NEW YORK, CMC – Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer says the collapse of the Trinidad-based insurance conglomerate, CLICO, and the Stanford Group of companies, has resulted in more than EC$400 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) “disappearing like a puff of smoke from the economy”. But Spencer told nationals residing in North America over the weekend that Antigua and Barbuda continues to be in “steady and safe hands” under his leadership. Spencer, who is been in the United States attending the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), spoke of the many challenges faced by countries in the Caribbean region, including Antigua and Barbuda, and concluded that despite the additional challenges faced by his country, the economy remains on a firm footing.