Cuba will begin to issue sovereign bonds to pay for the debt generated by the budget deficit, Finance Minister Lina Pedraza told the Cuban parliament on Saturday. The nation will in this way finance up to 70 percent of the deficit, which in 2014 is expected to reach 4.7 percent of the GNP.
Read MoreThe point man of the Cuban economy, VP Marino Murillo, confirmed Friday that the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) will be eliminated in the process to reestablish a one-currency system on the island. No date or timeline was given for its disappearance.
Read MoreThe latest album of Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca, “Yo” (I) , is among the 10 best musical productions of 2013 in the U.S., according to a survey by The Washington Post. The musician announced on its Web site several tours during March and April next year, in Australia , New Zealand , Hong Kong , France and the UK.
Read MoreAfter days of rumors about the possible defection of Cuban Vice President and economic reforms chief, Marino Murillo Jorge, the official was reported present during a session this week of the Council of Ministers in the Cuban capital.
Read MoreThe Cuban government has set an ambitious construction project in motion. Headed by the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the project is aimed at building thousands of homes for military officers and civilian employees in urban areas.
Read MoreThe Council of Ministers of Cuba decided at its current meeting to open up the retail sale of new and used motorcycles, cars, vans and minibuses. Cubans with well-off relatives in the United States and other countries will be a considerable percentage of those able to take advantage of the relaxing of restrictions.
Read MoreThe Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) agreed to pay $100 million US dollars for violation of US sanctions on Iran, Sudan, Burma and Cuba. In a statement issued RBS said it “deeply regrets” its violations of the sanctions and promised greater controls in the future.
Read MoreCuba’s largest artisans fair, FIART, opens Monday to the public in its new location at the fortress overlooking the Havana harbor entrance. It will run through December 22. [The fair was scheduled to open Sunday but was put off a day for the national mourning declared for the death of Nelson Mandela.] (21 photos)
Read MoreDe tarde en casa (“Afternoon at Home”) is the name of a Cuban television program aired every Sunday at 5 in the afternoon and hosted by Rakel Mayedo. I’ve seen the program a couple of times and found it interesting every so often because of the guests invited on the show. But on this occasion I was totally bewildered.
Read MoreThe roast pork will have to wait. Some of the people who had planned to travel from the U.S. to Cuba in December to celebrate Christmas, bid farewell to 2013 and spend the school holidays with their relatives will be unable to do so “until further notice.”
Read More