Business

While Jamaica has not yet decided to follow The Bahamas and other Caribbean governments in setting aside funds to support persons who have lost their jobs, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles has said the matter is set for discussion with trade unions when the matter of redundancy pay for civil servants set to lose their jobs comes up for talks next month.

It is hard to comprehend the scale of the suffering that the people of Haiti have had to endure since January 12. Then, the capital and areas close to the epicentre of the earthquake of what was already the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, were plunged into circumstances from which it will take decades to recover.

House hunting is changing. In fact, so too is the search for anything you want to rent. Driven by their own bad house-hunting experiences, a group of university students has teamed up to do brisk business placing rentals online.

In March 2009, my 1995 Nissan Sunny car was hit by a Leyland truck. The truck is owned by L.P., who lives abroad, and was driven by S.B. The third-party insurers have denied liability. The driver's licence was issued only three months before the accident. The policy requires him to have had a licence for not less than three years. I contacted the owner's son. With a 'take it or leave it attitude', he told me that he was willing to stand half the cost of repairs.

Dr Christopher Tufton, the minister of agriculture, is urging more private interests in invest in the sector. "The time is right for the private sector to invest in agriculture because of proven returns in certain sectors, and good opportunities are now available...

Cristopher Williams, who is currently transitioning from NCB Capital Markets Limited to Proven Investments Limited, a new investment firm, is suggesting that Government use the opportunity presented by its liability management plan..

Jamaica's fiscal deficit is now estimated at 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and the overall public-sector deficit will likely round out the year at 12.75 per cent of GDP, according to information presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Audley Shaw Tuesday...

Jamaicans heading into retirement this year are likely to see a reduction of up to 40 per cent on private pension income after the Government's debt-swap transaction closes, according to the estimates of local actuaries...

Because last week's column was penned before the finance ministry's debt restructuring was made public, I attempted, too late for the paper, to add this postscript:"Heartening indeed it is to note Jamaica Money Market Brokers' Keith Duncan and other...

Vistaprint Jamaica Limited, six years into its operation in Montego Bay, has acquired approximately 4.4 hectares (11 acres) of land at Fairfield on the north-western tip of the city to establish a new base, but is yet to determine when the facility will be built...

China will slow its massive lending spree and step up monitoring of banks as it tries to prevent speculative bubbles in real estate and other assets while keeping the country's economic recovery on track, a top regulator said Wednesday....