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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)

<< Back to news headlines >>

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)

<< Back to news headlines >>

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)

<< Back to news headlines >>

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)

<< Back to news headlines >>

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.”

<< Back to news headlines >>

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 >>