Education and high standards
IN JAMAICA everyone treats education like motherhood - everyone is for it and seeks to support it (at least with lip service) but each supporter is very careful about criticising it because, like mother, everyone treats education as a very fragile...

BA to close call centre
BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) has stated that it will close its local call centre operations from May 31. Diane Corrie, the airline's commercial manager for the north Caribbean, stated that call centres in Barbados, Kingston, Antigua and St. Lucia...

FirstCaribbean profits soar
FIRSTCARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL Bank Jamaica reported consolidated net income after taxation of $149.4 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2006, compared to $41 million for the similar period in the prior year.

GraceKennedy announces dividend payment for 2006
GRACEKENNEDY LIMITED will make an interim dividend payment on May 26 of $147 million, which represents 45 cents per stock unit, based on the existing share capital of 327 million shares. Notice was served that the company's register of members..

PIOJ bullish on the economy
THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wesley Hughes, says the Jamaican economy is expected to continue on its growth trend for the first quarter of this year. "The short-term prospects are quite positive as economic...

Developing a risk/reward strategy
"YOU DON'T have a lot of wiggle room once the crisis begins. You need to develop a risk/reward strategy." Richard Byles, chief executive officer of Life of Jamaica, spoke to the 15th cohort of Fitz Ritson & Associates (FR&A) portfolio management.

Magnus Johansson to drive Digicel's broadband strategy
MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS operator Digicel has recently secured the services of Magnus Johansson as director of its wireless broadband services. Mr. Johansson was the former head of the broadband unit of its arch competitor, Cable & Wireless Jamaica.

Madge Neil Burnett's entrepreneurial journey
IT STARTED 21 years ago as a small supermarket and bar - and with high hopes that visitors passing on tour buses to and from a nearby great house attraction would perhaps stop and buy something. The tour buses did stop - so did residents...

Alcoa requests Trini smelter site
PORT OF SPAIN (The Trinidad Guardian): ALCOA SUBMITTED a certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) to the Environmental Management Agency for its proposed 341,000 metric tonne per year Chatham aluminium smelter last Thursday.

CARICOM allies with Dominican Republic
CARICOM NEGOTIATORS believe they have secured a joint strategy with the Dominican Republic, ahead of their trade negotiations with the European Union (EU) in Barbados beginning this week. This follows a trip by the CARICOM Regional...