June 14, 2014
South Africa could be downgraded by Fitch
Credit ratings agency Fitch has warned South Africa that its credit rating may be lowered following a five-month platinum strike in the country. Fitch was followed by Standard & Poor who also downgraded their rating Fitch changed the country's…
June 13, 2014
Loan growth surges, bad debt falls
Jamaicans are borrowing at record amounts while keeping non-performing loans (NPLs) to three-year lows, according to the latest Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) prudential indicators. Total gross loans outstanding increased to $468 billion or 9.8 per cent…
June 12, 2014
Oil prices spike as Iraq violence flares
Oil prices spiked Thursday to levels not seen in nine months as escalating violence in Iraq sparked worries about crude exports. Light crude oil futures touched $106 a barrel, up nearly 2% and the highest price since September 2013. The price of…
June 10, 2014
IMF warns Osborne over housing bubble risk
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned George Osborne that accelerating house prices and low productivity pose the greatest threat to the UK's economic recovery. It said rising property values could leave households more vulnerable to…
June 10, 2014
‘Full mobile penetration by 2016’ says Lime
Telecommunications provider LIME aims to get the entire population using Internet on their mobile phone within two years. That would require well over a million new users and a similar number of web-enabled phones to be sold into the market by…
June 5, 2014
Airline profits in 2014 to be hit by China
The global airline industry's profit forecast for this year has been cut amid fears over China's economic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. The trade body predicts airlines will make $18bn (£10.7bn) in profit in 2014,…
June 5, 2014
Apple unveils iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday to announce the latest features for iPhones, iPads and Macs. Apple (AAPL) unveiled iOS 8, an update to the operating system that…
June 4, 2014
CDB gives update of the 44th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors
Caribbean countries ended 2013 on a more solid economic footing than it had done since the start of the 2007/2008 global economic recession, according to figures released by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The CDB, which is…
June 3, 2014
The French government faces a 14bn-euro black hole in its public finances
French President Francois Hollande has raised income tax, VAT and corporation tax since he was elected two years ago. The Court of Auditors said receipts from all three taxes amounted to an extra 16bn euros in 2013. That was a little more than half…
May 27, 2014
Caribbean Development Bank pleased with S&P’s new ratings
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it welcomes the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) revision of the bank’s outlook from “negative” to “stable” and affirmation of its “AA/A-1+” status on long and short term foreign currency…