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| Loosening of Cuba embargo could mean huge possibilities for U.S. businesses
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| The policy shift could lead to telecom deals and more air travel, among other opportunities. The degree of access that Cuba will offer, however, is still in question.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0201 EDST
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| U.S. Telecoms Eager to Enter Cuba
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| Firms Wait to See Plans for Infrastructure, Government's Approach to Access. Cuba has the lowest percentage of telephone, Internet and cellphone subscribers in Latin America, according to Manuel Cereijo, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Miami. About 11 percent of residents subscribe to land-line telephone service, and 2 percent have cellphone service.
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| @ Washington Post | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Ford floating higher despite supply-chain worries
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| Investors ignoring fear of supplier woes if GM, Chrysler fail. Ford Motor Co. has long maintained that a bankruptcy filing by one of its Detroit competitors could have disastrous effects on it as well. Wall Street seems to think otherwise.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0315 EDST
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| S&P raises Ford's rating but warns of cash squeeze
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| Standard & Poor's on Monday raised its ratings on Ford Motor Co (F.N) after the automaker cut debt by nearly $10 billion, but the agency warned that Ford still risks running short of cash. Ford's credit profile is better than those of its U.S. competitors, but it faces heavy cash losses for at least another year, S&P said in a statement.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0320 EDST
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| U.S. Planning to Reveal Data on Health of Top Banks
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| The Obama administration is drawing up plans to disclose the conditions of the 19 biggest banks in the country, according to senior administration officials, as it tries to restore confidence in the financial system without unnerving investors. The administration has decided to reveal some sensitive details of the stress tests now being completed after concluding that keeping many of the findings secret could send investors fleeing from financial institutions rumored to be weakest.
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| @ New York Times | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Florida Forever? Maybe not now
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| Florida may be ready to pull the plug on the largest public land acquisition program in the country. Facing a $3 billion budget deficit for next year, neither the House nor the Senate wants to fund Florida Forever, the state's $300 million-a-year, environmental land-buying program.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Florida storm catastrophe fund has twice as much money as six months ago
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| "The picture is definitely better than it was," said Ash Williams, head of the State Board of Administration, which manages Florida's investments. The reason: "The bond market is loosening up," he said. Williams said the state could expect to finance $8 billion in residential losses, up from an October estimate of $3 billion. The new estimate means the catastrophe fund could cover about $16 billion in losses through bonds and cash on hand. Williams' announcement persuaded Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet to abandon plans for extra financing for the state Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
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| @ Palm Beach Post | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0415 EDST
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| The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 1.2 percent in March
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| This decline followed a 0.1-percent
advance in February and a 0.8-percent increase in January.
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| @ Bureau of Labor Statistics | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0419 EDST
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| U.S. retail and food services sales for March, were $344.4 billion, a decrease of 1.1 percent from the previous month and 9.4 percent below March 2008.
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| Retail trade sales were down 1.1 percent from February 2009 and 10.7 percent below last year. Gasoline stations sales were down 34.0 percent from March 2008 and motor vehicle and parts dealers sales were down 23.5 percent from last year.
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| @ U. S. Census Department | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0646 EDST
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| More affordable Canadian market lures first-time buyers, experts say
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| Phil Soper, president and CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services, told a Bank of Montreal conference affordability in many parts of the country is improving. The housing market has shifted from a seller's market to a buyer's market, which is good news for someone looking to buy their first home, he said. "The uptick in first-time home buyer purchases across the country is quite astonishing," Soper said. "Affordability in places like Vancouver has improved for the first time in a very long time."
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| @ Toronto Star | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0652 EDST
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| U.K. Property Slump Eases as Buyers Return, RICS Says
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| The slump in U.K. house prices eased last month after more than a year of declines lured buyers back into the market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 04/15/09 at 0655 EDST
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