http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/ JamaicaObserver.com, the most concise and in-depth website for news coverage on Jamaica and the Caribbean. Updated daily 7 days a week, 24 hours a day en-us copyright Jamaica Observer, 2011 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Lash-by-Lash--Lavish-fuses_14497005 MELISSA Clarke didn't want to do just hair and nails. Local Business Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Are-you-financially-focused-_14497224 WHEN it comes to personal finances, many women find themselves floundering. We are often caught between our desire to enhance our financial wealth and our lack of knowledge of where to begin. The result is often more debt, less wealth, and no retirement planning. And many of us are not as financially focused as we should be. Local Business Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/8-ways-to-cut-your-grocery-bill_14488891 It may be that you are eating more than you need, why your bill gets higher every trip you make to the supermarket. Or, it could be that you are doubling up by purchasing what you already have. Whatever the case may be there are simple ways to cut your grocery bill. Here are some tips: Local Business Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Campus-hustle-to-corporate-_14496680 LUWAYNE Thomas and Abi Gaye White started out helping fellow students with data entry and analysis for surveys on the University of West Indies campus at Mona. Local Business Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Ideas-for-keeping-your-data-safe-from-spying_14496095 LONDON, England Financial Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Economics-101--How-the-economy-affects-me-_14497051 THE IMF deal, the budget, the general state of the economy, the nation's debt burden: we have all been bombarded with references to these obscure items that supposedly affect our lives. It's the reason you can't liquidate your inventory, meet your sales target, get a job, a raise or a promotion. The science of economics shapes our financial and social well-being in so many different ways and through so many different mechanisms. It is important for us to understand how these forces affect us and what they mean. Local Business Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Google-launches-Internet-beaming-balloons_14501359 CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Wrinkled and skinny at first, the translucent, jellyfish-shaped balloons that Google released this week from a frozen field in the heart of New Zealand's South Island hardened into shiny pumpkins as they rose into the blue winter skies above Lake Tekapo, passing the first big test of a lofty goal to get the entire planet online. International Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Fusing-2-dreams-into-a-caf-_14488875 TWO long-time friends with opposite personalities may not sound like the perfect mix for a business. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Digicel-announces-rate-drop_14490679 KINGSTON, Jamaica - DIGICEL has now given prepaid customers the option to make calls for $2.99 per minute — billed on a per-second basis — to other networks. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Carib-Cement-weighed-down-by-scale_14488863 KINGSTON, Jamaica - CARIBBEAN Cement Company says the vehicle weight management system is negatively impacting its business. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/LIME-claims-20-000-two-day-haul_14488845 LIME says that it gained 20,000 new subscribers in two days during the promotion of its new rate of $2.99 per minute charged by the company to all networks local and international. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/The-value-of-the-dollar-is-just-a-symptom-of-Jamaica-s-underlying-problem_14488271 WHENEVER the Jamaican dollar comes under pressure, a lot of nonsense is spoken about speculators, frequently combined with a call for the government to "do something" to fix the exchange rate. The truth is, as long as Jamaica continues to run current account deficits exceeding 10 per cent of GDP, meaning how much our imports of goods and services exceed our exports (including gifts such as remittances), then the dollar will fall in the medium term to reflect this fundamental disequilibrium. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Example-of-excellence-in-the-public-sector_14486846 TWO weeks ago I wrote about the effect of culture on economic growth and development, and want this week to follow up with an example of a public sector company that has excelled during the recession. The company is Jamaica Ultimate Tyre Company Limited (JUTC2), a subsidiary of JUTC, which I have written about before, but want to do so now as I am about to demit office as chairman after six fulfilling years. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Marketing-duo-takes-leap-of-faith_14490989 ESTABLISHING a trusted and recognised marketing firm is no easy feat. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/JN-Foundation-project-gets--100-m-boost_14464589 THE JN Foundation project, Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), is to receive investment funding of US$1 million ($100 million) over three years, with the USAID providing the majority of the funds as part of a co-operative agreement between the international agency and JN Foundation. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/SMS--from-paint-to-smartphones_14488884 DANE Spencer, managing director of Smart Mobile Solutions (SMS), admits that it was the push of his business partner, Marlon Hudson, that got the business started. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/From-Trinidad-to-the-world--Food-Awards-pushing-Caribbean-cuisine-global_14482542 PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago - JAMAICA Observer Food Awards chair Novia McDonald-Whyte has set out a grand vision for the Caribbean to become a major culinary destination as Europe and some US cities. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Sagicor-Investments-receives-credit-rating-boost-from-CariCRIS_14488174 Sagicor Investments Jamaica has received an improved credit rating from Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS). The rating agency returned Sagicor Investments to a jmA+ (National Scale) and improved both its Foreign Currency and Local Currency ratings to CariBBB in May 2013, the company has announced. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/LIAT-takes-to-the-skies-with-new-planes_14488968 ST JOHN’S, Antigua - The financially strapped regional airline, LIAT, yesterday announced it had taken possession of an ATR 72-600 aircraft as it upgrades its aging fleet. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/T-amp-T-Gov-t-gets-support-for-multibillion-dollar-supplemental-budget_14489189 PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - THE Trinidad and Tobago government yesterday received parliamentary approval for a TT$2.8 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) supplemental budget that Finance Minister Larry Howi said would be used mainly to meet outstanding payments to public workers. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Mogul-in-the-making-nominees_14490441 Today we publish the stories of the first three nominees in the Jamaica Observer's Mogul in the Making programme. The programme will feature 20 start-up businesses between June 14 and June 26. See the next issue of Sunday Finance for more stories. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Dominica-PM-praises-Venezuela-funded-project_14489157 ROSEAU, DOMINICA - DOMINICAN Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the construction of the Venezuela-funded EC$10 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) abattoir will significantly reduce the importation of meat here. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/AmeriBid-launches-Caribbean-operations_14489266 CAROLINA, Puerto Rico - AMERIBID LLC, a market leader in live and online auctions with a focus on real estate, is expanding internationally with a new real estate auction company, AmeriBid Caribbean LLC. Based in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Jose Carlos Goyco-Acosta will be the president and a partner in the new firm. Local Business Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Expect-the-Best--Prepare-for-the-Worst-_14442258 For many people, thinking about the subject of money brings on negative emotions ranging from mild confusion, constant frustration, sheer anxiety to full-blown panic. It's unfortunate that such an essential part of our lives can sometimes cause us to experience so much mental pain. Local Business Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/American--US-Airways-name-top-execs_14466051 Texas, USA — The new American Airlines will have more top executives from smaller but more successful US Airways than from the current American. Financial Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:00:00 GMT