Emerging Jamaican small businesses are once again being told that they continue to miss out on new export niches, such as sweet potato and seaweed, while still focussing on products that are yesterday’s news among global consumers. The country...
Jamaica Producers Group Limited, JP Group, is pumping $100 million into a plantain farm on lands adjoining its banana and pineapple operations in St Mary. JP’s initial plan is first to secure markets for fresh plantains then expand into value-...
Powered by consumers, the United States economy grew at a brisk 6.4 per cent annual rate last quarter – a show of strength fuelled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed...
Two trade groups representing businesses in North Dakota filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the United States’ central bank, the Federal Reserve, asking the agency to lower its 10-year-old cap on ‘swipe’ fee banks charge to process debit card...
The Ministry of Finance is in the process of revising the treatment of withholding tax on interest payments to bondholders. Finance Minister Nigel Clarke, who made the disclosure on Wednesday at the launch of the Jamaican office of regional rating...
J amaica Broilers Group, JBG, wants its chickens to serve up fatter profits, and healthier diets. The company has eliminated antibiotics from its broiler meat operations, but with its year end approaching and financial results soon to come due,...
The presidential elections in the Andean countries of Ecuador and Peru on April 11 took an unexpected turn. In Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, a seasoned banker with strong economic credentials, trounced Andres Arauz in the second round of voting. The...
Food and financial services conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited raised $3 billion on the bond market this week to fund its two latest acquisitions. The bonds were offered in two tranches, the first with a coupon rate of 5.5 per cent to mature in...
Amid the emergence of new rivals and an economy pressured by the pandemic, Supreme Ventures Limited, which trades as SVL Group, saw a decline in both net lottery sales revenue and group profit in the March quarter. But the company, whose dominance...
U nited Oil and Gas Plc has budgeted over US$400,000 for its continuing hunt for oil in Jamaica’s waters this year, which is four times more than it spent last year. It also began searching for a drilling partner. The company’s reviews have been...
V enezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is intensifying efforts to court the Biden administration as the new United States president weighs whether to risk a political backlash and ease up on sanctions. In the past two weeks, Maduro...
The United States Federal Reserve is keeping its ultra-low interest rate policies in place, a sign that it wants to see more evidence of a strengthening economic recovery before it would consider easing its support. In a statement Wednesday, the...
Dozens of Jamaican citizens recruited to work as cooks, servers and housekeepers at a Montana ski resort for the ultra-rich have reached a US$1 million class action settlement over allegations they were discriminated against and paid less than...
Despite the uncertainties visited on the economy by the pandemic, the Government has made no change in the inflation target, which the central bank has been mandated to achieve as a key part of its core monetary policy responsibilities under the...
The trade association representing most major automakers is offering guidelines for manufacturers to advertise partially automated driving systems and to make sure drivers are paying attention while using them. The Alliance for Automotive...
It is humbling when a columnist must retract his words soon after penning them. Just two months ago, after India rushed millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 60 countries, I praised the country’s ‘vaccine diplomacy’. India’s aspirations to...
Grand Hotel Excelsior Limited, the new owners of the former Morgan’s Harbour Hotel, has made minor upgrades to the property for its phased reopening amid the ongoing pandemic, but is still mulling over the plans to develop the property into a five-...
The last three months of 2020 saw growth in loans available to micro and small businesses, even as credit conditions tightened for larger firms. As bad debt ballooned to more than $29 billion, with another $62 billion the subject of payment...
Saying that it wants to control the key technology for electric vehicles, Ford plans to open a battery development centre near Detroit by the end of next year. The company said the 200,000-square-foot facility will have equipment to design, test...
As it marks 16 years of operation, regional rating agency CariCRIS is setting up shop in Jamaica, a move that signals growing business for the company that is part-owned by regional central banks, several major regional commercial and development...
Great Huts, a village-themed resort in Portland, has been listed for sale at US$2.5 million ($380 million). The 17-room property, spread across one acre, was developed by Dr Paul Rhodes before the advent of booking sites such as homeshare service...
♦ VM Wealth Management has partnered with online trading platform operator Interactive Brokers to give its clients access to trading US stocks. Through VM Wealth, persons who want to utilise the platform will be provided with a link and login...
Apple is following through on its pledge to crack down on Facebook and other snoopy apps that secretly shadow people on their iPhones in order to target more advertising at users. The new privacy feature, dubbed ‘App Tracking Transparency’, rolled...
Normally, filings at the Companies Office of Jamaica are routine, but at times the official record requires a double-take, for instance, recent documentation on West Indies Petroleum Limited, WIPL, which displayed the shares issued by the company...
QUESTION: I was reading your article recently and I would kindly like some clarification on which institutions I could go to in order to invest. I am not a high-risk taker as I have just recently started working. – Mullings FINANCIAL ADVISER:...
