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Cuba: Dollar decision a sign of distress***The decision by Fidel Castro to dedollarize Cuba's economy is yet another sign of economic distress for an island that has had a rough year, Cuba analysts say.

Havana's move earlier this week to eliminate U.S. dollars from circulation is a tacit admission of the effectiveness of U.S. trade and travel sanctions and is the Cuban president's response to the United States, they say.

And the change comes at a time when Cuba's economy is also starting to suffer from skyrocketing oil prices and a drop in crucial foreign investment.

Cubans may still hold dollars, but to spend their money in any official establishment, they must exchange their dollars for convertible pesos -- known as chavitos or little pennies. After Nov. 8, any exchanges will be subject to a 10 percent government charge.

The decision to withdraw U.S. dollars from the economy for the first time since the American greenback was legalized on the island in 1993 followed a Bush administration directive in June that limited family visits and remittances to Cuba in an effort to dry up the supply of dollars.

Cuba watchers are expecting the number of family visits to tumble by at least 30 percent, and remittances also could drop substantially.

While these measures won't have the same impact as the end of subsidies from the former Soviet Union, which devastated the Cuban economy starting in 1990, they are still hitting home.

''That has hurt the economy,'' said Miami lawyer Antonio Zamora, who just returned from a visit to the island last week. ``No doubt, it has had a big impact.''……***