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Focus on US and China at Invest Caribbean

NEW YORK—Investment in the Caribbean region is bringing together a unique coalition for Caribbean American Heritage Month, as the United States, China and the Caribbean unite for Invest Caribbean Now 2013. The sold out Forum tomorrow at the Radisson Martinique Hotel in New York City, comes on the heels of US President Joe Biden’s Caribbean trip on May 28 for the signing of the United States – CARICOM Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, (TIFA) and the first visit to T&T by the Chinese President Xi Jinping, from May 31 to June 2.

Oil exploration suspended

HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – A Russian state oil company drilling off Cuba’s northern shores says it is temporarily halting its exploration. Zarubezhneft said it was halting work because of “geological” problems but will resume oil exploration next year. The announcement signaled an end to the only active exploration program in Cuba which now relies on highly subsidized oil from Venezuela. Cuba reportedly relies on an estimated 96,000 barrels of oil it receives daily from Venezuela which amounts to about two thirds of its consumption.

Venezuelans rally on Calle Ocho to allege fraud in presidential elections

Several thousand Venezuelans gathered in the heart of Little Havana on Sunday in one of a string of rallies around the world to voice their allegations of fraud in April elections officially won by President Nicolás Maduro.
Under a sea of red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags and amid chants of “fraud,” the protesters packed a stretch of Southwest Eighth Street west of 12th Avenue while speaker after speaker denounced the balloting and its official results.

Caribbean urged to curb tobacco smoking

WASHINGTON, CMC – Calling tobacco use the deadliest global pandemic ever, a former President of Uruguay has urged decision makers in the Caribbean and Latin America to step up efforts to curb smoking. In making reference to World No Tobacco Day, Tabaré Vázquez, an oncologist by profession, said the war against smoking should not only be waged in doctors’ offices but also in people’s homes, workplaces, public spaces and especially in classrooms around the region.

Major credit rating agency says bond restructurings still fail to ignite Caribbean growth

NEW YORK, CMC - A major international credit rating agency says three bond restructurings in the Caribbean this year, totaling about US$9.7 billion, have still failed to ignite economic growth and may not help the region avoid more defaults.
Moody’s Investors Service said the bond swaps this year did not go far enough to fixing the Caribbean’s “unsustainable” mix of debt and deficits.
It said, among Caribbean island economies, only The Bahamas is expected to grow more than 1.5 per cent this year, compared with four per cent for Latin America.

Brutal talks and the US-Caribbean relationship

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Much media coverage was given to the signing on May 28 in Trinidad of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) by US Vice-President Joseph Biden and current chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, Haiti's President Michel Martelly. But the TIFA must not be mistaken for what it is not. Although its name sounds grand, it is more a declaration of ambitions and desires than a concrete agreement with predictable outcomes and deliveries.

China, Venezuela winning the PR war

KINGSTON, Jamaica - RECENTLY, United States President Barack Obama visited Mexico and Costa Rica. His last visit to the Caribbean was in April 2009 when he attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. Hilary Clinton, while she was secretary of state, met the leaders of the Caribbean in Montego Bay. This past week, Chinese President XI Jingping met with eight CARICOM leaders in Port of Spain. The other CARICOM governments that do not practise the "One China" policy were not included. They continue the financially unrewarding fallacy that Taiwan is the rightful Government of China.

US Vice President gives assurance WTO matter will soon be resolved

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – US Vice President Joe Biden assured that the 10-year old online gaming dispute between Antigua & Barbuda and the United States is on the desk of President Barack Obama. That report came from Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer who met with Biden at a Caricom meeting in Trinidad this week. “He (Biden) said the matter is on the desk of the president of the United States as we speak and the whole idea is to resolve it in short order. Of course, we hope that short order means short order,” he said.

ECLAC urges Caribbean to strengthen institutions to aid development

CARACAS, Venezuela, CMC - The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is urging regional countries to review and strengthen their institutions and instruments in order to maximize the contribution of natural resources to regional development, particularly in the current cycle of high prices. ECLAC has submitted a report to the “Conference of the Union of South American Nations on Natural Resources and Integral Development in the Region” that analyses the issue of natural resource governance in the region.

OECD: Europe remains threat to world economy

PARIS—The recession in Europe risks threatening the world’s economic recovery, a leading international body warned yesterday. In its half-yearly update, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that protracted economic weakness in Europe “could evolve into stagnation with negative implications for the global economy.” The OECD again slashed its forecast for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, saying it will shrink by 0.6 per cent this year, after 0.5 per cent drop in 2012.

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