IFC’s financing for Indomina supports economic growth & employment in the Dominican Republic
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing $20 million in the Dominican Republic’s first full-service film and television studio facility to help diversify the country’s economy and generate high-skilled jobs, growth, and tax revenues in the fast-growing media sector. In addition to its direct investment, IFC is also helping to mobilize a US$10 million syndicated loan, for a total transaction value of $30 million.
Pinewood Indomina Studios will offer integrated production and post-production services for regional and international film and television productions. The facility is expected to significantly contribute to the local film industry, creating more than 1,000 direct jobs and 600 indirect jobs among small and mid-sized suppliers over the next five years. Indomina has also established a film training program in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with international academic organizations, to help build the technical and creative skills necessary to support this growing industry. It is offering specialized training in a wide range of technical areas, including production, film accounting, set design, and post-production.
“Indomina's partnership with IFC is a key milestone in the company’s evolution,” said Indomina’s Chief Financial Officer Antonio Gennari. “IFC’s financing enables us to invest in Pinewood Indomina Studios, the media park, and Indomina's film production, as well as execute top quality training initiatives for small and medium businesses that will provide services to the film and television industry.”
Located approximately 40 miles east of the capital of Santo Domingo, Pinewood Indomina Studios is expected to start its operations in 2013 and will attract foreign and domestic film projects. In its initial phase, expected to be inaugurated in June, the studios will include three state-of-the-art soundproof sound stages, a world class 60,000 sq ft ocean-front water filming facility, and a wide range of supporting facilities, including offices and workshops. These facilities will consolidate industry service providers, creating a competitive cluster.
“The film industry is a powerful driver of economic growth for many countries and, increasingly, for emerging markets,” said Ary Naim, IFC’s Country Head for the Dominican Republic. “With its diverse landscapes, good infrastructure and proximity to the United States, the Dominican Republic is well positioned to compete in this dynamic sector and capitalize on its benefits – from job creation to innovation and development.”
Despite the recent global recession, the film industry continues to report increasing revenues and, in some countries, has grown faster than the overall economy. Recognizing the potential for economic growth and employment opportunities, some governments, including Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Argentina, have created specific incentives and policies to promote this sector.
The Dominican Republic has recently enacted a comprehensive cinema law that introduces film incentives to position the country as a competitive film production destination in the global marketplace.
IFC supports companies across the telecommunications, media and technology value chains in emerging markets and currently has a US$1.5 billion portfolio in this sector. This is IFC’s first investment in a media park.
Since the Dominican Republic became a member of IFC in 1961, IFC has invested US$937.9 million in the country’s private sector, including US$292.6 million in mobilization. IFC also implements advisory programs to improve the business climate, build skills of local entrepreneurs, and promote access to finance and markets for small businesses.
Eurozone output still falling, PMI survey indicates
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Activity in the eurozone's services and manufacturing sectors continued to fall in April, a survey has indicated, with even German output declining.
Markit's composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the eurozone remained at 46.5 in April, unchanged from the month before.
A reading below 50 indicates shrinking activity.
The survey suggested that German private sector output fell for the first time since November last year.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: "Previously, we've seen Germany expand while other countries have contracted - notably Spain, Italy and France.
"Now it seems those contractions are being accompanied by a downturn in the largest economy, Germany, and that will no doubt act as a drag on growth."
There was slightly better news from France, where the PMI survey indicated that the private sector contracted at a slower rate in April than before.
Policy change?
The European Central Bank (ECB) is meeting next week for its regular monthly monetary policy meeting, with eurozone interest rates currently at 0.75%.
Mr Williamson warned that while the eurozone PMI figure had not worsened in April, there were signs that things could get worse in the future.
"The forward-looking indicators suggest there's risks to the downside for the contraction to gather pace," he said.
The eurozone's economy is contracting, and shrank by 0.6% in the last quarter of 2012.
Ben May, European economist at Capital Economics, said the survey could act as a nudge to the ECB to provide some further stimulus measures.
"[There are] further signs that the improvement in market sentiment alone will not be enough to drag the eurozone out of recession," he said.
"Given this, and the fact that inflation looks set to remain subdued, pressure on the ECB to provide additional policy support looks set to increase."
Earlier on Tuesday, a survey by HSBC indicated that growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed in April.
The preliminary reading from HSBC's PMI survey fell to 50.5, from 51.6 in March, with a drop in new export orders blamed for the decline.
The findings add to concerns about the country's economic recovery. China's growth rate slowed to an annual pace of 7.7% in the first three months of the year, down from 7.9% in the previous quarter.
Tighter rules for mortgage lending agreed by EU
New rules will mean that borrowers across the European Union (EU) will be refused a mortgage if they fail a standard affordability assessment.
The European Commission said its new mortgages directive would prevent any repeat of reckless home loan lending of the past.
The agreement also includes plans to make it easier for consumers to shop around for their loan.
A lenders' group said the changes would have little impact on the UK system.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that UK rules, which were bolstered recently, already had the greater consumer protection and information in place.
The directive, driven by the Irish Republic's presidency of the EU, aims to halt cases of mortgages being handed out without any background checks on borrowers.
The key feature is that any borrower across the 27 EU member states would be refused a home loan if they failed a standard credit worthiness assessment.
Other features of the agreement include:
A standard information sheet given to borrowers to explain how to find the mortgage that suits their needs
Detailed information on the specifics of a loan, including warnings about future changes to interest rates and costs of borrowing in a foreign currency
A crackdown on misleading advertising
A cooling-off period for anyone signing up to a mortgage
A general right to repay a mortgage early, although this may include a fee
Lenders being required to show some forbearance to borrowers who get into difficulty with repayments, rather than repossessing a home immediately
"The financial crisis started with the subprime debacle in the United States where mortgages were being handed out with no background checks carried out on whether consumers could afford them, and ill-informed and often vulnerable consumers were encouraged to take excessive risk," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier.
"We have seen similar excesses in Europe, for example with the housing booms and the inevitable busts which followed in Spain and Ireland."
He said the consequences had been enormous, with many people losing their homes to repossession.
"This directive will help put an end to these excesses and foster responsible lending practices," he added.
"Consumers will finally get the protection they deserve. They will be better informed so they can choose the mortgage product which best meets their needs, at the best price, and fully aware of the risks they are taking."
In the UK, lenders have recently gone through a mortgage market review that tightened rules on applications. This has led to new rules, including affordability checks, which will come into force in April 2014.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said that the changes would create more paperwork for lenders and regulators in the UK.
But he said that little would change for mortgage applicants above the April rules.
"For consumers, the requirements of the directive add little to the consumer protection and information that UK customers already receive, since our regulatory regime is already the most advanced among European member states," he said.
"For customers in some other member states, the changes will result in increased protection and greater consistency."
The European rules must be approved by the EU Parliament as a whole and endorsed by member states. A vote will be held in the EU Parliament on 11 June.
Rihanna Becomes 1st Artist With Ten #1 Pop Songs
Rihanna’s career is beginning to mirror that of one who can require competition to “Bow Down”. Rihanna, with 12 Hot 100 #1 hits becomes the first artist in the twenty year history of Billboard’s Nielsen BDS-based Pop Songs radio airplay chart.
After her 1st #1 single, “S.O.S.” from her second album A Girl Like Me, the Barbadian songstress tallied 11 more #1 hits in the next six years including “Umbrella”, “Rude Boy”and Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie”. ” Unapologetic lead single “Diamond” was her 12th #1 single and has been certified multi-platinum in eight countries including America.
Rihanna is tied for #6 with Madonna for the most #1 songs on the 50+ year history of the Billboard Hot 100.
Never one to be shy about revealing, Rihanna is also preparing to release a live documentary DVD for her ambitious 777 Tour on May 7th.
The DVD will show performances from her stops in Mexico City,Toronto, Stockholm, Paris, Berlin, London, and New York City. The DVD also promises to show behind-the-scenes of the tour which consisted of Rihanna flying journalists and fans around Europe to each of the seven shows.
An edited version (44 minutes) of the documentary will air on Fox TV on May 6th at 8pm.
Source-Allhiphop
Trina’s Brother Slain
Trina and her family are in mourning over the sudden, tragic slaying of her brother.
Her brother Goonkie was killed early this morning in a gunfight after an altercation.
The identity of the thief is not known at press time, but sources say Gunki knew the man.
Sources with AllHipHop.com have indicated that a suspect has been questioned, but no arrests have been made.
Trina’s management issued the following message on her Myspace page before her brother died:
“I have some very sad news to post. Over the weekend, Trina’s little brother was shot in Miami, FL. Wilbrent Bain Jr. is also known to friends as Goonkie and is 19 years old. He is currently in critical condition at a local Miami, FL hospital. Please keep him in your prayers and send your blessings to Trina and her family! Feel free to post comments as I will be forwarding them to Trina herself.”
Scammers use Kartel's name to rip off artistes
Dancehall producer Elvis Redwood is warning local entertainers not to send money to any individual who proclaims him/herself to be Vybz Kartel or a representative of the incarcerated deejay.
According to the producer, unscrupulous persons have been scamming entertainers claiming that they are Vybz Kartel and are requesting large sums of money to contribute to his lawyer fees.
Redwood says at least two recording artistes have already received such requests from Vybz Kartel impersonators, however, only one fell victim to the scheme thus far.
"Scammers are contacting people saying that they are Vybz Kartel and they want money. They are contacting artistes and even fans claiming that they need contribution to pay the lawyer fees," he said.
The So Unique Records producer says he was only made aware of the scamming issue when one artiste contacted him, making a query about the payment of Vybz Kartel's lawyer fees.
"The artiste sent $50,000 at first and then he was to send another $70,000, but he made contact with me first, and that was how the artiste discovered that he was being scammed," the producer said.
"I told him straight up that I don't know of that, because Vybz Kartel is a proud person, so there is no way he would be involved in such a thing. Furthermore, some of the artistes who dem a try scam using Vybz Kartel name, Kartel never even used to speak to those artistes when he was free, suh him nah guh stoop suh low," Elvis said.
Redwood is, therefore, encouraging artistes that may have been targeted by the scammers to report the matter to the police as soon as possible. The producer also shared a blackberry pin on his facebook page which he says persons should not add because it was being used by the alleged scammers.
"I just want to make it clear that Vybz Kartel's lawyer fees are quite okay and he is not soliciting money from any individual for assistance. Suh artistes, don't give anybody you money on behalf of Vybz Kartel. He doesn't even have a phone so that's absurd ... If anybody add on blackberry messenger under the name Vybz Kartel, delete them," he said.
Source-JA.Star
Lauryn Hill Must Come Up With Half A Million In Two Weeks To Avoid Jail
Lauryn Hill has had her trials and tribulations, but one of the biggest may be upon her.
Her sentencing on tax evasion charges was supposed to be today, but her fate was suspended. A judged postponed her case for two weeks, apparently to allow her to make the money in back taxes.
Ms. Hill owes the government $504,000 in back unpaid taxes and has paid $50,000 thus far. She faces up to 30 months in prison and has admitted guilt in the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo seemed annoyed of the effort Hill has mad so far.
“This is not someone who stands before the court penniless,” Arleo said in a report to Yahoo.com. “This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes.”
Her lawyer said that the singer/rapper would be able to pay.
“I fully expect that by May 3 Ms. Hill will be able to pay back all the restitution she has,” Nathan Hochman said.
Hill is now slated for a May 6 day in court.
Barbra Streisand film career honoured by Lincoln Center
US singer Barbra Streisand has been honoured for her film career with the 40th annual Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Among those paying tribute to the actress - who turns 71 tomorrow - were former president Bill Clinton, Liza Minnelli and singer Tony Bennett.
She is one of just a few to have won all four major US awards - an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and an honorary Tony.
The event raised $2m (£1.3m) to help the centre promote independent cinema.
Accepting the award, Streisand told the audience: "Ever since I can remember, people have been calling me bossy and opinionated."
She continued: "Maybe that's because I am. Three cheers for bossy women."
Streisand began her film career with 1968's Funny Girl, for which she won an Oscar. Organisers showed clips from the film and her other movies which include The Way We Were, What's Up, Doc? and the Meet the Parents sequel, Meet the Fockers.
'Massive talent'
In a video clip, Robert Redford - her co-star in The Way We Were - joked that he'd been warned she was "a pain," but discovered that was "totally engaging to act with, beautiful, thorough and skilled".
Streisand won a second Oscar in 1997 for Evergreen, the theme song from A Star is Born. She has won four Emmy awards and 10 Grammy awards.
Former US President Bill Clinton said: "Every great person is driven," the former president said. "But if that person has massive talent, big brains and a bigger heart, you want to go along for the ride."
Also appearing onstage were Michael Douglas, Pierce Brosnan, Kris Kristofferson and Meet The Fockers co-stars Blythe Danner and Ben Stiller.
Streisand was serenaded by Bennett, who closed the show with the song, Smile, written by Charlie Chaplin.
The Film Society's Annual Gala began in 1972 and honoured Chaplin - who returned to the US from exile in Switzerland to accept the commendation.
Past winners include French actress Catherine Deneuve, Sidney Poitier, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
The film society was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema and support new filmmakers.
Stingers up 2 in the GTBA over Cool Corners
The GT Stingers beats Cool Corners 72-62 in the GTBA playoffs in Grand Turk this past weekend.
Despite the fire of words on Sports Watch last week, host Donavan Fulford sat with the players from both teams simultaneously as the words flew as to the which team was the better team.
In Game 2 carried on RTC on Tuesday evening, Lavard Missick scored 22 points, 10 rebounds, had 1 steal and 1 assist, while Enrico Smith scored 11points, 6 steals, 1 assist, 2 rebounds and 1 block and closing out the evening for Cool Corners was Williams, who scored 9 points, had 1rebound and a steal to show 62 on the board.
The defending champions GT Stingers big man Elvis Smith scored 24 points, 2 steals, 9 rebounds and 2 assists while the Garland brothers dominated the game with their speed.
Sherad scored 21 buckets, 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists while Torell delivered 16 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
The Corners seemed stunned but cool with the loss as they are down 0 to 2 in the best of 7 GTBA playoffs.
There will be no games this weekend but game 3 will be played on May 3rd, 2013.
No Bucks for Milwaukee, while Miami Heats up the court 2-0
For the second straight game, the Miami Heat took a win over the Milwaukee Bucks by double digits, but this victory, a 98-86 trouncing, was a bit different.
Milwaukee actually came into the fourth quarter down by just three points with a ton of momentum after cutting the lead down from eight points. A LeBron James-Chris Andersen spark led to a 12-point run to start the fourth and the demise of the Bucks.
Dwyane Wade ended up being key in two different runs, scoring eight points in the third quarter and then a few more to extend the run in the fourth, but LeBron's stat line makes him impossible to ignore. He put up 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Milwaukee came out in this one looking to show its aggression early on, and it did just that, taking the lead early in the first quarter and not giving it up until there was but a minute left in the first.
Most surprising, it wasn't Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings getting to the bucket or hitting jumpers. It was Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute doing everything to find the bottom for the Bucks.
In fact, Ellis and Jennings missed every shot they took in the first half, shockingly opting to set up their teammates and move the ball around the perimeter.
The only problem was that the team on the other side of the ball had LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Oh, and Mario Chalmers. You can't forget about 'Rio.
Miami consistently turned the ball over in the first, but ended up putting up enough points to come into the second quarter with a two-point lead.
The story continued in the second. The Heat did enough to stay ahead, while the Bucks did everything in their power to take the lead, just unable to climb over the wall that the advantage created.