Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, says that all is in place for the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which starts on June 1. “As the Minister with responsibility for disaster preparedness, I want to assure the country that all the resources that will be required to ensure that we can respond in a [...]

Marian Ross, vice-president of trading & investment at Sterling Asset Management, is pictured making a delivery to the Golden Age Home on Monday. It includes much-needed sanitation supplies and adult diapers as well as novels, puzzles and games for the residents from Sterling Asset Management and their clients. The emergence of the novel coronavirus has [...]

HENRY... For April-June 2020, growth prospects for the economy are generally negative based on the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a fall in demand for goods and services, amidst the full roll out of measures to contain the spread of the virus. The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in its latest [...]

HE Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) has described the recent decision taken by the European Union (EU) to blacklist some Caribbean countries as unanticipated and unwarranted. In a release yesterday, the regional entity which represents over 56 banks and financial institutions in the Caribbean said that the EU's decision warrants clear and concise justification and [...]

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) said that in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic it has estimated a gross domestic product (GDP) projection of 0.1 per cent — down from the 0.6 per cent forecast previously held for this fiscal year. Speaking on Wednesday at a quarterly briefing to review the country's economic performance [...]

EARLY projections indicate that the financial sector is expected to buckle under higher non-performing loans, as the haemorrhaging from COVID-19 is expected to escalate. The projections done by the international auditing and management firm of KPMG, under the heading 'Credit Risk Implications of COVID-19 Crisis', estimate that non-performing loans could rise as high as 9.5 [...]

Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) President Vernon James says while industry players empathise with businesses that have been impacted by the current health crisis, business interruption insurance clauses do not cover losses due to viruses such as COVID-19. “This risk was never priced into the premiums charged and is excluded from standard reinsurance contracts. Any [...]

The Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) says feedback received from its members indicate that most will not be ready with preparations for the June 1 return of employees to the workplace. Businesses are expected to operate within the guidelines of physical distancing and infection prevention and control amid the continued COVID-19 threat. JEF President David Wan [...]

Local entrepreneurs are being encouraged to place more focus on queue management. This in an effort to address the issues of overcrowding and physical distancing in business places as they continue to deal with the impact of COVID-19 on their operations. The recommendation comes from Roshaine Gunter, Industrial Engineer at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation. [...]