CFSC-12.31.2015-10K - SEC.gov | HOME · Title: CFSC-12.31.2015-10K Created Date: 2/12/2016 1:33:00 PM
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DATE COUNTRY
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REGIONAL
Trinidad and Tobago
Hold On Job Cuts
GOVERNMENT has agreed to a moratorium on State sector retrenchments
until December 2017.
CLF shareholders shut out of petition
SHAREHOLDERS of CL Financial (CLF) who are opposed to the
conglomerate being liquidated and who are willing to repay $15B owed
to Government, have been shut out of the State’s winding-up petition in
the High Court.
Barbados
Worsening poverty
A new study shows that the level of poverty in Barbados has risen over the
past seven years with more and more Barbadians, especially women,
becoming trapped below the line.
Jamaica
Bank of Jamaica to call in one, 10, 25 cent coins
Cabinet has approved a proposal to withdraw the one-cent, 10-cent and
25-cent coins from circulation.
UWI to build own LNG power plant
The University of West Indies, Mona (UWI) will set up and operate a 7
megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, which is projected to shave
off up to $350 million annually from the campus' energy costs.
Local 'bully' beef idea is still on the table — Wehby
Group CEO of GraceKennedy Ltd Don Wehby has called for a revisit of
Jamaica's cattle rearing agriculture programme on completion of a
feasibility study by the local conglomerate for the manufacturing of
tinned corned beef in Westmoreland.
Jamaica Cont’d
World Bank group executive directors to visit Jamaica
Eleven members of the World Bank Group board of executive directors will
pay a two-day visit to Jamaica from tomorrow, September 14 to Saturday,
September 16.
The Bahamas
‘Realities So Grim’ If No Action On Moody’S
The Government is “almost compelled” to improve the Bahamas’ fiscal
and economic performance, a top insurer said yesterday, because “the
realities are so grim” if it fails.
Minister: Tourism ‘Dodged A Major Bullet’ With Irma
The Minister of Tourism yesterday said the Bahamas’ main industry had
“dodged a big bullet” from Hurricane Irma, and should be able to
rebound “very quickly”.
Bahamas Gets $234k From Caribbean Disaster Facility
The Bahamas will receive a $234,000 Irma payout from the Caribbean
disaster insurance facility that the Christie administration previously
withdrew from, it was revealed yesterday.
Haiti
Haiti - Economy : The 2017-2018 budget against the interests of the most
vulnerable
Civil society and human rights organizations, signatories to a
memorandum dated September 11, 2017, note with "amazement" that
the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies voted the draft of the 2017-2018
budget law highlighting that "the economists and other experts agree
that this bill will further aggravate the situation of the vulnerable layers and
is part of a dynamic of bad governance."
St. Lucia
St Lucia now regional investment and trade destination
Saint Lucia is now officially one of the destinations in the Caribbean where
a node of the RIM will be located.
Panama
Three banks hit for money laundering flaws
THE STATE-OWNED National Bank is one of three that have been
sanctioned for laxity in applying standards to prevent money
laundering.
Harvey hikes Panama gas prices
PANAMA motorists will feel the delayed effects of Hurricane Harvey from
Friday, Sep. 15 as gasoline record their biggest price jump in years.
The Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic pension fund ‘running a huge risk’
Santo Domingo.- “Pension fund running a huge risk in the Dominican
Republic,” former National Business Council (CONEP), president Rafael
Blanco warned Wed., noting that the danger lies in the fact that the sum
is expressed only in Dominican pesos.
Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua-Barbuda PM and tourism minister and families give EC$640,000 for
Barbuda relief and rebuilding
ST JOHN’S, Antigua — In extraordinary gestures of generosity, Prime
Minister Gaston Browne and tourism and energy minister Asot Michael
have pledged and delivered EC$640,000 (US$237,000) for the Barbuda
relief and rebuilding fund.
Other Regional
Irma costing LIAT millions
HURRICANE IRMA will cost LIAT millions of dollars in financial losses.
INTERNATIONAL
United States
Renewed U.S. debt ceiling wrangle may have negative rating impact:
Fitch
Another prolonged bout of wrangling over the debt ceiling in the United
States could prompt Fitch to review the country’s AAA credit rating with
“potentially negative implications”, the agency said on Thursday.
Futures flat ahead of key inflation data
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of key
inflation data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s decision on the
timing of another interest rate hike this year.
Higher gasoline prices boost U.S. producer inflation
U.S. producer prices rebounded in August, driven by a surge in the cost of
gasoline, and there were also signs of a pickup in underlying producer
inflation.
Hurricane Harvey to make mild dent in U.S. economic growth: Reuters poll
U.S. economic growth will take a mild hit in the current quarter from
Hurricane Harvey that slammed into Texas, but the outlook for the coming
year remained steady in the latest Reuters poll, suggesting lost output will
likely be recouped.
U.S. jobless claims fall, but impacted by Harvey and Irma
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly
fell last week, but the data was impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma,
making it difficult to get a clear pulse of the labor market.
United Kingdom
Sterling jumps as Bank of England warns of likely rate rise in "coming
months"
Britain’s pound jumped by over a cent against the dollar on Thursday and
gilt yields also rose, after the Bank of England warned interest rates were
likely to rise for the first time in more than a decade in the “coming
months”.
Europe
Britain not at back of queue for EU trade deal: Commissioner
A trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain is a priority for the European
Union and the United Kingdom will not have to wait in line behind others
for talks to start, a senior European Commissioner said on Thursday.
German bond yields edge back from 3-1/2-week high as supply abates
Germany’s 10-year bond yield edged off 3-1/2 week highs on Thursday as
heavy upward pressure on euro zone bond yields from supply abated.
China
China’s economy losing some steam as investment growth hits 18-year
low
China posted a rare flurry of disappointing data on Thursday -- including
its slowest growth in investment in nearly 18 years -- suggesting the world’s
second-largest economy is finally starting to lose some momentum as
borrowing costs rise.
China says 'irrational' outbound investment curbed; Jan-Aug slumps
China’s outbound non-financial investment (ODI) slumped 41.8 percent in
January-August from a year earlier, as authorities kept a tight grip on
outflows for what they call “irrational” overseas projects.
Japan
Japan stocks edge lower, weak China data, North Korea risks weigh
Japanese stocks edged lower in choppy trade on Thursday and snapped
a three-day winning streak, as weak Chinese economic data offset early
gains when the broader Topix index hit the highest level in more than two
years.
Global
Oil rises on stronger demand, supply restrictions
Oil prices rose on Thursday, building on recent gains after forecasts for
stronger oil demand by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Global Cont’d
Global accounting body steps up attack on 'data dump' company
statements
Companies should produce more concise and crisper financial
statements and annual reports, cutting out unnecessary “boilerplate” and
“data dump” material, a global accounting body said on Thursday.
Weak China data knocks global stocks off record highs
World stock prices pulled back from record highs after weaker-than-
expected Chinese economic data, while sterling held steady before a
Bank of England rate decision later on Thursday.
Renewed U.S. debt ceiling wrangle may have negative rating impact:
Fitch Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Another prolonged bout of wrangling over the debt ceiling in the United
States could prompt Fitch to review the country’s AAA credit rating with
“potentially negative implications”, the agency said on Thursday.
Fitch assigns a stable outlook to its U.S. rating.
The United States managed to avert a threatened government shutdown
recently when Congress approved extending the government’s debt limit
for three months after President Donald Trump struck a deal with
Democratic congressional leaders.
Congress and the White House now face a Dec. 8 deadline on the debt
limit and government spending.
Edward Parker, a Managing Director at Fitch Ratings, said the debt ceiling
would be back on the agenda fairly soon, possibly around February or
March, which were typically months of large negative cash flows from the
U.S. Treasury.
“If we do get back down to the wire, with the debt ceiling not being
raised or suspended when the Treasury is running out of money, then we
would review the U.S. rating with potentially negative implications,” he
told Reuters on the sidelines of a Fitch sovereign ratings conference in
London.
(Reporting by Claire Milhench; editing by Sujata Rao)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Futures flat ahead of key inflation data Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday ahead of key
inflation data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s decision on the
timing of another interest rate hike this year.
A Labor Department report is likely to show core consumer price index
(CPI), which excludes food and energy, inched up 0.2 percent in August,
slightly more than in July.
Still, the 12-month core CPI is likely to have fallen to 1.6 percent from 1.7
percent. Both consumer prices and personal consumption expenditures,
the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, remain stuck below its 2-percent
target.
Another report, also due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT), is likely to show jobless
claims jumped by 2,000 to 300,000 last week.
In the prior week, claims swelled 62,000 to a two-year high due to a surge
in applications after the hurricane in Texas, but the underlying trend
remained consistent with a firming jobs market.
Despite the tightening labor market, inflation remains tame posing a
conundrum for the central bank as it contemplates tightening monetary
policy further.
The consumer price inflation data is the last to be released before the
Fed’s Sept. 19-20 policy meeting, where it is expected to outline a
program to start offloading its $4.2 trillion balance sheet.
Wall Street edged up to a record high on Wednesday as gains in
consumer discretionary and energy stocks offset losses in technology
heavyweight Apple (AAPL.O), which fell on concerns of its new iPhone X.
Shares of Tenet Healthcare (THC.N) jumped 13 percent in premarket
trading after Reuters reported the hospital operator was exploring
strategic alternatives, including a sale.
Pfizer (PFE.N) rose 1.40 percent after the company and Astellas Pharma
(4503.T) said their prostate cancer drug met the main goal in a late-stage
trial.
Hertz Global (HTZ.N) dropped 4.7 percent after Morgan Stanley
downgraded the car rental company’s stock.
Futures snapshot at 7:02 a.m. ET:
Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 5 points, or 0.02 percent, with 4,312
contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 1 points, or 0.04 percent, with 40,685
contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 5.75 points, or 0.1 percent, on
volume of 3,737 contracts.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Higher gasoline prices boost U.S. producer inflation Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
U.S. producer prices rebounded in August, driven by a surge in the cost of
gasoline, and there were also signs of a pickup in underlying producer
inflation.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for
final demand increased 0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent
in July. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 2.4 percent after
advancing 1.9 percent in July.
Economists said the uptick in producer prices was unlikely to assuage
Federal Reserve policymakers’ concerns about low inflation as the
increase was largely due to a 9.5 percent increase in the cost of gas. That
was the largest rise since January and followed a 1.4 percent decline in
July.
Though gas prices could rise further in September in the wake of Hurricane
Harvey, which disrupted oil refinery production in Texas, a reversal was
expected because of ample crude supplies.
“Energy price gains, which will likely dominate the September inflation
reports in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, will likely be
viewed as having a temporary impact on inflation by the Fed,” said John
Ryding, Chief Economist at RDQ Economics in New York.
Economists had forecast the PPI gaining 0.3 percent last month and
accelerating 2.5 percent from a year ago.
A key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food,
energy and trade services rose 0.2 percent last month after being
unchanged in July. The so-called core PPI increased 1.9 percent in the 12
months through August after a similar gain in July.
Prices of U.S. Treasuries were trading lower, while the dollar rose against a
basket of currencies. U.S. stock indexes were little changed after hitting
record highs on Tuesday.
EYES ON INFLATION
Inflation is being closely watched for clues on the timing of the next Fed
interest rate increase. Economists expect the U.S. central bank will
announce a plan to start reducing its $4.2 trillion portfolio of Treasury
bonds and mortgage-backed securities at its Sept. 19-20 policy meeting.
The Fed is expected to delay raising rates until December.
August’s consumer inflation report scheduled for release on Thursday is
expected to show gasoline prices helped push up the Consumer Price
Index by 0.3 percent after a 0.1 percent rise in July, according to a
Reuters survey of economists.
Last month’s increase in the PPI is unlikely to translate into a similar gain in
the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption
expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy.
The annual increase in the core PCE has consistently undershot the central
bank’s 2 percent inflation target since mid-2012. The core PCE rose 1.4
percent in July, the smallest year-on-year increase since December 2015.
The cost of food fell 1.3 percent as wheat prices recorded their biggest
drop since April 2008. The decrease in food prices last month was the
largest since February 2015 and followed an unchanged reading in July.
There were also declines in the prices of fresh vegetables, fruits and meat.
Core goods prices rose 0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in
July. The cost of services edged up 0.1 percent after falling 0.2 percent in
July. A 1.7 percent surge in the cost of consumer loans accounted for
more than half of the increase in the price of services last month. The cost
of healthcare services increased 0.3 percent after a similar gain in July.
“This morning’s producer price gains for August are a step in the right
direction,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at the Bank of the West in
San Francisco. “However, they are not yet quite as strong or as broad-
based as the Federal Reserve would like to see to help push core
consumer price inflation back up to the Fed’s 2 percent target.”
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Hurricane Harvey to make mild dent in U.S. economic growth: Reuters poll Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
U.S. economic growth will take a mild hit in the current quarter from
Hurricane Harvey that slammed into Texas, but the outlook for the coming
year remained steady in the latest Reuters poll, suggesting lost output will
likely be recouped.
Harvey was the most powerful storm to hit Texas in more than 50 years,
killing over 60 people and displacing more than 1 million citizens. It also
forced a temporary closure of refineries and the governor of Texas said
the damage was around $180 billion.
Asked about the impact of Hurricane Harvey on economic growth in the
current quarter, the median forecast from 48 economists who answered
an extra question was for a 0.3 percentage point hit to seasonally-
adjusted annualized growth.
But the impact was expected to be short-lived according to economists,
who responded to the survey Sept 7-12 before and as another powerful
storm, Hurricane Irma, ripped through the Caribbean and then Florida,
killing more than 60, displacing and leaving millions of households without
power.
Previously, major hurricanes like Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012 had
cost more than half of the GDP growth rate for the respective quarters the
storms hit.
But data following those storms also suggest that the U.S. economy was
able to add solid job numbers and bounce back from government
reconstruction efforts.
“A storm of this magnitude is likely to have negative near-term effects on
nationwide economic data. If flooding remains disruptive for several
weeks, we would expect a drag on non-farm payrolls, but the historical
experience here is mixed,” said James Sweeney, chief economist at
Credit Suisse.
“The effect on GDP is even more ambiguous, since many costs of dealing
with the storm actually boost growth, offsetting some of the lost income
and output.”
President Donald Trump’s administration struck a deal with Democrats that
includes $15.25 billion in aid for areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and
other natural disasters.
Still, the range of forecasts suggests not everyone is convinced of just a
mild dent in growth.
“Hurricane Harvey could pose a sizeable drag, given the presence of
high-value-added energy sectors in the Gulf Coast region and the timing
of the storm’s landfall,” wrote Michael Gapen, Chief U.S. Economist at
Barclays, in a note to clients.
Barclays predicted a 1.0 to 1.5 percentage point hit, which was the most
pessimistic call in the poll.
Despite that, the latest Reuters poll consensus was for the U.S. economy to
expand an annualized 2.6 percent in this quarter and 2.5 percent in the
next.
That was up a bit from the previous predictions of 2.5 and 2.4 percent for
the respective quarters in the August poll as economists had already
begun upgrading their growth forecasts for the current quarter before
Hurricane Harvey struck.
But inflation expectations have been lowered slightly from the previous
month, with the core PCE price index - the Federal Reserve’s preferred
measure of inflation - not expected to reach the central bank’s 2 percent
target at least until 2019.
The consensus is for core PCE inflation to average 1.4-1.9 percent in each
quarters from the current through the end of next year. In the August poll,
the predictions were for it to average 1.5-2.0 percent.
Still, the Fed is widely expected to announce steps at its meeting next
week to start shrinking its balance sheet, worth over $4 trillion.
The survey of nearly 100 economists showed the central bank is expected
to raise the federal funds rate once more in the final three months of this
year, to 1.25-1.50 percent.
But 44 of 73 economists who answered an extra question said their
conviction for another Fed rate hike this year has decreased. The
remaining 29 said it had stayed the same.
“We still have a December rate hike call, but recent developments are
making the path to a December rate hike narrower,” said Sam Bullard,
senior economist at Wells Fargo.
That lack of confidence amongst poll participants is mainly driven by the
divide among Fed policymakers on the outlook for inflation and future
interest rate hikes.
(Polling by Sarmista sen and Vartika Sahu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Oil rises on stronger demand, supply restrictions Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Oil prices rose on Thursday, building on recent gains after forecasts for
stronger oil demand by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Brent crude LCOc1 was up 40 cents at $55.56 a barrel by 1100 GMT,
having risen by 89 cents, or 1.6 percent, on Wednesday. U.S. light crude
CLc1 was up 40 cents at $49.70 after a 2.2 percent gain in the previous
session.
Brent has now climbed by more than $10 a barrel over the past three
months and is close to where it was at the beginning of the year, trading
between about $55 and $57.
“By breaking $55 a barrel, Brent is moving back to the price range of
January/February,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at energy markets
consultancy Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
Wednesday’s gains followed an IEA report that raised its estimate of 2017
world oil demand growth to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.5
million bpd.
The IEA said that a global oil surplus was shrinking thanks to strong
European and U.S. demand as well as production declines in OPEC and
non-OPEC countries.
“Stronger demand and supply restrictions from OPEC and Russia are the
main reasons for the oil price upsurge,” said Forex.com analyst Fawad
Razaqzada.
Barclays Research said in a research note that the supply side of the
equation was beginning to look promising,
“Unrest in Iraq and Venezuela should keep output there in check, regional
crude oil contangos have dissipated and stocks are gradually declining,”
it said.
Barclays added that a softer market balance is expected next year,
which should ensure that the OPEC-led production deal remains in place
beyond March.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other
producers, including Russia, have agreed to reduce crude output by
about 1.8 million bpd until next March in an attempt to support prices.
This week’s gains came despite data showing a big build in U.S. crude
inventories after Hurricane Harvey.
Data from the Energy Information Administration shows a build in U.S.
crude inventories last week of 5.9 million barrels, exceeding expectations.
U.S. gasoline stocks slumped by 8.4 million barrels, the largest weekly
decline since the data was first recorded in 1990. U.S. gasoline futures
RBc1 extended declines on Thursday, with demand expected to slip
because of the impact of Hurricane Irma on Florida and Georgia.
U.S. distillate stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels.
(Additional reporting by Aaron; Sheldrick and Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo;
Editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Sterling jumps as Bank of England warns of likely rate rise in "coming
months" Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Britain’s pound jumped by over a cent against the dollar on Thursday and
gilt yields also rose, after the Bank of England warned interest rates were
likely to rise for the first time in more than a decade in the “coming
months”.
Sterling initially dipped on the decision, as markets reacted to the fact
that only two BoE policymakers had voted for an immediate rate hike.
There had been talk before the decision that another rate-setter could
shift to that more hawkish camp. But sterling reversed course to turn higher
on the day as investors digested the Bank’s statement.
Policymakers said a rate rise was likely to be needed in the coming
months if the economy keeps growing and inflationary pressures continue
to build, saying their tolerance for above-target inflation was lessening. All
of them thought rates could rise faster than financial markets expect.
After dipping to $1.3148 initially, sterling jumped to the day’s high of
$1.3314, up over a cent from where it had been trading before the
release of the policy decision and leaving it up 0.8 percent on the day.
That was close to a one-year high of $1.3329 hit on Wednesday.
Against the euro, the pound gained 0.6 percent on the day to hit 89.25
pence, its strongest since July 27. British government bonds sold off. The
10-year gilt yield rose over 3 basis points to 1.179 percent, the highest level
in over five weeks. Gilt futures were down 33 ticks at 125.75, having traded
at 126.17 just before the rate decision.
The two-year gilt yield was on course for its biggest weekly rise in over two
years, after rising 18 basis points since Monday.
Britain’s FTSE 100 turned sharply lower after the policy decision. It was last
down 0.6 percent while mid-caps pared earlier gains, up 0.1 percent.
Banking stocks also fell 0.4 percent.
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Helen Reid and Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by
Nigel Stephenson)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Global accounting body steps up attack on 'data dump' company
statements Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Companies should produce more concise and crisper financial
statements and annual reports, cutting out unnecessary “boilerplate” and
“data dump” material, a global accounting body said on Thursday.
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published guidance
to encourage more selective judgments about relevant information in
such statements.
IASB Vice Chairman Sue Lloyd said there was too much clutter as
companies and their auditors cover themselves by including every detail,
rather than stepping back and saying what really matters for investors and
leaving out the rest.
Auditors in over 100 countries, including the European Union, apply IASB
standards. Judgments can relate to core issues like recognizing losses or
gains, and measuring them.
The guidance sets out a four-step process to identify, assess, organize and
review whether a piece of information is material.
“If I am a bank, do people really care about my property, plant and
equipment in the scheme of things?” Lloyd said.
“If that’s how you think about it then the result is you just end up with
pages and pages of stuff that’s not really relevant at all to investors. You
have to wade through the morass to find the stuff that really matters for
them.”
The IASB hopes that statements and annual reports will become more
concise.
It wants a “behavioral change” among companies, auditors and even
regulators, some of whom put pressure on firms to include every piece of
information in statements, Lloyd added.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Keith Weir)
<< Back to news headlines >>
China’s economy losing some steam as investment growth hits 18-year
low Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
China posted a rare flurry of disappointing data on Thursday -- including
its slowest growth in investment in nearly 18 years -- suggesting the world’s
second-largest economy is finally starting to lose some momentum as
borrowing costs rise.
Factory output and retail sales also grew less than anticipated, though a
rebound in property sales and construction starts is likely to keep China’s
overall growth relatively robust and comfortably on target ahead of a key
leadership reshuffle next month.
“I think the risk (for China) isn’t in the next couple of months but rather the
next couple of years,” said Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard.
“Progress on key structural reforms that really matter, such as boosting the
performance of state-owned enterprises, has been quite slow and the
structural drags on growth remain quite strong and are real risks.”
Analysts had widely expected China’s August data to show industrial
output and retail sales growth had accelerated after fading slightly in July,
while investment was seen as only marginally softer.
That would have fit into a pattern of stronger-than-expected readings
from China in the first half of the year and upbeat surveys on August
factory activity.
A year-long, government-led construction boom has lifted demand and
prices for everything from cement to steel to glass, helping offset an
expected drag from property cooling measures and a regulatory
crackdown on riskier types of financing.
But August’s data suggested the strong boost from Beijing’s infrastructure
building spree may be starting to fade.
Fixed-asset investment, a key growth driver for the world’s second-largest
economy, grew 7.8 percent in January-August from a year earlier, the
weakest pace since December 1999 and cooling from 8.3 percent in
January-July.
The main drag appeared to be a slowdown in infrastructure investment
due to a significant drop-off in government fiscal spending over the past
two months, analysts said.
China frontloaded fiscal spending this year to produce rosy growth ahead
of the once-in-five-years Communist Party Congress next month, Evans-
Pritchard said. But local governments are constrained by annual budgets
and have had to pare back spending in the second half of this year, he
added.
That likely had a knock-on effect on industrial output, which rose 6.0
percent in August on-year, the weakest pace in nine months, statistics
bureau data showed.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted output would grow 6.6 percent
in August, up from 6.4 percent in July.
The statistics bureau said unusually hot and wet weather weighed on
industrial output last month, adding that the economy remained on a
steady, improving trend. On a monthly basis, output rose nearly half a
percent.
China’s crackdown on pollution may have also dented industrial output,
as Beijing looks to close older, smog-belching mines and factories, said Nie
Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai.
Still, economists at Nomura maintained their view that the economy
would expand 6.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, easing
only slightly from 6.9 percent in the first half.
An employee waits for customers at Sun Art Retail Group's Auchan
hypermarket store in Beijing, China, November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Kim
Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
That would keep China on track to easily beat the government’s full-year
growth target of around 6.5 percent, even if there is some further
softening late in the year.
PROPERTY
Overall investment may have softened further if not for an unexpected
rebound in the property market, which directly affects 40 other business
sectors in China.
Despite a series of government curbs which have largely succeeded in
cooling red-hot housing prices, activity in the property market snapped
back in August, possibly as developers turn their focus to smaller cities with
fewer restrictions.
Property investment, which mainly focuses on residential real estate but
also includes commercial and office space, grew 7.8 percent in August
on-year, versus 4.8 percent in July, according to Reuters calculations from
Thursday’s data.
New construction starts measured by floor area, a telling indicator of
developers’ confidence, were up 5.3 percent after contracting in July for
the first time since last September.
Growth of private investment slowed to 6.4 percent in January-August
from 6.9 percent in the first seven months of the year, suggesting small-
and medium-sized private firms still face challenges in accessing
investment-finance.
Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in
China.
RETAIL SALES ALSO MISS
Retail sales also confounded market expectations, rising 10.1 percent in
August on-year, the slowest pace in six months and cooling from 10.4
percent in July. Analysts had expected a slight pick-up in demand.
Again, however, sales rose at a decent clip from a month earlier, and
shoppers are expected to throng the stores and online sites as usual in
October over the long Golden Week holidays.
Other data for August released last week was mixed, with imports beating
expectations -- pointing to still solid domestic demand, while exports grew
less than expected. Producer and consumer inflation quickened more
than forecast.
Producer prices, particularly for building materials, have surged this year,
giving China’s long-ailing and heavily-indebted industrial sector its best
profits in years. But some analysts said higher prices may also be skewing
the data and exaggerating the strength of its economic recovery.
Foreign investment in China has remained tepid, though a sharp rebound
in the yuan currency may be a game changer if sustained.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell 0.2 percent in the first eight
months of 2017 from a year earlier to 547.94 billion yuan (63.38 billion
pounds), Commerce Ministry data showed. But for August alone, it rose
9.1 percent.
China’s outbound non-financial investment (ODI) slumped 41.8 percent in
January-August from a year earlier as authorities continued to crack
down on speculative outflows and “irrational” overseas asset purchases
which had pressured the yuan.
Some acquisitive and high-profile Chinese firms have had to scrap plans
for global acquisitions in recent months.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Lusha Zhang; Additional reporting by Yawen
Chen; Writing by Sue-Lin Wong; Editing by Kim Coghill)
<< Back to news headlines >>
China says 'irrational' outbound investment curbed; Jan-Aug slumps Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
China’s outbound non-financial investment (ODI) slumped 41.8 percent in
January-August from a year earlier, as authorities kept a tight grip on
outflows for what they call “irrational” overseas projects.
The grip is part of efforts to curb speculative capital outflows that had
pressured the yuan currency.
For August, ODI declined 24.8 percent from a year earlier to $11.52 billion,
Reuters calculated from official data. The Ministry of Commerce, which on
Thursday released data on the first eight months of the year, did not give
a figure for August alone.
“Irrational” overseas investment has been effectively curbed, the ministry
said. China’s state council said in August that China will limit overseas
investment in property, hotels, entertainment, sports clubs and film
industries.
Dalian Wanda Group said last month that it had scrapped plans to buy
Nine Elms Square in London, the latest setback for the Chinese
conglomerate, and one connected with Beijing’s tight controls on
overseas investment.
At least two of HNA Group’s overseas deals have hit a hurdle as the
Chinese conglomerate struggles to take money out of China amid a
crackdown by Beijing on capital outflows to fund acquisitions it sees as
risky, according to four people familiar with the process.
For January-July, ODI had fallen 44.3 percent from a year earlier to $57.2
billion.
ODI that went into 52 countries involved in China’s “Belt and Road”
initiative totalled $8.55 billion in the January-August period, accounting for
12.4 percent of the total, the ministry said.
Capital outflows have eased in recent months in the face of tighter
regulations and the dollar’s retreat. The yuan has surged in recent months,
including a 2.1 percent gain in August, its best month since 1994.
In January-August, foreign direct investment (FDI) into China fell 0.2
percent from a year earlier to 547.94 billion yuan ($83.72 billion), the
ministry added.
FDI in China’s high-tech manufacturing sector rose 15 percent in the first
eight months from a year earlier, while investment in high-tech services
sector grew 21.4 percent, the ministry said.
For August alone, FDI rose 9.1 percent to 62.52 billion yuan. The ministry
reported a 1.2 percent decline for January-July.
China has pledged to further open up its economy to foreign investors,
including allowing investment into previously restricted industries.
The commerce ministry said in August that China has clear advantages in
attracting FDI over the medium and long-term.
($1 = 6.5451 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Elias Glenn and Stella Qiu; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Japan stocks edge lower, weak China data, North Korea risks weigh Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Japanese stocks edged lower in choppy trade on Thursday and snapped
a three-day winning streak, as weak Chinese economic data offset early
gains when the broader Topix index hit the highest level in more than two
years.
Sentiment deteriorated in the afternoon on news that a North Korean
state agency threatened to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and
reduce the United States to “ashes and darkness” for supporting a U.N.
Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test.
The Nikkei share average fell 0.3 percent to 19,807.44, while the broader
Topix also dropped 0.3 percent to 1,632.13. In early deals, the Topix rose
0.3 percent to as high as 1,642.56, the best level since August 2015.
The non-ferrous metal sector was the worst performing sector on Thursday.
Mitsui Mining & Smelting tumbled 5.4 percent and Toho Zinc declined 5.3
percent.
Chinese data released in late morning showed factory output in the
world’s second-biggest economy grew 6.0 percent in August on-year,
while fixed-asset investment expanded 7.8 percent in the first eight
months, both well below economists’ forecasts. China is one of Japan’s
major export markets.
Market participants said since the Nikkei hit a four-month low on Sept. 8,
foreign investors and hedge funds have started covering their short
positions as geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula had ebbed.
But that has changed with the Nikkei recovering and hitting a one-month
high on Wednesday.
“Foreign investors’ short-covering seems to have run its course, while
China’s weak data soured market sentiment,” said Norihiro Fujito, a senior
investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Recent gainers including insurance stocks and some exporters were
among Thursday’s losers.
MS&AD Insurance fell 0.8 percent, Sony Corp dropped 3.5 percent and
Hitachi Ltd shed 1.0 percent.
Meanwhile, Nisshinbo Holdings plumbed 9.8 percent and was the fourth-
most traded stock by turnover as investors sold the stock to take profits
from the sharp rises on the previous day. It jumped 26 percent on
Wednesday after the textile company said it would roll out platinum-free
fuel-cell catalysts, which has the potential to cut the high prices of fuel-
cell cars.
Traders said investors are looking ahead to U.S. consumer inflation data
later in the day for clues on the possible timing of the U.S. Federal
Reserve’s next rate rise.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Gopakumar Warrier)
<< Back to news headlines >>
Britain not at back of queue for EU trade deal: Commissioner Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
A trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain is a priority for the European
Union and the United Kingdom will not have to wait in line behind others
for talks to start, a senior European Commissioner said on Thursday.
“I’ve read papers that sometimes refer to some of us saying that the UK is
the last possible partner with whom we want to negotiate trade. Forget
this nonsense,” Jyrki Katainen, one of six Commission vice presidents at the
EU executive, told a news conference.
The EU has insisted that it will only begin negotiations about future
economic relations with Britain once enough progress has been achieved
on divorce matters, namely the rights of citizens, a payment by Britain to
the EU and on the Northern Ireland border. “As soon as we know when we
can start negotiating about the future arrangement, (trade) negotiations
will start then. There’s no political priority that we want to keep the UK as
the last in the queue,” Katainen said.
The European Union in July struck a preliminary trade deal with Japan and
is aiming to conclude talks with Mexico and the Mercosur countries -
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - by the end of the year.
Further negotiations are underway with a range of countries and regions
across the world and the bloc hopes to start and finish talks with Australia
and New Zealand in the next two years.
Katainen, a former Finnish prime minister whose EU responsibilities are jobs,
growth, investment and competitiveness, said the European Commission
had shown it was capable of holding several trade negotiations at the
same time. “So no need to provoke the situation anymore. It is
complicated enough,” he said.
EU Trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said the Commission, which negotiates
trade deals on behalf of EU countries, had a “fantastic simultaneous
capacity” to negotiation such accords. “Keep calm. Don’t panic,” she
said.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Robin Emmott; Editing by Matthew
Mpoke Bigg)
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German bond yields edge back from 3-1/2-week high as supply abates Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
Germany’s 10-year bond yield edged off 3-1/2 week highs on Thursday as
heavy upward pressure on euro zone bond yields from supply abated.
Government bond yields in Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy and its
benchmark bond issuer, are up 11 basis points from 2-1/2 month lows hit at
the end of last week.
A bond market selloff that began on Friday after a report that European
Central Bank rate-setters agreed last week to start reducing bond
purchases, accelerated this week as markets absorbed more than 15
billion euros of bond issuance from the bloc.
Ireland sold 1 billion euros of bonds on Thursday.
That followed an unexpected 3.5 billion euro sale of 100-year bonds from
Austria earlier this week.
Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have also held bond auctions as
supply from the region picks up after a summer lull.
Investors often sell existing bonds to make way for new ones, putting
upward pressure on bond yields.
“Supply may be easing today but it remains the theme of the week,” said
Rabobank fixed income strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor.
Having risen in early trade, most euro zone bond yields dipped after the
Irish bond auction to trade 1-2 basis points lower on the day.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield dipped 1 bps to 0.40 percent, pulling back
from a 3-1/2 week high around 0.42 percent hit in early trade.
Still, analysts said sentiment remained bearish.
One reason for that is a weakening euro, which could encourage the ECB
to bring forward plans for a withdrawal of its massive bond-buying
stimulus.
The euro has weakened about 1.6 percent from 2-1/2 year highs hit
against the dollar last week.
A slight weakening in the single currency helped lift a key market gauge
of long-term euro zone inflation expectations to a four-month high at 1.63
percent.
“The weaker euro has amplified the headwinds facing the bond market,”
said Rainer Guntermann, a strategist at Commerzbank. “With the euro off
its highs, it is easier for the ECB to taper next year.”
German central bank head Jens Weidmann and ECB Executive Board
Member Yves Mersch are due to speak later in the day.
ECB policymakers need more economic evidence before they decide
whether and how to reduce their monetary stimulus programme, ECB
rate-setter Bostjan Jazbec said on Thursday.
Investors will also be watching a Bank of England meeting and U.S.
inflation data.
(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
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Weak China data knocks global stocks off record highs Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
World stock prices pulled back from record highs after weaker-than-
expected Chinese economic data, while sterling held steady before a
Bank of England rate decision later on Thursday.
Chinese real estate investment picked up last month, but factory output,
fixed asset investment and retail sales in the world’s second-largest
economy all fell short of expectations.
Shares fell in Asia, knocking MSCI’s All-Country World index
.MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 46 countries, off a record high hit
on Wednesday, when Asian shares hit their highest since 2007 and Wall
Street closed at all-time peaks.
European shares opened lower. The pan-European STOXX 600 index
dipped 0.1 percent. Banks were down 0.3 percent .SX7P.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS
edged down 0.1 percent. China stocks .CSI300 fell 0.3 percent and Tokyo's
Nikkei index closed down 0.3 percent as the China numbers weighed on
sentiment.
The main event for European currency traders is likely to be the Bank of
England policy meeting. While no change in rates is expected, investors
will be watching whether there is any shift in the number of rate-setters
voting for a rise after a jump in inflation last month.
Weak wage growth and questions over what Brexit will mean for the
economy suggest most policymakers will see the recent surge in inflation
to well above the BoE’s target as temporary.
Sterling held steady at $1.3208 GBP=D3, having risen as high as $1.3329 on
Wednesday. The pound was also flat at 89.95 pence per euro EURGBP=.
The dollar dipped 0.1 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY,
its recent rally pausing before U.S. inflation data which may affect
investors’ views on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates
for a third time later this year.
The dollar was marginally weaker at 110.48 yen JPY= and the euro inched
down to $1.1882.
The dollar touched a 10-month low of 107.32 yen last week on worries over
Hurricane Irma and North Korea but has rallied this week as U.S. Treasury
yields rose and investor appetite for risk grew.
“We view this dollar move higher as broadly a corrective move and now
the question is how much the dollar can recover before the data,” said
Viraj Patel, an FX strategist at ING in London.
EURO HEADWINDS
The Swiss franc edged lower against the dollar and the euro CHF=
EURCHF= after Switzerland's central bank said its currency was highly
valued and that the situation on the foreign exchange market was still
fragile.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields edged down 0.3 basis points to 2.192 percent
GB10YT=RR.
Their German equivalents, the benchmark for borrowing costs in the euro
zone, hit a 3-1/2-week high just shy of 0.42 percent DE10YT=TWEB.
A weaker euro, which is down 1.7 percent from 2-1/2-year highs hit
against the dollar last week, could encourage the European Central Bank
to bring forward plans to withdraw monetary stimulus that has crushed
euro zone bond yields.
“The weaker euro has amplified the headwinds facing the bond market,”
said Rainer Guntermann, a strategist at Commerzbank. “With the euro off
its highs, it is easier for the ECB to taper next year.” In commodity markets,
copper CMCU3 fell nearly 1 percent to $6,491 a tonne on concerns about
excess supply.
Oil prices held on to most of the gains racked up on Wednesday when
the International Energy Agency forecast stronger global demand. Brent
crude, the international benchmark, was down just nine cents a barrel at
$55.06. Gold XAU= hit its lowest in almost two weeks as the dollar held firm.
The metal fell to as low as $1,318.75 an ounce before rebounding slightly
to $1,323.
(Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo, Saikat Chatterjee and
Dhara Ranasinghe in London; editing by John Stonestreet)
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U.S. jobless claims fall, but impacted by Harvey and Irma Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Reuters
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly
fell last week, but the data was impacted by hurricanes Harvey and Irma,
making it difficult to get a clear pulse of the labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 14,000 to a
seasonally adjusted 284,000 for the week ended Sept. 9, the Labor
Department said on Thursday.
A Labor Department official said hurricanes Harvey and Irma had
impacted on last week’s claims data.
Claims shot up 62,000 in the week ended Sept. 2 after Harvey, which
ravaged Texas, left some workers temporarily unemployed. Claims for
Texas increased 51,683 during that week. Following the initial rush, filings in
the state declined last week.
Irma, which made landfall over the weekend, led to office closures this
week. As a result, the Labor Department estimated claims for Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina and Virgin Islands.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to
300,000 in the latest week. The four-week moving average of claims,
considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-
to-week volatility, rose 13,000 to 263,250 last week, the highest level since
mid-August 2016.
There are fears that disruption caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma
could restrain job growth in September. Texas and Florida account for
about 14 percent of U.S. employment. The economy added 156,000 jobs
last month, with the private services sector hiring the smallest number of
workers in five months.
Thursday’s claims report also showed the number of people still receiving
benefits after an initial week of aid fell 7,000 to 1.94 million in the week
ended Sept. 2. The so-called continuing claims have now been below the
2 million mark for 22 straight weeks, pointing to shrinking labor market
slack.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims slipped 2,500 to 1.95
million, remaining below the 2 million mark for the 20th consecutive week.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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Hold On Job Cuts Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Trinidad and Tobago Express
GOVERNMENT has agreed to a moratorium on State sector retrenchments
until December 2017.
The concession, as well as compromises being reached on a number of
concerns of the labour movement, led yesterday to the unions
announcing a return to the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC).
The moratorium, which the unions had previously failed to get
Government on board with, came out of another meeting yesterday
between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and representatives of the Joint
Trade Union Movement (JTUM), National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) and
the Federation of Independent Trade Union and NGOs (Fitun), among
other labour bodies.
Following over three hours of talks at the Office of the Prime Minister
(OPM) in St Clair, JTUM president Ancel Roget told the media: “The Prime
Minister agreed that his Government will place a moratorium on all
retrenchment until December 31 this year, and on that basis, we agreed
that we should return to NTAC.”
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CLF shareholders shut out of petition Thursday 14th September, 2017 - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
SHAREHOLDERS of CL Financial (CLF) who are opposed to the
conglomerate being liquidated and who are willing to repay $15B owed
to Government, have been shut out of the State’s winding-up petition in
the High Court.
In an oral ruling yesterday, Justice Kevin Ramcharan held that although
there was no dispute that the group DALCO were shareholders of CLF,
DALCO advanced no evidence that it had sufficient interests to be heard
in opposition of the petition.
He further ruled that the shareholders failed to show that the
conglomerate was not insolvent, as claimed by Government and held
that the 13 shareholders which comprise two groups and who in July
abandoned a move to change the composition of the government-
controlled board did not advance evidence that Government had
ulterior motives for seeking to have the company liquidated, other than to
recover over $15 billion owed as part of the 2009 bailout of the then cash-
strapped insurance giant Clico, a subsidiary of CLF.
An appeal of the judge’s decision has already been lodged and a
request for a stay of execution of the ruling was objected to by the State.
The shareholders have been advised to approach the Court of Appeal for
a stay even as hearing of the petition continues this Friday before Justice
Ramcharan.
Additionally, up to yesterday, the shareholders still had not settled their
legal representation. On Monday, hearing of the petition had to be
adjourned when a group of shareholders found itself unrepresented
because legal fees were not paid. Both groups may find themselves
having to pay an additional order for costs, having failed to convince
Justice Ramcharan that they should be heard in opposition of the
winding-up petition being granted.
In July, Ramcharan deemed the hearing of the State’s petition sufficiently
urgent to be heard during the court’s vacation and denied any further
adjournment. On Monday, he ordered that the shareholders pay the
State’s costs for the delay and yesterday reserved his ruling on the
additional order.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Worsening poverty Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Barbados Today
A new study shows that the level of poverty in Barbados has risen over the
past seven years with more and more Barbadians, especially women,
becoming trapped below the line.
The findings of the Barbados Survey of Living Conditions 2016-2017 were
officially released here this morning during a Skype presentation at the
Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The survey, which was carried out among 7,100 Barbadians from 2,500
households in 11 parishes, revealed that 17.5 per cent of the population
was currently living in poverty, up from 15.1 per cent in 2010, when the last
survey was conducted.
However, the number of Barbadians living in extreme poverty has fallen
by almost half from 6.8 per cent in 2010 to 3.6 per cent in 2016, while those
living in non-extreme poverty more than tripled from 3.8 per cent to 13.8
per cent, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded research
found.
The survey, which was undertaken in collaboration with the Barbados
Statistical Service between February 2016 and January 2017, also showed
that Barbadians were generally more vulnerable to poverty, as that
category of persons increased from 10.4 per cent to 11 per cent.
In presenting the findings, IDB Project Leader Diether Beuermann
Mendoza said that a significant gender gap also exists.
He told the gathering, which included Minister of Social Care Steve
Blackett, Minister of Health John Boyce and Opposition Leader Mia
Mottley, that not only do women head 57 per cent of households in
Barbados, they also account for a significant percentage of the island’s
poor (21.02 per cent), when compared to men (13.96 per cent).
More women were also counted among the extreme poor than men
(4.15 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent), with education seen as one
way out of this vicious cycle. With teenage pregnancies on the decline, it
is expected that the gender bias would be further reduced in the future.
The study also revealed that the rich households have smaller families and
a link was made between poverty and low-quality dwellings, such as
those without flush toilets, running water and electricity.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Dominican Republic pension fund ‘running a huge risk’ Thursday 14th September, 2017 – Dominican Today
Santo Domingo.- “Pension fund running a huge risk in the Dominican
Republic,” former National Business Council (CONEP), president Rafael
Blanco warned Wed., noting that the danger lies in the fact that the sum
is expressed only in Dominican pesos.
“Any devaluation of the peso will depress the volume of the fund. The
fund must be invested in real resources and resources that maintain their
value regardless of whether the currency is devalued or not,” said Blanco,
whose holdings include hotels.
He said the Dominican pension system needs a revamp aimed at
increasing quotas, increasing the retirement age and diversifying
investments to increase profitability. ”Undoubtedly, without a bigger
contribution the size of the pensions that we who are contributing will
receive, will not have the necessary volume to cover living needs.”
Wage Increase
To increase the percentage of contributions, as proposed by the Pensions
Superintendence (SIPEN), wages would need to increase, said Blanco
Canto.
“We agree 100 percent that there must be a significant wage increase
here. But the only way to achieve it is that we once and for all dismantle
the issue of the severance pay, which is an onerous burden that is
doubled with the contributions that companies make to Social Security,”
Blanco said, quoted by listin.com.do.
He said if there’s a 30% increase in wages, pensions would improve at the
same rate.
As for the retirement age, the business leader said raising the age from 60
to 65 could increase the volume of the pension amount as much as 40%.
“A 60-year-old is still a child to retire,” Blanco said during the presentation
of the economic development program “Honduras 2020.”
<< Back to news headlines >>
Antigua-Barbuda PM and tourism minister and families give EC$640,000 for
Barbuda relief and rebuilding Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Caribbean News Now
ST JOHN’S, Antigua — In extraordinary gestures of generosity, Prime
Minister Gaston Browne and tourism and energy minister Asot Michael
have pledged and delivered EC$640,000 (US$237,000) for the Barbuda
relief and rebuilding fund.
Browne made his pledge of EC$100,000 on behalf of himself and family
while speaking in Parliament on the ratification of the state of emergency
that was declared last week for Barbuda after the disaster left by the
passage of Hurricane Irma.
Barbuda was directly in Irma’s path, and its Category 5 mix of over 200
mph winds and heavy rain left a trail of devastation in its wake. Browne
said that 90 percent of the island’s structures have been destroyed and
one young child killed.
The prime minister called on members of the business community to make
similar contributions in order to help the central government and the
people on Antigua to give relief to the residents of Barbuda who were all
evacuated last Saturday.
Tourism and energy minister, Asot Michael, whose family operates several
businesses in Antigua, responded to the prime minister’s call in his own
intervention in the Parliamentary debate on the disaster in Barbuda.
On behalf of his mother, Josette Michael, and the immediate Michael
family, Michael pledged EC$540,000.
In making his pledge and delivering a cheque, Michael recalled that his
family came to Antigua 136 years ago as poor farming peasants from the
Bahzun mountain area near Lebanon. He said that “denied entry to the
US at Ellis Island, his forebears came to Antigua where they were
welcomed by the people of Antigua”.
Saying that this was an event constantly retold for generations in his family
circle, the minister said that it is his family’s obligation to contribute to the
unitary state of Antigua and Barbuda in an important hour of its need.
“We are dutiful citizens in our beloved land of Antigua and Barbuda, our
homeland for well over a century”, the minister declared.
The cheques have been paid into the government account established
for the relief of residents of Barbuda and the rebuilding of the island.
Meanwhile, Calvin Ayre, a citizen and long term resident of Antigua and
Barbuda, has callied on the online gambling industry and the Bitcoin
community to dig deep to help the people of the island of Barbuda.
Help is urgently needed and the Calvin Ayre Foundation is currently
working with the local government to coordinate relief efforts, including
bringing in desperately needed tents and other emergency supplies.
The Calvin Ayre Foundation has pledged to match all donations by the
global online gambling industry and the Bitcoin community to Barbuda’s
relief effort, up to $1 million. This is separate from the personal contribution
that Ayre will be making to aid his adopted home.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Irma costing LIAT millions Thursday 14th September, 2017 - Nation News
HURRICANE IRMA will cost LIAT millions of dollars in financial losses.
Chief executive officer Julie Reifer-Jones yesterday revealed that the
regional airline’s current inability to operate commercial flights in and out
of St Maarten and Tortola meant it was likely to lose about $4.4 million
(EC$6 million) between now and the end of the year.
Reifer-Jones was unable to give an estimated figure for likely losses during
the entire hurricane season. However, speaking during a media
conference call with regional media yesterday, she said the overall
financial fallout would be “quite substantial”.
Overall, the airline was forced to cancel 33 flights since during Hurricane
Irma’s deadly passage, its planes could not fly north of Dominica.
“Regional travel is very dependent on what’s happening in the
economies of the region and of course any horrific event of this sort will
impact certain territories and also the region as a whole. And that will
impact regional travel and LIAT. Frankly, this is one of the complexities
facing a regional airline like LIAT,” she said.
“Two years ago it was Dominica, today it is St Maarten and Tortola
impacting our network. And based on previous experience it takes some
time before recovery takes place. For us, St Maarten and Tortola are very
key destinations in our network. We have done some preliminary
assessments and we think that the negative impact on LIAT will be in the
region of EC$6 million through to the end of the year.”
As a result, the CEO said the airline’s commercial team was “looking at
our flight schedules to determine whether there are some other
opportunities for us to reposition aircraft to be able to generate some
additional revenue in other areas.”
LIAT, which is based in Antigua, confirmed that its entire staff was safe and
the company suffered minimal damage. In the interest of safety, the air
carrier relocated aircraft and some of its staff to Barbados over the last
week, but between Tuesday and yesterday, they all returned to Antigua.
“I believe all the teams that were in Barbados have moved back.
Certainly the fleet has been realigned to match our normal operational
requirements. We had an engineering team in Barbados, they have been
relocated, the call centre has moved back up, the operations team for
sure is in Antigua,” Reifer-Jones said.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Bank of Jamaica to call in one, 10, 25 cent coins Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – The Gleaner
Cabinet has approved a proposal to withdraw the one-cent, 10-cent and
25-cent coins from circulation.
Information Minister Ruel Reid told a post-Cabinet press briefing today that
the move is pursuant to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Act.
The Act stipulates that the BOJ shall have power, on giving three months’
notice in the Gazette, to call in any notes and coins on payment of the
face value. On the expiration of the notice, such notes or coins shall
cease to be legal tender.
He said those that would exist thereafter, subject to the central
bank’s timeline for implementation, would be the $1, $5, $10 and $20
coins.
The Minister said the proposal to withdraw the coins came against the
background of an assessment showing that the use of those
denominations has been decreasing since 2005.
Details of a cost-efficiency assessment also showed that manufacturing
costs consistently exceeded the face value of the coins, he said.
<< Back to news headlines >>
UWI to build own LNG power plant Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – The Gleaner
The University of West Indies, Mona (UWI) will set up and operate a 7
megawatt liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, which is projected to shave
off up to $350 million annually from the campus' energy costs.
Those savings equate to around half of the campus' energy bill, said head
of the electroncs unit, Dr Paul Aiken.
"Energy costs are the second-highest costs to the UWI, followed by
salaries, and we can't do anything about salaries but we can add LNG,"
said Aiken at a Gleaner Editors' Forum on Tuesday, while making the wider
point that the campus wants to reduce its expenses in order to better
offset the rising cost of student tuition.
The project will allow UWI Mona to become independent of power
provider Jamaica Public Service Company.
UWI, Mona selected American company New Fortress Energy as LNG
supplier for its plant from a field of two other regional contenders.
"The capital to do the project will be somewhere in the single digit millions,
in the region of US$7 million, but we are trying to get it down to US$6
million," said Aiken following the forum. Those prices translate to around
$800 million to $900 million in local currency.
The university expects to sign an agreement with New Fortress around
October, after which it will purchase and install five General Electric
engines to drive its power plant.
The plant will run on LNG, with liquid petroleum gas or LPG as back-up,
and is due for commissioning by July 2018.
Under the partnership with New Fortress, the energy company will provide
grants and scholarships and assist in training more than 100 electrical
power engineering students, according to UWI. The number of those
students is expected to increase to over 300 in the next two years, with the
Government of Jamaica and the University's goal to dramatically increase
the total number of graduating engineers to over 1,000 per year. GE will
also provide training to students, UWI said.
"The added advantage is that we formed an engineering company,
Mona Tech Engineers, which will be the operator of the plant; so it will be
a full university system and training," said Aiken.
"We will be developing the next generation of electrical power engineers
to support all the infrastructure, so this includes the Red Stripe's and the
JPS's ... so they do not have to bring down expatriates," he said.
New Fortress is also developing LNG infrastructure for Red Stripe Jamaica
to power its Kingston brewery and has developed gas-supply
infrastructure in Montego Bay through which it supplies JPS' Bogue power
plant, after its conversion to a combined cycle operation by GE.
The UWI Mona project is to be developed in phases, starting with a
cogeneration unit using thermal energy to cool the buildings, from which
it expects $52 million of savings. The second phase will involve the LNG
plant and expected savings of $300 million per year.
Under the terms of the fuel supply agreement as stipulated by UWI
documents, New Fortress will upgrade and expand the existing cooling
infrastructure.
The engines are expected to last for 30 years.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Local 'bully' beef idea is still on the table — Wehby Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Jamaica Observer
Group CEO of GraceKennedy Ltd Don Wehby has called for a revisit of
Jamaica's cattle rearing agriculture programme on completion of a
feasibility study by the local conglomerate for the manufacturing of
tinned corned beef in Westmoreland.
“We have to be forward-thinking and consider the spin-offs that are
possible from increased cattle stock and a more developed cattle
industry. I think we should revisit this aspect of our agriculture programme
in order to give ourselves more options for future opportunities,” Wehby
stated in a release from the company.
Wehby's call follows on a challenge he made on the GraceKennedy's
Innovation team in April to review the possibility of locally made corned
beef in response to disruption in supplies caused by a ban by the
Jamaican Government on imports of meat products from Brazil.
According to the company, recent feedback from the project team has
shown promising signs.
“It is still early days yet, but prototypes have been developed and we are
seeing that it is possible to manufacture a corned beef product at our
meat factory in Westmoreland,” Wehby said.
While the project team has found that the capability exists within
GraceKennedy and its supply chain to produce corned beef in Jamaica,
it has highlighted major challenges such as the consistent supply of beef
locally, as well as production costs.
The company reckons that it will take some time to arrive at a marketable
product.
“The pricing structure is being looked at as well. We have to find the right
balance to make it affordable to our consumers and with the same high-
quality standards of all our products. There would be a problem with
steady supply of beef, given current local stock,” Wehby added.
He added that although the cattle stock is not very extensive at this time,
GraceKennedy will not simply “write off” the idea to manufacture beef
products on a large scale. Nonetheless, growth in beef cattle rearing
could help assure a supply of beef for a range product, Wehby noted.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries in March
placed a temporary ban on the importation of the product following
reports from Brazilian authorities that several major meat processors in that
country had been selling tainted beef and poultry. The companies were
also alleged to have paid hefty bribes to auditors in exchange for
fraudulent sanitary licences.
The prolonged ban threatened a trade row between the two countries as
both sides took hard positions on the measure. The Brazilian Embassy had
asked the Jamaican Government to lift what it described as a “unilateral
ban”, pointing out that none of the 21 meat-processing companies was
under investigation in Brazil for selling rotten beef and poultry export to
Jamaica.
<< Back to news headlines >>
World Bank group executive directors to visit Jamaica Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – The Gleaner
Eleven members of the World Bank Group board of executive directors will
pay a two-day visit to Jamaica from tomorrow, September 14 to Saturday,
September 16.
The delegation, representing 98 member countries from the Caribbean,
Latin America, North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, and the
Pacific, will discuss Jamaica’s development priorities, emerging
opportunities and challenges.
They will also examine the World Bank’s engagement in support of the
country’s efforts to reduce poverty and enhance prosperity, according to
a release from the Jamaica Information Service.
During the visit, the executives will meet with Prime Minister Andrew
Holness, Finance and the Public Service Minister, Audley Shaw and other
members of the Cabinet; as well as representatives from the private
sector, civil society and women entrepreneurs.
They will also experience, first-hand, some of the work being implemented
under World Bank-supported projects on the island.
The group is also expected to meet with farmers’ groups and visit
greenhouses to see results accomplished under the Rural Economic
Development Initiative project.
<< Back to news headlines >>
‘Realities So Grim’ If No Action On Moody’S Wednesday 14, September, 2017 – Tribune 242
The Government is “almost compelled” to improve the Bahamas’ fiscal
and economic performance, a top insurer said yesterday, because “the
realities are so grim” if it fails.
Patrick Ward, Bahamas First’s president and chief executive, told Tribune
Business that the Minnis administration needed to “bring everything to
bear” to avoid a further sovereign credit rating downgrade by Moody’s in
12-18 months’ time.
He said the insurer, and all other ‘rated’ companies in the Bahamas, had
“breathed a sigh of relief” when Moody’s last month elected to give the
Government ‘breathing space’ and time to execute on its fiscal
consolidation and GDP growth plans.
With the Bahamas’ sovereign rating a factor that can influence individual
companies’ ratings, Mr Ward said he was “hopeful” the Government
could maintain its ‘investment grade’ rating with Moody’s simply because
the alternative was too awful to contemplate.
“All the rated companies did breath a sigh of relief in relation to that,” he
said of Moody’s not downgrading the Bahamas to ‘junk’, “and we’d
encourage the Government to bring everything to bear to ensure we
avoid any downgrade in the future and, at some point, get the ‘negative’
outlook changed to a ‘positive’ outlook.”
Mr Ward’s comments serve as a reminder that, as the Bahamas begins
post-Irma reconstruction and gives thanks that the main islands were
largely spared, it must also get back to the business of implementing
serious and urgent economic reforms.
Despite maintaining the Bahamas’ ‘Baa3’ rating, Moody’s placed a
‘negative’ outlook on the Bahamas due to doubts about the
Government’s ability to deliver on its fiscal consolidation and economic
growth plans.
The Bahamas’ “exposure to climate-related shocks in the form of
hurricanes” was cited as another factor behind Moody’s ‘negative’
outlook, although Hurricane Irma largely spared this nation’s major islands
and economic activity centres.
Mr Ward said Moody’s ‘negative’ outlook “speaks for itself”, although he
and Bahamas First were “more concerned” about the actual rating.
“At best it gives you an opportunity to take corrective action,” he added
of the outlook. “It’s also a warning indicator that says if you do ‘x’, ‘y’ and
‘z’, you have an opportunity to make things better and improve.”
The Bahamas First chief agreed that Moody’s had given the Government
‘breathing space’ to see if it can deliver on its promises, and added: “The
execution is something we have to give the new administration time to
prove itself on.
“I’m hopeful because the stark realities are so grim in terms of not fulfilling
their obligations. It almost compels them to do the right thing and get us
back on track, going in a positive direction.”
Mr Ward had previously warned that sovereign downgrades threatened
to have a negative impact on private sector credit ratings, as the
agencies assessing Bahamas-based companies would have to account
for increased ‘country risk’ stemming from this nation’s reduced
creditworthiness.
Reiterating that Moody’s move to defer a downgrade was “extremely
important”, the Bahamas First chief said yesterday: “It definitely has an
impact in terms of the perception of the country, and the risk associated
with doing business in the country from A. M. Best’s perspective.
“Avoiding a downgrade gives us an opportunity to have one less issue to
worry about when we think about the business environment.”
Bahamas First and several competitors, including RoyalStar Assurance,
Summit Insurance Company and Security & General, are also all rated
annually by A. M. Best, the insurance industry rating agency, for their
financial strength and creditworthiness.
Apart from focusing on each company, A. M. Best’s analyses also factors
in country risks such as the Government’s fiscal position, state of the
economy and condition of the insurance market.
Thus another Moody’s downgrade, which would match Standard & Poor’s
(S&P) in taking the Bahamas to ‘junk’ status, could impact the cost of
capital for these insurers and their ability to raise it in the debt/equity
markets.
The negative consequences for Bahamas-based companies as a result of
this nation’s eight-year sovereign downgrade trend were also highlighted
by the Nassau Airport Development Company’s (NAD) downgrade.
The move by the Fitch rating agency was directly linked to the
Government’s deteriorating creditworthiness, with Dionisio D’Aguilar,
minister of tourism, saying it had a direct impact on NAD’s debt servicing
costs.
“Their [NAD’s] debt got downgraded because Fitch said there’s
additional sovereign risk,” the Minister previously confirmed to Tribune
Business. “They went to downgrade NAD one rating below investment
grade, and one effect of that was they needed to increase the bond
reserve fund from $19 million to $38 million.”
This, Mr D’Aguilar added, had forced NAD to increase passenger and
other user fees at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) in a bid to
meet the increased debt costs.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Minister: Tourism ‘Dodged A Major Bullet’ With Irma Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Tribune 242
The Minister of Tourism yesterday said the Bahamas’ main industry had
“dodged a big bullet” from Hurricane Irma, and should be able to
rebound “very quickly”.
Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business that virtually all the Bahamas’
major resorts and tourism assets had escaped the ‘super storm’
unscathed, although their Florida market and south-east US airlift may
take slightly longer to rebound.
He added that the Ministry had “ramped up its marketing machine” to
dispel the suggestion by some international media that the entire
Bahamas had been devastated by Irma, rather than just a few sparsely-
populated islands.
“We were very lucky,” Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper. We dodged a big
bullet from a tourism standpoint, and should be able to get up and
running very quickly.
“We should be able to return to business very quickly, but we have to do a
marketing campaign to let people know the majority of islands were not
hit by a Category Five hurricane.”
Several of the more excitable UK newspaper have already reported how
Irma ruined honeymoons and vacations for British visitors to the Bahamas,
going as far as to suggest these tourists had to endure 150 mile per hour
winds - even though they were staying in Nassau resorts, some 200-plus
miles from the storm’s eye.
Mr D’Aguilar acknowledged the need to counter such inaccuracies, and
the perception created by some that the entire Bahamas had suffered a
catastrophic hit on the same scale as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), St
Maarten and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
“Unfortunately, when it’s reported that a hurricane is moving through the
Bahamas, many many people don’t understand that we are a country of
islands,” he said. “Some islands are affected and some are not.
“The Ministry of Tourism has ramped up its marketing machine into action
to get the message out that the hurricane did not hit the major
population centres, and did not hit the vast majority of the tourism plant.”
Atlantis; Sandals Royal Bahamian and Sandals Emerald Bay; Baha Mar;
SuperClubs Breezes; and the Warwick Paradise Island are all reported to
be open, with the Melia Nassau Beach set to join them today.
Resorts World Bimini, in preparing for Irma’s approach, said it would remain
closed until today. Nothing further has been heard, although it also said
that the ferry service and Elite Airways flights have been cancelled for the
week. Silver Airways and Tropic Ocean are only doing outbound flights
from Bimini.
The Bahamas was also fortunate that Irma struck at the slowest point in its
tourism season, when many properties are often closed for renovations
(RIU Paradise Island) and/or staff are on reduced work weeks due to low
visitor numbers.
Mr D’Aguilar expressed hope that the storm’s economic impact on the
tourism industry had “not been significant”, with the number of visitors
forced to extend their stay offsetting those who could not fly in.
While air service from New York and the Bahamas’ key US north-east
market is largely unaffected, the Minister acknowledged that the pace of
tourism recovery will be “as quick as the airlift gets back on stream” from
Florida.
The state remains the major gateway to the Bahamas, and Mr D’Aguilar
said Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports were open from yesterday, with
Orlando joining them at 12pm. Only Atlanta, the Delta Airlines hub, was
still being impacted by Irma.
With the likes of American Airlines, Jet Blue and Delta having to reposition
aircraft to resume normal schedules, Mr D’Aguilar said: “There is no reason
why people cannot come to the Bahamas if they have booked a
vacation. The hotel inventory is fine, and the airlift is in place to bring them
here.”
The Minister, though, conceded that the devastation Irma inflicted on
south Florida marinas - and yachts that remained in its path - could
impact the Bahamas’ all-important boating market, which is largely driven
from that state.
“There’s no doubt that’s going to have an effect,” Mr D’Aguilar said, “but
I’m sure the boating trade realises our marinas are up and operational.”
He also told Baha Mar that it “must address” the design flaw or oversight
that prompted the $4.2 billion project to close during Irma, rather than
remain open to guests and residents who may have wanted to stay there.
Mr D’Aguilar said Baha Mar had explained to him that it closed because
its convention centre “is not connected to the hotel”. Had guests needed
to take shelter in the former, they would have had to venture outside and
been exposed to potential injury from flying debris.
“They need to come up with a solution to get their guests from the hotel
to the convention centre in the future,” he told Tribune Business. “They
cannot allow that to be an excuse to close that hotel, so they need to
address that issue as quickly as possible.”
Mr D’Aguilar said Baha Mar had been fortunate in that it had relatively
few guests as Irma approached, implying that the design flaw needed to
be corrected for when occupancy levels are much higher.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Bahamas Gets $234k From Caribbean Disaster Facility Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Tribune 242
The Bahamas will receive a $234,000 Irma payout from the Caribbean
disaster insurance facility that the Christie administration previously
withdrew from, it was revealed yesterday.
The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) confirmed that
the Bahamas will receive the payment on its tropical cyclone (TC)
insurance policy within the next two weeks.
The Bahamas’ payment is less than 1 per cent of the total $29.646 million
promised to Caribbean islands by CCRIF to-date, and likely represents a
fraction of the multi-million dollar sum required to repair damage in
Ragged Island, Inagua and Acklins.
And while the Bahamas is receiving more than Haiti, CCRIF said the
damage in these two nations did not meet the threshold that would
trigger payments.
“The payments that are due to both countries are based on the
Aggregate Deductible Cover (ADC),” CCRIF said. “At the start of this
policy year, CCRIF introduced the ADC as a new policy feature for its
members.
“The ADC represents a means by which CCRIF can help its members
when modelled losses fall below the attachment point, but where there
are observed losses on the ground.”
The Bahamas’ Irma payout is unlikely to halt the political debate over
whether the Government should maintain an annual premium with CCRIF,
or instead invest such monies in its own self-insurance disaster fund.
Controversy over the former administration’s decision to exit the CCRIF
facility was stoked during the Budget debate, when Prime Minister Dr
Hubert Minnis read out a letter from its chief executive suggesting the
Bahamas had missed out on a $32 million Matthew payout.
Dr Minnis told Parliament: “He (the CEO) wrote: ‘We are pleased that the
Bahamas has been a member of CCRIF since its inception in 2007. We are
pleased that the Government purchased tropical cyclone (hurricane)
policies every year between 2007 and 2014, and also purchased policies
for both tropical cyclones and excess rainfall for the 2015-2016 policy
year.
“However, we deeply regret that the Government decided not to renew
its CCRIF policies for the 2016-2017 year, resulting in the Bahamas missing
out on two CCRIF payouts from Tropical Cyclone Matthew.’”
Dr Minnis added: “I note that the annual policy for this insurance facility
was approximately $900,000. I was shocked by what the CEO of the
Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility went on to say in his letter.
“He stated: ‘Based on the registered losses, it means that had the
Government of the Bahamas renewed its tropical cyclone policy for 2016-
2017, using the previous year’s policy conditions, the policy would have
triggered, resulting in a payout of approximately $31.8 million, equal to the
coverage limit’.”
This would have been the single biggest payout, according to the Prime
Minister, ever made by CCRIF to any country.
The Bahamas’ excess rainfall policy would also have been triggered,
resulting in a payout of $855,874. Those payouts would have been larger
depending on the coverage purchased, Dr Minnis said.
The Government subsequently renewed the CCRIF policy, and talked
about a maximum $35 million payment that could have been triggered
had Irma made a direct hit on this nation.
However, Philip Davis, the Opposition leader, said the Christie
administration only withdrew from CCRIF on the advice of several
government agencies.
And Tribune Business sources said it ceased paying the annual $900,000
premium after it was advised that the likelihood of ever receiving a
payout was “almost zero”.
Following Hurricane Matthew’s passage, Michael Halkitis, then-minister of
state for finance, said the Government had ceased the annual premium
payments because the Bahamas would only have received
compensation in the event of a Category Five hurricane.
Hurricane Matthew came through the Bahamas as a Category Three/Four
storm, and Mr Halkitis said the Christie administration had decided to drop
CCRIF participation and establish its own disaster fund as “the threshold
was just too high”.
And a source familiar with the matter told Tribune Business: “We have
been a part of this thing for 20 years, and could never get a claim. Our
information was that the likelihood of us getting a claim was almost zero.
“A committee had been put together comprised of persons from the Met
Office, Ministry of Finance and other agencies. They submitted a report
suggesting that the Government drop it.
“After Hurricane Matthew, the guys from the CCRIF commented on what
would have happened if the Bahamas had kept it. That was taken with a
grain of salt. It was almost impossible for us to have gotten anything.”
The Chamber of Commerce subsequently criticised the Christie
administration for leaving CCRIF. But Emmanuel Komolafe, the Bahamas
Insurance Association’s (BIA) chairman, while backing the CCRIF renewal
earlier this week suggested that the $35 million maximum would have
been “a drop in the bucket” compared to Matthew’s $600-$700 million
damage.
The Central Bank of the Bahamas, meanwhile, yesterday said it is not
permitting a ‘blanket’ relaxation of lending guidelines as was allowed in
Hurricane Matthew’s aftermath.
Commercial banks then were allowed to relax the 45 per cent debt
service ratio upper limit ‘across the board’ for storm-hit clients, but the
Central Bank is restricting this to specific Family Island clients directly hit by
Irma.
Anticipating no “material” impact to bank and credit union loan portfolios
as a result of Irma, the Central Bank said: “The Central Bank advises that in
the aftermath of Hurricane Irma no general relaxation is being made to
existing guidelines on lending to the private sector.
“However, supervised financial institutions (SFIs) may use their discretion to
temporarily loosen credit terms in Family Islands where clients have been
directly harmed by the storm.”
<< Back to news headlines >>
Haiti - Economy : The 2017-2018 budget against the interests of the most
vulnerable Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Haiti Libre
Civil society and human rights organizations, signatories to a
memorandum dated September 11, 2017, note with "amazement" that
the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies voted the draft of the 2017-2018
budget law highlighting that "the economists and other experts agree
that this bill will further aggravate the situation of the vulnerable layers and
is part of a dynamic of bad governance."
The signatories recall that on 2 September , before the Senate Finance
and Economy Committee, "the civil society and human rights
organizations had unanimously affirmed that this law was discriminatory
and seriously penalized the Haitian population already living in a great
precariousness [...]"
For these civil society organizations in general and the human rights sector
in particular, this Finance Act clearly states that the issue of human rights is
not a priority for the Moïse-Lafontant administration, citing :
"Illegal taxes and newly created customs duties to achieve the 30%
increase planned, will directly affect the poorest;
The social sector is treated as a poor sector ;
A pittance is granted to the functioning of the judiciary, in particular the
Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) ;
The debt service has risen from ten billion three hundred and fifty-two
million to fourteen billion one hundred and seventy-nine million ;
11 billion one hundred and forty-eight million are devoted to the heading
Public Interventions without further precision."
Adding "the president of the republic has nearly 5 billion gourdes for the
activities of his caravan without the parliament, the body of control of the
actions of the Executive requires any accountability."
The signatories conclude that this ratification "confirms that Parliament
does not exercise its power of control and does not work in the interest of
the population. This vote is unconstitutional (Article 218 et seq. of the
Constitution) and would disqualify the parliamentary function. This law will
break the country into the hole of social inequality, misery, great
corruption and injustice."
<< Back to news headlines >>
St Lucia now regional investment and trade destination Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Caribbean News Now
Saint Lucia is now officially one of the destinations in the Caribbean where
a node of the RIM will be located. The Caribbean RIM Platform Initiative
(CRPI) for regional cooperation, investment and trade has as one of its
objectives the establishment of a framework for the stimulation and
enhancement of investment and trade relations, including trade in
services.
The node located in Saint Lucia will serve the entire Organisation of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). This announcement was made during
the fourth Trade and Investment Conference and the second RIM
Conference held at Earth University in Costa Rica from August 29-30, 2017.
Chairperson of the grouping and its adviser, Dr Mark Griffith, also named
the other nodes to include Panama, Barbados, as well as Cuba and Haiti.
Guyana will serve Guyana and Suriname.
Over the years, Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica have been the main
beneficiaries and promoters of trade and Investment between the region
and Central America. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has a
partial scope/bilateral trade agreement with Costa Rica.
Griffith expects a change in that trend and hopes that, following this
year’s successful conference in Costa Rica, the Eastern Caribbean will
feature more prominently. This view is well supported by David Jordan,
chair of FRIEETAD in the OECS Inc., one of the organisers of the
conference, and Ramiro Crawford, of Limon Roots in Costa Rica. Limon
Roots previously hosted a highly successful awards night on August 25.
During the conference, Costa Rica president, Luis Guillermo Solis, also
announced Port Limon as one of the provinces of Costa Rica as a special
economic zone for the Caribbean. The conference was also addressed
by the minister for the environment, Edgar Guiterierrez Espelta.
This year’s conference was attended by business persons, primarily young
entrepreneurs, including a group from Ecuador. The students of the Green
Valley High School were also special guests. During the B2B sessions, a
major leisure maritime investment between Trinidad and Costa Rica was
explored, while Belize, through Hot Mama Belize, also explored avenues to
launch its sauces and condiments in the Costa Rica market. Other
promoters sought to market indigenous clothing designs.
Next year’s event is scheduled for the last week in August 2018 in either a
Caribbean territory or Central America once again.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Three banks hit for money laundering flaws Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Newsroom Panama
THE STATE-OWNED National Bank is one of three that have been
sanctioned for laxity in applying standards to prevent money
laundering.
The Superintendency of Banks of Panama has also imposed fines on
Multibank and Banvivienda. “for failure to comply with the standards for
the prevention of money laundering capital and for violations of the
banking regime.”
According to the regulator’s website, Multibank was fined $300,000 for
violations of rules of the anti-money laundering regime and financing of
terrorism; and one of $100,000 for violations of the banking system.
The state-owned Banco Nacional de Panamá was fined $106,750 for
money laundering violations and $21,875 for violating banking regime
rules. Rolando de León, the general manager of the state bank, said in an
e-mail that “the sanctions were for cases of clients considered as
Politically Exposed Persons (PEP).”
Banvivienda was fined $90,000 for the prevention of money laundering
failures, and another of $40,000 for violations of the banking regime.
This is the second round of bank punishments. In January of this year, the
Superintendency issued fines imposed between 2015 and 2016 to nine
other entities.
<< Back to news headlines >>
Harvey hikes Panama gas prices Wednesday 13th September, 2017 – Newsroom Panama
PANAMA motorists will feel the delayed effects of Hurricane Harvey
from Friday, Sep. 15 as gasoline record their biggest price jump in years.
The Energy Secretariat reported Wednesday, Sep. 12 that prices will
increase 13 cents a liter for 95 octane gasoline; 6 cents a liter for 91
octane gasoline and diesel approximately 5 cents a liter,
A liter of 95 octane gas will cost 89 cents, 91 octane 79 cents and diesel
67 cents in Panama City.
Elsewhere in the country prices will be higher, depending on the distance
from the original distribution center.
The prices will remain in effect until September 29.
According to the Secretariat, the increase is due to the ravages of
Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States.
“It should be noted that the fuel distribution companies operating in
Panama buy gasoline and diesel from refineries affected by the climatic
events recorded weeks ago,” the authority said.
The supply of gasoline in all its variations will continue on a regular basis
and the ships carrying fuels arrive to our country with normality, the
sources added.
Hurricane Harvey closed a quarter of US refineries and 8% of the country’s
oil production in South Texas, one of the main centers of its oil sector.
<< Back to news headlines >>