Venezuela

Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and six other South American leaders signed a deal to move forward on the creation of a so-called Banco del Sur (Bank of the South), which could eventually have more than USD 20 billion in capital according to the president. The bank will open its doors with USD 7 billion in capital, Venezuelan Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said Saturday [during a joint Africa-South America summit]. Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela will each deposit USD 2 billion. Ecuador and Uruguay will deposit USD 400 million each, while Bolivia and Paraguay will deposit USD 100 million each. (Dow Jones)