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April 13, 2020

Suriname: Economic Crisis Prompts a Showdown, and a Shutdown, in Suriname - by Harmen Boerboom and Anatoly

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The closures brought a new and unpredictable tension to the streets of Paramaribo, the capital of this nation in the north of South America. Most people stayed home to comply with measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic. ran dry in the cash-based economy and supermarkets, afraid of being overrun by nervous shoppers, were closed. The showdown made Suriname, a Dutch-speaking ethnic melting pot of 600,000, the latest and most extreme example in South America of how the pandemic and a plunge in commodity prices are destabilizing weak economies and polarizing political systems

The slide in the price of Suriname’s two main export commodities, oil and gold, over the past month has effectively left the country without enough hard currency to pay off its debt and import basic goods, leaving the country on the verge of default. In addition, the departure of Dutch tourists as a result of the pandemic, which has sickened eight people in Suriname so far, has deprived the street economy of a significant source of euros.

 Suriname’s economy has gone into a tailspin just as the country is preparing for a crucial vote. In May, its president, the former military dictator Dési Bouterse, will seek another term despite being convicted of homicide by Surinamese judges and of drug trafficking charges by the Dutch.

His son, Dino Bouterse, is serving time in an American prison on drug- and terrorism-related offenses.

 In an effort to shore up the local currency, stem inflation and stop capital flight ahead of the vote, the government imposed strict new restrictions on foreign currency transactions. The governing party pushed the measure through Parliament at last month and it took effect 4 days later.

 The restrictions outraged business people and bankers, who say they repeat the currency controls that ruined neighboring Venezuela, a rare regional supporter of Mr. Bouterse. To repudiate the new limits, they brought commerce to a screeching stop.

“What has happened cannot and will not be tolerated,” said the Association of Surinamese Industry and the Association of Surinamese Manufacturers, which called on its members to strike in a joint statement. One of Suriname’s biggest food companies, Fernandes Group, closed most of its businesses on Wednesday, provoking a run on bread.

 The new measure made black market currency transactions punishable by up to three years in prison, and created a militia to stamp out illicit trading. But even as these measures were rolled out on, the cost of a dollar on the black market jumped to double the official rate as Surinamese rushed to get the scarce hard currency.

Read more at: Economic Crisis Prompts a Showdown, and a Shutdown, in Suriname

April 12, 2020

The Netherlands: The Dutch Consider The Hyperloop — Amsterdam To Paris In 90 Minutes

Hardt Hyperloop and North Holland are exploring a hyperloop system to connect Amsterdam with Belgium, France, and Germany. They foresee enormous economic opportunities, but is their plan realistic?

Read more at:
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/04/10/the-netherlands-considers-the-hyperloop-amsterdam-to-paris-in-90-minutes/

April 10, 2020

EU - Coronavirus Debt: Netherlands refuses to 'Go Dutch' on EU coronavirus debt

As the European Union spars over an emergency economic package for countries reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dutch have revived their image of thriftiness by refusing to support a plea by southern members to take on collective debt.

Read more at:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-netherlands/netherlands-refuses-to-go-dutch-on-eu-coronavirus-debt-idUSKCN21R31J

April 8, 2020

European Union: Only a ‘New Deal’ can rescue the European project – by M J. Rodrigues and P.Magnette

 If the European project is to survive it requires a plan on the scale of Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Read more at:
https://www.socialeurope.eu/only-a-new-deal-can-rescue-the-european-project


April 7, 2020

Netherlands: Coronavirus: 18,803 Cases and 1,867 Deaths - Worldometer

Netherlands Coronavirus update with statistics and graphs: total and new cases, deaths per day, mortality and recovery rates, current active cases, recoveries, trends and timeline.

Read more at:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/netherlands/

April 6, 2020