IMF to recommend loans for Brazil

BRASILIA, Brazil: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team praised Brazil's economic performance and said it will recommend the release of US$9 billion in loans to the country.

After a week-long review of Brazil's economy, mission leader Jorge Marquez Ruarte said the country is exceeding the targets agreed on in return for a $36 billion standby loan.

"Brazil is complying with some measures more rapidly than expected," he said on Friday. "Everything is going well and the program will move forward."

Ruarte also said the mission would recommend measures to boost Brazil's capital markets but declined to give details.

Brazil already has drawn about US$10 billion from the IMF. The latest trance must still be approved by the IMF's board of directors, which is to meet in June. -AP

; ANPAv..r.. Moneymatter-US-Canada-dairy-subsidies U.S., Canada agree on dairy subsidies JP/16/

U.S., Canada agree on dairy subsidies

WASHINGTON: The United States announced on Friday it had reached a settlement with Canada in a long-running trade dispute involving Canadian dairy exports.

The United States and New Zealand in December won a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against Canada over the issue. The WTO ruled that Canada was unfairly subsidizing its dairy exports.

Canadian officials said at the time that they would comply with the WTO ruling. Under terms of the settlement reached with the U.S. government, Canada agreed to eliminate subsidies which had been provided under the country's Commercial Export Milk program.

Canada agreed to halt exports of any subsidized milk or cream to the United States beginning this month and agreed to make sure that subsidized exports of butter and skim milk powder remained within WTO-approved levels, according to a U.S. fact sheet detailing terms of the agreement. -AP