Fitch moves Jamaica’s credit rating up a few notches
International credit rating agency, Fitch, has upgraded Jamaica's credit rating after the country completed its debt exchange Thursday.
The agency lifted Jamaica's long-term foreign currency issuer default ratings to triple-C, seven notches into junk territory, from restricted default .
According to the Wall Street Journal, the upgrade concludes Fitch's assessment of the country's domestic debt exchange offer launched on February 12.
“The ratings firm considered the operation a distressed debt exchange as the swap hurts the original contractual terms of domestic bondholders,” the paper said.
On Tuesday, a Jamaica government statement issued said Fitch Ratings upgraded the island’s long term foreign currency and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) to “B-“ from “CCC.”
The rating agency also raised the short-term foreign currency rating from “C” to “B” and the Country Ceiling from “B-“ to “B”, the statement said. The outlook was also upgraded to “Stable”.
The statement said the ratings were supported by reduced financing risks due to fiscal consolidation and the lengthening of domestic debt repayments; the successful completion of two reviews under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and the satisfaction of all the quantitative targets and structural benchmarks for the third review; and the preservation of broad macroeconomic and financial stability.
In addition, Fitch said the declining path of Jamaica’s public debt/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the National Debt Exchange executed in February 2013 coupled with an increase in primary surpluses and modest economic recovery contributed to the rating upgrade.
Fitch also said access to multilateral funding, which has eased external financing constraints, is another factor in the rating lift.
“The Government welcomes the positive rating action of Fitch Ratings and is committed to continuous improvement in Jamaica’s fiscal and debt operations, thereby facilitating further economic recovery and positive growth,” said the Jamaica government statement.
Moody's Investors Service is also currently reviewing Jamaica's rating for a “possible downgrade after news of the debt exchange broke,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The firm rates the country at B3, one notch above that assigned by Fitch.
Another rating agency, Standard & Poor's Ratings Service, rates Jamaica at “selective default,” the Journal said.
Source-CMC
Caribbean countries with fixed currencies should not entertain devaluation
Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr. Delisle Worrell is urging Caribbean countries with fixed currencies, not to entertain the thought of any devaluation as a means of restoring stability to their economies.
Worrell told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that his recommendation does not only apply to Barbados, where the local dollar is fixed at US$0.50 cents, but also to those of the Eastern Caribbean, the Bahamas, Belize, and other stable currencies in the region.
"There is no point in changing the exchange rate, for the only value of the Barbados dollar for instance, is the fact that it is a US dollar by another name," Worrell said.
"So in a sense I feel that all independent currencies of countries that are as small as our, need to be run by Central Banks, which will provide bank supervision, and other responsibilities that fall under the Central Bank."
Worrell said that these countries should not be entertaining monetary policy which funds government operations resulting in a decline in reserves and threaten the value of the dollar.
He suggested that currencies should be operated by currency boards, whose policies would promote confidence which is a direct link to a reserve currency.
"Apart from Barbados this should also apply to the OECS, the Bahamas, and Belize which are among currencies that worthwhile maintaining because they retain their value," he said.
The Central Bank Governor said that in his view there should be one currency for the entire world, as all currency values were artificial.
He said it makes as much sense to have changes in the value of the dollar in relation to the Euro, as it makes to have changes in the value of a mile, in terms of a kilometre.
"It is a comparative measure so a currency does not have any value in itself, it is a measure of exchange and the notion that you should have hundreds of them in the world is silly," he told CMC.
Worrell also poured scorn on the concept of a floating dollar, noting "the Jamaica dollar does not float, the Guyana dollar does not float, it sinks.
“"If I offered you the choice of a US dollar and a Jamaica dollar, would you ever choose the JA dollar? Of course not. But the only reason you might chose a Barbados dollar over a US dollar is because, it isn't going to change.
“If you ever thought it would, then you would not think twice about accepting the US dollar," he said, noting that anytime a currency is allowed to float, it disappears.
"I don't know why people prolong the agony, I think they should just disappear with them altogether," he told CMC.
In May 2011, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the end of a retreat in Guyana, said they had they have put a brake on introducing a common currency for the 15-member grouping.
“As regards the Single Economy, they recognised that the process towards full implementation would take longer than anticipated and agreed it may be best to pause and consolidate the gains of the Single Market before taking any further action on certain specific elements of the Single Economy, such as the creation of a single currency,” the leaders said in a statement.
Source-CMC
No T&T 400m relay team for World Indoors
National runner Jereem Richards has opted out of his place on the 4x400 metres relay team for the upcoming International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships, leaving management with little choice but to deduce the national contingent to four athletes. Due to Richards’ withdrawal, Lalonde Gordon, who will compete in the 400m event, has asked to be excused from the 4x400 relay because of groin muscle problems.
“Running three rounds of the individual event then two rounds of the relay may be too much for the athlete,” said the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) in a press release.
Along with Gordon, Jarrin Solomon will also challenge the 400m event. Michelle-Lee Ahye and Geronne Black will both feature in the 60m event. The last member of the entourage is coach and manager Paul Voisin.
The IAAF World Indoor Championship will take place in Soport, Poland, from March 7-9.
West Indies bowl over England
Talk about a good start to a series.
West Indies beat England by 15 runs in the opening day match of the One-Day International series 28 February, in Antigua.
The Windies recovered from a start of 45-4to make 269-6 in their 50 overs.
Michael Lumb’s century led the tourists’ chase but the middle of the order faltered as the Windies take the first of three ODIs.
The second ODI begins Sunday.
Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose & Andy Roberts knighted
Three West Indies legends were knighted at a special ceremony during the interval of the first one-day international against England.
Former skipper Richie Richardson, 52, and pace bowlers Curtly Ambrose, 50, and Andy Roberts, 63, were all honoured by their native Antigua.
It takes the total number of West Indian cricketing knights to 11.
The only previous Antiguan cricketer to be knighted was Sir Viv Richards, after whom Antigua's new stadium is named.
Between them, Richardson, Ambrose and Roberts played in 231 Tests and 456 one-day internationals, while all had spells in English county cricket.
Free-scoring right-hander Richardson, famous for his large maroon sunhats, was one of Yorkshire's earliest overseas players in 1993 and 1994.
Ambrose represented Northants between 1989 and 1996, while also forging a fearsome new-ball partnership with Jamaica's Courtney Walsh at international level.
Roberts, the first Antiguan to play Test cricket, burst onto the English scene with Hampshire in 1974, won the World Cup with West Indies in 1975 and 1979, and also played for Leicestershire.
He was one of the 55 initial inductees into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame in 2009, with Ambrose inducted in 2011.
As well as Richards, the other Caribbean cricketing knights include legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers and the "three "W's" - Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes, who were all from Barbados, as were Sir Conrad Hunte and the Reverend Sir Wes Hall.
The list is completed by Trinidad-born Learie Constantine, who was knighted in 1962 and became the UK's first black peer in 1969.
Source-BBC
Philip Seymour Hoffman 'killed by toxic mix of drugs'
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an accidental overdose of a mixture of drugs including heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, and benzodiazepine, officials have said.
The Oscar winner, 46, was found dead at his home in New York City on 2 February with a syringe in his arm.
He had struggled with drug addiction and had recently acknowledged he had relapsed after being clean for years.
The New York medical examiner revealed the post-mortem results on Friday.
He was survived by his partner of 15 years, Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.
After 23 years of sobriety, he reportedly checked himself into a drug treatment programme for 10 days last year after relapsing in 2012.
After a playwright and friend found his body in his flat in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighbourhood, police arrived and discovered dozens of bags of heroin.
One of the most admired actors of his generation, Hoffman won an Academy Award in 2006 for his role as Truman Capote in Capote.He was also nominated for Charlie Wilson's War, Doubt and The Master.
Source-BBC
Jay-Z joins Beyonce show in London
Beyonce was joined on stage by husband Jay-Z as she took her Mrs Carter world tour to London for the second time.
The couple duetted on Drunk In Love, an explicit ballad that drew complaints from viewers when they performed it at last month's Grammy Awards.
They shared a lingering hug as the song ended, leaving Beyonce to finish the remainder of her two-hour set solo.
The Mrs Carter Show was last year's second highest-earning tour behind Bon Jovi, earning just over $188m (£112m).
It first came to the UK in April 2013 and was supposed to promote a new album. However the record remained unfinished until December, when it was finally released, without warning, on iTunes.
The stealth strategy paid off, with the self-titled, x-rated record selling almost a million copies in 24 hours and earning the pop star the best reviews of her career.
The tour has since been overhauled and, by Friday's date at London's O2 Arena, a third of the set list was culled from the album, with a raunchy sequence in the middle of the show featuring the album's most explicit tracks Blow, Partition and Drunk In Love.
But the star, who employs an 11 piece all-female band, also made a virtue of her feminist credentials.
After opening with the empowerment anthem Run The World (Girls), she segued into the defiant album cut Flawless, which quotes author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's talk We Should All Be Feminists.
The star's show makes extensive use of back-lit silhouettes, pyrotechnics and a mobile, stage-wide video screen.
During an intricately choreographed Baby Mama, Beyonce and her dancers appeared to emerge from, disappear into and interact with pre-filmed graphics, a neat illusion she first pulled off at the 2011 Billboard Awards.
Before settling into a groove, the star's show flitted restlessly between fragments of songs and video clips.
Even towards the climax, her signature song, Crazy In Love, was dispensed with in under a minute before giving way to another musical interlude.
Beyonce's sheer stage presence held the show together, whether she was commanding her band to turn on a pinhead or engaging the audience in a sing-along during Irreplaceable.
And her new material showcases an unparalleled variety of vocal styles, ranges and phrasing, from the hushed and sultry Haunted to the urban swagger of Yonce.
As the show drew to a close, she recalled that she had first played London with Destiny's Child in 1997 and picked out a few familiar faces who had been coming to her shows since.
"I'm so honoured to be here again," she said. "Thank you guys for having me. Thank you for saving up money to come to the show, for waiting in line and making such a beautiful sound."
Source-BBC
Friends star Lisa Kudrow must pay ex-manager $1.6m
Friends star Lisa Kudrow must pay her former manager $1.6m (£955,000), after a jury agreed she owed him money from earnings received from repeats.
Scott Howard worked as Kudrow's manager for 16 years, before she terminated their contract in 2007.
Howard took legal action in 2008 claiming he was owed five percent of Kudrow's earnings from continuing residuals of work negotiated by him.
The actress has denied agreeing on the payments and is planning to appeal
The 50-year-old is best known for playing Phoebe Buffay in the hit show Friends, which ran from 1994 to 2004.
A jury in Los Angeles ruled in favour of Howard following testimony from expert witness Martin Bauer, a long-standing Hollywood agent and manager, whom the judge - who had initially ruled in Kudrow's favour - allowed on appeal.
The witness said he had never had a commission cut off because he had been fired. "I would never make that deal," Bauer told the jury. "The only consequence of a termination is on future projects."
Bauer testified that it was common practice in the industry to take a cut of earnings made from ongoing repeats.
In the UK alone, Friends was on constant rotation on Channel 4 and E4 for seven years - between the end of the show in 2004 and 2011.
It is now shown on Comedy Central.
Kudrow claimed she and Scott had an oral agreement which stated that the actress would pay a cut only on the first round of repeats. In court, she claimed he had at first refused her terms, but later relented.
However since no terms were submitted in writing, the jury found in favour of Scott claims that Kudrow was liable for breach of contract.
"The jury's verdict is merely one step in the legal process," said Kudrow's lawyer, Gerard Sauer.
"This case ultimately will be resolved at the appellate level. Ms. Kudrow has faith in the judicial system, and she believes that the eventual outcome of this contractual dispute will be in her favour."
Speculation had suggested the actress could be ordered to pay as much as $8m (£4.8m) dollars to her former manager.
The manager earned $11m (£6.6m) during their long working relationship, with Kudrow earning more than $1m (£598,000) an episode by the end of Friends' run in 2004.
Source-BBC
Michelle Obama to appear in Parks and Recreation
US First Lady Michelle Obama is set to appear on cult television comedy Parks and Recreation.
Her White House office confirmed Mrs Obama will guest star in the NBC show's season six finale.
Mrs Obama's cameo, in an episode titled Moving Up, will centre on her campaign against child obesity.
"Time to get real about Pawnee's obesity… @FLOTUS is coming to town for our #ParksandRec season finale Thursday, April 24!," the show tweeted.
FLOTUS is an acronym for First Lady Of The United States and Pawnee, Indiana is the fictional town where the show takes place - home to public servant Leslie Knope.
The show's star, Amy Poehler - who plays Knope - joined Mrs Obama's campaign earlier this month when she appeared at a Let's Move event in Miami.
Mrs Obama is not the first US politician to appear on the show - US Vice President Joe Biden made a cameo on the show in 2012.
Three further senators, including presidential runner John McCain, have also guest starred in the show, which is currently in its sixth season.
Executive producer Michael Schur told the Hollywood Reporter last month that he was still hoping to persuade Hillary Clinton to make an appearance on the show.
"I always imagined the perfect ending to the series - and I hope it's not for a while - would be a casual piece of B-roll where Leslie is walking through a building in Washington, DC, and passes Hillary Clinton, and Hillary Clinton says, 'Leslie.' Leslie says, 'Secretary Clinton,' and keeps walking."
"That might still be five seasons away, but that's the trajectory I would like Leslie to enjoy."
Regular stars Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones are due to leave the series at the end of season six. Season three of Parks and Rec is currently showing on BBC Four in the UK.
Souce-BBC
Citigroup profit hit by Mexican fraud
The US bank Citigroup has lowered its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings after discovering fraud in its Mexican subsidiary.
The bank said that 2013 net income would be reduced to $13.7bn (£8.2bn) from $13.9bn.
Citigroup said that it believed the fraud was an "isolated incident".
Chief executive Michael Corbat said the company had been "responding forcefully" and it was working with law enforcement agencies in Mexico.
The fraud centres on short-term loans made by Citigroup's subsidiary, Banco Nacional de Mexico (Banamex), to a Mexican oil services company called Oceanografia (OSA).
In February, Mexico's anti-corruption agency banned OSA from bidding on government contracts for 21 months because it had violated an agreement with the country's state-owned oil giant, Pemex.
As a result, Citigroup and Pemex then investigated their accounts relating to OSA, discovering some of them were fraudulent.
"It appears that invoices from OSA were falsified to represent that Pemex had approved them. A Banamex employee processed them, and as much as $400m was misappropriated throughout the course of the fraud," said Mr Corbat in a memo to his staff.
"The financial impact will lower our 2013 net income by approximately $235m. The impact to our credibility is harder to calculate," he added.
Mr Corbat said he was working with Mexican authorities to "initiate criminal actions in connection with this matter that, in addition to imposing just penalties on the responsible parties, may allow us to recover damages".
He said: "There will be accountability for those who perpetrated this despicable crime and any employees who enable it."
Just two weeks ago, he wrote to his staff stressing the importance of ethics in the firm, saying that "five years after a crisis in which the financial services industry shouldered its fair share of blame - there are some people who still don't get it".
Citigroup is the US's third largest bank in terms of assets.