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Former Jamaican PM to be honoured

NEW YORK, CMC – Former Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson will be honoured by the New York based nonprofit Children of Jamaica Outbreach (COJO) its Scholarship Luncheon and Awards this week. The group says it will also honor corporate giant J. Wray and Nephew Limited at the same event at the Spanish Court Hotel in Jamaica on Wednesday. COJO said Patterson and Wray and Nephew will be recognized for their “commitment and support of the organization over many years.”

Euro Zone Economy Shrinks; Recession Returns in France

PARIS — The euro zone economy shrank more than expected in the first three months of 2013, official data showed Wednesday, marking a sixth consecutive quarter of decline as France returned to recession for the first time since 2009 and Germany marked time. The 17-nation euro zone contracted by 0.2 percent from the last three months of 2012, Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, reported from Luxembourg, less than the 0.6 percent decline recorded in the fourth quarter, but more than economists’ expectations of a 0.1 percent fall.

Study calls on regional governments to modernize tax system

WASHINGTON, CMC – A new study published here is urging Latin America and Caribbean governments to renew efforts to modernize their tax system. The study done by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) suggests that while Latin America and the Caribbean have made great strides in boosting tax collection in recent years, they need a new generation of fiscal and tax reform to reduce income inequality, cut evasion, boost productivity, strengthen local governments and preserve the region’s natural resources.

Europe’s Careless Dithering

EUROPE’S economic problems are growing steadily worse, with unemployment in parts of the Continent now above the level reached in the United States during the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, policy makers dither over solutions. Last week, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by a meager quarter of a percentage point, akin to giving two aspirin to a patient with pneumonia. Meanwhile, pressure is growing to ease the emphasis on austerity and to allow larger budget deficits.
If it were only that simple.

Caribbean nationals could benefit from new Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON, CMC - The United States Congress has started formal consideration of a sweeping immigration reform bill that creates a “path to citizenship” for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, including Caribbean nationals.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to finish work on the bill this week adopting Republican amendments aimed at stronger border security.

IMF says Antigua made “excellent progress” in restoring debt sustainability

WASHINGTON, CMC - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Antigua and Barbuda has made “excellent progress” towards achieving its goal of restoring debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability. An IMF mission headed by Geoffrey Bannister has recently completed a review of the 2010 multi-million dollar Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) to the island. “On the fiscal side, the fiscal outturn for March 2013 was well above programme targets, surpassing the performance criterion on the overall fiscal balance and the indicative target for the primary balance by a wide margin.

US Vice President to visit Trinidad and Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – United States Vice President Joe Biden is due here at the end of May, the US Embassy has confirmed. It gave no details on the proposed visit, but one local television station quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran as saying that the visit is aimed at improving relations and cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar shrugged off reports that relations between Washington and Port of Spain had deteriorated telling a public meeting of her United National Congress

Human rights group gives UN deadline

NEW YORK, CMC – A United States-based human rights group has given the United Nations 60 days to reach a compensation deal or face a legal lawsuit from victims of Haiti's cholera epidemic. The United Nations has already indicated it is legally immune from legal action over the epidemic that afflicted some half a million people. But the Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti said it is ready to open legal proceedings in New York with claims totalling billions of dollars unless the United Nations adhered to the deadline.
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