It is regrettable that at a time when the country is going through such a crisis, Standard and Poor's, the United States credit-rating agency is hell-bent on creating more confusion within our society. Recently, it downgraded the country's credit rating to CCC+ and followed with a downgrading of the National Commercial Bank (NCB)from BBB+ to B+.

Not only am I confused at the timing of this report, I am also upset at the suggestion that negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a clear sign of default and mismanagement, bearing in mind that we have had prior financial dealings with the fund.

Monetary policy

With respect to the NCB situation, I believe that the reasons for this must be attributed to the monetary policy of the central bank. It is a reckless idea to have in place a policy of high interest rate, which eventually led to an increase in both the legal reserve requirement and the discount rate as imposed on financial institutions.

The last thing we need to have is the Government bailing out the second-largest financial institution in our country. Not only would this be a catastrophe, it would also affect every sector of the economy. In going forward, let me hope that the central bank will make the immediate necessary corrections because, as my grandmother used to say, 'ticka when ticka comes'.

I am, etc.,

Dr Michael Thompson

michthompson@aol.com

11000 W.Okeechobee Blvd

Royal Palm Beach

Fla., USA