1.   Argentine stocks fell for the first time in four days as higher U.S. interest rates outweighed optimism over government progress on tax and labor reforms.

2.   Indeed, Wednesday night they were hammering out a more stringent provision making full implementation of the tax cut contingent on government progress in lowering the debt.

3.   Last month, the government also announced the formation of a commission to track government progress against paramilitary groups.

4.   U.S. President Bill Clinton is sending Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to Jakarta to assess progress the government to follow through on promised economic reforms.

5.   U.S. military aid for drug-fighting in the South American country is conditioned on government progress in severing army ties to the paramilitaries.