2003 – Page 81

Over the weekend, Tropical Storm Odette left a trail of death and destruction along the Southern Coast of the Dominican Republic. Unlike the torrential rainfall that hit the north of the country just a few days before, Odette affected the south. Reports of several deaths have been attributed to the storm and at least 14 …

Read more…

According to Thomas Churchill, who forecasts on weather in the DR1 Weather & Beyond forum, the overcast skies covering the Dominican Republic are due to large areas of low clouds across the West Atlantic and North Caribbean. The presence of the low clouds and rain is due to a mass of cold air following a …

Read more…

Following yesterday’s DR1 report that certain quarters are advocating the removal of the government’s subsidy on liquid propane gas. Reports in this morning’s papers are quoting Presidential Office Secretary Sergio Grullon (who is also the President’s brother-in-law) as saying that the President is thinking on those lines as well. A Presidential decree is expected imminently, …

Read more…

The Dominican Republic will adopt measures aimed at standardizing cell-phone charges, in conjunction with European and Latin American countries. This, along with other measures, was agreed at this week’s meeting between telecommunications regulators from Latin America and Europe, held in Santo Domingo and hosted by INDOTEL (Dominican telecommunications institute). The meeting concluded that development of …

Read more…

The military compound housing the Dominican army’s reconstruction contingent in Diwaniya, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, suffered a mortar attack early Thursday morning, although no injuries have been reported. The news that five mortars had been fired at the base reached the Dominican Republic yesterday morning, as family members anxiously awaited phone calls from …

Read more…

The tax authorities are asking that all foreign currency generators present a full report of their transactions for the last 11 months. The DGII (internal revenue department) has given five days for companies that handle foreign currency, including exporters, free trade zones, hotels and tourist businesses, to declare all their dollar operations, as well as …

Read more…

Businessman Celso Marranzini Perez doubts the government’s attempts to force down the dollar-peso rate will have any lasting effects. “I don’t believe in pressure tactics, because they have never worked in any economy. I wish the dollar would go down to RD$30 to US$1,” said Marranzini. Carlos Guillermo Leon, president of the newly renamed Banco …

Read more…

The National Business Council (CONEP) is repeating its call for the government to reduce public spending in order to tackle the current monetary crisis. In a working document prepared for CONEP by the economic consultancy firm Ecocaribe, and as presented at the Third Business Convention held at Santo Domingo’s Hotel Jaragua which concludes today, they …

Read more…

Economist Eduardo Tejera, also speaking at the business convention at the Hotel Jaragua, called on the Central Bank to publish the details of the high-interest savings certificate holders. According to Tejera, only 57 certificate holders account for RD$47-billion worth of the total RD$63-billion issue. Revealing this information could be done without releasing names, he said, …

Read more…

Federico Cuello, former DR ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), writes today in the editorial pages of El Caribe newspaper on the questionable coherence in government policies. To garner more revenues, he explains, the government increased taxes on imports. With imports notably more expensive, Dominicans began buying less foreign goods, and government revenues on …

Read more…