More good news for us. Ecuador's GDP was significantly less than forecasted for 2007. While they attribute it to lower oil production one might consider that oil prices increased by 25% during the same period so I expect that there was more than just decreased production at play. One might assume that revolutionary rhetoric may also have dampened investment. So after Chavez found he isn't as loved as he thought in Venezuela and Correa saw the impact of his revolutionary rhetoric had on GDP maybe Ecuador is rethinking their approach to business and thinking that maybe now is a good time to support all those people that could be making a decent living off of mining and other foreign investment. Otherwise Ecuadorians may follow the tradition of recent years and toss his butt out the door.

Source: http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-n...

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Ecuador's Ortiz: Economy Expected To Grow Below 3% In 2007
Tue, Dec 11 2007, 17:43 GMT
http://www.djnewswires.com/eu

Ecuador's Ortiz: Economy Expected To Grow Below 3% In 2007

QUITO (Dow Jones)--Ecuador's Finance Minister Fausto Ortiz said Tuesday that gross domestic product is expected to grow less than 3% in 2007 compared with the 3.4% growth rate originally forecast.

"The central bank will review the data in the next days. I prefer to say that the economy could grow below 3% rather than say over 2%," Ortiz said at a press conference.

Ortiz attributed this revision to the poor performance of the oil sector, which has been affected by several protests in the Amazon region where the biggest oil fields are located.

For next year, Ortiz said that the economy could grow above 3%, thanks to a recovery in the state-run oil sector.

Ecuador's GDP grew 1.38% in the second quarter of 2007 from the year-earlier period, according to the latest report from the central bank.

-By Mercedes Alvaro, Dow Jones Newswires; 5939-9728-653; mercedes.alvaro@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires