GLOBAL ECONOMY
* Argentina’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter for the first time in two years as high interest rates, poor commodities prices and slowed trade with Brazil forced producers to rein in output. Argentina’s gross domestic product fell 0.5% in the quarter compared with the same period in 1997. For all of 1998, Argentina’s GDP expanded 4.2%, less than half the 8.6% for 1997. The fourth-quarter decline--in line with a 0.7% consensus estimate of six analysts--is widely seen as a harbinger of recession for 1999.
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