Radio Turks & Caicos Launches Blackberry App On November 1, 2013
Radio Turks & Caicos will officially launch their blackberry App on November 1, 2013.
The App was developed with the approval of BlackBerry developer RIM on Monday October 28th, 2013 and brings RTC FM live on BlackBerry APP, making the station truly mobile as it offers News, Sports, Entertainment, Weather, classified adverts and an event calendar among other special features on the go.
Director of RTC Chris Jarrett said in a statement issued on Wednesday October 30: "the BBM app will be available for free download for all Blackberry smartphones and works nicely on the Curve, Bold & Z10 to name a few.
The APP will come on stream at 10:19pm in the TCI (10:19p.m. European Time) on November 1st. The team tied the APP's on air debut with the numbers in the frequency 101.9fm.
To download the APP to your Blackberry phones, users will have to log onto www.rtc107fm.com and scan the RTC QR code to activate the app.
The RTC APP will also feature the stations twitter posts and facebook posts and will offer a special surprise for the party goers on thanksgiving day November 28th.
"With more than a billion BlackBerry smartphones in the market worldwide, this is first APP of its kind in the Turks & Caicos offered by a radio station. This is absolutely the right time to bring an APP to the market, as the man on the go wants to be connected to his radio at all times,” Jarrett said.
"More & More you are seeing the young and old sporting a BB phone in the TCI and while BB is facing challenges in the stock market, its a must have phone for the TCI,' said RTC Team member and the station's assistant director Lynette Thomas. She predicts that while phones come and go, Blackberry will be around for a long time and so will this app.
The BB APP is a part of RTC's celebration of over 40 years of broadcasting, with still more to come.
Bahamas To Introduce Value Added Tax
The Bahamian Government has announced that it will introduce a value-added tax (VAT), to broaden the tax base, from July 1, 2014.
The Government explained that VAT is to be introduced to offset the eventual reductions to import duty rates that will accompany the Bahamas' accession to the World Trade Organization, and to begin to consolidate the territory's finances.
From July 1, 2014, the Bahamas will apply a 15% VAT to a broad range of goods and services - the median rate in other Caribbean territories that have implemented VAT.
VAT will replace the Hotel Occupancy Tax, but a concessionary rate of 10% will apply to the business of hotels, including food and drink sold on their premises.
Excise duties will fall by around 15% on goods that will be subject to VAT when the regime is introduced.
A zero rate will apply to exports and the international transport of goods and passengers. Exempt goods and services will include:
• Food and agricultural products that benefit from duty-free status under the Tariff Act;
• Other imports that benefit from the same, aforementioned status;
• Health and education services;
• Transfers of leases of land and residential buildings;
• Financial services;
• Social and community services.
VAT filing and payment will be required on a monthly basis, and the VAT threshold will be set at USD50,000 - requiring 3,800 local businesses to register to collect and remit VAT revenues to the Government.
Rabobank fined $1bn over Libor
Dutch bank Rabobank says it has agreed to pay fines of 774m euros ($1bn; £662m) imposed by US, UK and Dutch regulators over the Libor interest rate-fixing scandal.
The bank added that its chief executive, Piet Moerland, had stepped down.
Libor rates are used to set trillions of dollars of financial contracts.
These include many car loans and mortgages, as well as complex financial transactions around the world.
Regulators have been investigating the manipulation of Libor inter-bank lending rates since 2012 in the wake of Barclays' £290m ($454m) fine by US and UK authorities.
A string of international banks have been implicated in the affair, while several criminal charges have been brought against traders.
Nokia telecoms division profits down by a third
Operating profit at Nokia's telecoms solutions and networks - its main business once its phones division is sold - fell 33% in the third quarter to 218m euros ($300m; £186.6m).
The Finnish firm forecasts the business's profit margin will rise sharply next quarter to 12% from 8.4%.
That lifted its shares by 6%.
Sales of its Lumia smartphones rose 19% to almost nine million units. They will be sold with the rest of the phones division to Microsoft early next year.
The US tech giant is paying 5.4bn euros in the deal.
Sales of Nokia's basic mobile phones rose 4% to 55.8 million units.
Core operating profit at Nokia's telecoms solution and networks business was down from 324m euros in the same period last year.
Once the mobile business changes hands, Nokia will continue to license its patents and mapping services to Microsoft.
About 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft.
Nokia has fallen behind rivals Samsung and Apple, while critics say Microsoft has been slow into the mobile market.
US shares hit fresh all-time highs
US shares hit fresh all-time highs on Tuesday, ahead of the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to see economic stimulus measures maintained.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones closed up 111 points at 15,680 - beating the previous high set in September.
The Nasdaq was up 12 points at 3,952, just short of its March 2000 record.
The S&P 500 closed at a fresh high of 1,772, after gaining almost 10 points in the day's trading.
US traders broadly expect the US Fed to keep its programme of quantitative easing in place for several more months, and analysts say the economic indicators support that view.
The level of support provided to the economy by the Fed has become a significant factor in market sentiment in recent months.
Any sign that the economic recovery is stumbling is taken as an indication that stimulus measures will be kept in place, and will not be gradually tapered.
"The Fed has been pretty clear about making decisions dependant on data and the data the Fed has received since the last meeting have certainly not been upbeat," said Art Hogan, head of product strategy equity research at Lazard Capital Markets.
"So therefore making a move towards tapering would be difficult to explain."
On Monday, figures suggested US manufacturing output barely rose in September, while contracts to buy previously owned homes recorded their largest drop in nearly three and a half years.
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That period does not cover the recent US government shutdown, which is also expected to have hit economic growth.
India raises interest rates for the second month running
India's new central bank governor has raised interest rates for the second consecutive month by a quarter of one percent to 7.75% to try to fight inflation.
The move applies to the benchmark repo rate - the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks.
The cash reserve ratio - the percentage of banks' deposits they must keep in cash - has been kept unchanged.
India's inflation hit a seven-month-high annual rate of 6.46% in September.
"The policy stance and measures ... are intended to curb mounting inflationary pressures and manage inflation expectations in a situation of weak growth," bank chief Raghuram Rajan said in a statement.
"It is important to break the spiral of rising price pressures in order to curb the erosion of financial saving and strengthen the foundations of growth," he said.
India's main share index rose 0.20% to 20,611.27 points after Mr Rajan's announcement.
Mr Rajan, who took over as the head of the central bank in September, surprised markets by raising interest rates in his first monetary policy meeting.
India's economy has been hurt by a range of factors in recent months.
A slowdown in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing has curbed its growth rate.
At the same time, foreign investors have pulled out money from the country because of the government's failure to enact key reforms, as well as improving economic conditions in the US.
BP sees lower quarterly profits but beats forecasts
Oil giant BP has reported sharply lower profits for the third quarter of 2013.
Underlying replacement cost profit, which strips out the effect of oil price movements, was $3.69bn (£2.29bn) - down from $5.02bn for the same period a year ago.
BP said weaker margins on refining, selling of refineries and reduced income from Russia were to blame.
However, the result beat market forecasts of $3.17bn, while the company raised its dividend to shareholders.
It said it would pay out 9.5 cents a share - an increase of 5.6% - and added it would sell assets worth $10bn over the next two years, handing most of the proceeds to shareholders.
BP said the cost of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was currently $42.5bn.
Production at the firm fell by 2.3%, as BP was hit by the cost of making products using crude oil relative to their value, it said.
FORMER PREMIER HON. MICHAEL MISICK TO BE EXTRADITED FROM BRAZIL
The Office of the Premier can confirm that today, at 6:00 pm we were informed by the Attorney General’s Chambers, via the Governor’s Office, that the Former Premier, Hon. Michael Misick has lost his proceedings in the Brazilian courts against the extradition to his former home and British Territory, the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Hon. Misick has been ensued in a number of legal battles following his arrest last year by Interpol and it is the Government’s understanding that the British Government will seek to have the Former Turks and Caicos Islands Leader extradited as soon as possible.
Upon receiving the news, the Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing commented, “We believe in the rule of law, justice and fairness and upon the arrival of Hon. Misick, we expect that he will receive a fair trial. As a Former Premier and Member of Parliament, we also expect that he will be treated with the respect that is befitting of the offices that he has held.”
The Premier also acknowledged that the information received from the Attorney Chambers was indeed limited and said that the Government is awaiting further information on the matter.
TCI Authorities seize two sloops, detain 237 Illegal Migrants
The Ministry of Border Control and Labour has sent their final reports to RTC News this evening, informing us that two illegal sloops were intercepted in the TCI waters, between the hours of 12:30 and 10:30 am today, October 29, 2013.
A total of 237 people- 203 males and 34 females were detained.
The first vessel, as confirmed this morning, was detected by TCI Radar Operators in the wee hours of the Tuesday morning and escorted by the Marine Police to South Dock, Providenciales. Illegal Haitian migrants numbering 120 - 106 males and 14 females were on board.
The second vessel was spotted at around at around 9:00 am this morning, and intercepted by the Marine Police at around 10:20 am. This vessel was also escorted to South Dock for processing. A total of 117 migrants- 97 males and 20 females were aboard.
The Ministry told RTC News this evening that repatriation has already begun.
DEMA Sets the Record Straight on Pelagic Fishing Study
The Ministry of Environment, Home Affairs and Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) are clarifying misleading information regarding a UK-funded pelagic fishing now being carried out in TCI Waters.
The study which started a week ago will help to determine whether or not off-shore fishing stocks in the territorial waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are economically viable for development. DEMA is the department of government charged with overseeing the study.
The Ministry notes that despite being surrounded by productive marine resources, the TCI imports most of the marine products consumed on the island. These include a variety of marine species like tuna that are available in TCI waters. As it seeks to reduce the food import bill and bolster the nation’s food security, TCIG is looking for options that will provide sustainable harvesting of pelagic fish for local consumption.
Kathleen Wood, Director of DEMA noted: “If we can sustainably harvest pelagic fish for local consumption in TCI, we will not only eliminate these global environmental impacts but will provide business opportunities and multiplier effects across the entire TCI economy,” Wood said.
“As long as people continue to eat wild-caught fish in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it simply doesn’t make economic or environmental sense to do otherwise. We remain hopeful that people will be able to put aside the misconceptions being propagated by a few private interests and see the big picture.”
The Ministry labels as false, charges that the pelagic fishing study is being undertaken to allow foreign long-line fishing fleets operate in TCI waters as well as to allow foreign boats to engage in practises not allowed in US Territorial waters.
Wood contends: “Nothing could be further from the truth. For one thing, Dayboat Seafoods is the only pelagic fishing fleet in the United States that is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainably certified. This requires that they meet the highest standards of sustainable fishing practices. As a US flag-carrying fleet, they must maintain these standards, even when they are fishing in TCI territorial waters.”
Belonger-owned and operated Caicos Pride is partnering with Dayboat Seafoods to conduct this study and Belongers are being employed and trained in this new area.
Wood clarified further: “Fishing data can be collected only by fishing, as fish do not stay in one place to be counted. Worldwide, the vast majority of fisheries data is collected through recording catch characteristics. This is how we assess stocks for all fisheries in TCI, including conch and lobster.”
The DEMA Director also noted that while the fish that is caught is being sold as part of this study, this is necessary as it is the only reliable way to collect the quantity of data required in the short time the study will be conducted. In addition, she pointed out that TCI-based sport fishing enthusiasts have been reluctant to provide TCIG with data that would otherwise assist in such studies.
The Ministry urges the sport fishing sector to aid the data collection process by providing TCIG with catch data to support maintenance of their sport as well as research. The Ministry is also assuring fishing interests that the study will in no way threaten their livelihoods by depleting stocks of targeted and non-targeted species, including endangered species.
Wood noted: “While these fears are understandable, they reflect a misunderstanding about the nature of renewable resources, in general and pelagic fish specifically. Fish are not a finite resource. As long as we are not harvesting them at a rate faster than they are replenishing themselves, no harm will come to the resource.”
She continued: “With pelagic fish, this concept is extremely relevant because these fish are not resident in the Turks and Caicos Islands but migrate across the entire Atlantic Ocean, in some cases”.
The DEMA Director further explained that such stocks are protected by international rules and quotas to ensure that global stocks are protected.
“With regard to endangered species, we have developed conditions of approval that allows us to halt the study should the by-catch of rare, threatened or endangered species become detrimental to the stock of those species. We are pleased to report that no marine mammals or sea turtles have thus far been affected by the study,” she said.
Mrs. Wood noted that while an Atlantic white-tipped Shark -a species that is listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable globally and Critically Endangered in the Caribbean- was caught and released dead, this is not detrimental to the overall stocks of this specie.
The Ministry notes that DEMA and the TCIG are keeping “a close eye on all by-catch mortality and will respond with remedial action, should such action become necessary.”
The Ministry is mindful of the contentious nature of the study but assures that the long term benefits of the study are being carefully weighed and assures TCI that TCIG stands ready to halt the study should it negatively impact the wellbeing of any marine species.