El Caribe reports on negotiations held last week in Washington regarding the IMF which has postponed the conclusion of the first revision of its agreement with the DR government until the end of June. The reason for this is that the government has introduced modifications in expenses budgeted for 2005. The IMF does not believe the government will spend more than the RD$206.5 billion on this year’s budget, but it requires a concrete plan that will guarantee it, and the approval of the letter of intent on July 31st depends on that. They are also concerned with tax reform because they believe the approval of the DR-CAFTA agreement is “imminent” and a reduction of fiscal income is expected when it comes into effect. Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa warned that the execution of the budget cannot be evaluated until the end of the year. He pointed out that first quarter income presented a positive balance of RD$2.57 billion when compared to expenses. Meanwhile, Clave Digital reports on Central Bank governor, Hector Valdez Albizu, who stated that the government has met the goals of the IMF agreement. Valdez indicated that reserves have increased whereas inflation has decreased to 3.9% as compared to 12% expected by the IMF. The substantial reduction in the exchange rate has resulted in a favorable performance of the country’s economy.