Brussels, 2 September 2010,– The European Commission approved the first financing decisions under the EUR 264 million 2010 allocation for the so-called Vulnerability FLEX mechanism to help the most vulnerable African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries cope with the impact of the global financial crisis and economic downturn. The V-FLEX mechanism is a short-term instrument which provided... 

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — If you want to showcase your destination, company or product to cruise executives, destination governments, tour operators, ship agents and all facets of the industry spanning the globe from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, then the 17th Annual FCCA Conference & Trade Show in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is the place... 

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The St. Vincent and the Grenadines parliament Monday approved legislation allowing the Ralph Gonsalves administration to seek a multi-million dollar loan from the bank of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA). ALBA is a Venezuela-led initiative that is based on the idea of social, political, and economic integration between the countries of Latin America and... 

Shaw KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Finance Minister Audley Shaw says the Bruce Golding administration will be presenting a new budget to parliament and has assured citizens that no new taxes are envisaged in the fiscal package. Shaw, speaking at a news conference where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that the island had passed the second quarterly targets in keeping with the US$1.2 billion... 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Jamaica has said the country has met the quantitative performance targets under the multi-billion dollar Stand-by Agreement (SBA) with the international financial institution. Dr. Trevor Alleyne, who headed an IMF team that ended a 10-day visit to the country on Friday, said that the focus of the mission was to... 

Mitchell ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Mitchell has blamed the polices of the two year-old-Tillman Thomas administration for the problems conforming the Grenadian economy. In a radio broadcast on Thursday night, Mitchell, who served as prime minister of this Caribbean island for 13 years, said that listed the 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT), stalled projects and the decision... 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The European Union is providing four billion dollars (US$46.9 million) in budgetary support to Jamaica to assist in the government’s debt reduction programme and the sugar industry. The government will receive J$2.7 billion (US$23.4 million) for the Debt Reduction and Growth Enhancement Programme (DRGEP), while J$1.3 billion (US$11.7 million) will go towards support for... 

THE VALLEY, Anguilla, CMC – Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Hubert Hughes, said his government has borrowed 10 million EC dollars (3.74 million US dollars) from Dominica through the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) to pay civil servants’ salaries on Friday, he told reporters here. Hughes said in his weekly media briefing that he found an empty treasury when his administration assumed... 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) is predicting that inflation will continue to decline and should be within 1.5 to 2.5 per cent for the financial quarter ending in September. According to the Quarterly Monetary Policy Report (QMPR) released by the BoJ, if the September figure is attained it will be a continued reduction in the quarterly inflation rate, following the 4.1 per cent... 

Arthur BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC- Former prime minister Owen Arthur is calling on the private and public sectors as well as the labour movement to help produce a new economic plan for Barbados. Arthur told a public meeting that the mid-term economic plan of the present government has failed to bring relief to Barbadians. “Barbados needs to have a recovery programme set out clearly drawing from the ... 

Grant BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – The main opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) Monday said it was concerned over the recent decision by the Us-based Reed Data Services Ltd (RDS) to close its operations by yearend. “I am saddened and disheartened by the pending closure of the Reed Data Services as it has provided employment for hundreds of our citizens and has been a major presence on the... 

Dookeran PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The four-month old People’s Partnership government will present its first national budget to Parliament on September 8, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has announced. Speaking on her return from a 10-day trip to the United States, Persad-Bissessar said Finance Minister Winston Dookeran will present the fiscal package. She said that pre-budget consultations... 

Thomas ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The main opposition New National Party (NNP) on Thursday challenged the government of Prime Minister Tillman Thomas to be more creative and proactive in dealing with the struggling Grenadian economy, warning that without proper leadership the situation will get worse. “While the New National Party acknowledges that we have been adversely impacted by the... 

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Immigration Minister David Burch has “red carded” nine companies in a bid to protect Bermudian jobs amid growing concerns over unemployment. Burch told a media conference on Tuesday that work permits would no longer be issued for cleaners, masons, carpenters or landscape gardeners without his direct approval. Unveiling a raft of tough new measures to protect... 

Anthony CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia government is looking towards a number of projects, including the re-development of the  Hewanorra International Airport in the south of the island, to continue the economic progress that the country has been experiencing despite the global economic crisis, Director of Finance Isaac Anthony has said. Anthony told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)... 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Doctors at the island’s main health institution, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Friday said they would only be attending to emergency cases as they began industrial action to protest the dismissal of two consultants. A senior official of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) confirmed that the doctors had taken the industrial action and warned... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan will lead a four-member delegation to Venezuela over the weekend to sign an agreement allowing for the exploring hydrocarbon reserves located between the two countries. The agreement involves the framework treaty on unitisation of oil and gas reserves that extend across the delimitation line between the two countries. “It’s... 

Shaw KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Finance Minister Audley Shaw says a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due here next week to finalise assessment of Jamaica’s second quarter economic performance, which ended in June. “We are confident that the review will result in positive outcomes for that quarter. In fact, my own target now is the third quarter test, which would be due the... 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says there are positive signs that the Jamaica economy is beginning to rebound from the impact of the global recession. IMF Resident Representative Dr Gene Leon said the island’s economy was experiencing “upward trajectory” in growth, moving from minus three per cent to minus one per cent. While noting the critical input of... 

GENEVA (ILO News) — The global youth unemployment rate has reached its highest level on record, and is expected to increase through 2010, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a new report issued to coincide with the launch of the UN International Youth Year (1) on 12 August. The report, ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010 says that of some 620 million economically active... 

Douglas BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas wrapped up debate on the impending Value-Added Tax (VAT), describing the measure as a necessary component of the federal government’s economic stabilisation plans. “The global situation is harsh. It is still not settled in the way one expected it to settle. We do not have the luxury, therefore, of delaying anything. We have... 

Shaw KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Despite a court order for the government to pay wages and fringe benefits to members of the reserve Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), Finance Minister Audley Shaw insists the state has no money to make the payments. Shaw said the Bruce Golding administration’s position is that while it acknowledges the debt and its obligation to settle, it simply can not... 

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – The main opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) has called for a reduction in the rate of the soon to be introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) in St. Kitts and Nevis. Opposition legislator Eugene Hamilton told Parliament that his party wants the Denzil Douglas administration to reduce the tax from 17 per cent to 10 per cent and warned of increased unemployment if the... 

Douglas BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Lawmakers continue debate on the Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill on Tuesday, as the Labour administration prepares to implement a new tax regime in November. Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr Denzil Douglas gave the 150-page bill its second reading in the House last Friday. Parliamentarians also received a 35-page document containing proposed amendments... 

Arthur BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – As St. Kitts and Nevis inches closer to implementing the Value Added Tax (VAT), former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur has described it as the best option for the region in the age of trade liberalization. “We are living in an age of trade liberalization. What it means specifically, if you take that concept and break it down, is that to be part of a Caribbean... 

WASHINGTON, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said swift disbursement of aid pledged by international donors is crucial to sustaining growth in Haiti. The Washington-based financial institution also said the disbursement will be significant for reconstruction and steady implementation of the economic programme in the earthquake-ravaged, French-speaking Caribbean country. After completing... 

WASHINGTON, CMC – The World Bank has approved a US$30 million grant that will provide Haiti with urgently needed funds to close its budget gap. The Washington-based financial institution also said the money will support the government’s efforts to increase public sector transparency and accountability. It said the US$30 million grant will “leverage” an additional US$25 million from the donor-supported... 

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – One of the companies of  disgraced United States billionaire, Allan Stanford, that was closed after it failed to pay outstanding bills for utility services, re-opened on Friday under new management. The cricket-themed Sticky Wicket restaurant, which sits on the venue where the Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament had been played a few years ago, had amassed more than EC$2.8million... 

David ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Foreign Minister Peter David says Libya is still working out the mechanisms under which it could write off a six million US dollar debt owed to it by Grenada. The money was used in the construction of the Maurice Bishop International Airport, dating back to the 1979 to 1983 period when the left wing People’s Revolutionary Government of Prime Minister Maurice... 

WASHINGTON, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the global economic slowdown is continuing to affect St. Vincent and the Grenadines and urged the government to limit its spending so as not to further increase the public debt burden. The IMF said that the global downturn has “adversely affected’ the island’s economy resulting in a further decline in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)... 

Gosling HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – City Mayor Charles Gosling says the Corporation of Hamilton will ask government for millions of dollars in compensation if it is stopped from collecting port fees. Gosling said it remained unclear if City Hall would be able to levy the charges under the controversial Municipalities Reform Act 2010, which was approved by parliamentarians on July 23 and narrowly... 

BRADES, Montserrat, CMC – Chief Minister Reuben Meade on Wednesday lamented the slow pace at which development funds are being disbursed to the island by aid donors, as he signalled the need for the Montserrat economy to generate revenue from other sources. Meade, speaking in Parliament, reiterated a point made by previous governments of this British Overseas Territory that the recurrent budget... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago economy grew by nearly three per cent during the first three months of this year with the energy sector leading the growth, Governor of the Central bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT), Ewart Williams has announced. He said that the 2.3 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2010 followed on the growth recorded during the last quarter and... 

Bowen ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – A United States  Court of Appeal has cleared former deputy prime minister Gregory Bowen of any wrongdoing in a matter involving American investor Jack Grynberg over drilling rights in Grenada. The court ruled that there was no conspiracy between the former government led by Dr Keith Mitchell and a group of Russians to prevent Grynberg’s company, RSM Corporation,... 

Golding KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says it has taken a decision to reduce the number of waivers and incentives it issues as part of the efforts to boost the economy and reduce the budget deficit. “Last Monday Cabinet took a decision that we cannot go on like this anymore. Effective August 1, we are putting a freeze on all new waivers and incentives pending the outcome of that...