To confront economic and climatic vulnerabilities of Caribbean countries that have only amplified since the COVID-19 outbreak, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Alicia Bárcena has called for urgent concessional funds to be provided to address these countries' vulnerabilities. According to her, Latin
Despite a revised basket of commodities, Jamaicans continue to spend a lot of their money on 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', which remains the most weighted division in a basket of other goods used in determining the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “When looking at the weights, the largest division continues to
The Jamaican economy lost $4.5 billion of real value in the March quarter, numbers that capture just the first three weeks of virus-containment measures that were cited as the cause of the decline. Economic output, measured as gross domestic product, or GDP, contracted 2.3 per cent in the period, and
BEIJING, China (AP) — China became the first major economy to report growth following the coronavirus pandemic, recording an unexpectedly strong 3.2 per cent expansion over a year earlier in the latest quarter as anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened. Growth reported Wednesday was a dramatic improvement
Thousands of office workers are now working from home as a result of the stringent measures implemented to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Companies and workers who may have been reluctant in the past have had to move quickly to embrace technology in order that they may maintain productivity. The
Given the ballooning cost for health care in Jamaica especially since the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ) is calling on the Government to accelerate the national health insurance scheme. The much-talked-about national health insurance scheme for Jamaica has been on the mind of successive Administrations but
Sagicor Life Jamaica is reporting a significant increase on its specialised digital portals as more of its clients pivot towards online transactions. The company, which last year launched eLife for the purchasing of life insurance policies, said it had seen a 400 per cent increase in the use of the
If COVID did us any good itis that it forced us to live and work the digital life. The office is no longer the only place to deliver a full day's work. Flexible work suddenly became a reality six years after legislation allowed for employers to engage with their employees
New Fortress Energy, the sole natural gas supplier to Jamaica, announced in July that it would buy gas on the open market after terminating a deal to buy more expensive gas contracts, but it is not clear whether it will result in cheaper light bills for local consumers. The New
Marie Dowdie (left), assistant branch manager, Sagicor Bank Jamaica Liguanea Branch, hands over a symbolic cheque to 11-year-old Imani-Leigh Hall, founder of the ILAH's Lemon- Aid Stand for Kids Foundation, during a visit to the branch last Wednesday. The fund donation will support an initiative organised by the ILAH's Lemon-Aid
