TTMA IN THE NEWS

Private sector reports an 88% turnout

The pri­vate sec­tor was not af­fect­ed by calls from var­i­ous trade union lead­ers to par­tic­i­pate in the day of “rest and re­flec­tion” yes­ter­day, with busi­ness­es re­port­ing that staff turned out for work as nor­mal. In a joint state­ment, the T&T Cham­ber, Am­ChamTT, En­er­gy Cham­ber and the TTMA said a com­pre­hen­sive sur­vey showed that 88 per cent of their mem­bers were not af­fect­ed, 10 per cent re­port­ed a mi­nor im­pact and on­ly two per cent ex­pe­ri­enc­ing a ma­jor ef­fect from the protest ac­tion. Read more here

NEWS

New debit card system for Food Support Programme…Robust move to avoid wastage

By December, the Social Development and Family Services Ministry plans to transition to a new debit card system for its Food Support Programme. This programme, an income-determined support mechanism, specifically targets vulnerable families who are unable to meet their basic food requirements. “The programme provides vulnerable families with food support for a period of two years. Also, a standard means test is the tool used to assess applicants to determine who falls under the poverty line and as such are in dire need of support,” said Natalie Walters. She is the manager of the ministry’s corporate communications unit. Read more here

Gyro vendor beaten and robbed

An In­di­an na­tion­al was beat­en and robbed while sell­ing gy­ros in Princes Town on Fri­day night. Po­lice said that around 10 pm, Kothaka­pu Proveenku­mar, 29, was at his stall in Craig­nish Vil­lage, Princes Town, when three men ap­proached him and be­gan kick­ing and cuff­ing him. They then robbed him of $1500 from his sales and ran off. PC Ram­per­sad of the Princes Town CID is car­ry­ing out in­quiries but up to late yes­ter­day no one had been ar­rest­ed. In an­oth­er in­ci­dent, at 2.10 pm, Sardi­s­ai Sir­ju, 56, of Bar­rack­pore, was walk­ing along Bo­nan­za Street, Princes Town, when he was held up and robbed at gun­point of $5000. The gun­man es­caped in a black Nis­san Teana. Read more here

$221.7m Curepe interchange

Should the State fail to reasonably respond to a call for the resumption of compensation negotiations with 15 homeowners who are being affected by the construction of the $221.7 million Curepe interchange project, then they will be left with no choice but to file legal action against the Ministry of Works and Transport, says attorney Michael Rooplal. Read more here

POLITICS

Caricom markets safe says Khan

Energy Minister Franklin khan said Caribbean Community (Caricom) member states which have contracts with Petrotrin for supply of refined products have no need to fear. Khan said while the company will be going out of the refining business which is no longer viable, they will be importing enough refined products to continue their export to markets in the region. Petrotrin’s chairman Wilfred Espinet on August 28, announced Cabinet’s decision to close the refinery and separate some 2600 workers. Read more here

2 Australian fast ferries for Tobago

Last Thursday, the Cabinet officially authorised the purchase of two purpose-built fast ferries to service the Trinidad and Tobago seabridge, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley disclosed on Friday in an exclusive interview with the Express. Read more here

BUSINESS

Unilever ends week higher at $26

Over­all mar­ket ac­tiv­i­ty re­sult­ed from trad­ing in 15 se­cu­ri­ties of which five ad­vanced, two de­clined and eight trad­ed firm. Trad­ing ac­tiv­i­ty on the First Tier Mar­ket reg­is­tered a vol­ume of 443,552 shares cross­ing the floor of the Ex­change val­ued at $2,442,628.38. GraceKennedy Lim­it­ed was the vol­ume leader with 295,078 shares chang­ing hands for a val­ue of $811,464.50, fol­lowed by JMMB Group Lim­it­ed with a vol­ume of 87,470 shares be­ing trad­ed for $148,868. Na­tion­al En­ter­pris­es Lim­it­ed con­tributed 22,391 shares with a val­ue of $200,399.45, while Guardian Hold­ings Lim­it­ed added 15,000 shares val­ued at $253,500. Unilever Caribbean Lim­it­ed reg­is­tered the day’s largest gain, in­creas­ing $1.00 to end the day at $26. Con­verse­ly, First Cit­i­zens Bank Lim­it­ed reg­is­tered the day’s largest de­cline, falling $0.17 to close at $32.77. Read more here

Currencies and investor considerations

This week, we at Bourse take a closer look at the performance of the currency market and its impact on other asset classes. 2018 has, thus far, been a year in which the performance of non-US financial assets has been affected by deterioration of their currencies. Read more here

REGIONAL

Adventists Won't Shrink Back - Church Leader Urges Members To Stay True To Mission Despite Distractions

With Jamaicans across the island questioning how a man with a deadly criminal past was allowed to become a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) deacon, the leadership of the church has declared that it will not be daunted in its mission by the past failures of some of its members. Pastor Everett Brown, president of the SDA Church in Jamaica, said during an installation ceremony for Adventist leaders over the weekend that the Church "must not give up on the people who are in need of healing and salvation". "We must not shrink back ... because some of our leaders and members have failed God and the Church. The Church today is not perfect, but one day, the Church militant will become the spotless bride of Christ," said Brown as he addressed the newly installed leaders of the SDA North East Jamaica at the Port Maria Seventh-Day Adventist Church in St Mary. Read more here

INTERNATIONAL

Trump's authority crisis deepens

Donald Trump's presidency is slipping deeper into a crisis of authority at a critical moment. Midterm elections are looming, he's facing new questions about his fitness for office, and he's hunting a hidden rebel within his own camp. Typifying the sense that what would once seem absurd now counts for normality in this White House, Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday offered to take a lie detector test to prove he was not the author of an op-ed by an anonymous senior official in The New York Times that assailed Trump for "half baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless" leadership. Read more here

Swedish election: Main blocs neck and neck as nationalists gain

The Swedish general election has left the two main political blocs almost tied, with the anti-immigration party making gains on its previous results. With nearly all ballots counted, the governing centre-left coalition is marginally ahead of its centre-right Alliance rivals, with around 40% each. The nationalist Sweden Democrats (SD) have won about 18% of the vote, up from 12.9% in the previous election. A protracted battle to form a working coalition now looks certain. Read more here

10th September 2018

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