French bank settles U.S. investigations with $1.3bln payment

Source : Johannes Werner Mon Nov 19, 07:59 pm EST
The settlement with Société Générale SA is the first major foreign bank enforcement action under the Trump administration and part of a 14-year long string of investigations. The fine — the third-largest ever — makes a return of European banks to Cuba less likely. Previous Top Stories

Economy

Cubans get Internet by phone

After years of preparation, months-long trials, and a test run in November, Etecsa launched a third-generation mobile telephony network with 789 transmitters that can reach 66% of the island's population Vietnamese company gets Russian support for its Cuba projects
Cuban arrears: Spain provides new funding, Cuba promises faster payment
Canada pitches public-private model for Cuban infrastructure
AFP: Cuba set to tighten screws on private sector
AP: U.S. agribusiness looks to boost sales to Cuba
Reuters: Cuba lowers economic growth forecast as trade continues to drop
Reuters: Cuba says investor interest up despite U.S. hostility

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Companies

Country star offers fans to join him in Havana

Tim McGraw pitches a four-day Memorial Day weekend concert as an opportunity for fans to travel to Cuba along with their idol Vietnamese developer breaks ground at Mariel, signs first tenant
Spanish companies: Chicken – and beyond?
Spanish telecom offers to connect Cuba via undersea cable
Dallas Business Journal: Southwest Airlines balks at American Airlines' new idea for Cuba routes
Seatrade Cruise: Regent delves deeper with two immersive Cuba cruises
Basball America: Cuba baseball expert Peter Bjarkman remembered for his passion
Miami Herald: American Airlines plans daily service from Miami to Santiago

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Politics

Government backtracks on restrictive private-sector measures

Two days before new private-sector rules were scheduled to become effective, the Ministry of Labor published new amendedments, after getting an earful from Cuban cuentapropistas Analysis: Sánchez in Havana — the takeaways
Spanish president’s visit puts focus on business
Cuba closely following EU-Iran barter mechanism project
Reuters: Brazil's Bolsonaro says he discussed Cuba, Israel, trade with Bolton
AP: Cuba says U.S. unfairly denying diplomatic visas
Miami Herald: Bolton to meet with Bolsonaro next week. Mission? To confront Cuba
Miami Herald: Makeup of new Congress could create a different dynamic on Cuba

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LIFESTYLES

Tony Zamora, 1941-2018

Tony Zamora, a driving force behind Cuba Media LLC, which publishes Cuba Standard, passed away in June, after losing his battle with cancer LaHabana.com: The anniversary issue

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BLOG TICKER

Cuba Central: It was only a year ago…
Cuba Trade magazine: No easy fixes for Cuba's water accessibility woes
Generation Y: Absence means forgetting
Havana Times: The reform process, what's changed?
Progreso Weekly: To grow old in Cuba, preserve your wings
The Internet in Cuba: Cuba's (hopefully limited) ADSL expansion

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Data & Maps

Cuba’s crude oil and natural gas output has practically been stagnating since 2003. In fact, production of oil fields in the old Havana province (now Mayabeque province), including those of Guanabo, Boca de Jaruco, Santa Cruz and Puerto Escondido, decreased by one-third (-32.1%) over the past 10 years, from a record 1.87 million tons of oil, or 32,350 b/d*. Meanwhile, yields in Matanzas province helped offset the decline in Havana/Mayabeque. Oil output at the Seboruco, Varadero-Cárdenas, Cantel and Majaguillar fields grew by one-third (34.4%) in the same period, to a record 1.54 million tons or 26,670 b/d in 2015.

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Hurricane Irma: Costlier than record storm Ike

Assessing the damage two weeks after the storm, official daily Granma said “it wouldn’t be surprising if the cost exceeds that of Ike in 2008, the most destructive hurricane in this century, which was estimated at 7.325 billion pesos”. Today, this figure would be equivalent to 9% of Cuba’s Gross Domestic Product in 2014, or one-fifth of all tax income collected by the government in 2016.

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Cuba's water crisis: It's not all due to climate change

Cuba has one of the largest water reservoir systems in the Hemisphere, per capita and territory. Conceived for a planned economy that no longer exists, Cuba’s current water reservoirs largely exceed the needs of the country. Ironically, there is a chronic water deficit for consumers and in almost every economic sector.

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