<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: David Coleman

Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) executives have signed a joint venture between subsidiaries Proforca and Serfoca forming the Orinoco Paper Mill (OPM) to produce some 300,000 metric tonnes of Venezuelan newsprint for domestic and continental sales.

OPM is designed to begin operations within the next 120 days in the industrial zone at Macapaima in eastern Anzoategui State.  Announcing the JV, CVG president, Major General (ret.) Francisco Rangel Gomez stressed the importance of the project which he says will form "a vital part of regional development on the northern shores of the Rio Orinoco" and is seen as a principal objective of the State heavy industry conglomerate's expansion.

The new CVG newsprint unit will not only allow for the development of regional Venezuelan forestry activities but will represent an annual saving of 146 metric tonnes of newsprint which have hitherto been imported from abroad using much-needed foreign currency.  Recently implemented foreign exchange controls will encourage Venezuela's predominantly opposition-controlled print media to "buy domestic" and will substantially seal-off yet another mechanism by which Colombian drug cartels launder their North American earnings.

“The paper mill will have a 300,000 tonnes/year production capacity to satisfy not only local (Venezuelan) demand but also allow us to ship newsprint all across Latin America where there's an increase of 5% in newsprint consumption projected over the next 12 months ... Orinoco Paper Mill has been guaranteed supplies of Caribbean pine lumber from a designated 144,686 hectares (357,527 acres) of current forestry cultivation by CVG-Proforca."

Rangel Gomez says the pulp & paper production plan aims to create 6,000 new jobs ... 3,000 in construction and another 3,000 in direct and indirect jobs associated with manufacturing processes.

Serfoca general manager Urbicio Velazquez told reporters that the JV is seeking finance from the World Bank and Nordic Invests Bank of Finland for $650 million in short-term loans while the CVG is contributing the physical real estate and studying procurement of necessary heavy machinery for mill operations ... initial construction work will cost $6 million while associated public works and infrastructure will cost a further $92 million aimed at closing the financing by year's end 2003.

Reuters, 05.21.03, 9:34 AM ET

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - Following is the full text of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's prepared testimony on Wednesday before the Joint Economic Committee on the state of the U.S. economy and future economic policy:

"Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before the Joint Economic Committee. As you will recall, when I appeared here last November, I emphasized the extraordinary resilience manifested by the United States economy in recent years--the cumulative result of increased flexibility over the past quarter century. Since the middle of 2000, our economy has withstood serious blows: a significant decline in equity prices, a substantial fall in capital spending, the terrorist attacks of September 11, confidence-debilitating revelations of corporate malfeasance, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Any combination of these shocks would arguably have induced a severe economic contraction two or three decades ago. Yet remarkably, over the past three years, activity has expanded, on balance--an outcome offering clear evidence of a flexible, more resilient, economic system.

Once again this year, our economy has struggled to surmount new obstacles.

As the tensions with Iraq increased early in 2003, uncertainties surrounding a possible war contributed to a softening in economic activity. Oil prices moved up close to $40 a barrel in February, stock prices tested their lows of last fall, and consumer and business confidence ebbed. Although in January there were some signs of a post-holiday pickup in retail sales other than motor vehicles, spending was little changed, on balance, over the following three months as a gasoline price surge drained consumer purchasing power and severe winter weather kept many shoppers at home.

Businesses, too, were reluctant to initiate new projects in such a highly uncertain environment. Hiring slumped, capital spending plans were put on hold, and inventories were held to very lean levels. Collectively, households and businesses hesitated to make decisions, pending news about the timing, success, and cost of military action--factors that could significantly alter the outcomes of those decisions.

The start of the war and its early successes, especially the safeguarding of the Iraqi oilfields, were greeted positively by financial and commodities markets. Stock prices rallied, risk spreads narrowed, oil prices dropped sharply, and the dour mood that had gripped consumers started to lift, precursors that historically have led to improved economic activity. The quick conclusion of the conflict subsequently added to financial gains.

We do not yet have sufficient information on economic activity following the end of hostilities to make a firm judgment about the current underlying strength of the real economy. Incoming data on labor markets and production have been disappointing. Payrolls fell further in April, and industrial production declined as well. Because of the normal lags in scheduling production and in making employment decisions, these movements likely reflect business decisions that, for the most part, were made prior to the start of the war, and many more weeks of data will be needed to confidently discern the underlying trends in these areas.

One reassuring development that has been sustained through this extended period of economic weakness has been the performance of productivity. To the surprise of most analysts, labor productivity has continued to post solid gains.

Businesses are apparently continuing to discover unexploited areas of cost reduction that had accumulated during the boom years of 1995 to 2000 when the projected huge returns from market expansion dulled incentives for seemingly mundane cost savings. The ability of business managers to reduce costs, especially labor costs, through investment or restructuring is, of course, one reason that labor markets have been so weak.

Looking ahead, the consensus expectation for a pickup in economic activity is not unreasonable, though the timing and extent of that improvement continue to be uncertain. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, and conditions in financial markets appear supportive of an increased pace of activity. Interest rates remain low, and funds seem to be readily available to creditworthy borrowers. These factors, along with the ability of households to tap equity accrued in residential properties, should continue to bolster consumer spending and the purchase of new homes. The recent declines in energy prices are another positive factor in the economic outlook. The price of West Texas intermediate crude oil dropped back to below $26 per barrel by the end of April, but as indications of a delay in the restoration of Iraqi oil exports became evident and geopolitical risks crept back in, prices have risen to near $30 a barrel--a worrisome trend if continued. Nonetheless, the price of crude oil is still about $10 per barrel below its peak in February. This decline has already shown through to the price of gasoline in May. Some modest further declines in gas prices are likely in coming weeks, as marketers' profit margins continue to back off from their elevated levels of March and April to more normal levels.

In contrast, prices for natural gas have increased sharply in response to very tight supplies. Working gas in storage is presently at extremely low levels, and the normal seasonal rebuilding of these inventories seems to be behind the typical schedule. The colder-than-average winter played a role in producing today's tight supply situation as did the inability of heightened gas well drilling to significantly augment net marketed production. Canada, our major source of gas imports, has little room to expand shipments to the United States. Our limited capacity to import liquified natural gas effectively restricts our access to the world's abundant supplies of natural gas. The current tight domestic natural gas market reflects the increases in demand over the past two decades. That demand has been spurred by myriad new uses for natural gas in industry and by the increased use of natural gas as a clean-burning source of electric power.

On balance, recent movements in energy prices seem likely to be a favorable influence on the overall economy. In the short run, lower energy bills should give a boost to the real incomes of households and to business profits. To be sure, world energy markets obviously remain susceptible to politically driven supply disruptions, as has been evident recently from the events in Venezuela and Nigeria. But, even taking account of these risks, futures markets project crude oil prices to fall over the longer run, consistent with the notion that current prices are above the long-term supply price of oil.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News</a. Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: Elio Cequea

Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 18:57:09 -0500 From: Elio Cequea Feico57@aol.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: The fight for Venezuelan's souls

Dear Editor: The fight for Venezuelan's souls is not the real fight. The real fight is for their votes and political support. The Catholic Church is one of the contenders.

The official declaration that resulted from the 30th Episcopal Assembly presents a good selection of words and statements typical of what we are reading on the newspapers these days. Monsignor Baltazar Porras declared referring to the actual political crisis, "We have to bet and force the electoral exit."

The following statements were in El Universal presented as part of the Episcopal Assembly declaration:

"An election is for the Catholic Church authorities the only exit that will avoid degenerating to a national collapse."

"This alternative will allow restating confidence, tranquility and, will reinforced the institutions and legitimacy."

"The Church demands respect to the rules of the game transparence for the electoral process."

"*The Bishops questioned the revolution, its constitutional base and its democratic legitimacy. Also demanded for an impartial and efficient CNE."

These statements have a purpose ... they are aimed to the deepest corners of the brains, not the souls, of the opposition's sympathizers and to anybody who wants to swallow that bait. It crates the false expectation that the referendum IS the solution for our political unrest. That "solution/exit" will be a reality only with the electoral defeat of Hugo Chavez Frias.

Defeating Chavez is consequently the "only exit that will avoid degenerating to a national collapse," as expressed by the clergy ... his defeat "will allow restating confidence, tranquility and it will reinforced the institutions and legitimacy."

They went as far as questioning the democratic legitimacy of the Venezuelan government. Their demands for a transparent electoral process suggest that a result contrary to the desires of the opposition will be unacceptable for lack of transparency. They already have a reason to keep their fight in the case they lose. So, how can this be considered a "solution" or "exit"?

The solution IS NOT the referendum itself but THE RESULT expected from it ... can the electoral result be forced as insinuated by Baltazar Porras?

This is extremely grave. Somebody might believe this and suffer (again!) a big disappointment. Remember what happened to "Gente de Petroleo." People losing their jobs is insignificant compared to the consequences of plunging sectors of our society into an electoral delirium. The anticipated results might not be there. A Chavez victory in the referendum ... and this is a realistic assumption whether some people like or not ... might degenerate in violent reactions from disappointed member of the civil society.

The deceiving, poisoned and flammable rhetoric of the opposition ... through The "Holy" Church in this case ... has proven to be effective in some sectors of the population.

Some Venezuelan believe, for example, that "El Firmazo" four millions signatures are half plus one of twelve million.

Elio Cequea Feico57@aol.com