Archive for category Business News
Hike in departure, phone taxes
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on September 30th, 2009
F
inance Minister Audley Shaw last night announced an increase in the departure tax and a further hike in GCT on phone calls and instruments near the end of a marathon sitting of Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee at Gordon House.
Shaw said that the airport departure tax will move from $1,000 to $1,800, while the tax on phone calls and instruments - which was increased from 16.5 per cent to 20 per cent in April this year - will now move to 25 per cent.
The increases become effective tomorrow and will yield $1.7 billion that Shaw said will close the budget deficit.
NYU Business School Gets its First Black Dean
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on September 15th, 2009
By: Floyd O. Wilson | Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A new day another barrier is broken. The Stern School of Business at New York University, one of the premier business schools in the nation, has turned to an economics professor at Stanford University, who is also black, as its new dean.
Peter Blair Henry, a Jamaica-born Rhodes Scholar, moves to NYU in January 2010 from Stanford, where he’s currently holding the post of Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Economics. He’ll be NYU’s first black business school dean.
Henry takes over at the school with 5,700 students at a difficult time, with many people questioning the mission of business schools after last year’s financial crash, which many now believe was caused in part by greed among business leaders.
The longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression has also proved a disaster for most of the nation’s colleges and universities. Schools such as NYU that used to benefit from alumni generosity have seen their funding sources dry up. Many of them have watched as their investments and those of their funders disappear like smoke on Wall Street.
A recent Bloomberg report said, “Millions of dollars for financial aid is out of reach at New York University, trapped in endowment accounts that can’t be touched because of a once-obscure state law thrust into prominence by historic investment losses.”
Mello FM goes islandwide
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on September 10th, 2009
BY: HORACE HINES, Observer West reporter
Thursday, September 10, 2009
MONTEGO BAY, St James
The Montego Bay-based Mello FM radio station which has, since 2004 been transmitting in western parishes will have an islandwide reach next month, setting the stage for a more competitive radio market.
Mello FM, which operates from 63 Barnett Street, Montego Bay, now restricts coverage to St. James, Trelawny, Hanover, Westmoreland and sections of St. Ann and St. Elizabeth.
It will extend its coverage island-wide on frequencies 88.1 megahertz (MHz) from Catherine’s Peak in St. Andrew covering the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and sections of St. Thomas and St. Mary.
The radio station will also be transmitting on 88.3 from Huntley, Mancheste,r covering Manchester, Clarendon, Trelawny and St. Elizabeth.
Currently Mello FM covers western Jamaica on frequencies 96.1 and 88.1 MHz from Kempshot Peak, St. James and Birchs Hill, Hanover respectively. But, with the clustering of Mello FM’ frequencies on the 88 MHz band, listeners in St. James, Trelawny and sections of St. Ann who listened on 96.1 will now have to tune to their favourite programmes on 88.5, starting September 25 at 2:00 p.m.
According to a release, Mello FM is the radio station of choice for listeners in western Jamaica who crave its adult, contemporary and rhythm and blues music format.
Mello FM’s general manager, Al Robinson expressed confidence that the station will maintain its western focus, primarily serving the needs of its western audience, while broadcasting developments in the region to a national audience.
I have no regrets, says Patterson
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on September 6th, 2009
Former PM argues that Sabina Park, Trelawny stadium worthy investments
By HG HELPS Editor-at-Large Investigative Coverage Unit
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Retired Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson speaking with the Sunday Observer last Friday at his St Andrew home. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)
There has been much debate about Jamaica’s decision to build a new sports complex and upgrade another in time for the Cricket World Cup of 2007.
However, the man who had the final say regarding the implementation of both projects is insisting that work was done taking the best interest of Jamaica in mind, adding that he would do it again, if faced with a similar challenge.
"I have no regrets whatsoever," retired Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson told the Sunday Observer in an exclusive interview.
The Government spent over US$60 million on both the Trelawny MultiPurpose Complex and Sabina Park to help improve Jamaica’s profile for the Cricket World Cup, which was being hosted for the first time by the Caribbean since play in the 50-over tournament began in England in 1975.
Other Caribbean countries invested heavily in stadia, some of which have seen limited activity or action restricted to cricket.
The Jamaica Labour Party, which initially supported the idea of Jamaica hosting the World Cup, has since criticised the Patterson-led administration for extravagant spending on structural projects like the Trelawny stadium and Sabina Park, arguing that the money could have benefited health care and education.
Even Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Dr Omar Davies who was finance and planning minister in the Patterson administration, raised questions about the wisdom of Jamaica’s heavy financial input. Committee member Ronnie Thwaites, like Davies a People’s National Party member of parliament, was one of those suggesting that the Government at the time erred in spending so much on the World Cup.
It was no secret that Davies opposed the construction of the Trelawny stadium.
Patterson, however, is insisting that Jamaica will benefit in the long run and maintains that he did the right thing.
Trelawny MultiPurpose Complex
“We received the offer to host the World Cup in what was to be the last tournament of its kind in 2007,” said Patterson. “I say the last tournament because what the host country would get from the final earnings would not be available in subsequent tournaments. Future host countries will get a lesser share.
“When heads of governments were asked to do it, the proposal was that the cricketing authorities would do it and we were to provide the guarantees for the initial loan. The residual benefit, however, would be a substantial sum of money that would enable us to develop and sustain the growth of West Indies cricket.
“First of all, if the West Indies as a whole could not host the World Cup we would have to question our whole participation in the scheme of things. As time developed, it became clear that the cricket boards couldn’t do it by themselves, and in effect, either the governments had to do it or it wouldn’t be done at all. We had to take a decision,” he said.
Patterson, a senior lawyer, said that a decision was soon taken to concentrate first on Sabina Park and then find another location that would have long-term benefits for the people of western Jamaica.
Two new housing developments planned for St Ann
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on September 1st, 2009
BY: ALESIA EDWARDS - Observer staff reporter alesiae@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, August 30, 2009
OCHO RIOS, St Ann - Plans are afoot to construct two multimillion-dollar housing developments in the parish, one along the White River and the other on approximately 300 acres of idle land at Britton Ville near Claremont.
The developments will be undertaken by St Ann businessman Dani Gonzalez, who will be partnering with US-based Tri-Steel Corporation to construct more than 2,500 housing units. The units are to be constructed entirely from steel and will become the first of their kind to be built in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Project manager, Michael Quirke, said these new and modern houses will be safer, stronger and healthier with higher quality than any other form of construction available in the island. He said the houses will be able to withstand fire and other natural disasters as well as moulds and termite infestation.
“It’s a building method that has been used in America for the last 30 years, but it just hasn’t taken off in the Caribbean and we are going to use Jamaica as a launch pad to teach the rest of the Caribbean how to do this,” Quirke said.
The Bureau of Standards has already granted approval for this type of structure and the developers are now awaiting approval from the St Ann Parish Council to start the project.
Quirke said with this type of construction, homeowners can move into their new house within 15 days from the day the construction starts. He explained that all the building materials are ready-made and that all that needs to be done is for the building to be fastened together.
“The houses can be built completely by women, you don’t need men at all because its all light gauge, it’s nothing heavy . it’s very simple to do,” Quirke said. “Once the developers in this country see our building methods they will change their own, because it is far cheaper to build this way and the quality is much better.”
He said although the plan is to construct up to 3,000 two-bedroom apartments in a high-rise cluster-style at Britton Ville, with the Mammee Ridge Estate Project it has to wait on approval from the council to determine how many houses can be constructed and the height of each building.
Managing Money in Marriage
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on July 23rd, 2009
YOUR MONEY
With Cherryl Hanson-Simpson
Thursday, July 23, 2009
“I am frustrated with the way my husband spends money. Although we agreed that we need to stick to a budget to keep costs under control, he refuses to give up spending money on things like clubs and sporting events. I want to plan for the future, but he seems to be happy living in the present. Please help!”
Studies have shown that disagreements about money are one of the leading causes of marital breakdown.
Compromise is perhaps the most important ingredient for a successful union, especially when it comes to financial matters.
But what happens when the two parties in a marriage have vastly different money beliefs and practices? How can they arrive at a workable arrangement when they have opposite money personalities?
The key to arriving at a happy middle ground is to create spending and savings plans that will address both individuals’ needs and the overall family requirements. Both partners must be committed to and satisfied with the process to ensure its success.
The first step is to have a clear picture of all the expenses that must be covered, and to determine if the income is sufficient to meet these needs. Use a personal budget to record all the bills and the joint earning amounts. Go to the financial tools section of www.financiallysmartonline.com to download a personal budget.
Online banking grows
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on June 28th, 2009
More customers choosing ‘free’ over ‘fees’
Published: Sunday | June 28, 2009 | Avia Collinder, Business Reporter
Jamaica’s largest commercial banks are reporting a significant growth in the number of customers resorting to online banking, a free service.
The trend suggests a direct response to banks’ increasing service charges, which represent billions in annual revenues for the big two - Scotiabank and National Commercial Bank (NCB).
Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica (BNS), which upgraded its online service in the first quarter of this year, has already seen a 25 per cent jump in the use of online banking only halfway through year, according to Maya Walrond, senior vice-president of customer experience at the institution.
Some 37,000, or 10 per cent, of its active customers use the e-banking service of the bank, which is the local sector leader in deposits.
NCB, the largest bank by assets, is reporting that e-banking represented 46 per cent of all transactions in May this year, up from 42 per cent recorded in January.
Together, BNS and NCB control 70 per cent of the commercial banking market.
Easier than telephone banking
“As more people get access to Internet, more are using it as their primary way of banking. It is the easiest of all our channels, even easier than telephone banking,” said Walrond.
She is quick to underscore the savings being realised by those who bank online.
Digicel’s huge deficit
Posted by ShopinJA in Business News on June 24th, 2009
Telecom’s strong EBITDA growth support heavy borrowing
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The US$41-million annual net profit that Digicel Group reported for its financial year that ran to March 31, 2009, did little to impact the more than US$1.2 billion it has racked up in deficits over the years since it started operating in the region eight years ago.
The RKA building in which Digicel's Jamaican operations is headquartered.
The telecommunications company’s deepening foray into the region is also carrying with it a burgeoning debt, which has been supported primarily by Digicel’s strong growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and which carries a high interest component that draws down huge amounts of cash out of the firm’s coffers.
The Irish-owned telecom, which started operating in the region when it opened its doors in Jamaica in 2001, has actually been posting quarterly net profit, albeit small relative the sizeable deficit, since the December quarter of 2007 and has seen considerable improvement over the last two quarters reported - US$10.5 million in the December quarter of 2008 and US$24.8 million in the March quarter this year.
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