TUI, the German tourism group, sold its rail freight business this week to a Franco-US private equity firm for an undisclosed figure that´s expected to be in the neighborhood of euros 500 million to euros 800 million ($614 million to $982 million).
However, the deal sparked controversy in Germany over the alleged hidden involvement of SNCF, France´s state railway operator.
Citing the enormous benefit it will bring, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is recommending Grenada to directly link its agriculture industry to the tourism industry.
Prakash Loungani, the mission chief for the team that recently conducted Article IV Consultation in Grenada, said there is plenty of room to strengthening the linkage between agriculture and tourism, which will remain the mainstay of the economy.
The US Hotel industry generated profits of $16.7 billion on room revenues of $86 billion and all-time high total revenues of $113.7 billion.
Smith Travel Research (STR), the recognized leader in performance benchmarking for the US hotel industry, released the results of its 2005 HOST (Hotel Operating Statistics) study, based on yearend 2004 results.
Brazil´s economy grew far more slowly than expected in the first quarter, as rising interest rates soured consumer appetite and delayed investment. Gross domestic product grew by 0.3 percent against the previous quarter, according to the government statistics bureau (IBGE).
That is the worst since the third quarter of 2003 and below the consensus forecast of 0.5 per cent. Agriculture was the only sector that grew.
There´s a call for Caribbean countries to develop a common policy on negotiating offers and demands at the World Trade Organization, particularly on the issue of cruise tourism.
Barbados´ Minister of State in the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, Kerrie Symmonds, who put forward the suggestion, has also stressed the need for the protection of the agriculture sector which continues to be a source of livelihood for a substantial part of the region.
The U.S. will request that a WTO dispute-settlement panel be set up, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said in a statement on his office´s Web site. The decision means that the Boeing-Airbus spat will likely become the biggest litigation before the WTO, an organization that develops ground rules for international commerce and mediates trade disputes.
Each side claims the other is illegally subsidizing its own domestic industry to maintain market share and jobs. The U.S. has said Airbus has received $15 billion in subsidies, while the European Union counters that Boeing has received $23 billion in special favors.