Business

China to experiment with private banks

BEIJING, (AFP) - China will launch a trial programme for private firms to set up banks, the country's banking regulator said Tuesday, with Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba reportedly among the first applicants. Most Chinese lenders are state-controlled and banks founded by private companies are ... Read More

LIME LIME snatches 7 major advertising awards
Telecommunications firm LIME, pulled off a big haul at the American Advertising Awards (ADDY Awards) ... Read More

A section of the Monymusk sugar factory. Chinese-bought sugar operations' losses grow
CHINESE-OWNED Pan- Caribbean Sugar continued to incur losses in the second half of the year, followi ... Read More

Usain Bolt Puma to launch largest campaign with swagger of Bolt
GLOBAL sports brand Puma will launch its largest campaign in a decade dubbed 'Forever Faster' which ... Read More

Combining equity market exposure with bond-like returns

Marian Ross | Sunday, March 09, 2014    

A specialist wears a

AS investors return to the equity markets and the US and UK economies signal a fragile recovery, investors are inclined to look for higher yielding assets which are always accompanied by higher risks. However, investors would be wise to prudently manage the types of risks they assume and should beware of the credit risk associated with their investments. Today we will look at instruments that combine features of debt and equity in order to give investors exposure to the upswing in the equity ma ... Read More

Five clues to the health of US job market

Sunday, March 09, 2014    

Job seekers line up to see recruiters during a career fair in Plano, Texas.

WASHINGTON, USA THE US economy has been skating on an icy patch in advance of the February jobs report being released Friday. Hiring skidded in December and January to roughly half its average monthly pace of last year. Auto buying, existing-home sales and factory orders have slid as key economic sectors surrendered to a harsh winter. And the economy entered 2014 with less momentum than initially thought. All of which magnifies the importance of Friday's jobs report. The Labor Department data ... Read More

'Digicel's tier 3 data centre critical to logistics hub success' - Hylton

Sunday, March 09, 2014    

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton and Digicel Jamaica’s CEO Barry O’Brien in deep discussions during a tour of the Executive Briefing Centre at Digicel’s downtown headquarters last Tuesday.

During a recent tour of Digicel's Tier III Data Centre, the Honourable Anthony Hylton, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce said that Information Communication Technology (ICT) would be a critical part of the technology infrastructure needed to make Jamaica's global logistics hub a success. Digicel Business said it is looking forward to supporting and facilitating the modern ICT needs of investors who will help to make the logistics hub a success. "A global logistics hub requires a g ... Read More

Is Jamaica poised for a turnaround?

KEITH COLLISTER | Sunday, March 09, 2014    

The recent moves by the Bank of Jamaica on the liquidity front have helped, but more needs to be done, so that the central government can return to the local capital market, and thereafter regain international capital market access.

IN an article in the US-based Foreign Policy magazine last month, prolific US economist Dr Robert Looney asked the question, posed in the headline, of whether Jamaica was now poised for a turnaround. He concludes a long article by noting that "While there are many uncertainties, and a great deal of work to be done, Jamaica may finally have found a reason to hope for the future -- something that has been sorely absent for many years. "One year after Jamaica's debt exchange, and only 10 months af ... Read More

Man said to create bitcoin denies it

Sunday, March 09, 2014    

Dorian S Nakamoto talks during an interview with the Associated Press in Los Angeles. Nakamoto, the man that Newsweek claims is the founder of Bitcoin, denies he had anything to do with it. (PHOTO: AP)

CALIFORNIA, USA — Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto said that he is not the creator of bitcoin, adding further mystery to the story of how the world's most popular digital currency came to be. The denial came after Newsweek published a 4,500-word cover story claiming Nakamoto is the person who wrote the computer code underpinnings of bitcoin. In an exclusive two-hour interview with The Associated Press, Nakamoto, 64, denied he had anything to do with it and said he had never heard of bitc ... Read More

US companies spend heavily on big mergers in 2014

Saturday, March 08, 2014    

The Comcast logo is displayed on a TV set. Comcast has offered to buy Time Warner Cable for US$45 billion.

NEW YORK, USA — SO far, 2014 is looking like the year of the big deal. Flush with cash and high stock prices, companies are buying up the competition at levels not seen since the dotcom bubble. And with Washington providing more clarity on government spending plans, CEOs are more confident their expansion hopes will pan out -- especially if the economy keeps growing. Many of the acquisitions involve American businesses doing the buying or getting bought by overseas rivals. Global deals ar ... Read More

Columbus cuts call rates

Saturday, March 08, 2014    

Columbus Business Solutions has (CBS) cut its fixed-line call rates for business customers. Effective March 1, the ICT solutions provider has introduced a new, simpler rate structure, with a single low rate of $2.70 a minute for calls to any local number, including all mobile numbers, and a single rate of $9.72 for all overseas calls to the USA, Canada, Caricom and UK landlines. "These new rates mean that our business customers will gain great savings on their telephone calls," said Jenson Sy ... Read More

Access posts higher profit on increased demand for micro loans

Saturday, March 08, 2014    

MICROLENDING outfit Access Financial Services says an improvement in services increased the demand for its products and has led to the 15 per cent jump in its year-end profit. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2013, the company posted $270 million in net profit, up from $238 million in the corresponding period in the prior year. Interest income from loans increased by 28 per cent or $759.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2013, from $595.3 million in the prior year. Interest Inc ... Read More

Carib Cement to operate gypsum Halberstadt Quarry within a month

BY SHAMILLE SCOTT Business reporter scotts@jamaicaobserver.com | Friday, March 07, 2014    

The Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) group currently looks to meet a demand of 1.7 million tonnes of cement, and the gypsum content accounts for about five per cent or 90,000 tonnes of that, while Caribbean Cement produces 45 per cent to the total group, according to Anthony Haynes, general manager of Caribbean Cement.

CARIBBEAN Cement Company hopes to start using a gypsum quarry that has been dormant for four decades, within a month. The Halberstadt Quarry will supply the company's cement plant with the gypsum needed for the production of ordinary portland and blended cements. The company has already received an environmental permit with stipulated conditions from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). Of course, becoming operational is subject to receiving other necessary approvals such as a ... Read More

KLE Group looks to international investors

Friday, March 07, 2014    

LOCAL entertainment company, the KLE Group has said that it has received interest from large international investors to establish franchises of the Marketplace-based sports bar Tracks&Records across the globe. This follows news that the KLE Group recorded a J$56 million net loss for the financial year 2013. The Group also operates Fiction nightclub, close to Tracks& Records and Famous night club in Portmore. The KLE Group is experiencing a torrid time of late, with reports that it will ... Read More



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