y Directo, which offers breaking news stories and reports about entertainment, sports, etc., gives the U.S. Hispanic audience targeted information about their world, and English-language primetime programs formidable new competition.  

LATIN AMERICAN TRAVEL AND TOURISM STATS AND NEWS BRIEFS

Copa Ranks Among Top Employers

Copa Airlines ranked among the top "Best Employers in Latin America" in a survey published in the June 18 edition of AmericaEconomia Magazine. The survey is the first-ever ranking of top employers in Latin America.  Copa, which ranked No. 25, was the only airline and the only Panamanian company on the list. More than 100 companies competed for a spot in the ranking, of which only two other Central American companies made the list. In April 2004, Copa was named Best Airline in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean by SkyTrax, an English market-survey company that conducts the World Airline Survey, the largest airline passenger survey in existence.

First Direct Flight From Barcelona to LatAm

This past month, Aerolineas Argentinas launched non-stop flights from Barcelona to Buenos Aires.  The new route is the first regular flight to connect Barcelona with Latin America.  Aerolineas Argentinas also has plans to connect the Catalan city with Lima and Bogota in the upcoming year.

Chile and EU Sign Air Agreement

Chile and the European Union signed an original air agreement by which all European carriers can operate between Chile and any EU member country, eliminating existing restrictions in bilateral agreements. The following step is the negotiation of a more global and ambitious agreement with the purpose of ensuring air security cooperation; protection of the environment and passengers as well as competition rules between air carriers. Air traffic between Chile and the EU totals 600.000 passengers annually and 31.000 tons of freight.

LAC: Current Expansion More Resilient than Previous Upturns

According to a recently published IMF report, generally improved macroeconomic policies are a sign that the current expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean will prove more resilient than in the past.  In contrast to their expansionary policies which led to larger deficits in earlier periods, many countries in the LAC region are now adopting strong fiscal positions that are resulting in surplus accounts, reduced dependence on external capital flows, and increased external reserves.  Countries are also taking advantage of the benign international financial conditions to prefinance external debt service obligations and set inflation targets.  With strong commodity prices, a resilient US economy, and Chinese investment, the region is projected to grow above trend at 4 percent and 3 ¾ percent in 2005 and 2006, respectively.  However, most countries in LAC remain vulnerable to such factors as high oil prices, protectionist sentiments, high debt ratios, and political climates.  Politics will play an especially large role in the next two years, as almost all countries in the region face major congessional and/or presidential elections.

Peru: Economic Growth Fastest Since 1998

(Bloomberg) -- Peru's annual economic growth expanded in August at the fastest pace since 1998, as a stable currency and interest rates is luring investment from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and companies such as Hunt Oil Co. Growth in the 12 months through August climbed to 5.96 percent from 5.89 percent in July and 3.84 percent a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute said in a report released from Lima. The pace of annual expansion was the fastest since at least March 1998, when the economy grew 6.01 percent.

Panama Tops Latin American Globalization Index

Panama ranked highest in the the first annual Latin American Globalization Index, developed by Latin Business Chronicle.   Released in the publication’s October special report, the index measures the region’s 17 countries by the extent to which they are linked with the outside world.  The six deciding factors include exports and imports of goods and services, foreign direct investment, tourism receipts, and remittances as a percent of GDP, as well as internet penetration.  Panama’s exports and imports were 64% and 61% of its GPD, respectively, higher than any other country.  The Central American nation also did well in terms of tourism receipts and foreign investment (the fourth highest of any Latam country in both categories).  CAFTA-DR countries on the whole did better than Mexico or their South American neighbors.  Argentina placed last with the one of the lowest percentage of exports and imports in the region.  However, Argentina’s is proving its returning economic strength with its considerable strides in debt cancelation.  Since the 2001 economic crisis, Argentina’s gross public debt has dropped from 144,4 billion US dollars to 126,4 billion, and total debt between the end of the first quarter in 2005 and the end of the second fell a remarkable 63,4 billion US Dollars.  

Argentina Hosts Fourth Summit of the Americas

Mar del Plata, Argentina, is set to host the Fourth Summit of the Americas, November 4-5, 2005.  The summit, held every four years, brings together the region’s 34 democratically-elected leaders, and has been the main setting for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations.  This year’s theme, chosen by the Argentine government as host, is "Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance." 

Urban Train in Works for La Paz

(Business News Americas) - Bolivia's La Paz municipality is planning to launch a concession process early next year to build a US$75mn first phase urban train link through the capital, a mayor's office spokesperson told BNamericas. The first phase of the overhead rail link project, known as Tren Elevado Urbano, will cover 10km from the city's southern zone to the city center at an average time of 13 minutes. The fare is expected to be 3.20 bolivianos (US$0.40) per trip, and is intended to alleviate heavy traffic in La Paz's downtown area. 

Central America Plans Peacekeeping Force for Natural Disasters

(UPI) - Central American nations have agreed to begin planning a regional peacekeeping force that would respond to crises, including natural disasters. Central American security and defense ministers said they agreed to start talks on the creation of a force. Guatemalan Gen. Carlos Aldana made the suggestion during the talks, saying his country and others in the region would particularly benefit from such a force in the wake of Hurricane Stan, which killed more than 700 people in his country. Aldana said the force could also fight against drug trafficking in the region, in addition to promoting political stability and helping in times of natural disasters. However, ongoing territorial disputes among some Central American countries could hamper the creation of the force, some officials warned, and the Pentagon pushed for regional cooperation after approval of the CAFTA-DR.  Currently, more than 130,000 people have been afftected in Guatemala alone by by the storm and the ensuing mudslides.  Southern Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and El Salvador have also suffered greatly with an official death toll for the region topping 2,000.  The persistent rains have only exacerbated exisiting crises in El Salvador, which exerienced recently a major volcanic, and in Nicaragua, where some coastal areas already faced famine because of a rodent plague.

Falkland Islands Film Wins Special Jury Prize

Iluminados Por El Fuego, Tristan Bauer’s antiwar film about the harrowing 1982 Falkland Islands conflict, won the Special Prize of the Jury at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain last month.  This is the first film about the the Malvinas (the Argentine name for the islands) to be shot on location where the brutal clash between Argentine and British forces took place.  Based on the memories of Argentine journalist Edgardo Esteban, just 18 years old when he served in the war, Iluminados Por El Fuego has become part of an ongoing debate in Argentina over the treatment of the conflict’s veterans, close to 300 of whom have committed suicide since 1982.  Last year, Malvinas war veterans staged protests outside the government palace from May until mid-September in response to what they consider 23 years of government neglect.  In an attempt to begin assuaging lingering wounds, Nestor Kirchner increased monthly pensions from US$147 to US$400 in October of 2004, but as recently as this month, veteran groups were still protesting for more compensation and a follow-through on promised health care.  On the political stage, Kirchner has renewed his call for Malvinas sovereignty talks in the UN General Assembly. 

Thousands Isolated by Amazon’s Worst Drought in 40 Years

(San Jose Mercury News) – Brazilian authorities recently began a massive relief effort to help thousands of families along the Amazon River hurt by a serious drought that has made river travel to many jungle areas nearly impossible.  The water level of the Amazon -- the world's biggest river by volume -- has dropped several feet because of a months-long drought. Most of the watercourse is navigable but some key tributaries have nearly dried up, halting travel and harming the important fishing industry.  The government of the jungle state of Amazonas said it was dispatching thousands of emergency workers to the most seriously stricken region -- upriver from the central Amazon city of Manaus, which is located 1,660 miles northwest of São Paulo -- to deliver food and supplies to about 32,000 families that now can be reached only by air, said Hiel Levy, the state government's press secretary.

Brazil Teenagers Enter Fight against Gender Inequality

The Brazilian social project Programme H was cited for its innovation by the latest UN Population Fund(UNFPA) report, "State of the World Population 2005: Promise of Equality; Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals".  Programme H, developed by the Promundo Institute and other NGO’s in Brazil and Mexico, aims at engaging teenage men in violence prevention and in the promotion of gender equality.  Through a series of courses and workshops, young men learn about the importance of positive male behavior in relation to important health issues like HIV/AIDS and gender violence.  The UNFPA  report points out that    AIDS prevention requires a focus on men, who generally become sexually active at an earlier age, have a greater number of sexual partners and have greater power in their relationships with women, besides having a stronger tendency to engage in high risk behaviours like intravenous drug use.  Programme H has already been implemented by countries across Latin America, as well as in Africa and Asia.