ANALYSIS-Honduran economy vulnerable in coup aftermath
4 July 2009 - Honduran business leaders are nervous last weekend's military coup could trigger retaliatory sanctions that would damage an already struggling economy and key industries like coffee and textiles. Falling US demand has already cost the 'maquiladora' or assembly-for-export factory sector, some 19,000 jobs since last year, and economic growth is expected to halve to less than 2 per cent this year as exports and remittances fall. More than 70 per cent of the population is poor and around 40 per cent live on less than $1 a day. Cesar Leon, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Guatemala, Honduras' No. 2 trading partner, said he could not rule out the possibility of closing borders to commercial trade again. (more)

Honduras refuses to restore President; snubs OAS
4 July 2009 - Honduras' refusal to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya despite an appeal by the top envoy for the Americas has put the impoverished nation on a collision course with the world community that could lead to its isolation. Honduras said it would no longer recognize the Organization of American States charter, claiming the diplomatic body attempted to impose 'unilateral and indignant resolutions' on the new government, which took power a week ago in a military-backed coup and forced Zelaya into exile. The move means Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Americas, will leave the OAS and will not face sanctions by the organization, though it would not prevent other groups and countries from suspending aid and loans. (more)

Mountain of debt: Rising debt may be next crisis in US
4 July 2009 - The Founding Fathers left one legacy not celebrated on Independence Day. It's the national debt. The debt stands today at a staggering $11.4 trillion -- equivalent to about $37,000 for each and every American. And it's expanding by over $1 trillion a year. The mountain of debt easily could become the next full-fledged economic crisis without firm action from Washington, economists of all stripes warn. Interest payments on the debt alone cost $452 billion last year, the largest federal spending category after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security, and Defence. It's quickly crowding out all other government spending. And the Treasury is finding it harder to find new lenders. (more)

North Korea raises stakes with new missile launch
4 July 2009 - North Korea test-fired three Scud missiles on Saturday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, further stoking regional tensions that were already high due to its nuclear test in May. If the missiles were the ballistic Scuds, the launches would mark an escalation by the reclusive North, which has fired several non-ballistic, short-range missile since the May 25 nuclear test. North Korea is barred by United Nations resolutions from firing ballistic missiles such as the Scud. The North has raised tension in recent months by saying it has started a programme to enrich uranium, which could give it a second path to a nuclear bomb, threatening to attack the South, and extracting plutonium at its ageing Yongbyon nuclear plant. (more)