iNews Briefs
Cayman minister says no more duty cuts on fuel
Marco Archer, Cayman Islands Minister of Finance, said last Friday (12) in the Legislative Assembly government could not afford to reduce the duty on fuel any further than the cuts in this year’s budget.
The minister said he had to be prudent and the economy was not growing enough to justify further cuts. He said he was working hard on sustainable solutions to help people and not cuts, as that would involve increases again because government couldn’t balance the books.
Archer was speaking out against the motion filed by the opposition leader, McKeeva Bush asking government to cut the duty on fuel and give the Cayman people a break.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) Caribbean coaching conference
From Real FM Grenada
Grenada has been chosen to host the first International Tennis Federation (ITF) Caribbean coaching conference.
Taking place from 7th to 10th of October, the conference forms a very important element of the International Tennis Federation’s coach education programme, and it is being organized by Federation in conjunction with COTECC and the Grenada Tennis Association but with support from BNP Paribas and Olympic Solidarity.
To be held at the Grenadian by Rex Resort, the conference is opened to all coaches from the Caribbean region.
So far 20 foreign coaches have expressed interest in taking part at the conference, and there is no limit to the number of entries from each country.
President of the Grenada Tennis Association Mr Earl Charles, said the opportunity will be given to local lawn tennis coaches and P.E. teachers, in an attempt to improve the coaching standard on the Island.
Speakers will include Mike Barrell of Great Britain, Dermot Sweeney from Zambia, Dr Johnson from Grenada, Frank Couraud from International Tennis Federation and International Tennis Federation Caribbean Representative John Goede.
Cayman Islands police report 6 DUI arrests over weekend
Last weekend, 12th – 14th September 2014 was a busy weekend for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s (RCIPS) Traffic Management.
Despite widespread warnings to motorists not to drink and drive, motorists still continued to breach the Traffic Law and risk being disqualified from driving, injuring themselves and others.
The RCIPS reported six persons were arrested for driving under the influence.
Inspector Barnett who is in charge of the Traffic Management said, “Motorists are not adhering to the Traffic Law, and they are not heeding our warnings; always have a designated driver or take a taxi.”
Deutsche Bank strategists: Bonds are in a bubble
By Dan Weil
Most of the bubble talk these days focuses on stocks. But Deutsche Bank strategists led by Jim Reid see frothiness brewing in the global government bond market.
“The worry is that there is nowhere left for this bubble to go given that it is now in the hands of the lenders of last resort (governments and central banks with regulators ensuring other large captive buyers),” they write in a commentary obtained by MarketWatch.
“Although we think this bubble needs to be maintained to ensure the solvency of the current financial system, the best case scenario is that it slowly pops over time via negative real returns for bondholders. The worst-case scenario being future restructuring.”
The Barclays U.S. Treasury 20-Year-Plus index has returned 15.5 percent so far this year.
Bond-investment star Jeff Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, doesn’t see a bubble brewing in Treasurys. He told CNBC that doesn’t anticipate major moves by Treasurys for the rest of the year, with the Federal Reserve unlikely to raise interest rates anytime soon.
Gundlach predicted in June that the 10-year Treasury yield would trade between 2.2 percent and 2.8 percent through Dec. 31. The yield stood at 2.59 percent Friday afternoon. “I think bonds are going to remain fairly stable this year,” he said.
Those who believe Fed Chair Janet Yellen is signaling an aggressive posture on raising interest rates have it wrong, he said. “I don’t really hear Janet Yellen saying that. I hear a lot of her associates saying that,” Gundlach said.
For more: http://www.Newsmax.com/Finance/Deutsche-Bank-bonds-bubble/2014/09/14/id/594553/#ixzz3DRHoS8pO
Cayman Islands Fire Service honoured
Members of the Cayman Islands Fire Service (CIFS) were honoured for their years of hard work and devotion on Friday (12) at The Ritz Carlton Hotel.
This appreciation ceremony was the first of its kind for the CIFS.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, Chief Officer for Home Affairs Eric Bush, and retired fire officers and staff were in attendance including seven firefighters from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
Federation represented at 17th Annual Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) Conference
From sknvibes
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2014 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis was represented at the 17th Annual Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) Conference from September 8th to 11th.
Post-Master General. Ms. Sandra Donovan and Deputy Post Master General, Mr. Darrien Veira attended the meeting which was formally opened by Bermuda’s Premier and Minister of National Security, Hon. Michael Dunkley.
It was the first time that Bermuda hosted a Caribbean Postal Union Conference.
Postal Administrations from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, France, Haiti, Netherlands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US attended the conference.
The theme of the conference was “Sustainability in the 21st Century” and the sub theme, “Repositioning the Caribbean Post.”
The conference deliberations examined the global challenges emanating from the electronic age in which Bermuda and Caribbean postal administrations operate, considered potential solutions to mitigate these challenges and provided options for repositioning Caribbean postal administrations for sustained future growth.
The theme for this year’s conference and its location has attracted not only interest from postal administrations in the Caribbean; it has also generated interest in the postal sector in the U.S., the European Community and the Universal Postal Union.”
Approximately 50 persons including representatives from Caribbean Postal Union, CARICOM, the Caribbean Customs and Law Enforcement Council, the Postal Union for the Americas, Spain and Portugal. The Director General of the Universal Postal Union, Mr. Bishar Abdirahman Hussein were in attendance.”
For more: http://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/88804
Cayman Islands DLP & NWDA to visit Cayman Brac
See attached for info
Progress in Pilot Projects of Caribbean biological corridor
From radio Cadena Agramonte
Santiago de Cuba, Sep 13.- Pilot projects to test environmental strategy of the Caribbean Biological Corridor (CBC) progress today in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the first three countries promoting the initiative.
About 30 kilometers from this city, in the community of Verraco, located in the Biosphere Reserve of Baconao, its residents are enthusiastic about science learning and agroecological practices that yield economic and social benefits.
This and the Baitiquirí settlement, in the coastal strip considered the Cuban semi-desert in the province of Guantanamo, are both chosen to start these experiences, in which the technical preparation and wisdom of farmers are brought together to take care of the environment.
In total there are 10 ongoing projects, including the Haitians of Fort Drouet, Caracol and Gonave, where friendly formulas with nature are applied to raise awareness of the negative impact of cooking with wood and charcoal, among other damage to nature.
The recent implementation of a photovoltaic system in Baitiquirí is another fact showing the momentum of CBC, that is planning to set four of these systems in the three countries in pursuit of another of its premises, the promotion of renewable energies.
The Corridor began to operate in 2007, under the auspicies of the Ministeries of the Environment in the three nations and the cooperation of the United Nations Program for the Environment and the European Union.(Prensa Latina).
Southwest Airlines adds Milwaukee – Caribbean Service from late-Jan 2015
Southwest Airlines from late-January 2015 is adding International service from Milwaukee, with flights to Montego Bay and Punta Cana. Southwest will offer Saturday-only service on both routes from 24JAN15, until 04APR15.
Milwaukee – Punta Cana Service operated by Boeing 737-800
WN928 MKE0700 – 1340PUJ 73H 6
WN1006 PUJ1435 – 1750MKE 73H 6
Milwaukee – Montego Bay Service operated by Boeing 737-700
WN1104 MKE0820 – 1330MBJ 73W 6
WN1101 MBJ1530 – 1850MKE 73W 6
Frozen breakfast sandwiches are not nutritious, taste weird
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
There’s a wide variety of frozen breakfast sandwiches on the market, but are any of them any good? No, not particularly, our flavorful colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports determined. Very few of the sandwiches they reviewed earned a good nutrition rating, and sandwiches don’t retain their texture very well after freezing. As with the guacamole tests earlier this year, they provided a recipe and recommended that maybe you just make own breakfast burritos at home instead. For more: http://consumerist.com/2014/09/15/newsflash-frozen-breakfast-sandwiches-are-not-nutritious-taste-weird/
Alibaba’s massive IPO just got even bigger
By Seth Fiegerman From Mashable
Alibaba is inching closer to having the largest IPO of all time.
The Chinese ecommerce giant increased the proposed price for its IPO to $66-$68 a share, according to a filing with the SEC on Monday afternoon. At the high end of that price range, Alibaba would raise about $21.8 billion and have a market cap of more than $165 billion.
Alibaba first filed to go public in May after many months of rumors, and filed earlier this month to offer shares at a price between $60 and $66, potentially raising as much as $21 billion. The increase comes amid reports of strong demand from investors for Alibaba stock.
At the new price range, Alibaba would be the largest tech IPO of all time. However, it would not be the largest IPO ever, a title currently held by the Agricultural Bank of China, which raised just more than $22 billion from its public offering in 2010.
The price range could still increase this week before it officially prices the offering on Thursday. The company is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange this Friday.
See also iNews Cayman related story “We talked to the man who knows more about Alibaba’s beginning than any other American” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/we-talked-to-the-man-who-knows-more-about-alibabas-beginning-than-any-other-american/
True Woman Conference
From First Baptist Church Grand Cayman
When:
October 9, 2014 – October 12, 2014 all-day
2014-10-09T05:00:00+00:00
2014-10-12T05:00:00+00:00
Where:
Indianapolis
IN
USA
Contact:
A call for women to come together and find freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.
Speakers include: Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Janet Parshall, Mary Kassian
Please contact the Church Office if you have registered for this conferences, or would like to. (yk.gro.cbf@cbf or phone 949-0692).
Health Walk forms part of activities to mark Caribbean Wellness Day
(ZIZ News) – Saturday the government of St. Kitts-Nevis commemorated Caribbean Wellness Day with a number of activities. The first activity commenced at 5:30am on the F.T. Williams highway as Government officials and other health conscious persons participated in a Health Walk.
The nation’s Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, was fully energised as he led the walk along the island’s main road, into Frigate Bay and culminating on Zen Boulevard.
Among the other dignitaries present were Minister of Health the Honourable Marcella Liburd and Permanent Secretary in the office of the Prime Minister her Excellency Astona Browne.
Caribbean Wellness Day activities continued with a visit to the Hospital and a Wellness Lecture which took placed at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
For more: http://zizonline.com/health-walk-forms-part-of-activities-to-mark-caribbean-wellness-day/
US fines over data requests would have destroyed Yahoo in a year
By Jon Fingas From engadget
The US government’s threat that it would fine Yahoo $250,000 per day back in 2008 was bad enough by itself, but declassified documents show that the penalties could easily have been much, much worse. Marc Zwillinger and Jacob Sommer (who were on Yahoo’s side in the case) note that $250,000 was merely the baseline, and that the requested fines would double for every week that Yahoo refused to hand over user data. There wasn’t a ceiling, either. At that rate, holding out for any significant amount of time would have been impossible — Yahoo would have lost all of its assets, or $13.8 billion, in just over a year. As such, the fine wasn’t so much a punishment as a weapon that forced the internet firm to comply with a surveillance order it was planning to contest in court.
Not that Yahoo had much chance of success even if the fine had been down to Earth. The Director of National Intelligence put tremendous pressure on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to deny Yahoo’s call for a stay on the data requests, saying that a pause “could cause great harm” to the country. Moreover, the government denied Yahoo access to evidence that would help its defense — it couldn’t cast doubt on the demands by showing that the US scoops up incidental data about innocent Americans, for example. That Yahoo resisted at all is significant given the tall odds, but it’s clearer than ever that US companies have few viable ways of fighting requests for your online info when national security is allegedly at stake.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/15/us-fines-would-have-destroyed-yahoo/?ncid=rss_truncated
Cayman Islands open for business
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin visited with Bermuda Government Leader in the House and Government Whip Mr. N.H. Cole Simons, JP, MP, left, at the Legislative Assembly on Monday.
See IMAGE
