TTMA IN THE NEWS
TTMA: No turnaround yet in local market
FINANCE MINISTER Colm Imbert declared the economy “has turned around”, during the mid-year review yesterday but the TT Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) disagrees. TTMA president Christopher Alcazar told Newsday, “While we are seeing many of our manufacturers continue to push outward regionally and are observing export growth, many are not yet seeing the signs of a ‘turnaround’ in the local market. Locally the market continues to be soft and sluggish.” Read more here
TTMA: Manufacturers not seeing the signs of recovery
President of the T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA), Christopher Alcazar said manufacturers are not convinced that there is a turnaround in T&T’s economy. He added that while many manufacturers continue to push outward regionally, and are observing export growth, many are not seeing the signs of a turnaround in their domestic market. In his mid-year budget presentation, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said T&T was in a turnaround as energy prices had improved along with other indicators. Read more here
NEWS
Boy, 15, dies of stroke
A Point Fortin couple is accusing staff at the Point Fortin hospital of negligence after their 15-year-old son died on Wednesday night after complaining of excruciating pain to his left hand and left leg. Zion Rennie, a form three student of the Point Fortin East Secondary School, was taken to the hospital after he complained about the pain two weeks ago. The parents are alleging that he was never examined by doctors or nurses, but was given two injections for the pain. Zion was later given a prescription for Panadol and sent home. Read more here
Missing mom, three daughters found safe
Veronica Young and her three daughters, who were reported missing on Saturday, have been found by the police and they are safe. Young, 32, of Mohess Road, Penal, contacted the police saying she was staying in a house at South Trinidad and she did not want to be found. The three children have been staying with her. Investigators said they were expected to meet with her to take a statement. Read more here
Taxi driver abducted, robbed by two women and a man
Besson Street police are investigating a report in which a 72-year-old taxi driver was abducted and robbed by two women and a man. The victim, from Lady Young Avenue, Morvant, was plying his gold-coloured Nissan Almera vehicle on Wednesday night when the incident occurred. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla: ‘Same old, same old’ promises
AN unimpressed Kamla Persad-Bissessar blasted the government yesterday in her rebuttal to Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s mid-year budget review, reducing his speech to the “same old, same old” rhetoric of previous promises. Presenting to the Parliament immediately after Imbert, she latched on to his closing quote from American reggae and pop singer Johnny Nash’s song “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,” comparing Imbert instead to blind artiste Stevie Wonder. “He can’t see,” she said. Read more here
Deyalsingh hopes to make CDAP more accessible
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says he has taken a position to Cabinet to “put CDAP drugs in the hands of patients” to give the required relief. And while he said this will happen “soon,” he gave no details of how this initiative will work. But former South West Regional Health Authority chairman, Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe, says he “looks forward to the suggestion” and hopes it is “properly monitored.” He described CDAP as “very close to all of us, it is a good programme and it continues to be improved.” Read more here
Finance Minister boasts economic gloom over for T&T during mid-year budget review
“I can see clearly now, the rain has gone,” Finance Minister Colm Imbert chirped yesterday, as he quoted “the words of Johnny Nash, later made famous by Jimmy Cliff” to signal the end of the gloom and doom and the dawn of Trinidad and Tobago’s economic revival. Read more here
BUSINESS
CAL revenue up 21 per cent
State-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has achieved a 21 per cent increase in revenue for the first quarter of the financial year from strong passenger demand and increased cargo business together with enhanced cost management. The unaudited results show that revenues and earnings are both ahead of budget—a considerable improvement over 2017—with 64 per cent in earnings year on year. There was a seven per cent increase in demand on passenger revenue and the airline also benefitted from revenue management initiatives and tighter control on costs, even with a 14 per cent increase in fuel prices. Read more here
Govt to offer NIF next month
By next month, the Government expects to launch its National Investment Fund (NIF) with an initial public offering of 49.9 per cent. Read more here
REGIONAL
JCF's Challenges Not Insurmountable, Says Commissioner
A deliberate and strategic approach is necessary to meet the challenges that abound in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), says Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson. These challenges, he said, are not insurmountable but would require internal realignment to get the force to be a more agile organisation able to bring to bear its full weight on the process of investigations, and, ultimately, convictions of those found guilty under the law. "The JCF, indeed, has some challenges, but these are not insurmountable. We just need to take a deliberate and strategic approach to meet those challenges and to get better outcomes," Anderson recently told The Gleaner. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Iran condemns wave of Israeli air strikes in Syria
Trump hopes 'America First' abroad leads to wins at home
It's Donald Trump's latest rebrand -- global man of action. The President is taking his political chaos theory beyond America's borders and racking up wins for his faithful political base. Positioning himself as a domineering global figure to shore up his standing back home, Trump is changing the subject from the scandals hounding his administration ahead of the midterm elections. "We're fighting and we're finally putting America first," Trump roared at a rowdy campaign rally on Thursday night in Indiana, after a week in which his interventions rocked the world. Read more here
11th May 2018