Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 April, 2003, 09:22 GMT 10:22 UK
By Peter Greste BBC News correspondent in Buenos Aires

John Snow became US Treasury Secretary in December 2002

The US Treasury Secretary, John Snow, is on his way to South America for the first foreign trip in his new job.

Analysts say the visit to Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia is an attempt to re-engage in the region, amid signs that the Bush Administration is concerned about a perceived political shift to the left.

Many on the continent also believe Washington has abandoned it in favour of the war on terror.

John Snow might not be the most senior figure in the Bush Administration but his four-day visit is the most significant US foray into Latin America in six months.

Concerns

According to the official press release, Mr Snow will learn how Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia are building strong economic policies, addressing social problems and promoting economic growth.

But he'll also be trying to re-engage with the US' own backyard a year and a half after it turned away from the region in the war on terror.

Brazil first raised concerns late last year when it elected as president the left-wing Workers' Party candidate, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva.

Lula has often spoken strongly against US domination of regional trade.

Then Ecuador did much the same by installing another leftist, former coup leader Colonel Lucio Gutierrez, as its president.

Washington is still eyeing both with a degree of suspicion along with similar left-wing trends in Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela.

Colombia has always worried the US with its ongoing war against both drug-traffickers and guerrillas.

This trip isn't the start of any grand new era in US regional policy, but it does indicate that Washington is ready to think again about its neighbourhood.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Ignacio Velasco has come out fighting, warning that the Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela is prepared "to go down into the catacombs to praise God if the disgrace of a communist and atheist regime should befall Venezuela." 

Speaking at a religious ceremony marking the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Velasco told the faithful assembled at San Jose de Chacao church that Jesus preached a gospel of peace and union and the Venezuelan people has always identified itself with that message but must keep alert against the dangers of a Communist regime "because it would take away the catechism and freedom." 

Recalling that "communism denies God and the human spirit and heralds dictatorship," the Cardinal insists that "it has never done any good for the poor ... the Church laments the executions of dissidents in Cuba ... it's a sign of lack of respect for human life." 

Cardinal Velasco has confirmed that he received death threats by phone during Holy Week, admitting that he felt fear but insisting that he would continue his mission on earth.  Commenting the situation in Venezuela, Velasco says he is concerned that no agreement has been reached yet and believes that an electoral solution is the best.

Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher Editor@VHeadline.com

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Presidential candidate, Lt. Colonel (ret.) Francisco Arias Cardenas relates how a lady in the provinces approached him and said "our poor President (Chavez Frias)  ... they won't let him govern ... help him ... don't let traitors convince you."

Arias Frias insists that the opposition must take such pleas into account so that ordinary folk do not see "motives of sadness or shame in what we propose to do  ...  there can be no regret at the President's leaving office." 

The former Zulia State Governor and February 1992 coup d'etat Western Front Commander swears that nothing will happen to the President or allow anyone to harm him. "We cannot keep him in office because his errors, unnecessary confrontations and slow pace in the learning the art of governing is destroying us." 

There can be no room for sorrow or feelings of loneliness, Arias Cardenas contends, because "we have the strength and conscience to push ahead towards a better Venezuela." 

Arias Cardenas says that Venezuelans must decide at the ballot box and that there was no reason to be afraid because "we can vote for several options and the recall referendum will open the way." 

The recall referendum is for an early change and the reason for it is that the President hasn't changed in five years. "The President must learn from his mistakes but from the opposition bench ... he could meditate on his shortcomings, and deceits ... he could rethink and piece together a new proposal because his revolution has brought us hunger and misery." 

"Yes to the referendum with sure hope in the future!"

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Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher Editor@VHeadline.com

The Globe and Mail By PATRICK BRETHOUR With files from Bloomberg Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - Page B1

Closing Markets - Thursday, Apr. 24

S&P/TSX -55.32 6561.55 DJIA -75.62 8440.04 S&P500 -7.59 911.43 Nasdaq -8.93 1457.23 Venture 1.01 1044.95 DJUK -2.56 158.57 Nikkei 61.19 7854.57 HSeng -77.49 8442.11 DJ Net -.76 46.17 Gold (NY) +3.20 335.10 Oil (NY) -0.01 26.64 CRB Index -0.16 233.76 30 yr Can. -0.04 5.50 30 yr U.S. -0.05 4.83 CDN$ buys US$ -0.0033 0.6859 Yen -0.7400 82.1900 Euro -0.0082 0.6212 US$ buys CDN$ +0.0069 1.4579 Yen -0.5100 119.8200 Euro -0.0076 0.9057

CALGARY -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries appears set to cut back production -- rather than formal quotas -- at an emergency session Thursday to avoid a glut of oil in the latter half of the year.

Those expectations briefly pushed crude prices above $31 (U.S.) a barrel yesterday.

OPEC essentially abandoned its quota system last month, just before the launch of the U.S.-led war on Iraq, aiming to make up for the loss of more than two million barrels a day in Iraqi exports.

The result was production far beyond the formal quota of 24.5 million b/d established in March for the 10 members of OPEC excluding Iraq. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, OPEC produced 25.88 million b/d in March, even though output from Venezuela and Nigeria was constricted.

Oil prices have remained buoyant, even with the overproduction., largely because of concerns about how long it will take for Iraq to resume production.

So far, predictions of a sharp decline in postwar oil prices have not materialized.

Crude oil for May delivery rose 32 cents to $30.87 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing level this month for the benchmark contract. In early trading, it touched $31.08 a barrel.

But with global oil production at its highest level on record, OPEC clearly needs to trim its output for fear of seeing crude inventories rise too quickly, one analyst said. "OPEC is pumping an awful lot of oil," said Steve Thornber of Threadneedle Asset Management in London.

However, analysts said OPEC is unlikely to reduce its production quotas, and will instead focus its attention on bringing actual output into line with those formal targets.

Economic and political pressures will both drive OPEC in that direction, analysts said.

The cartel may paradoxically give a stronger upward push to oil prices -- currently just above its preferred range of $24 to $30 a barrel -- by not cutting quotas, said Kyle Cooper, a Houston-based analyst with Smith Barney.

A quota cut would send the message to the market that OPEC is not committed to reducing output, since a reduction from actual production to a lower quota would be unrealistic, Mr. Cooper said. Conversely, a hint of an intent to lower output to current quota levels will signal that OPEC is serious about reducing surplus production.

Tim Evans, a senior energy analyst at IFR Pegasus in New York, agreed that a reduction in OPEC quotas would not translate into additional cuts in production. Saudi Arabia is responsible for much of the overproduction, and it will take as long as eight weeks to reduce its output to even its current quota, Mr. Evans noted.

Any further reduction would be unlikely to take effect until after the cartel's next meeting in early June, he said. "It would be a cosmetic adjustment."

Global politics will also influence the cartel, Mr. Evans said. Saudi Arabia, particularly, will not want to be seen as taking advantage of the United States in the wake of the war on Iraq by cutting quotas to boost oil prices even more, he said. In contrast, a vague statement of intent to cut back excess production will not be seen as a flagrant insult, he said.

On the other side of the equation, OPEC will need to consider the long-term effect of high prices on its control of the global oil market. At higher prices, non-OPEC producers with higher production costs, such as Russia and Norway, are able to increase their output, leaving the cartel with a smaller share of a larger market.

April 22, 2003 By <a href=www.busrep.co.za>BusinessReport.com-Sapa-AP

London - By boosting production ahead of the war in Iraq, Opec succeeded in allaying concerns about a possible oil shortage once the shooting began.

Yet instead of celebrating its achievement, the producers' cartel fears the world is now awash in crude and at risk of a ruinous price crash.

It has called an emergency meeting for Thursday to assess post-war conditions in the oil market, with a view to slashing output to bolster sagging prices.

Opec president Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah has said he believed the world was oversupplied by 2 million barrels a day at a time when seasonal demand normally slips to its lowest level of the year.

But energy analysts warn that crude oil inventories in major importing countries are still alarmingly low. They argue that Opec must be careful not to curb production so much that refiners face low stocks of oil as they head into the northern summer, the peak season for petrol consumption.

"This whole idea that there is a tidal wave of overproduction that's going to sink prices is just wrong," said Adam Sieminski, an oil price strategist at Deutsche Bank in London.

"Inventories are extremely low and Iraq is not producing, so there is no overproduction."

Opec has timed its meeting in Vienna to assess market conditions in the immediate aftermath of the war. This will not be easy, and some analysts argue that such a meeting is premature.

No one knows when Iraq will be able to resume its crude shipments. Nigeria and Venezuela, meanwhile, are still clawing their way back to production levels they enjoyed before social unrest and a national strike, respectively, dented their output.

Yet Opec, which pumps about one-third of the world's oil, is eager to show it is in control of, or at least closely monitoring, a tempestuous market.

Opec's members agreed in January to a production target of 24.5 million barrels a day . They soon overreached their quotas to profit from the high prices preceding the war as much as to reassure markets that supplies would be plentiful in spite of any hostilities.

Opec earned plaudits from the US and other importers for its proactive, and unofficial, rise in output. By some estimates, Opec's 10 members, excluding Iraq, pumped an average of 26.2 million barrels a day last month - 7 percent above their quotas.

But oil prices tumbled as the conflict unfolded. By the time the fighting was over, futures contracts of US light sweet crude had fallen more than one-third, from a high for the year of $39.99 a barrel reached on February 27.

Opec worries that prices may have further to fall.

"I do not think there is any necessity for Opec to carry on with excess production," Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said last week in Tehran.

"We should consider a cutback in production to balance supply and demand, especially in the second quarter." Many analysts accept that a production cut may be a foregone conclusion.

Kevin Norrish, the head of commodities research at Barclays Capital in London, said Opec would need to rein in output by 1 million to 1.5 million barrels a day to keep prices from sliding below $22 a barrel - the bottom end of its targeted price range.

Leo Drollas, the chief economist of the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, suggested a cut of 650 000 barrels a day would stabilise prices.

But crude inventories are unusually low for this time of year, and a deep cut by Opec would make it harder for importers to build them to comfortable levels.

Claude Mandil, the head of the International Energy Agency - a watchdog agency for the world's leading importers - warned last week that a cut in output would not actually take effect until demand started to rise in the third quarter. - Sapa-AP