2003 – Page 83

El Caribe carries a great story about the new wave of young Dominican baseball players who are considered to be top prospects for major league teams. During the first weeks of the Winter Baseball League, some of the novice sluggers have been so outstanding that they have taken over positions normally filled by big-name players. …

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The Listin Diario reports that the government, banks, exchange houses and remittance companies have agreed to bring the exchange rate down to RD$30 to US$1 within a week. Through reliable sources, the Listin Diario learned that a meeting was held at the Presidential Palace on Avenida Mexico, where the government’s team was headed by Hipolito …

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Two banks, Banco Popular and Mercantil Bank, were selling dollars at RD$40 to US$1 prior to last night’s meeting, undercutting the going rate of the past two days by approximately RD$4.00 per dollar. Both banks announced that they would today have dollars for sale at the new rate and lower rates are expected to continue …

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Dollar loans are becoming less popular in the private sector, according to the Central Bank, which ascribes the trend to the uncertainty regarding the volatility of the peso. The Dominican currency has suffered a depreciation of 58.6% over the last few months.

According to the 3 December report of Bear Stearns, the investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, while their contacts in the economic team deny that capital controls would be implemented to stop the slide on the peso, they have reason to believe that “President Mejia seems to be relying on very strong moral …

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The government has proposed to submit a budget to Congress that would request somewhere between RD$120 billion and RD$125 billion for the year 2004. According to Listin Diario reporter Maximo Manuel Perez, RD$105 billion would be derived from the usual taxation, and another RD$20 billion would be obtained from external sources in the forms of …

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EIU Newswire on the Dominican Republic, released on 2 December, says that the campaign for the May 2004 Presidential election will take place in a context of widespread social discontent and protest. EIU highlights that, “despite his growing unpopularity and fierce opposition from within his own party, Hipolito Mejia intends to run for re-election. The …

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Those interested in acquiring a perspective on what 2004 may bring for the Dominican Republic in the context of Latin American should attend the Fundacion Global lecture, given by Dr. David Anthony, Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Director of Country Risk, this Thursday, 4 December at 7:30pm. The event can also be viewed through the videoconferencing …

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Cesar Sanchez, the head of the CDEEE, told reporters from El Caribe that in spite of the Official Commission for the Electric Sector having designated December as the last month of subsidies for consumers, the government would continue to provide this umbrella during 2004. If not for the subsidies, known as the Compensation Fund, consumers …

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The head economist at the PUCMM sponsored Cenantillas think-tank, Pedro Silverio, takes on the government and the Report on Electricity in El Caribe’s editorial page today. According to Silverio, the government’s “irrefutable” arguments were not credible enough for the IMF’s high-level team, sent recently to the DR to study the impact of the purchase of …

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