Through no fault of their own, developing countries face a perfect storm of famine, political upheaval, and debt crises. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Western-led sanctions it triggered are partly to blame, as are COVID-19 lockdowns in...
Central banks around the world are considering whether to issue their own digital currencies. While financial inclusion is often cited as a key motivation, this outcome is not automatic. Precisely how can central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs,...
Guyana’s economy grew by 72.03 per cent between 2019 and 2021, outperforming all others in the Latin America and Caribbean, or LAC, region. In its semi-annual report on LAC released this month, the World Bank noted that many countries in the region...
Jamaicans are seriously a lot less happy, but somehow islanders found ways of keeping calm, according to the Global Happiness Report released in March month. Jamaica ranked as the 63rd happiest among 146 nations, with Finland in the top spot and...
For most, a passport denotes citizenship, belonging, certain rights, and residence. For others, especially the world’s wealthy, obtaining a ‘stronger’ additional passport than the one provided by their country of birth has given rise to an...
QUESTION: I saw your article in the papers about using your house as collateral, and I would like to know the banks that allow it and your feedback on the matter. — Coote FINANCIAL ADVISER: There are several lending institutions, mainly building...
A director of Elite Diagnostics bought a large block of shares from another large shareholder, rallying the stock at one point near its one-year high. The transaction between Elite Chairman Steven Gooden and Excel Investments during April 8 to 12...
Larren Peart, founder and managing director of data company Bluedot, has sold a portion of his company to conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited just three months after reacquiring 80 per cent of its business from three shareholders, one of which held a...
With images of Russian aggression and war crimes in Ukraine continuing to dominate the media in Europe and around the world, Germany has pledged to cut its imports of Russian gas by two-thirds by 2023. Even more immediately, Robert Habeck, Germany’...
Universal Mortgage Company (UMC), a family-owned business chaired by Ernal Richards, will be developing a residential complex at Priory, St Ann, costing around $700 million. The 310-acre property overlooks the Richmond Housing Estate. UMC acquired...
As a manager, you may be in trouble. In the past two years, new ways of remote working have come out of nowhere and the debate is on: Should you resume face-to-face work? Part of you wants work to be efficient, but another part hopes that everyone...
The National Water Commission, NWC, plans to review the value of its assets ahead of submitting its tariff application during a period of rising energy costs. The water utility is in the process of recruiting a consultant to conduct the assessment...
Amazon is taking a step to offset its rising costs, announcing that it will add a 5% “fuel and inflation surcharge” to fees it charges third-party sellers who use the e-commerce giant's fulfilment services. The Seattle-based company...
GraceKennedy Group has struck an agreement with Larren Peart to take a stake in his data analytics company, Bluedot. The size of the private equity transaction and the stake being acquired by GK were not immediately disclosed. “Larren will...
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offering to buy Twitter, saying the social media platform he has criticised for not living up to free speech principles needs to be transformed into a private company. Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on...
Regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean is going after new borrowers through a digital loan store, a processing channel that allows prospective clients to access funds in as little as ten minutes, the bank says. The web-based application has already had...
Sagicor Group Jamaica chose Omar Brown to head up the remittance and cambio business it acquired last month to anchor what appears to be a new expansion strategy. The growth plan will see Sagicor Bank utilising Alliance Financial Services Limited’s...
British consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 30 years last month, fuelled by soaring costs for household energy and motor fuels — the latest grim figures as inflation surges around the world. Inflation in the United Kingdom accelerated to 7...
Elon Musk’s huge Twitter investment took a new twist Tuesday with the filing of a lawsuit alleging that the colourful billionaire illegally delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices. The...
The Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) holds a cautious outlook on the Jamaican economy, because of external factors disrupting global trade and growth. “There is so much risk, you couldn’t ask for a riskier time across the globe,” said...
Food and logistics company Jamaica Producers Group, JP, has pumped nearly $1 billion into investments since the COVID-19 pandemic, with healthy returns to show for it already, its 2021 audited financials show. These investments have generated a...
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken many long-held Western assumptions about the foundations of peace in Europe. Among other things, it has renewed policymakers’ focus on energy dependence as a key strategic issue. The United States recently...
Pulse Investments shareholders passed a resolution on Tuesday to increase the company’s authorised share capital to up to 20 billion units, paving the way for entertainment company to pursue an additional public offer, APO, or otherwise raise funds...
A slew of management changes disclosed to the market this week by listed investment, wealth and funds management company, Barita Investments Limited, are meant to deepen the management team to better reflect the company’s governance, controls and...
After plummeting in value following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rouble has clawed its way back to its pre-war levels. But this should be of little comfort to the Kremlin, because the factors that drove the rouble’s rebound augur additional...
