The Inter-American Development Bank says Caribbean governments should focus on policies that facilitate efforts by businesses to innovate and improve productivity. This comes from a recent report, released as part of the IDB’s Caribbean Economics Quarterly, which collected data from nearly 2,000 private sector firms across 13 Caribbean countries. The IDB says the survey highlighted several severe challenges to the […]
U.S. business magnate and investor Elon Reeve Musk was prompted to throw down the gauntlet and open up about himself in a short bio on Twitter. Musk, the founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and […]
Although restrictions have been imposed on Russia and several businesses have exited the market in the country, the ruble is still holding its own against the U.S. dollar, according to press reports. Last week the currency was trading upwards, and the report noted it was up more than 11% against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year, surpassing […]
Amazon has reported a first-quarter loss of $3.8 billion due to lower online sales and a fall in the value of its shares in electric vehicle firm Rivian. This is the company’s first quarterly loss since 2015. The multinational technology company sees its sales slip three percent in the first three months of the year, as the boom in its […]
The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year partly due to a resurgence in coronavirus cases disrupting businesses. Figures from the Commerce Department showed that gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 1.4%. Slower economic growth was expected in the first quarter of the year, but the figure was worse than forecast. It is […]
Photo credit: JIS The Government is looking to leverage Jamaica’s participation in EXPO2020 Dubai to attract investments from business interests in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among other countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, who heads Jamaica’s delegation attending the global event, said that “shovel-ready” projects are available at the country’s pavilion, […]
In this business of living and living well, we are often confronted and conflicted with the urgency of choice. Oops! I meant presented. For in the ideal world, or if “time were on our side” and the ducks were neatly lined up, then living well would be embraced without murmur and with alacrity. Ordinarily, our jaws would hit the floor, […]
Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke is encouraging businesses to prepare for digital currency, which is expected to be launched by the Bank of Jamaica in 2022. He says enterprises should be among the first to be equipped with the ability to accept the new form of payment. The Finance Minister is urging local firms to invest in the platforms that […]
Cuba has announced it will allow private businesses to operate in most sectors, in what is a major reform to its state-controlled economy. Labor Minister Marta Elena Feito said the list of authorized activities had expanded from 127 to more than 2,000. Only a minority of sectors would be reserved for the state, she said.The communist country’s economy has been […]
The hotel sector in the U.S. is taking a beating because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has put most business activities on pause, and one of the hardest-hit sectors is tourism. The U.S. hotel industry said it faces a default disaster, in which 25% of hotels are at risk of foreclosure. The report, sent to the Congress this week and […]
