CUBA...Puerto Rico Says It'll Default In January Or May

Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, Inc CUBA shares have been trading up 2.08 percent on Wednesday. The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund was founded by Tom Herzfeld after he moved to Miami in 1975. Herzfeld ran his own investment firm in New York prior starting the fund. The fund invests in companies that benefit from political, economic, structural and technological developments in including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Cuba, as well as Jamaica, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Costa Rica. Puerto Rico is expected to default either on its upcoming payment which is due in January or a subsequent payment in May. "Puerto Rico will default in January or in May - there is no money," said Alejandro Garcia Padilla. The governor of Puerto Rico made the announcement following a webcast speech in D.C. on Wednesday. "I have not a printing machine. There's no money. I have no money to provide essential services and to pay creditors. I'm always doing my best to do both things," Padilla said. Garcia Padilla said the "time would come soon." On January 1, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico faces a payment on debt of about $1 billion. The commonwealth has $422.8 million on Puerto Rico's senior Government Development Bank notes due in May. Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund's stock had a decrease of 35.88 percent in short interest. The company's stock has declined 35.21 percent since May 7, 2015 and is downtrending. CUBA underperformed by 34.42 percent the S&P500. The company is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company.