A new survey commissioned by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) found that millennial consumer behaviours have been shaped by the widespread adoption of smart phones and the Internet. The survey, titled the Mobile Consumer Survey for Jamaica and conducted via SMS and mobile web, received more than 3,750 responses within five days [...]

Gov't says $338 million in claims collected from companies last year BY ALPHEA SAUNDERS Senior staff reporter saundersa@jamaicaobserver.com It costs the Kingston Public Hospital (pictured here) $400,000 per day to treat trauma victims (Photo: Observer file) THE Government during the last fiscal year collected $338 million in claims from health insurance providers, and is [...]

Bennett-Templer Already struggling and under-resourced, public hospitals are losing an estimated $300 million to insurance companies from individuals with health coverage who are preying on public hospitals where services are 'free'. Under the no-user-fee policy, hospitals are entitled to receive fees from insurance companies where a policy holder uses the public-health facilities. However, patients [...]

Prime Minister Andrew Holness Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that urgency must be placed on settling the issue of public sector pension reform. Acknowledging concerns expressed by trade unions relating to the five per cent increase in contributions by workers, Mr. Holness noted on Saturday that failure to reform pensions will result in [...]

Never neglect the household   Any country that has managed to transition itself from developing to developed in this hostile global geopolitical environment has done so by providing the platform to facilitate a balanced distribution of resources and support to firms as well as to households via the government. Many developing countries, including Jamaica, [...]

ALL first-time applicants for mortgages from the National Housing Trust (NHT) should now be able to access the full loan ceiling of $5.5 million, regardless of the age of the homes they are purchasing. Effective yesterday, the policy changes to the NHT's individual loan limit will enable eligible contributors to access the full amount to [...]

Local banks are saying that new charges levied on US-dollar accountholders are related to higher costs associated with transporting and shipping the currency overseas. As supplies of foreign currency build up in bank vaults, new fees on deposits above set thresholds have been imposed on savers. Account holders are further disincentivised by the appreciation [...]

WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — Highlighting the contributions of creative talent to social and economic progress, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the e-book, Orange Economy: Innovations you may not know were from Latin America and the Caribbean . The IDB said it uses the term “orange economy” to describe the cultural and [...]

QUESTION: I am currently going to start university. I am seeking your advice on opening a unit trust account. I am not familiar with all the terms of investment and business, but I am interested in investing, Any advice for someone who is a beginner in the investment world, especially one with little to [...]

While life insurers are befitting from the change in reserve requirements, leading to higher investment income, general insurers saw a fall off in earnings for the quarter ended March, according to data from the Financial Services Commission (FSC). There are 10 general insurance companies in operation, overseeing assets of $72 billion. The six life insurers [...]