2004 – Page 182

According to the economic section of the El Caribe newspaper, auto sales are down, way down. Prices have tripled over the past year, due in part to the new taxes, the devaluation of the peso and the fluctuations in the exchange market. ACOFAVE, the Association of New Car Dealers, is reporting a 20% drop in …

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Both the government-intervened Listin Diario and the El Caribe report that the Dominican government has signed a contract with an Australian company, Lagunas Limited, to exploit the Pueblo Viejo gold mine in Cotui. The contract guarantees the government benefits of US$50 million dollars over an eleven year, six month period. According to the Listin Diario, …

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Diario Libre reporter Diana de Miguel writes that George W. Bush will go after the Dominican vote in the November elections by playing the Free Trade Agreement card. At least this was the opinion of Michael Skol, a senior associate of Manchester Trade, during a talk organized by the American Chamber of Commerce. It appears …

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The Dominican Annual Travel Exchange (DATE), a yearly get together of tour operators, hoteliers and suppliers has generated a lot of expectations this year. According to the Diario Libre, the hotel chains are looking to diversify their offerings, especially when the tourist demand is focusing on more contact with the local social and cultural scene. …

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Two of today?s newspapers, the government-intervened Listin Diario and the Hoy, are publishing voter preference polls, with striking differences between them. The Listin Diario cites a poll by the CEDEMERS group which shows Leonel Fernandez with 42% of the intended votes and Hipolito Mejia with 37% of the voter preference. The PRSC?s Eduardo Estrella carried …

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Student marches in Santiago have drawn attention to the government?s intention to fragment protected-status land for commercial development, and now CONEP, the private business association, has taken a stance on the proposed Law of the Protected Areas. CONEP has called for a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies to discuss the proposed law that …

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Central Bank of the Dominican Republic Governor Jose Lois Malkun told reporters that the sale of the institution?s assets, as well as those that belonged to the Banco Intercontinental (BanInter), could offset the current deficit at the Central Bank, and bring in as much as US$1 billion. According to Malkun, this amount would be used …

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According to an article in El Caribe, a report written by Pavel Isa Contreras and Edgar Morales show that 80% of the new taxes on alcohols and cigarettes come from beer sales. The new Selective Consumer taxes have produced RD$1.86 billion more this year. Rum and cigarettes have produced just RD$285 million and RD$180 million …

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A report issued by the well-regarded The Economist is suggesting that the Dominican armed forces supported the rebellion in Haiti because they wanted a military rival as a neighbor in order to justify their budget. One Haitian source is quoted in El Caribe as saying, ?They didn?t give us weapons, but they gave us their …

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A police sergeant and four suspected robbers were killed in a bloody shootout in the town of Bayaguana in the Monte Plata province. According to the story in Hoy, the alleged thieves attempted to rob a cooperative savings and loan office. As the story goes, the thieves entered the Cooperativa El Progreso in the town …

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