Could Jamaica finally get a well oiled, bullet-fast tax system?
The Private Sector Working Group on Tax Reform has submitted their proposals to Parliament with one aim in mind – turn Jamaica’s rusted and rickety old tram car of a tax structure, in a bullet-fast and efficient system.
The proposals would turn Jamaica’s cumbersome tax regime into a streamlined, competitive system in an attempt to avert a looming economic crisis that could set social and economic development back several decades, said sources on the working group. Continue Reading →
When an established bank takes the time out to equip as many as 400 average citizens in the hair-raising and technical rigors of savings and investment, its fair to say they are doing good in the neighborhood.
Well, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) recently graduated the latest crop of an investments and savings course it offers in a partnership with the ABI Bank. Continue Reading →
James..."touted to be the Next Usain Bolt" - Gotta see that to believe it.
Most people have probably never heard of Kirani James (a Grenadian sprinter), or even more that he has been “touted as the next Usain Bolt,” (I really dunno by who). He is however the reigning 400M World Champion and the new signatory of spanking hot 3 year contract with LAIME.
No details have been revealed about the nature of the deal. It is expected though that James will “support LIME’s business ventures in the Caribbean, make personal appearances and be featured in ad campaigns.” Continue Reading →
Well..not very accurate, but you get the drift. DRAMA!
The transcript for the trial of debased CEO, Allen Stanford with all the double cross, back-stabbing, “don’t blame me, blame him” speeches is reading more like the script for an episode of Spartacus than anything to do with finances.
In the most recent sitting of the court in the case of the U.S. v. Stanford a former manager claims that the day to day running of the Stanford Financial Group was handled by former CFO James M. Davis (now turned stool-pigeon for the prosecution). Continue Reading →
Turn up the SUN!!
Some Jamaicans may be smiling more soon. It appears that after doing some work in the region Solamon Energy Corporation is still passionate about facilitating and encouraging the use of solar power across a wide range of countries.
The foreign based group yesterday announced through its CEO Graeme Boyce that “the company has signed a strategic Joint Venture Agreement with Canada Green ESCO.” The executives of both companies “will now work together closely to ensure a turnkey financing solution for each country is achieved as expeditiously as possible.” Continue Reading →
A promise is a comfort to a fool...
Don’t be fooled by short, juicy media headlines like “JPS plans to lower electricity cost” – read the whole long story (and all the updates). If you do, you will see that the big, loving promise, may simply be fleeting comfort.
As more news trickles out concerning the bases of JPS’s plan, a lot more is being put in perspective.
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), says light bills could be cut by 30 to 40 per cent, if the Government delivers on the much-touted LNG project. Continue Reading →
Haitians queue for food distributed by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
The world responded when the most devastating earthquake in modern history killed over 220,000 Haitians, and injured a further 300,000. However, according to Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, the inefficient disbursement and distribution of aid has crippled the nation’s ability to recover as it should.
The Office of the UN Special Envoy to Haiti said only 53 per cent of the 4.5 billion US dollars pledged by donors has been disbursed. Continue Reading →
NWU in for the fight!
The members of the National Workers Union have taken up arms against their employers the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) over their pension benefits. The matter is “to be resolved” but it certainly is still not settled.
The NWU is taking issue with plans by the company to change its pension scheme. According to the union, among the changes proposed by the JPS management is a reduction of benefits. Continue Reading →
There are lessons! | Photo by Enokson
Caribbean nations must widen their contact base, build new relationships, and nurture friendships with unfamiliar nations in good times because after the recession England, the US (and all the large nations we used to depend on) will have to focus on themselves.
That paragraph is a pretty crude summary of a Stabroek editorial Global economic difficulties and ourselves. Read the full thing, as they highlight how countries like Brazil are carving out new markets for themselves and what we can learn about how we ought to adjust. Here is a critical paragraph. Continue Reading →
by garryknight
If Grace Kennedy has its way, in the next 8 years it will increase its profits outside Jamaica by a whopping 30 percent. Talk about ambition! big picture – it would mean that in 2020 Grace’s profits outside Jamaica would be an enviable 50 per cent , instead of the current 20 per cent per year.
Now that deserves a round of applause.
According to Grace Group CEO Don Wehby, “one of the first big steps taken towards becoming a global consumer group was a US$50-million investment in a United Kingdom-based company WT Foods.” The company has since been renamed GK UK, and currently exports Grace products to Germany.
Additionally, Grace Kennedy’s popular Tropical Rhythms drinks, which are manufactured here in Jamaica, are exported to Ghana in West Africa, where, according to Wehby, they are in very high demand.
Wehby added that to become the serious global consumer group it envisions, it will have to “commit to investing in manufacturing in Jamaica because that has to be the base.” Another round of applause.
by jhecking
Throw it all into a big inferno! Let it blaze, because that is exactly what we seem intent on doing when it comes to the issue of how energy is consumed in Jamaica.
The ever humorous and insightful Din Duggan discuss the incredible paradox of how a poor nation like Jamaica disregards the issue of energy conservation in his article The hungry-belly, energy-wasting beast.
This is baffling. As The Economist reported, “The only by-product of energy efficiency is wealth, in the form of lower fuel bills and less spending on power stations … .” Even our own National Energy Policy finds that simply implementing an energy-conservation plan would substantially reduce our energy demand – saving us a whopping $48 billion per year by 2020. Continue Reading →
by dpmshap
Attention please! Michael Lee Chin will be looking to employ some strong, sturdy and robust men and women to carry the bags of money his company will most definitely make when they list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in the next 3 months.
There is no real reason why Advantage General Insurance, the supreme leader in the insurance market, should not make the J$450-J$650 million it desires to raise from its initial public offering of shares to the public. Continue Reading →
by Jorge Quinteros
According to a report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA) – the world’s largest market Research Group – more and more people across the world will be opting to vacation by way of cruises in the near future. This of course is a big deal for Caribbean nations, among of the most popular, most sought after cruise destinations in the world. Continue Reading →
by Toni Blay
If there is ever a time to shout, dance and pop champagne, it is probably when you post a whopping 55 percent increase in (before tax) profits.
Securities Dealers Barita Investments Limited posted $80 million in (before tax) profits for the quarter ending December 2011, a major increase over the $44 million recorded for the corresponding period in 2010.
The details are quite interesting. For example, they spent more on advertising and staff, to increase their visibility and improve staff efficiency and capacity. They were also hit $7 million hard by the European crisis.
Still they made it out. Check out the details….
by Vectorportal
At half-time things were hardly settled for the team over at the Caribbean Producers Jamaica Ltd (CPJ), having suffered fall-off in profits for the first three months of their financial year.
Not to be outdone, the team came back fighting and has reported a phenomenal performance for the last six months of the year (ended December 2011).
Despite the first quarter losses, CPJ’s net profits increased by a magnificent 63 per cent to almost US$832 thousand, from US$510 thousand during the same period in 2010.
CPJ also announced plans to build a J$80 million, 7,800 square feet two-storey retail shopping and dining complex from which they project earnings of J$300 million annually.
by myukewie
Trini hot! hot! hot! Yes, Trinidad and Tobago continues to be one of the major players in the energy market as BPTT secured a staggering US$1.1 Billion for 2012.
BPTT Regional President Norman Christie said on Monday that Trinidad and Tobago assets remain competitive in the BP portfolio, resulting in continuing investments and its recent successful bids for two deepwater blocks in the Atlantic. Continue Reading →
by HeyThereSpaceman.
The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AmCham) is one of those organizations you don’t usually expect to hear much from about on the state of the (local) economy, but when the T&T Government revealed its 2011 – 2012 budgetary expense sheet the group lost it! (Alright, that’s a bit extreme, but they really weren’t happy).
The budget for 2011 to 2012 represented our largest budget expenditure to date, of which $7.6 billion was deficit financing. The Government has subsequently gone back to Parliament to ask for an additional $2.2 billion. Continue Reading →
by marsmet543
How do you leverage human relationships, camaraderie and community with the aim of making your business better, your product more known, and your reach more profitable? Christa Carone, CMO of Xerox has much to say in her article, “A Caribbean Perspective On The Super Bowl: Big Marketers Can Learn From Island Entrepreneurs.”
Carone writes of her Super Bowl experience in the Caribbean and about how local marketers use community as a means of boosting their impact. Continue Reading →
by moostive
According to the Director General, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, Jamaica spends approximately five to seven percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on fighting crime.
The shocking revelation is apparently the reason behind the PIOJ’s Community Renewal Programme (CRP), a private-sector initiative in crime sore communities (which apparently eats up the bulk of the 5-7 percent of GDP). Continue Reading →
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