QUESTION: How can I use my land title as an investment tool or to get a loan? - Ackeem FINANCIAL ADVISER: A loan against property belongs to the secured-loan category where the borrower gives a guarantee by using his property as security. This is an effective way to use the millions of dollars being stored [...]

The KLE Group, developers of the Bessa villas in partnership with Sagicor Group Jamaica, says in a new update on the project that the St Mary development will cost US$22 million. The developers are already taking reservations for units, which should be delivered by 2020, KLE Group CEO Gary Matalon told the Financial Gleaner. "I [...]

The following story is being published exclusively in Jamaica by the Jamaica Observer with the permission of the London-based Central Banking Publications, who published it first. As the story indicates, independence for Bank of Jamaica is not just a big deal for Jamaica, but is in fact a game-changer for the entire Caribbean. Granting the [...]

ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC) — Grenada is expected to maintain economic growth for the sixth-consecutive year, based on prelimiary data for the first half of this year. Describing this as a remarkable achievement, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell says the sectors contributing to the increasing economic activities since his New National Party (NNP) returned to [...]

Lloyd Distant, newly elected president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce. Lloyd Distant, newly elected president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, JCC, says that while the private-sector organisation's ultimate objective is the abolition of the income tax, its more immediate demand would be for the Government to reduce its reliance on the levy [...]

Audrey Marks, Jamaica's ambassador to the United States and Chairman of the Caricom Caucus of Ambassadors, says the funds will be accessible by small and medium companies. IDB Invest, the investment arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, says it has more than US$300 million for investment opportunities in the Caribbean. IDB Invest general manager, James [...]

Cheapskates and low spenders aren't the ideal credit card customers for banks because they're typically not as profitable as fast-swiping spendthrifts who rack up finance charges. Still, banks offer credit cards with features that can fit well into a frugal lifestyle. Some penny-pinchers prefer paying only with cash, especially if they think the pain of [...]

Children born in Jamaica at this time will only be 54 per cent as productive when they reach the age of 18 as they could be if provided with complete education and full health, according to the human capital index, a new study launched by the World Bank last week. On the other hand, those [...]

MicroFinance Institutions (MFIs) need to increase their investment in disaster risk management prevention, states Yuri Chakalall, natural disaster and risk management senior specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The micro, small and medium enterprise sector needs to acquire greater disaster resilience, and MFIs have a stake in assisting them achieve this, Chakalall posited; and [...]

Head of the Mona GeoInformatics Institute of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, is warning against an overreaction to the recent tremors felt across Jamaica. He pointing out that Jamaica records hundreds of 'minor quakes' per year, and that the best response must be in adherence to the building [...]