Search Result for: interest rates

186 results found.

Jamaica’s Big Risk

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor WHILE walking, or cycling, I often see people who ask me many questions relating to the economy, finances, or issues about my second book. In the last few weeks, though, I notice that the majority […]

Is Jamaica on the Right Track?

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor OVER the past few weeks, I have been approached by many persons who ask the questions: What is happening to the economy? Is Jamaica headed in the right direction? Is it time for me to […]

Grenada Expecting “Significant Reduction” in Debt Size, Payments

Above: Grenada By the Caribbean Journal staff Grenada expects “significant reductions” in both the size of the country’s debt and its debt payments, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell announced this week. Mitchell made the announcement in New York following a […]

Guyana Launches Small Business Development Project

Above: Guyana President Donald Ramotar (UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras) By the Caribbean Journal staff Guyana has launched a project targeting small and micro-enterprise development. The project offers loans that require interest rates below six percent, offering a maximum of just under […]

S&P Raises Jamaica Credit Rating

Above: Kingston By the Caribbean Journal staff Standard & Poor’s has raised its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica, citing “progress in stabilizing the economy” and the country’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund. The rating, […]

Jamaica’s Pillars for Growth

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor MY last article looked at how Jamaica can increase competitiveness in the tourism industry, which is critical for Jamaica because tourism is our highest foreign exchange earner, and the area in which we have always […]

China and the Caribbean — a Marriage Made in Heaven?

By Zhivargo Laing CJ Contributor ON A recent radio show in the Bahamas, the topic of China’s $8 million loan to the country was being discussed. A curious caller asked, “what do the Chinese want for these loans anyway?” Her […]

Dennis Chung: The Role of Government in Caribbean Economies

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor MY MOTHER USED TO SAY of children, it is sometimes better to be seen and not heard. These were of course in the days when parents ruled children, and not as it is today. So […]

Dennis Chung: Business and Consumer Confidence in Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor LAST YEAR, when the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) reported that consumer and business confidence were at their highest level for years, many persons were excited about the prospects. I remember speaking with Ralston Hyman […]

Gender-Responsive Budgets in Jamaica

By Marcia Forbes, PhD CJ Contributor A Solid WROC With the talk at every level of Jamaican society being about the IMF and the critical role the coming relationship with this institution will play in the country’s future, it […]

Dennis Chung: Jamaica’s Economy in 2013

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor ONE QUESTION I get a lot is: what is to be expected of economic performance in Jamaica in 2013? In particular, people want to know about the IMF agreement, the exchange rate, inflation, and GDP […]

Dominica Allocating Funding to Upgrade Country’s Hotel Rooms

By the Caribbean Journal staff Dominica’s hotel sector will soon get a boost from the country’s government, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit. The move was announced by Skerrit at the 2012-2013 budget presentation. Dominica currently has a special regime […]

Op-Ed: Jamaica’s Next 50 Years

By Ramesh Sujanani Op-Ed Contributor There are a lot of comments of late relating to Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence. In Wednesday’s Gleaner, Din Duggan made a few comments about the unforgivable fracas in Parliament recently, and Mr McConnell’s comment […]

Op-Ed: The Value of Jamaica’s Dollar

By Ramesh Sujanani Op-Ed Contributor It is now being touted that, with Jamaica’s expenditure exceeding its income, constant depreciation of the Jamaican Dollar is imminent. It has been said that this is no different to what has occurred in the […]

R Allen Stanford Gets 110-Year Sentence for Antigua-Based Fraud Scheme

Above: Casey Federal Courthouse in Houston By the Caribbean Journal staff Financier R Allen Stanford has received a 110-year prison sentence for orchestrating a 20-year investment fraud scheme in which he misappropriated $7 billion from his Stanford International Bank. The […]

Op-Ed: Jamaica’s Debt Trap

By Kent Gammon Op-Ed Contributor The state of the Jamaican economy over successive administrations tells the story of Jamaica’s evolving debt trap. The distinction that should be appreciated amongst successive administrations is how well each managed (or perhaps more appropriately […]

Interview with Francis Fonseca, Candidate for Prime Minister of Belize

By Alexander Britell BELIZEANS HEAD TO THE POLLS Wednesday to choose their next government — deciding between Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s ruling United Democratic Party and the Opposition People’s United Party, led by Francis Fonseca, which is looking to return […]

Kent Gammon: What Are the Priorities of the New Jamaican Government?

By Kent Gammon Op-Ed Contributor The Peoples’ National Party led by the Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller, was handsomely rewarded by the Jamaican people in the country’s 16th general election, taking 42 of the 63 seats in the House of Parliament. The […]

Regional Outlook: Preparing for the Worst, Hoping for the Best

By Hasan Tuluy Op-Ed Contributor Latin America and the Caribbean began 2011 on an economic high. After swiftly bouncing back from the 2008/2009 global crisis, the region grew at a record level in 2010 with some countries reaching East Asian […]

Op-Ed: Jamaica at a Crossroads

By Kent Gammon Op-Ed Contributor The Jamaican people will decide their fate on the Dec. 29 in the country’s 16th general election. They face a major crossroads: go with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which will mean austerity measures due […]

Interview with Roger Chang, President of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association

By Alexander Britell The Caribbean’s green energy movement has made strides in recent years, from a burgeoning geothermal sector on islands like Nevis and Dominica to wind farms like the one at Wigton in Jamaica. It’s Jamaica, however, which is […]

For Many Jamaicans, Green Energy Struggles to Catch On

Above: the wind farm at Wigton Jamaican Energy Minister Clive Mullings said he is not happy with the current take-up level of renewable energy devices in the country. The level of response to renewables was not comforting, he said, against […]

Grenada’s “Golden” Opportunity

By Lincoln Depradine Grenada’s Works and Physical Development Minister, Joseph Gilbert, is excited about a Chinese offer of monetary assistance for regional infrastructural development. “Grenada and other Caribbean countries now have a golden opportunity to undertake much-needed investment in developing […]

Bank of Jamaica Governor Brian Wynter: “Remarkable Change” Under Way

Brian Waynter (Photo: JIS) Jamaica is going through a period of “remarkable change,” Bank of Jamaica Governor Brian Wynter said yesterday at the Caribbean Canadian Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue Economic Symposium in St. Andrew. Wynter said the bank was working on […]

Jamaican Economy to Grow 1 to 2 Percent

The Jamaican economy could grow between 1 and 2 percent his year, according to the Bank of Jamaica. The growth will be driven by extensions in agriculture, mining and quarrying, along with hotels and restaurants. “The Jamaican economy has started […]

From a St Regis to a JW Marriott, AB Living Keeps Growing Its Mexican Caribbean Pipeline

Developer AB Living debuted its new SHA Mexico project in January, a new kind of hybrid wellness clinic and resort. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the company, which continues to develop new properties in the Mexican […]

The Tourism Renaissance Continues in Curacao

It largely began in the summer of 2022, when Sandals Resorts International opened its first-ever Dutch Caribbean resort in Curacao, and everything seemed to change. Almost immediately, the “Sandals Effect” led to record-breaking tourism numbers on the island, particularly from […]

The Caribbean’s Premier Rum Event Is Back Again in St Bart’s

The best rums in the world are back in the heart of the French Caribbean for the sixth annual edition of the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth. This year’s festival, which runs Oct. 31-Nov. 4, includes the world’s most exclusive […]

Caribbean Moment: Finding Serenity in Belize’s Mountain Pine Ridge Forest