Dominican President Leonel Fernandez wrapped up a busy agenda in Chicago last week, where he dictated a conference on the opportunities of investment in his country in the Harris School. Fernandez also met with executives of hotel company Roco Ki, whose front office promised to expand their project in Macao, in the Dominican province of Altagracia, with an additional $1 billion.

Cuba’s economy grew 12.5 percent in the first half of 2006, boosted by a surge in the construction, transport and services industries, Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez said. This year the economy is likely to attain a second straight year of growth exceeding 10 percent as local investment and proceeds from exports such as nickel and sugar cane boost government coffers and workers’ incomes, Rodriguez said at a press conference in Havana.

Royal Caribbean International returns to Asia in December 2007, bringing the active cruising experience to the region. The Vision-class ship, featuring the line’s signature rock-climbing wall and indoor glass walls providing exotic views of Asian landscapes, will offer a series of exciting cruises out of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, visiting exotic ports of call in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

The number of passengers carried on the Spanish airline´s intercontinental routes between Europe and the Americas showed a 17.6 percent increase in the second quarter with respect to the same quarter last year. The load factor improved by 2.3 points in the first two quarters from 2005.This spike was strongest in Iberia´s new Business Plus, its upgraded long-haul business class, which showed an 8.5-point hike in seat occupancy levels.

Costly, congested and poorly run airports and environmentalists with daft ideas are the two biggest barriers to the continued growth of European low-cost carriers, EasyJet CEO Andrew Harrison said last week at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London. “We need a revolution” when it comes to airports, Harrison declared to representatives of more than 100 airlines gathered here.

Barbados and the Netherlands Antilles have agreed to start negotiations regarding a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) and Mutual Customs Assistance Treaty. The Netherlands Antilles´ State Secretary of Finance, Alex Rosaria, was recently in Bridgetown where he was received by the Barbadian Deputy Prime Minister, Mia Mottley.