NEWS

US Embassy official: More Trinis interested in US Universities

There has been a sizeable increase in the number of TT students showing an interest in attending universities in the US and Canada as over 4000 attended the annual US College fair yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain. According to the US Embassy’s Charge D’Affaires AJ Jagelski yesterday, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of students showing an interest to pursue their studies abroad and said while there has been a long history of TT students attending universities abroad, several campuses have not hosted local students but were willing to open their doors in an effort to boost attendance. Read more here

CEPEP workers ‘tricked’, less money allocated in budget

One of the ma­jor talk­ing points com­ing out of the $53 bil­lion 2020 bud­get de­liv­ered by Fi­nance Min­is­ter Colm Im­bert last week Mon­day (Oct 7th) was the in­crease in salaries for CEPEP (Com­mu­ni­ty-Based En­vi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion and En­hance­ment Pro­gramme) and URP Un­em­ploy­ment Re­lief Pro­gramme) work­ers of 15 per cent. The move was hailed by some as a good one but crit­i­cized by oth­ers as be­ing a lo­cal gov­ern­ment elec­tion ploy. At the time of the bud­get pre­sen­ta­tion, the elec­tion date was not known, how­ev­er, 4 days lat­er dur­ing the com­mence­ment of the de­bate the Prime Min­is­ter an­nounced De­cem­ber 2 as the date of the polls. Read more here

POLITICS

Alfred: Value for money needed on $2,283b

Desmond Alfred, former executive director, finance and administration, Caricom Secretariat, believes the major challenge confronting Tobago in the 2020 budget is not just the lack of financial resources for the island's development but what the THA is able to accomplish with the funds. Reflecting on Finance Minister Colm Imbert's statement, "What is good for Tobago is good for the nation," in last Monday's presentation, Alfred argued $300 million "is not good for Tobago's development and, therefore, not good for the nation." Tobago received $2.283 billion in the fiscal package, $2.083 billion of which is set aside for recurrent expenditure and $231.6 million for capital expenditure. Read more here

Sando property owners to get big payout for highway extension

The State would have to pay al­most $1 bil­lion to landown­ers whose prop­er­ties are in the di­rect path of the ex­ten­sion of the San Fer­nan­do to Point Fortin High­way. The rev­e­la­tion was made by chair­man of the Na­tion­al In­fra­struc­ture De­vel­op­ment Com­pa­ny (Nid­co) Her­bert George in an in­ter­view with Guardian Me­dia at his of­fice in El So­cor­ro, San Juan. Read more here

BUSINESS

Budget 2020: Investor opportunities on the way?

This week, we at Bourse review some of the highlights of the fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) budget, as presented by the Minister of Finance last week Monday. We also take a look at some of the main fiscal stimulus measures mentioned and the investor opportunities which might be on the horizon. FY2019 Revenues. Read more here

REGIONAL

‘It Saddens Me’ - Holness Says JLP Embarrassed By Reid’s Arrest, Insists No Interference To Come From Party

Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday stressed that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) would not interfere with the ongoing investigation and court case involving former Minister of Education Ruel Reid, even as he fired shots at the People’s National Party (PNP). Holness, who was addressing a JLP Area Council One meeting at the Girl Guides Association of Jamaica headquarters in St Andrew, said he was saddened by the debacle that has engulfed his administration. Reid, his daughter, Sharelle; his wife, Sharen; President of the Caribbean Martime (CMU) University Professor Fritz Pinnock; and Kim Brown Lawrence, councillor for the Brown’s Town division in St Ann, were offered bail when they appeared before court to answer to corruption and fraud charges. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Catalonia leaders jailed for sedition by Spanish court

Spain's Supreme Court has sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in an independence referendum in 2017. Three other defendants were found guilty of disobedience and fined, but will not serve prison sentences. The 12 politicians and activists had all denied the charges. In response to the verdicts, Catalan independence supporters marched in Barcelona before blocking some streets. Some of those sentenced had held prominent positions in Catalonia's government and parliament, while others were influential activists and cultural advocates. Read more here

Kurdish forces backed by US strike deal with Syria's Assad, in major shift in 8-year war

Abandoned by the United States and facing a deepening Turkish military offensive, Kurdish forces near the northern Syrian border have struck a deal with the Syrian government, marking a major shift in the country's eight-year war. On Monday, Syrian troops were reportedly advancing north towards the border to confront Turkish forces, returning for the first time in years to a region where the Kurds had established relative autonomy, and further solidifying Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's grip on the country. The agreement between Damascus and the Kurds comes as US President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of all remaining American forces out of northern Syria. The move signals a departure from long-standing US counter-terrorism strategy in Syria, which hinged on a close partnership with Kurdish-led forces to combat ISIS. Read more here

14th October 2019

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