The US Downgrade’s Impact on Cayman

By: - August 9th, 2011

The recent downgrading of the United States’ federal debt rating by Standard and Poor’s may not impact Cayman in the near future, but US developments will continue to have a significant impact on the island chain. “Cayman will largely be a prisoner of events in Europe and the US, unless it comes up with innovative products that can appeal to those who are trying to protect themselves from bad policies in Europe and the US, and also to attract Asian money from those who would like to invest in the US or even protect themselves,” said economist Richard Rahn, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Last week, it was reported that a number of Chinese companies were choosing to list in Cayman instead of the US. [Caymanian Compass]

Cayman Islands

Jamaica Begins Wind Mapping Study

Above: the wind farm at Wigton In a bid to improve its renewable energy strategy, the Jamaican government is commissioning a Wind Mapping study undertaken by Wigton Wind Farm Limited, which controls the country’s only wind farm. Wigton Wind Farm is an agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mining. “We expect that that wind […]

Cayman Islands

Barbados Links Office Safety, Environment

Above: Minister Dr Esther Byer Suckoo (BGIS Photo) Occupational safety and health and the environment are inextricably linked, according to Barbados Minister of Labour and Social Security Dr Esther Byer Suckoo. Good and bad practices in either area will have a corresponding negative or positive impact on the other, she said. “This link can sometimes […]

Cayman Islands

Bahamas to Add Police Reservists

Police and National Security officials in the Bahamas are expected to increase the ranks of the Police reserves in the next year, according to Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest. The decision is the result of what Turnquest called the “significant role” the reservists have been playing in the Bahamas’ war on crime. “The involvement […]


Interview with Tim Hoffman, Owner of Nevis’ Montpelier Plantation and Beach

By Alexander Britell Tim Hoffman is the owner of the historic Montpelier Plantation and Beach in Nevis. Originally a sugar plantation when Nevis’ crop ruled the Caribbean, the property has hosted everyone from Horatio Nelson to Princess Diana. Hoffman, whose family has owned the plantation, a Relais and Chateaux hotel, since 2002, talked about the […]

Blackberry to Supply Jamaican Teachers

Above: RIM’s headquarters in Canada The Jamaican Ministry of Education is partnering with Research in Motion to provide some 20,000 teachers on the island with Blackberry smartphones. “If we are ever to close the development divide, technology will be one of the areas in which we will have to lead from, so Jamaica is making […]

Dookeran: Trinidad Economy Stable

By Alexander Britell Tim Hoffman is the owner of the historic Montpelier Plantation and Beach in Nevis. Originally a sugar plantation when Nevis’ crop ruled the Caribbean, the property has hosted everyone from Horatio Nelson to Princess Diana. Hoffman, whose family has owned the plantation, a Relais and Chateaux hotel, since 2002, talked about the […]

Michael Schwartz on Grand Cayman, Caribbean Slow Food and Lionfish

By Alexander Britell In just over three years in Miami, Chef Michael Schwartz has risen to the top of the culinary scene and won the top honor for any American chef, the James Beard Foundation award, last year for his namesake restaurant, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. Schwartz has now expanded his kitchen to the […]