caribbean journal

Talking China with World Bank Lead Caribbean Economist Auguste Kouame

Anguilla Chamber of Commerce President Keithley Lake Talks Business

Above: the Viceroy Anguilla By Alexander Britell While Anguilla saw a wave of luxury resort development during the economic boom in the middle of the decade, like the rest of the Caribbean it was hurt by the economic downturn. Some …

Interview with Belize Chamber of Commerce President Kay Menzies

Above: Cayo Espanto, Ambergris Caye, Belize By Alexander Britell One of three non-island members of CARICOM, Belize is among the gateways to South America for the Caribbean. While the country has suffered from the downturn like the rest of the …

St Kitts and Nevis Project Positive Growth

Above: Charlestown, Nevis (Photo: Caribbean Journal) By the Caribbean Journal staff The economy of St Kitts and Nevis is projected to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent his year, with a slightly higher rate in 2012, according to the …

Economist Dr Michael Witter on Debt, Globalisation and the Jamaican Economy

By Alexander Britell Dr Michael Witter is an economist and senior lecturer at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies Mona. He is also one of the Caribbean’s experts on …

Haiti: UN Forces on Alert ahead of Storm

Above: UN peacekeepers conduct an emergency response training exercise (UN Photo/Victoria Hazou) By the Caribbean Journal staff Nearly 12,000 United Nations peacekeepers are on emergency standby in Haiti as tropical storm Emily heads towards the island, which is still struggling …

In Jamaica, a Row over Scrap Metal

Above: From left: Industry, Investment and Commerce State Minister, Hon. Michael Stern and Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr Christopher Tufton (right), at his New Kingston offices, Tuesday. (JIS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff A controversy is growing …

Chinese Companies Setting Up in Cayman

Many Chinese firms have chosen to create shell companies in the Cayman islands in order to control businesses back in China, according to the Wall Street Journal. Because they are in Cayman, they can issue American depository receipts that trade …

Unease over Jamaica’s IMF Review

The Private Sector Organization of Jamaica is concerned about Jamaica’s loan arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, as the world body has yet to complete its performance review for December 2010 and March 2011. Earlier this week, People’s National Party …

In Jamaica, a New Tack on Tax

Above: Finance Minister Audley Shaw (JIS Photo) Jamaica is looking to instill a culture of tax compliance in the country, in response to what Finance Minister Audley Shaw called an “unacceptably low” level of tax payments. “There are people who …

BP Doubles Trinidad Oil Exploration

By the Caribbean Journal staff British Petroleum said it had been awarded a pair of deepwater oil exploration blocks off the Trinidad coast. The two blocks are off of Trinidad’s eastern coast. BP’s Trinidad operations account for more than half …

Boston Teams Fight Haiti Cholera

Photo: David Walton/Partners in Health A team from Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital is joining the charge to fight the Haitian cholera outbreak that has ravaged the earthquake-torn country. Last week, six medical professionals, including one doctor, headed to the Hospital …

CARICOM Plans Regional Sports Academy

Above: Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz in Gold Cup play (Photo: CONCACAF) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Caribbean Single Market plans to establish a Regional Sports Academy that would focus on using sports as a vehicle for Caribbean integration. The plan …

In Cayman, Businesses Express Opposition to Gender Equality Bill

By the Caribbean Journal Cayman’s business community is opposing the government’s proposed attempt at passing a bill regulating gender equality in the workplace. According to the text of a letter the government received from the Cayman Islands Law Society, Cayman …

Dominica’s Irwin LaRocque Tapped as New CARICOM Secretary-General

Above: CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin Larocque By the Caribbean Journal staff Domincan native Irwin LaRocque has been named the new secretary-general of CARICOM, the single market announced today. LaRocque has served as assistant secretary-general for trade and economic integration at CARICOM …

Barbados, Italy Meet on Airlift, Tax

Above: Ambassador Paolo Serpi, left, and Barbados PM Freundel Stuart Barbados PM Freundel Stuart met with Italian Ambassador to Barbados Paolo Serpi to discuss a number of issues, including an air services agreement between the two countries, a double taxation …

Aid Helps Haiti Renovate Prisons

Above: officials at a prison in Croix de Bouquets, Haiti (File Photo: UN) Earthquake aid has helped one particularly poor sector of Haiti — its prisons. A year and a half after the quake that devastated the nation, a group …

Jamaica Monitors Gold Mine Leak

Dr Horace Chang (2nd left), addressing journalists about a toxic leak at the gold mine in Pennants, Clarendon, during a media briefing at the National Environment and Planning Agency yesterday. Others (from left) are: Chief Executive Officer, NEPA, Peter Knight; …

Jamaica Seeks More Chinese Investment

Above: the Chinese embassy in Jamaica Above: the Chinese Embassy in Jamaica (Photo: Chinese Embassy) Jamaican Minister of Finance Audley Shaw said an invitation has been extended to the Chinese to expand their investments in the country. Shaw, who was …