<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published April 15, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Investors cheer US move to ease curbs on Cuba
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(NEW YORK) Investors in companies with Cuban assets, or the potential to expand into the country, cheered on Monday after the White House said it would ease some of the restrictions it has imposed on the Communist-run island.
US President Barack Obama is allowing Americans to make unlimited transfers of money and visits to relatives in Cuba and easing other restrictions Monday, ushering in a new era of openness towards the island nation ruled by communists for 50 years. Fidel Castro took power on Jan 1, 1959. He was president of Cuba until last year, when poor health forced him to cede power to his brother Raul.
The formal announcement was made by presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs and, in Spanish, by Dan Restrepo, the president's top aide on Latin American policy.
'The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people. There are actions that he can and has taken today to open up the flow of information to provide some important steps to help that,' Mr Gibbs said.
Mr Gibbs said Mr Obama is only one part of the equation, with the White House calling on Cuba to do more as well.
With the changes, Mr Obama aims to lessen Cubans' dependence on the regime of Fidel Castro, hoping that will lead them to demand progress on political freedoms, the spokesman said. About 1.5 million Americans have relatives on the island nation that turned to communist rule in 1959 when Fidel Castro seized control.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Some US lawmakers protested the changes, saying they could funnel money or goods to the Castro regime. Others, backed by business and farm groups seeing new opportunities in Cuba, wanted Mr Obama to go farther and lift restrictions on travel by all Americans to Cuba.
The announcement raised hopes that the US government might take further steps and even lift its trade embargo on Cuba.
Shares of one of the island's large players, Canada's Sherritt, surged, as the mining and energy company has assets in Cuba it may choose to monetise.
Cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean and rival Carnival Corp also closed higher as investors bet the Obama administration's move would eventually pave the way for more extensive travel.
The White House said it will allow US telecommunications companies to seek licences in Cuba, a move that could open up a new and largely untapped market for US operators, which are facing slowing growth at home.
But shares of the major US telecommunications companies failed to react as analysts voiced scepticism about Cuba opening up its telecom markets.
News of the eased restrictions on US telecommunications companies sent Sherritt shares soaring on hopes that the US might make similar concessions for companies in the energy and mining sectors. Sherritt's stock closed up 24.5 per cent.
The easing of travel restrictions boosted the shares of cruise operators as investors bet the measure would eventually pave the way for their ships to dock in Cuban ports.
The travel industry has long seen Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States, as an ideal destination for American tourists. A Cuban port could breathe new life into the Caribbean - the largest market for both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, which sail to the Bahamas, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
'There hasn't been much new in the Caribbean markets so you can add it as something new to make it more attractive,' said Raymond James cruise analyst Joseph Hovorka.
Royal Caribbean shares closed up 11.4 per cent at US$11.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, while those of Carnival edged up 2.3 per cent to US$26.20. -- Reuters, AP
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Investors cheer US move to ease curbs on Cuba
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(NEW YORK) Investors in companies with Cuban assets, or the potential to expand into the country, cheered on Monday after the White House said it would ease some of the restrictions it has imposed on the Communist-run island.
US President Barack Obama is allowing Americans to make unlimited transfers of money and visits to relatives in Cuba and easing other restrictions Monday, ushering in a new era of openness towards the island nation ruled by communists for 50 years. Fidel Castro took power on Jan 1, 1959. He was president of Cuba until last year, when poor health forced him to cede power to his brother Raul.
The formal announcement was made by presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs and, in Spanish, by Dan Restrepo, the president's top aide on Latin American policy.
'The president would like to see greater freedom for the Cuban people. There are actions that he can and has taken today to open up the flow of information to provide some important steps to help that,' Mr Gibbs said.
Mr Gibbs said Mr Obama is only one part of the equation, with the White House calling on Cuba to do more as well.
With the changes, Mr Obama aims to lessen Cubans' dependence on the regime of Fidel Castro, hoping that will lead them to demand progress on political freedoms, the spokesman said. About 1.5 million Americans have relatives on the island nation that turned to communist rule in 1959 when Fidel Castro seized control.
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The announcement raised hopes that the US government might take further steps and even lift its trade embargo on Cuba.
Shares of one of the island's large players, Canada's Sherritt, surged, as the mining and energy company has assets in Cuba it may choose to monetise.
Cruise ship operator Royal Caribbean and rival Carnival Corp also closed higher as investors bet the Obama administration's move would eventually pave the way for more extensive travel.
The White House said it will allow US telecommunications companies to seek licences in Cuba, a move that could open up a new and largely untapped market for US operators, which are facing slowing growth at home.
But shares of the major US telecommunications companies failed to react as analysts voiced scepticism about Cuba opening up its telecom markets.
News of the eased restrictions on US telecommunications companies sent Sherritt shares soaring on hopes that the US might make similar concessions for companies in the energy and mining sectors. Sherritt's stock closed up 24.5 per cent.
The easing of travel restrictions boosted the shares of cruise operators as investors bet the measure would eventually pave the way for their ships to dock in Cuban ports.
The travel industry has long seen Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States, as an ideal destination for American tourists. A Cuban port could breathe new life into the Caribbean - the largest market for both Carnival and Royal Caribbean, which sail to the Bahamas, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
'There hasn't been much new in the Caribbean markets so you can add it as something new to make it more attractive,' said Raymond James cruise analyst Joseph Hovorka.
Royal Caribbean shares closed up 11.4 per cent at US$11.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, while those of Carnival edged up 2.3 per cent to US$26.20. -- Reuters, AP
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