Jamaica
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CARICOM Single-Clearance Idea Good
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner – This newspaper endorses the suggestion by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states introduce a visa regime similar to the Schengen visa of some European Union members. The system would allow seamless travel by visitors across the Community after clearing immigration/customs at their initial port of entry. Such a system was in…
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Salada looks to Africa
KINGSTON Jamaica, Observer – COFFEE and tea products maker Salada Foods is eyeing Africa. “We are looking at the African market as another area of potential growth for us,” said Julian Rodney, Salada's general manager. “Salada has no presence there.” With a particular focus on West Africa, Rodney reckons that the similarity in taste profile to Jamaicans makes the market…
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‘Time hard and the dutty tough’, but…
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer – WE have a sense that the Government's version of JDX, being called the National Debt Exchange Offer, is a smart way to squeeze $17 billion annually out of the system, without sending the nation into panic. We will return to this tomorrow in this space. But at the same, we also have the sense that Monday…
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Our Hands Are Tied – Stakeholders Reluctantly Accept New Debt Exchange
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer – It was not a happy group inside the Bank of Jamaica Auditorium in Kingston yesterday morning as Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips hosted the launch of the National Debt Exchange (NDX). The second of its kind in three years, Simpson Miller has indicated that the offer is…
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Government planning to tax churches, charities?
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer – ELIMINATING discretionary waivers altogether could return $4 billion in revenue to the Government. But the tax breaks, which are approved after applications are considered by the finance ministry, mostly go to charitable organisations, while public sector bodies and government contracts take up a significant portion of the rest. What's more, with a targeted primary surplus of…
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EDITORIAL – Debt Restructuring Merely One Step
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner – Monday night's unprecedented joint broadcast by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Finance Minister Peter Phillips about the proposed restructuring of Jamaica's domestic debt – and other measures to reform the economy – is a welcome first step. But Mrs Simpson Miller and Dr Phillips will understand if this newspaper, as do many other Jamaicans, wants…
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Exporters escape incentive cuts, for now
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer -THE Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA) is breathing a sign of relief in the face of planned fiscal cuts by the Government. The association said it has been assured that statutory incentives to its members will remain intact though the Government continues to grapple with fiscal consolidation. “The obligations that the Government has already put in place will…
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S&P downgrades Jamaica’s credit rating
(Jamaica Gleaner) Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Jamaica’s sovereign credit rating from B- to selective default in response to the Government’s debt exchange programme. Selective default occurs when a borrower elects to delay the repayment of some of its financial obligations while fully honouring others. Standard & Poor’s says it sees the move by Jamaica as a default of its…
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LEAD-JAMAICA-IMF promises to work with Jamaica on economic programme to deal with high debt
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Tuesday said it would continue to work “assiduously” with the Jamaican authorities” on an economic programme that would help address the challenges caused by high debt and low growth. “Over the last three decades, the Jamaican economy has experienced very low economic growth, declining productivity, and reduced international competitiveness. An important…
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Opposition cries sell-out
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Members of the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) walked out of Parliament during the debate on a J$15.9-billion (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) tax package presented by government, less than 24 hours after it asked nationals to support stringent measures in order for the island to seal a multi-million dollar Stand By Agreement with the…
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