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WORLD NEWS Thursday 17 OcTOber 2019

Cuba to let citizens buy imports with foreign currencies

HAVANA (AP) — The Cu- an island already in a seri-
ban government says it ous cash crunch.
will allow citizens to use 10 Cuban officials announced
foreign currencies to buy Tuesday night that the
products like televisions prices of some consumer
and air conditioners at goods would drop for Cu-
state stores in an attempt bans who create special
to compete with a multi-bil- new hard-currency bank
lion-dollar informal market accounts denominated in
in imported goods. U.S. and Canadian dollars,
The communist state has a Euros, British pounds, Swiss
monopoly on most forms of francs, Mexican pesos,
retail sales and all wholesal- Danish, Norwegian and
ing, import and export. The Swedish kroner and Japa-
only legal vendors of appli- nese yen.
ances like refrigerators and Cubans will also be able to
air conditioners are state use the accounts to import
stores that charge as much goods through state-run
as 200 percent of the aver- companies, officials said
age global price for gen- on national television, al-
erally low-quality Chinese- though the precise mecha-
made products that are nism for those private-pub-
often out of stock. lic imports remains unclear.
That has led to an illegal Products that will be avail-
but tolerated black mar- able for foreign currency
ket in goods purchased include 43-inch flat-screen In this Dec. 19, 2014 file photo, bank notes from various countries are displayed on the wall of a
abroad by individual Cu- televisions, standing freez- small beverage shop near the beach in Havana, Cuba.
bans and resold at a profit ers, refrigerators and mini- Associated Press
on the island. Thousands of split air conditioners. The
Cubans each year fly to discounts over current pric- $549, state media said, trial base, our retail stories, card used to purchase dis-
shopping districts catering es appear to be marginal about twice the cost of a our market," Vice President counted goods. The move
to them in countries rang- — Reports in state media similar item in the U.S. Salvador Valdés Mesa said adds a new complication
ing from Panama to Haiti to indicated that the govern- "Money is leaving the coun- in an appearance along to Cuba's unusual multiple-
Russia. By some estimates, ment would still charge try in significant amounts other government ministers currency system. Cubans
the sellers known as "mules" some 75 percent above to acquire these products and high-ranking econom- currently use Cuban pesos
spend some $2 billion a the wholesale price. A 43- and we need to capture ic officials. Cubans who worth about 4 cents each
year overseas, a major out- inch Samsung television, it as a source of hard cur- open hard-currency ac- and convertible pesos
flow of hard currency from for example, would sell for rency to restock our indus- counts will be given a bank worth about a dollar.q

Brazil's income inequality hits highest since at least 2012

By DAVID BILLER showed the so-called Gini that. The data show lower double digits. Since then, Indeed leading data show
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — coefficient used to mea- salaries of people who are growth has averaged just the trend of widening in-
Brazil's income inequality sure inequality is at a level employed," Neri said. "The over 1% annually, a far cry equality continued into
in 2018 reached its highest just above that registered poorest lost more salary, from the robust activity dur- 2019, Neri said.
level since the start of the in 2012. Marcelo Neri of the and during the whole peri- ing the global commodi- In 2018, the richest 10% of
national statistics' series in Getulio Vargas Foundation od there was a certain lack ties boom of the previous Brazilians accounted for
2012, according to data re- university said increases of social safety nets for the decade. The International 43.1% of national income,
leased Wednesday, reflect- from 2015 to 2018 represent poorest." Monetary Fund expects up from 41.4% in 2015, ac-
ing an economic downturn a reversal from prior years Brazil suffered a devas- growth below 1% this year cording to the statistics in-
that's taken an outsized toll of "inclusive growth." tating recession in 2015 before Latin America's larg- stitute. The poorest 30% of
on the poor.Data from the "There is the effect of un- and 2016 that sent unem- est economy gains steam Brazilian earners saw their
national statistics agency employment, but it's not just ployment surging into the in 2020. incomes fall from 2017.q