Cuba fund soars as Obama prepares address after prisoner release

The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, a closed- end mutual fund that aims to profit from a resumption of U.S. trade with Cuba, surged the most in almost six years as President Barack Obama plans an address after the release of prisoner Alan Gross.

The $45 million fund jumped 20 percent to $8.17 at 9:46 a.m. New York time for the biggest advance since April 2009. It rose as much as 22 percent earlier. The funds’ top holdings are Copa Holdings SA, Coca-Cola Femsa SAB and Seaboard
Corp.

Obama plans to talk today about the next steps in U.S.-Cuba relations, which have been strained by a decades-long embargo. Gross, a 65-year-old American, left Cuba on a U.S. government plane this morning, according to an administration
official who asked not to be identified before Obama’s remarks, which are scheduled for noontime in Washington.

Gross, who has been in failing health, was released on humanitarian grounds under U.S. pressure, the person said.