2008News

Welcome, Mr. October

Manny Ramirez went yard for the second time in two days and is continuing his post-season brilliance. Ramirez, already the all-time post-season homerun hitter, sent a shot deep into the Chicago night helping the LA Dodgers pounce on the Chicago Cubs 10-3. Ramirez’s performance so far has propelled the Dodgers to unfamiliar success and has …
2008News

Government spending up

According to the Ministry of Hacienda, government spending so far this year was up 36.5% compared to the Jan-Aug 2007 period. The government spent RD$181.31 billion in 2008, compared to RD$132.79 billion in 2007. Business sectors have been pressing the government to implement their oft-announced austerity plan, especially given the financial crisis in the US, …
2008News

Energy subsidy grows

Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa has announced that during the first nine months of the year the government has given the energy sector RD$18.1 billion in subsidies and is expected to give the sector and additional RD$10 billion for the remainder of the year. Bengoa says the increase in the energy subsidy results from an increase …
2008News

Cacao exports grow

Agriculture Minister Salvador Jimenez says that cacao exports have increased to US$99 million during the first nine months of the year. Jimenez says this will be a historic year for cacao exports, adding that the high level of demand in comparison to supply is keeping cacao prices stable. According to the Economic Commission for Latin …
2008News

Santiago’s priorities

Representatives of the Santiago Development Association (APEDI) have told Hoy newspaper that before considering the construction of a metro, Santiago needs the government to improve the Port of Manzanillo in Monte Cristi province to facilitate cargo exports and imports. Eduardo Trueba, Hendrick Kelnener, Enmanuel Castillo and Sonia Guzman said that the greatest expense affecting competitiveness …
2008News

BC governor operated

Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez Albizu underwent surgery earlier this week at the New York Hospital in New York City. Valdez was admitted after doctors detected a growth in his brain. A biopsy revealed that the growth was benign. Doctors Anis Vidal and ophthalmologist Ramon Valdez Albizu accompanied him to New York. Listin Diario reports …
2008News

CMD hunger strike

Eight members of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) administrative board staged a hunger strike yesterday on the second floor hallway of the Ministry of Public Health. The CMD has spent months battling the government that instead wants to peg public hospital doctor wages to productivity and not give an overall wage increase. CMD president Waldo …
2008News

Teneria Bermudez fined

Santiago based leather-goods manufacturer Teneria Bermudez has been fined RD$300,000 for environmental damage. The Ministry of Environment discovered that the company was dumping its residual waste into the Yaque del Norte River, polluting the river. Environmental prosecutor Jacinto Mejia said that the company needed to install a residual waste treatment plant. The company was closed …