national city bank

Sources: The Miami Herald: Cuba Publishes List of Proposed Economic Changes Guardian Media: Raul Castro has Launched a Campaign of Genuine Renewal and Redirection Guardian Media: Cuba's Theater of the Absurd BBC: Cuba's Economic Changes Last week, the Cuban government announced various broad goals in a 313-point economic plan. The plan details Cuba’s effort to revive and shift its economy from a state-controlled Communist system, in which the government controls every aspect of the economy, to a more market-based economy where citizens will be allowed to participate in private enterprise and sell their products and services in the market. The economic plan was unanimously approved at the Communist Party Congress, but remains for the Cuban National Assembly to work out the specifics and translate the guidelines into law. The plan purports to allow Cubans to purchase and sell homes, a practice which currently only takes place in the black market. Today, the only way for Cubans to...

Sources: FT: New Trade Routes: Latin America FT: China demand drives road and rail traffic China Daily: China to Increase Trade with Latin America Over the past decade, Latin America has been hard at work focusing on infrastructure and promoting trade with some of the world’s fastest growing economies in an effort to shed the image of financial instability that marked the region in the 1990s. Fortunately, the effort has paid off as poverty is diminishing in many Latin America countries and the middle class is increasing, all largely in part due to the vast expansion of commodity-based trade. One of Latin America’s biggest trade partners is China. The fast growth of the Chinese economy has increased demand for many Latin America commodities such as Argentine soya, Brazilian iron ore, Chilean copper, and Peruvian gold. Trade between Latin America and China has increased tremendously in the past ten years. For instance, in 1999, trade between the two regions totaled $8 billion. However, b...

Sources: FT: Brazil resolute on rate rises to calm inflation WSJ: Price of Success in Brazil: $15 Movies IMF: Watching Out for Overheating in Latin America CIA: World Fact Book, GDP Real Growth Rate Over the past few years, Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has steadily increased, going from 3.70% in 2006, to 5.10% in 2008, and reaching 7.50% in 2010, making Brazil’s economy one of the most stable, and the country itself one of the wealthiest in South America and the western hemisphere. However, this success has not come without a price, as Brazil’s cities have become some of the most expensive in the world. The Wall Street Journal reported that Brazilians pay the equivalent of $15 for a movie, which is more than New Yorkers pay. Likewise, the jump in the price of food, transportation, and land has resulted in the inability of millions of poor Brazilians to maintain their standard of living as their income remains unchanged but the price of items continue to rise. One reaso...