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General Accident finalises expensive Caribbean reorganisation

By |2021-02-25T14:23:10+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

General Accident Insurance Company has completed its expensive reorganisation and rebranding of its Caribbean subsidiaries in Barbados and Trinidad. The company incurred heavy start-up cost for its Barbados subsidiary, which was launched last year. The expensive start-up cost was expected and provisions budgeted to meet these expenses. The Jamaica-based insurance company expects that its Barbados [...]

PAHO director says the Americas should be a ‘global priority’ for COVID-19 vaccines

By |2021-02-25T14:11:39+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa Etienne yesterday described the Americas, which includes the Caribbean, as the “epicentre” of the COVID-19 pandemic and called on the international community to make regional access to vaccines “a global priority”. “The life-saving power of vaccines should not be a privilege for [...]

ADVERTORIAL | Digitalisation of financial services will bring more people into the formal economy

By |2021-02-25T14:07:52+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

With the adoption of more digital channels, experts in technology and the business sector are of the view that more businesses and persons will be forced to enter the formal economy. “The coronavirus pandemic has pushed more people online to use digital channels, which have been available through financial institutions,” informed Dmitri Dawkins, commercial director [...]

JPS pumps US$16m into Nest power plant

By |2021-02-25T14:04:18+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

File The power plant under construction at ‘The Nest’ is costing US$16 million or $2.4 billion in local currency, utility company Jamaica Public Service Company, JPS, has said. The 10 Megawatt power plant, which will be fired by natural gas supplied by New Fortress Energy, is to be commissioned at mid-year. “All elements of the [...]

Fed in no hurry to raise interest rates

By |2021-02-25T13:57:19+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the central bank will not start raising interest rates until it believes its goals on maximum employment and inflation have been reached. Powell also warned that many who had worked in industries hardest hit by the pandemic and ensuing recession will likely need [...]

Jamaican economy shrinks 9.4%

By |2021-02-25T13:52:47+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

The Jamaican economy contracted by 9.4 per cent in the December quarter, dragged down by the services sector. While the goods sector declined by a marginal 0.6 per cent, services shrank by 11.5 per cent in the October-December 2020 period, amid continued weakness in the tourism and travel markets. The PIOJ stated that the [...]

Economy expected to register growth by first quarter of this year — PIOJ

By |2021-02-25T13:47:23+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) says it is expecting the economy to return to growth during the first quarter or the April to June period of this year. This projection comes after some four quarters of contractions in gross domestic product (GDP) levels, with much of the impact largely attributed to the adverse effects of [...]

Jamaica Customs reports 24% dip in revenues in 2020

By |2021-02-25T13:41:09+00:00February 25th, 2021|news|

REVENUES collected by the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) for 2020 dipped during the last three quarters of the year by 24 per cent. According to figures provided by the Government in the 2021/22 Fiscal Policy Paper (FPP), for the period between April and December 2020, Customs revenues fell by $43.6 billion to $135.5 billion. The [...]

Oran Hall | Choosing between repos and preference shares

By |2021-02-23T14:38:26+00:00February 23rd, 2021|news|

QUESTION: I read with much interest your column on preference and ordinary shares. It was very timely because I am thinking about removing an investment I have in repos at a financial institution and using the funds to purchase the preference shares being offered by JMMB. In your column you mentioned that preference shares are [...]

Jamaica Customs reports 24% dip in revenues in 2020

By |2021-02-22T13:06:39+00:00February 22nd, 2021|news|

REVENUES collected by the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) for 2020 dipped during the last three quarters of the year by 24 per cent. According to figures provided by the Government in the 2021/22 Fiscal Policy Paper (FPP), for the period between April and December 2020, Customs revenues fell by $43.6 billion to $135.5 billion. The [...]

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