The Bush administration is pushing Congress to pass the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), arguing the pact is necessary to ensure economic growth, freedom and democracy in Central America. The presidents of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua were in Washington Wednesday and also encouraged Congressional leaders to ratify the agreement. CAFTA faces stiff resistance from US textile manufacturers and the country’s sugar industry.
Category: Bonds
Posted inDaily Brief
Bush Pushes CAFTA
US President George W. Bush urged congress to approve a free trade agreement with Central America (known as CAFTA) to help bolster US exports. Central America is the US’s 13th-largest export market, bigger than Russia, India and Indonesia combined, and the US is the biggest buyer of Central American products. Goods worth about $33 billion are expected to be traded between the US and Central America this year.
Posted inMagazine
Microfinance Break
Microfinance firms could grow more rapidly if only they could access financial markets. Mexico’s Financiera Compartamos has engineered a bond deal that represents a significant advance in breaking down some […]
Posted inMagazine
New Sheriff in Town
Marcelo Trindade, the new president of the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, promises to put some bite into Brazil’s toothless securities regulator.
Posted inMagazine
Local Market’s Moment
Latin American markets seem to be treading water, unsure what to do next after last year’s great performance. Bond issuance was its best since 1997, stock markets surged and several […]
Posted inMagazine
CAF Blazes a New Trail
The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) has blazed a trail across the international capital markets in the decade since it issued its first bond in the US market. It set another […]
Posted inMagazine
Latest Financial Transactions From The Region
Brazil Gets $1.5 billion as C-Bond Breaks Par Brazil sold $1.5 billion in 30-year bonds, priced to yield 8.75%. Deutsche Bank and Citigroup managed the sale. This was the sovereign’s […]
Posted inMagazine
Uniting a Troubled Region
The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) is one of the most effective development agencies serving Latin America. Last year, it disbursed $3.3 billion in loans to clients in the continent’s most […]