Posted on Fri, Jun. 06, 2003 Associated Press

NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil futures ended at an 11-week high Friday, as traders covered short positions ahead of a meeting of three key oil ministers.

The oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and non-OPEC Mexico met unexpectedly in Madrid on Friday to discuss market conditions ahead of a meeting of OPEC ministers in Doha, Qatar, next Wednesday.

In a statement released after the market closed, the three ministers - Ali Naimi of Saudi Arabia, Rafael Ramirez of Venezuela and Ernesto Martens of Mexico - pledged to watch the markets closely and to ensure "normal" crude supplies.

While asserting that market fundamentals are in balance, the three officials vowed to ensure fair oil prices.

In recent years, the three countries have coordinated their output policies to keep oil prices relatively high.

Although OPEC is widely expected to leave its output quotas unchanged at the Doha meeting, the unexpected gathering of the three oil ministers served as a reminder global oil producers "intend to keep supplies tight," said Mike Fitzpatrick, an energy analyst at Fimat Futures Inc.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the July contract rose 54 cents to close at $31.28 a barrel, the highest settlement for a front-month contract since March 18.

July heating oil gained .95 cent to close at 78.18 cents a gallon. July gasoline gained .83 cent to close at 89.35 cents a gallon.

July natural gas futures fell 1.1 cent to $6.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

At London's International Petroleum Exchange, July ended with a gain of 34 cents at $27.78 a barrel.

As recently as last month, some OPEC officials, concerned that a flood of oil pumped ahead of the Iraq war and a resumption of Iraqi oil exports would cause a price collapse, had indicated that the group may cut output.

But with oil prices up more than 22 percent over the past four weeks and Iraqi exports of about 2 million barrels a day suspended for a third month, the producer group is now widely expected to keep output quotas unchanged.

OPEC agreed in April to remove about 2 million barrels a day of oil from the market, while simultaneously jacking up its official output ceiling to 25.4 million barrels a day. The agreement went into effect June 1.

Still, the possibility, however remote, of a surprise output cut cannot be discounted, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Indeed, Ramirez, speaking to reporters ahead of the Madrid meeting, didn't rule out the possibility of an output cut at next week's meeting.

But while some analysts see an OPEC move to leave output quotas unchanged to send prices lower, others are convinced that growing signs of strength in the U.S. economy will underpin oil prices.

Fundamentals aside, technical charts point to further short gains, traders and analysts said.

Longer term, however, few analysts expect the recent gains to stick. The reason: a recovery in U.S. oil inventories and the return of Iraq to the market.

Reuters, 06.06.03, 6:10 PM ET  By Mike Miller NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. blue-chip stocks eked out slight gains on Friday amid renewed hopes for an economic recovery, while bond prices inched lower after U.S. employment figures hinted at mild improvement in the troubled U.S. labor market. The dollar vaulted higher, lifted in part by a May U.S. jobs report was not as dire as expected and sparked hope that the economy is on the mend. But the greenback's rise sent gold prices lower. In New York, oil prices hit 11-week highs above $31 a barrel as OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Venezuela sought assurances that nonmember Mexico would follow the cartel in any move to tighten supply. The Nasdaq Composite index finished lower on near-record volume as investors booked profits from a rally on news ofOracle Corp.'s (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people) proposed takeover of software rival PeopleSoft Inc. (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people). The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index also ended Friday's session slightly lower. But all three major stock indexes still managed to end the week higher, marking a second consecutive week of gains. "The most critical piece of news ... is Oracle's bid for PeopleSoft," said Keith Keenan, vice president of institutional trading at brokerage Wall Street Access. "That means Oracle is confident about the economy going forward, and they think earnings are going to hold up." A government report showing U.S. payrolls shrank by only 17,000 jobs in May, a much smaller decline than expected, helped investors' sentiment as the data hinted of improving conditions in the weak labor market. The same report, though, showed the U.S. unemployment rate rose in May to 6.1 percent, the highest since July 1994, from April's 6 percent. But this was in line with Wall Street's expectations. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 21.49 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 9,062.79, after hitting a session high of 9,215.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 index <.SPX> fell 2.38 points, or 0.24 percent, to 987.76, after earlier rising above 1,000 for the first time in about a year. The tech-driven Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> closed down 18.59 points, or 1.13 percent, at 1,627.42. For the week, the Dow rose 2.4 percent, the S&P 500 gained 2.51 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.97 percent. Since hitting their 2003 lows on March 11, the Dow has risen about 20 percent, the S&P 500 has added about 23 percent, and the Nasdaq has gained about 28 percent. "The correction which has been in the cards for the last number of days has finally gotten under way, with investors using the weekend as an excuse to take some money off the table," said John Simon of TradeSignals.com. Stock trading was heavy, with more than 1.83 billion shares traded on the Big Board and 2.95 billion changing hands on Nasdaq, a record for the year and the fourth-largest daily volume in Nasdaq's history. Tech stocks got a boost earlier from the soaring shares of PeopleSoft, up almost 18 percent, after Oracle, the world's No. 2 software maker, offered to buy PeopleSoft for $5.1 billion. PeopleSoft shares, the most active on Nasdaq, jumped $2.71 to $17.82, while Oracle's stock fell 27 cents to $13.09. In the U.S. Treasury market, the 30-year bond <US30YT=RR> bucked the lower trend in debt markets, climbing 5/32 to 115-17/32, pushing its yield down to 4.40 percent from Thursday's 4.41 percent. The benchmark 10-year note <US10YT=RR> fell 2/32 to 102-09/32, boosting its yield to 3.35 percent from a four-decade low of 3.24 percent reached on Thursday. The euro slumped to a session low of $1.1686 <EUR=>, a loss of more than 1 percent, before climbing back to $1.1701 at the close of U.S. currency trading. That was below the euro's late Thursday level of $1.1841 in New York. The dollar surged to a session high of 118.92 <JPY=> against the Japanese yen, up more than 1 percent, before easing back to 118.69 yen at the close. That was above the dollar's late Thursday level of 117.63 yen in U.S. trading. Gold's tight correlation with the volatile euro has been reliable for days. On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold for August delivery fell $5 to end at $364.50 an ounce. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude oil jumped 54 cents to settle at $31.28 a barrel, hitting its highest price since March 19. Overseas, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> of pan-European blue-chip shares closed up 2.24 percent at 856.24. The Nikkei average <.N225> ended 1.49 percent up at 8,785.87, its highest close since Jan. 23.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, June 06, 2003 By: Caare W

Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 09:41:24 -0400 From: Caare W caarew@hotmail.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Venezuelan exiles and the vote

Dear Editor: Ms. Gable starts her letter ”Why exactly should Venezuelan exiles be allowed to vote” by saying ”I don’t understand.”

Well, let me say that those three words are about the only correct information she gives in her letter. She clearly hasn’t understood, and doesn’t seem to have done much to understand.

First, even though I’m not a citizen of United States, it took me about five minutes to find out that she hadn’t understood (or bothered to check) the laws of her own country. I have to admit that this makes me skeptical about her ability to give a qualified opinion about laws and regulations in Venezuela.

She writes: ”I believe that US citizens abroad can vote in US federal level elections ... but I don't know about those who have given up residential status. I'm sure those who no longer pay US taxes may no longer vote in the US.” What’s for sure is that she's wrong.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program www.fvap.gov clearly states that ”Generally, all US citizens, 18 years or older, who are or will be residing outside the United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office.”

There is no connection between paying taxes and being allowed to vote ... citizenship and the right to vote is not something you pay for by paying taxes ... it is a right you have as a citizen of a country.  Further, to vote is a right you have even if you’ve never been to the US ú see www.fvap.gov for further information.

In her question ”Why should they have any influence over the daily life that they refuse to participate in,” she seems to suggest that those Venezuelans not currently living in their country are abroad because they have some negative sentiments towards Venezuela.

Please think about the fact that all Venezuelans living abroad are not oligarchs bathing in money in Miami or Aruba. People might have reasons like studies, work, family ... you name it. There's no way one could distinguish between moral or immoral reasons why citizens choose to live in another place. The right of a citizen to participate in the democracy of his or her country is ... and should be ... a blind right, no matter who you are.

That’s exactly why Venezuelan exiles should be allowed to vote.

So please Dawn Gable try to base your opinions on facts, and not vice versa. Venezuelans abroad ... like citizens of other nations ... should of course have the right to vote. And Venezuelan consulates abroad, like consulates of other nations, should of course help Venezuelans in exercising those rights.

Regards, Caare W. caarew@hotmail.com

PS: Dawn Gable also comments that ”YES, they do hold elections in Cuba”. She's quite right. And you know what? Cubans avoid all those problems with deciding who they want to vote for, because there is just one candidate for each position. Isn’t that a good idea? Really a revolutionary democracy.

Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com Friday, June 6, 2003

While Washington’s attention is focused on the Middle East, communism and communist terrorism are threatening America's security in Latin America, where another Axis of Evil is spreading its tentacles throughout the region.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is getting credit from the Internatinal Monetary Fund and Wall Street's useful idiots for following the orthodox economic policies of former president Fernando Cardoso while plunging his nation into communism and allying himself with Fidel Castro and Castro's puppet in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

So radical is the regime under Lula that the Rio de Janeiro city council recently declared President Bush persona non grata by passing a resolution offered by Fernando Gusmao, a councilman affiliated with Brazil's Communist Party.

Brazilian-American Gerald Brant, a writer and former candidate for Brazil's congress, wrote that "anti-American sentiment has grown so high in Brazil that President Bush received a lower approval rating among Brazilians than Saddam Hussein in an opinion poll conducted during the war in Iraq by the respected IBOPE Institute. This phenomenon has some relation to the Brazilian Workers' Party's (known as PT) attitudes towards the US."

When Lula was running for the presidency, Brant reported, he covered up PT's historic radicalism, but once elected he was able to pacify Wall Street while giving itself cover to gradually renationalize formerly privatized assets. "This strategy has worked brilliantly, so far," Brant wrote.

"While Brazil's new socialist government has drawn applause from the IMF and financial circles for continuing former President Cardoso's orthodox economic policies in order to maintain bond and currency market stability, it has adopted an aggressive and nationalistic foreign policy clearly based on PT doctrine."

'Offsetting Our Losses in Eastern Europe'

Brant points his finger at Lula's foreign policy adviser, Marco Aurelio Garcia, a notorious hard-line Marxist operative and founder and executive secretary of Sao Paulo Forum, a coalition of leftist parties and revolutionary movements dedicated, Garcia says, to "offsetting our losses in Eastern Europe with our victories in Latin America."

In other words, rebuilding shattered world communism in Latin America.

A NewsMax.com investigation has revealed that Garcia, in his role as head of Sao Paulo Forum, controls and coordinates the activities of subversives and extremists from the Rio Grande to the southernmost tip of Argentina.

This new axis of terrorism begins in Cuba, then works its way down to Colombia, financed with Venezuelan oil billions, and ends in Lula's Brazil.

In a policy dictated by Havana, Garcia has shown special interest in terrorist Manuel Marulanda Velez, a.k.a. "Tirofijo," leader of the terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Every year since 1990, Garcia has made it his priority to meet with FARC. The meetings have not just taken place in Havana (with Fidel Castro himself being always present), but also in Mexico, where Marco Aurelio Garcia traveled to meet with FARC member Marco Leo Calara on Dec. 5, 2000.

What they talk about is a matter that remains behind closed doors. But every time they meet, FARC always increases its attacks in the weeks that follow, with a high cost in loss of human lives.

Brazil's foreign policy, under the guidance Garcia, will be designed in Havana. Garcia's Brazil will actively work against United States policy, starting with its policy toward Castro. "We'll attempt to eliminate the trade embargo against Cuba," he promises.

Garcia describes PT as "radical, of the left, socialist." But he is more than radical, and more to the left of mere socialists. Garcia is, in fact, a hard-line communist. He wants to revive communism.

The Communist 'Agenda Is Clear'

In an article which he wrote about Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto," he concluded: "The agenda is clear. If this new horizon which we search for is still called communism, it is time to re-constitute it."

Whereas Lula strives to fool the world about the true nature of his Marxist regime, Garcia makes no bones about what is going on. "We have to first give the impression that we are democrats, initially, we have to accept certain things. But that won't last."

Since Lula took power on January 1st, his government:

• has gone back and forth on abandoning the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and building nuclear weapons.

• has gone back and forth on offering exile to Saddam Hussein.

• has refused the Colombian government's request to consider the FARC terrorists.

• shored up Chavez with oil shipments during the height of the Venezuelan opposition's strike.

• declared a "strategic partnership" with communist China.

• abandoned scientific cooperation agreements with the U.S.

• appointed a self-defined Trotskyite and a Communist Party leader as cabinet ministers.

• repeatedly compared Free Trade Area of the Americas to "U.S. annexation."

• vocally supported France's anti-war efforts.

• lobbied Chile to vote against the U.S. on the U.N. Security Council and abstained from condemning Castro's crackdown on dissidents at the U.N. Human Rights Committee in Geneva.

All of these are ominous signs for the future of Latin America. As Richard Nixon once remarked, "As goes Brazil, so goes Latin America". If that's true, Latin America is headed for a communist takeover.

Brant wrote: "Lula's brand of socialism is becoming a role model for he entire region. Analysts consider Nestor Kirchner's Presidential election victory in Argentina a boon to Mercosul (the customs union between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) and a serious setback for the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) negotiations with the US."

Brant worries that "the entire South American continent may be getting off the train." Note:

• Chavez has announced he is not going to resign peacefully despite massive Venezuelan discontent with his rule.
• Leftist regimes are also in power in Chile and Ecuador and spreading fast.
• In Bolivia, rebel leader Evo Morales could stage a coup or, at the very least, continue to destabilize the government.
• In Colombia the communist FARC and ELN narco-terrorists are besieging the government.

"Fidel Castro's wildest revolutionary ambitions," warned Brant, "are being fulfilled right under the nose of the Bush administration. As Castro once said, "The US can't attack us if the rest of Latin America is in flames."

Our Leftist in Brasilia

Most shocking is the fact that elements in the Bush administration, including U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Donna Hrinak, is an ardent Lula backer, Brant reveals.

Brant says that Hrinak's sympathies for Lula's Marxist party are "so notorious that the running joke in Brasilia was to ask whether she would show up at Lula's inauguration in a red dress."

According to Brant:

• Hrinak publicly applauded the global appeasement movement and agreed to meet with Hussein's ambassador in Brasilia at PT's suggestion, just weeks before her boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, requested that all countries expel Hussein's diplomats.
• Hrinak recommended the U.S. provide financial assistance to Lula's flagship "Fome Zero" (Hunger Zero) social assistance program even though the PT picked a clearly anti-American slogan for the program specifically, "A nossa Guerra é contra a Fome" (Our war is against hunger).
• When prime-time TV ads sponsored by PT and its allied parties such as PC do B (Brazilian Communist Party) and PSB (Brazilian Socialist Party) attacked President Bush for his position on Iraq, Hrinak failed to defend Bush.

At home in the U.S., Brant says, Clinton leftovers such as national security adviser John Maisto seemed to be calling many of the shots on Brazil policy.

President Bush will meet with Lula at the White House on June 20.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Bush Administration

Castro/Cuba

Latin America

Editor's note: Have an Opinion About This? Click Here to Send an URGENT PriorityGram Today

June 6 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Brazil's benchmark stock index rose for a fourth day, led by Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, the world's fourth-largest aircraft maker known as Embraer, on investors' expectation the company may get new jet orders.

Brazil's Bovespa index of the most-traded stocks on the Sao Paulo stock exchange rose 1 percent to close at 13,923.11, its highest closing level since March 2002. The Bovespa rose 3.7 percent this week.

Mexico's Bolsa index in Mexico City was little changed, falling 2.79, or 0.04 percent, to 6870.60, accumulating a 2.6 percent gain in the week. The Argentinean Merval index rose 2.2 percent to 718.70, and 6 percent this week.

Embraer shares rose to their highest level since Jan. 31 after Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's No. 3 airline, Scandinavian Airlines System, and two partners in the Star Alliance said they will make a joint order in the fourth quarter for 100 planes, that may include jets from Embraer. The orders may be worth as much as $4.5 billion. Lufthansa, SAS, Air Canada and Austrian Airlines will take an option for an additional 100 planes.

``As the airline industry gets back to its regular business activity, there's a very positive horizon for Embraer,'' said Eduardo Fornazier, who helps manage about 1.3 billion reais ($452 million) in Brazilian equities, including Embraer shares, and bonds for Banco Santos SA's asset management unit in Sao Paulo.

Other Markets

Argentina's Merval rose to its highest level since December 1997, boosting the Buenos Aires stock exchange's gains in 2003 to 63 percent in dollar terms, the best performance among 61 primary indexes tracked by Bloomberg. In local-currency terms, the index has gained 37 percent.

The Merval is the best option for investors,'' said Christian Reos, an analyst at Allaria Ledesma & Cia Sociedad de Bolsa in Buenos Aires. The U.S. dollar lost attractiveness as the (Argentine) peso strengthened 19 percent this year and interest rates are less profitable than the stocks.''

Main stock indexes in Chile, Venezuela, Peru and Colombia also rose.

The following stocks are having significant gains or losses in Latin American markets today. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name. In Brazil the preferred share is usually the company's most-traded class of stock.

Brazil

Embraer (EBTP4 BS) soared 53 centavos, or 4.5 percent, to 12.23 reais, the largest gain at the Bovespa today.

Embratel Participacoes SA (EBTP4 BS), the country's largest long-distance carrier, rose 5 centavos, or 0.8 percent, to 6.34 reais. The company benefits from a stronger currency that reduces servicing costs of its debt, almost all denominated in foreign currency. The real is gaining 23 percent this year, the best performing currency among 59 tracked by Bloomberg.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4 BS), the state-controlled oil company, rose 40 centavos, or 0.7 percent, to 54.30 reais. Petrobras, as Latin America's largest company by market value is known, said this week it found oil in a new offshore field that may boost reserves about 4.5 percent. The Rio de Janeiro-based company estimated the discovery off the coast of southern Espirito Santo state contains about 500 million barrels of oil reserves.

Mexico

Cemex SA (CEMEXCP MM), the world's third-largest cement maker, gained 86 centavos, or 1.8 percent, to 47.71 pesos. The company said 98 percent of its shareholders took the option of receiving their dividend payment in stock rather than cash. ``We consider the high acceptance of the dividend as a favorable element for the company,'' said Carlos Perezalonso, an analyst at Grupo Financiero BBVA-Bancomer SA.

Consorcio ARA SA (ARA* MM), Mexico's largest construction company, slipped 71 centavos, or 3.7 percent, to 18.44 pesos. The shares have gained 19 percent this year.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASURB MM), which manages nine airports in Mexico, including the airport at the Caribbean resort town Cancun, gained 35 centavos, or 2.5 percent, to 14.3 pesos. The company reported passenger traffic in May grew 11.2 percent. Figures for the month of May again look very encouraging,'' said Miguel Machado an analyst at UBS Warburg LLC. Our view is that Asur is on track to a record year, leaving the 9/11 and Iraq war aftermath behind.''

Grupo Televisa SA (TLEVICPO MM), Mexico's largest broadcaster, rose for a sixth day, gaining 28 centavos, or 1.6 percent, to 17.55 pesos. Shares have gained 22 percent this year. Niall Paul, who manages $300 million in Latin American equities at Morley Fund Management in London, said Televisa will be one of the stocks to react most rapidly to a pick-up in Mexico's economy.

TV Azteca SA (TVAZTCPO MM), Mexico's second-largest broadcaster, gained for the fifth day in six, rising 12 centavos, or 3 percent, to 4.12 pesos, bringing this year's rise to 35 percent.

Organizacion Soriana SA (SORIANAB MM), a supermarket chain operator, rose 29 centavos, or 1.4 percent, to 21.7 pesos. Some analysts say low rates may also help boost consumption. ``Lower interest rates should help the credit supply for consumers,'' Jose Alberto Galvan, an analyst at BBVA-Bancomer SA, wrote in a research note.

Argentina

Banco Bansud SA (BSUD AR), rose 6 centavos, or 3.3 percent, to 1.88 pesos, the highest price since April 2000. ``Next week Argentina's Congress may debate on bank compensations,'' said Mariano Tavelli, an analyst at brokerage Tavelli & Cia. Sociedad de Bolsa in Buenos Aires. Argentina pledged to offset banks for losses caused after the country forced them to convert all U.S. dollar deposits and loans into pesos at different exchange rates.

Grupo Galicia (GGAL AR), the country's second-largest bank, rose 9 centavos, or 9 percent, to 1.07 peso, heading to its highest price since August 2001. Argentina's Economy Minister said the country may make its first offer on defaulted debt in September. Galicia is the bank with most government bonds.

Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGSU2 AR), which transports and processes natural gas, rose 1 centavo, or 0.6 percent, to 1.64 pesos. Gas companies told Daniel Cameron, Argentina's secretary of Energy, they need a 40 percent increase to avoid shortage this winter, newspaper El Cronista reported. Utilities tariffs have been frozen since Argentina devalued its currency in January 2002.

Colombia

Bavaria SA (BAVAR CB), Colombia's largest brewer, rose 400, or 3 percent, to 13800, as rising beer sales boost prospects for strong earnings.

Cemento Argos SA (ARGOS CB), the largest cement holding, rose 150 pesos, or 1.5 percent, to 10200, as investors bet the first quarter's 3.8 percent economic growth signals greater demand for construction, a trader said.

Corporacion Financiera Suramericana y Nacional SA (CORFINS CB), Colombia's largest financial corporation, surged 175, or 5.9 percent, to 3165. The company's first-quarter net income rose 82 percent to 22.6 billion pesos ($7.7 million) from the same period a year ago.

Cia. Colombiana de Inversiones SA (COLINV CB), Colombia's fifth-biggest holding by assets, rose 70 pesos, or 2.4 percent, to 2050 pesos. The stock price has gained 150 percent in the past 12 months.

Peru

Volcan Cia. Minera SA (VCM/B PE) shares rose 3 centimos, or 9.4 percent, to 35 centimos. The company, Peru's top zinc miner, has said it is allowing due diligence review of its assets and books to a Swiss, a Brazilian and a Peruvian company as it searches for a partner to contribute funds. The company's operations have been unprofitable because of a decline in zinc prices.

Minsur SA (MIN PE), Peru's only tin miner, rose 5 centimos, or 1.2 percent to 4.20 soles. Tin price for three-month delivery rose $10 to $4,720 a metric ton in the London Metal Exchange from yesterday.