Cuban Debt Unchanged by Castro News

Cuban debt was unruffled by a change in power over the weekend, though some investors are hopeful of progress under Raul Castro. For medium term Deutschemark defaulted debt, UK-based boutique Exotix was showing a bid-ask of 15-17, unchanged from last week. A new Castro regime could provide the first steps towards democratization, leading to an end in the US embargo, optimists say. “Now that Raul has taken charge, there is a possibility for change,” says Thomas Herzfeld, a Miami-based investor who created the Caribbean Basin Fund. The $30m closed-end entity invests in companies around the Caribbean that should benefit from an end to the embargo. “My personal view is that within the next year or two the embargo will be history,” Herzfeld says.