NEWS
TSTT posts $316m loss under new chairman
Majority State-owned telecoms provider TSTT has posted an after-tax loss of $316 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, chairman Emile Elias said in a two-page news advertisement yesterday. The loss means a 345 per cent deterioration in the total comprehensive profit for the company for its first year under new chairman Elias and chief executive officer Ronald Walcott. The Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) had a total comprehensive profit of $166.6 million for the year ended March 31, 2015. Last year, TSTT accounted for the largest movement in National Enterprises Ltd’s (NEL) financial performance. Read more here
2,595 crimes against children in 14 months
Since the inception of the Child Protection Unit (CPU) in May last year there has been 2,595 reports for the period May 2015 to July 17, 2016 for a range of crimes committed against children. Out of all the reports sexual penetration has been the most prevalent reported serious crime for that period, with a total of 603 cases amounting 30 per cent of the cases. These statistics were revealed by Superintendent Odette Lewis of the Child Protection Unit who was speaking at the weekly police press briefing at Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. But the unit has been faced with difficulty nabbing perpetrators. Read more here
POLITICS
13,330 purged from system: Food Card audit roots out ‘ghost’ holders
From Monday, some 13,330 Food Card (Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme) recipients will be removed from the system following an audit and update of the system. The deactivation of the cards will save the Government $100 million annually, Minister of the People and Family Services, Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, said yesterday in an exclusive interview with the T&T Guardian. Read more here
Kamla: Is Sandals a case of ‘cat in bag’?
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday asked whether moves to bring the Sandals resort chain to Tobago was a case of “cat in bag”. There has been no official decision on the issue and thus far Government officials have repeatedly emphasised talks are ongoing. However, in a media release, the UNC political leader said Sandals was involved in a dispute with the Antiguan Government and cited unfavourable customer reviews. She queried reports that moves to bring the resort chain began from before Dr Keith Rowley became Prime Minister — from the time he was Opposition Leader. Read more here
BUSINESS
Pay your damn bills
This was the call from businessman and contractor Emile Elias, who told Government yesterday it needs to pay $2.4 billion worth of legitimate bills. The Joint Consultative Council (JCC) for the construction industry held a news conference at the Professional Centre building in Port of Spain where its president, James Armstrong, Elias, Mikey Joseph, president of the Contractors Association, and others said a deadline of August 30 will be given to Government to clear its bills or else action will be taken. Read more here
BP records $720M 2016 2nd Qtr profits
Energy company BP has announced profits for the second quarter of 2016 of US $720 million on an underlying replacement cost basis, compared with $532 million for the previous quarter and $1.3 billion for the second quarter of 2015. An unchanged dividend for the quarter of 10 cents per ordinary share ($0.6 per ADS), expected to be paid in September. (The company ex- plained that underlying replacement cost profit is adjusted for non-operating items and fair value accounting effects.) Compared with a year earlier, BP noted that the underlying second quarter result was impacted by lower oil and gas prices and significantly lower refining margins, but this was partly offset by the benefit of lower cash costs throughout the group as well as lower exploration write-offs. Read more here
REGIONAL
Jamaica business leaders take part in CARICOM review
Minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, has commended Jamaican business leaders for participating in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Review Commission. Johnson Smith also praised the leaders for their demonstrated interest to ensure that Jamaica’s path to realising economic growth and job creation is “well cemented” with the nations closest to the island. The minister, who was speaking at the third meeting of the Commission on Tuesday, indicated that a lot of interest has been generated in the work of the Commission. Read more here
Caribbean growth rate to contract this year, says new ECLAC report
Latin American and Caribbean countries will show a -0.8% contraction in their growth rate in 2016, marking a steeper decline than in 2015 (-0.5%) and with very heterogeneous behaviour among countries and subregions, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The United Nations regional organization presented its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2016, in which it stresses the urgent need to mobilize investment -- both public and private -- to promote the region’s economic recovery and meet the challenges imposed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Merkel rules out migrant policy reversal after attacks
6 takeaways from Wednesday night at the Democratic Convention
The Democratic A-list on Wednesday cast Donald Trump as a threat to the American dream -- and Hillary Clinton as the nation's only chance to save it. President Barack Obama called Trump a "homegrown demagogue." Michael Bloomberg dismissed him as a "con." And Vice President Joe Biden, in rejecting Trump, declared that "Americans have never, ever, ever, ever let their country down." They set the frame for the Democratic National Convention's most important moment: Clinton's speech Thursday night. Read more here…
28th July 2016