Jamaica Gleaner Business
Published: Monday Friday | May 22, 2009
Jason Abrahams leads telecoms consortium - Seeks to partner on Cuba/Venezuela fibre optic line
A group of Jamaican investors, led by Florida-based investment banker Jason Abrahams, has joined the mix of players hoping to partner a Venezuela/Cuban consortium that is on track for a licence to operate a US$70 million fibre optic cable to carry telecommunications... Read More...
UDC identifies buyer for old Forum hotel
The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) says it has identified a buyer for the Forum hotel property, which for years has been described as a white elephant, and has stood vacant and unused. The property, which sits beyond the town centre ... Read More...
GK board wants autonomy over stock option plan
GraceKennedy Limited has circulated a resolution among shareholders that, if approved, at next week's annual general meeting will give the company final say over the stock option plan for senior staff and directors. The conglomerate wants to end the practice... Read More...
Captain Errol Stewart - Flying in the face of hard times
Captain Errol Stewart credits his eight years at the helm of the Caribbean Aviation Training Centre (CATC) and Cessna Pilot centre with good business decisions and a life-long love of flying, which has seen him through the... Read More...
Food For the Poor defies economic downturn
Food For The Poor Inc, which is ranked among the largest charities worldwide, pulled in close to US$500 million (J$44.5 billion) more in the value of cash and kind donations last year.Income reached US$1.5 billion, but the charity poured out... Read More...
Issa Transport's Audi contract ends
Paul Issa, deputy chairman of the Issa Transport Group (ITG), confirmed this week that his company would no longer be the dealer for luxury Audi in Jamaica once its current contract ends, while at the same time conceding the his company was going... Read More...
BOJ says taxes will spur inflation - But central bank backs IMF path, deficit target
The Jamaican central bank is forecasting that price increases in the June quarter of the current fiscal year could more than triple the 1.3 per cent inflation out-turn for quarter ended March, fuelled in large measure by the impact of the more than $18 billion... Read More...
BOJ stands by currency policy
But willing to dialogueThe Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is not closing the door on making changes to its existing 40-year-old currency policy, which determines when new notes are issued and who adorns them. Governor Derick Latibeaudiere, while defending ... Read More...
Profit down at RBTT - Salaries add half a billion to costs
RBTT Bank Jamaica Limited doled out a half a billion dollars more in salaries last year, including a one-off cost of $150.45 million to staff that 'voluntarily separated' from the company and millions more under a profit-sharing scheme... Read More...
RBTT/RBC opens Port-of-Spain headquarters
A new Port-of-Spain headquarters will become the nucleus for RBC's Caribbean network, spanning The Bahamas in the north to Suriname in the south, when the integration with RBTT is complete, the banking group said in a statement Wednesday.... Read More...
Looming shutdown of luxury resort a 'tremendous challenge'
Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said Monday the looming shutdown of a sprawling luxury resort poses a "tremendous challenge" to the tourism-dependent economy of Exuma, a central Bahamian district made up of scores of small islands... Read More...
READERS RESPOND - Dollarisation, fixed rate debate
THE EDITOR, Sir, In the context of the laws of supply and demand, I don't think there is any merit in support for the float of our dollar as recently advocated by Dr Adrian Stokes.There must either be dollarisation or fixed... Read More...
Digicel, GTTC reach agreement on texting
Two rival cellphone carriers have reached an agreement that allows their clients to exchange text messages, ending a year-long dispute.Digicel and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company said Saturday that their clients can start text-messaging each... Read More...
Analysis - Mistake to ignore calming effect of medium-term targets
The signals being sent by the Bruce Golding administration is that things are not going to be too bad during the current fiscal year, even though there will be a general slowing down of the overall economy.... Read More...
Commentary - J$2 = US$1! Absurd, absolutely outrageous!
I awoke from a dream. The news was: dollar appreciates to the unprecedented level of J$2 to US$1. Was I transported back to 1962? Even so, I was at that time in high school at the Queens College in Guyana - couldn't care less about the Jamaican dollar... Read More...
Jamaica to seek own 'bauxite salvation'
Jamaica is becoming increasingly concerned about the potential for its bauxite/alumina sector to recover from the current downturn, with Prime Minister Bruce Golding now saying it will take new investment and potentially new ownership... Read More...
National economy hits $1 trillion mark at current prices - But real GDP assessed at $500 billion
Jamaica's gross domestic product, for the first time, has topped the $1 trillion mark, under the revised model that statisticians now use to measure the size of the economy.But that's at current market prices - formerly referred to as 'purchasers' value'... Read More...
