iNews Briefs
6 people killed in Haiti floods
By Richard Davies From FloodList
Floods have struck once again in Haiti. This time, heavy rain since the beginning of the month has resulted in overflowing rivers, flooding areas around Port-au-Prince, including Tabarre, Cite Soleil, Delmas, and Carrefour.
At least 6 people have died and 100s have been displaced. In total, 8,379 homes have been affected by the floods, with 46 homes totally destroyed according to the Directorate of Civil Protection and the Interior Ministry, quoted in local media.
Parts of northern Haiti, in particular Cap-Haïtien, as well as parts of neighbouring Dominican Republic suffered flooding in February this year after 7 days of non-stop rain.
Haiti suffered severe flooding in November 2014 which left at least 8 people dead and forced 4,500 from their homes.
Flooded streets of Cap-Haitian. Photo: Jean-Junior JOSEPH / Twitter
For more: http://floodlist.com/america/6-people-killed-haiti-floods
Angry passengers demand money back from Cayman Islands travel agency
Many angry passengers gathered outside Cayman 123 Travel on Eastern Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman on Tuesday (7) morning demanding their money back.
They had all booked and paid for air tickets to Jamaica over the long Easter weekend but when they got to the airport they were told by Cayman Airways check-in desk the payments had not come through from the travel company.
Some of the passengers said they had booked and paid for their tickets months in advance.
A representative from 123 Travel said customers would be repaid or placed on new flights to Jamaica.
123 Travel is owned by Theresa Chin.
Trade missions coming to South Florida this month
By Doreen Hemlock From Sun Sentinel
Trade missions visiting South Florida this month from Quebec, Dutch Caribbean and Brazil
Trade missions from Quebec, the Dutch Caribbean and Brazil are coming to South Florida this month, offering goods and services from their homelands to local buyers.
The Quebec-Florida Chamber of Commerce is organizing a Quebec delegation to Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties for April 13-15. The group will include representatives of Quebec’s art galleries, museums, architects, designers, construction companies, hotels and more. To arrange a meeting or for information, contact Justine Croteau at the Chamber at 954-504-0669 or [email protected].
The Dutch consulate in Miami is organizing a trade mission from the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, St. Maarten and Aruba to South Florida on April 16-17. Visitors will represent companies and business groups in the such areas as shipping, logistics, tourism and finance. For an appointment or information, contact Barbara Staals at the consulate at 786-866 0492 or [email protected].
A delegation from Brazil plans meetings with South Florida buyers from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.April 30 at the InterContinental hotel in downtown Miami. Visitors will offer software and electronic equipment, autonomous underwater vehicles, food and beverages, cosmetics and other products. For an appointment and information, contact Adam Petersat 305-375-5420 or [email protected].
For more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-inbound-trade-missions-20150406-story.html
Cayman Islands Minimum Wage Advisory Committee to reveal recommendations
The Cayman Islands Ministry of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs and the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee (MWAC) have announced the key recommendations of the MWAC Report will be tabled on Thursday 9th April, 2015 at 10:00am.
Present will be Honourable Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, Health and Culture, Honourable Tara Rivers, JP, Minister of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs, Mr. Christen Suckoo, Acting Chief Officer, Ministry of Education, Employment & Gender Affairs, Mr. Lemuel Hurlston, Chair, Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, Ms. Tammy Ebanks, Acting Deputy Chief Officer, Ministry Liaison, Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, Mr. Adolphus Laidlow, Senior Economist, Economics and Statistics Office and Member, Minimum Wage Advisory Committee.
Together with the key recommendations the suggested figure for the minimum wage in the Cayman Islands will also be tabled.
Grenada media worker drowns attempting to save daughter’s life
From CARIBBEAN360
St. George’s, Grenada, Tuesday April 7, 2015, CMC – The technical director of the Government Information Service (GIS) Hildebrand James drowned on Sunday night as he attempted to save his daughter and a friend at the Guallas Beach in the parish of St David.
“We are mourning the loss of Hildebrand James, our technical director and longstanding member of the Government Information Service family. Hill drowned at sea…in what sources describe as a heroic act, trying to save some persons who were in difficulty,” Parliamentary Secretary for Information in the Office of the Prime Minister, Winston Garraway, wrote on the social network, Facebook.
A statement issued by the GIS noted that “Hildebrand’s work at Government Information Service has transcended governments, and he was a valuable member of the team, rising through the ranks over the years”.
GIS director Rawle Titus said “our operations here at GIS will never be the same. Our most profound sympathy goes out to his family and friends. We stand with you during this very difficult time and we will do what we can here to honour his memory”.
James was also a musician and songwriter and played with the local group, Rhydum Mix.
“We’ve lost a brother but your spirit will live on….we going to remember all the good times, we will keep your memory alive,” the band members wrote on their Facebook site.
James, 45, is survived by his wife and three children
Cayman Islands police to hold recruitment open days
To better facilitate the ongoing local recruitment drive for Constable positions, Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) will hold Open Days on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac when prospective applicants can visit, chat with officers and get all the information they need to apply.
The open days will be held as below:
Grand Cayman on:
- Saturday, 11 April and
- Wednesday, 15 April 2015 – both days at the RCIPS Training and Development Unit, Governor’s Square, 10 am – 3 pm;
Cayman Brac on:
- Thursday, 16 April 2015 at the Aston Rutty Civic Centre, 10 am – 3 pm.
The salary for PC recruits ranges from $31,272 – $42,096, with an additional 4% to be factored in from 1 July 2015 to reflect a planned cost of living allowance.
Applications are available online at www.rcips.ky/careers. Filled application forms should be submitted online to [email protected].
Photo caption:
The RCIPS local recruitment drive for Constable positions is underway until 30 April 2015.
Bobo Omar to put Linstead back on map
By Howard Campbell From Jamaica Observer
IN 1970 when Omar Phillips was born, a merry band of musicians from Linstead called the Soul Defenders were making their mark at producer Clement “Coxson” Dodd’s Studio One.
Phillips, known as Bobo Omar, also hails from the rustic St Catherine farm town. A producer and head of OneTreeRecords, he wants to return his hometown to the musical map with hard-hitting roots music.
“As a member of the Bobo Shanti tribe, I do music with anyone who has a positive message to convey. At this time, I’m doing just dat, promoting Motion and Stick a Bush by Sativa and Network by Tony Curtis,” he told Splash.
Sativa, a singjay, and Curtis a singer with several hits from the 1990s, are from Linstead. They are among the artistes Phillips consistently works with.
Phillips, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, started OneTree Records 13 years ago. Prior to that, he had worked in the music business as a promoter, helping stage shows in the Cayman Islands and New York City.
Though the Big Apple once produced hit dancehall/reggae songs and artistes such as Shinehead and Shaggy, 45-year-old Phillips points to the difficulty of getting the break in Jamaica from NYC.
“It is tough to get songs played in Jamaica, but also everywhere in the world because there are hundreds of songs released daily and hundreds of new artistes are born daily,” he said.
The music scene was not as cluttered when he was growing up in Linstead. In the early 1970s, the Soul Defenders were the hot ticket out of Linstead.
With Joseph Hill (later of Culture) on percussion, they played on numerous sessions that produced songs like Thelma by Larry Marshall and homeboy Freddie McKay (Picture on The Wall).
Since starting OneTree Records, Phillips has also released songs by deejay Ancient Fire. The label’s latest project, Fire Time from Capleton, is scheduled for release in May.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Bobo-Omar-to-put-Linstead-back-on-map_18683641
Upcoming Laughter show in Cayman Islands
LAUGHTERLOUNGE CAYMAN COMEDY SHOW
April 10 @ 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Stella Artois and Absolut present the LaughterLounge Cayman Comedy show featuring Brooklyn Mike and Kool Bubba Ice. Tickets are on sale at Executive Services. For more info [email protected] 326-4510
Details
Date: April 10
Time: 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Venue: Margaritaville George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Scientists map Caribbean seafloor as part of 12-year project
By Danica Coto Associated Press From ABC News
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Apr 7, 2015, 7:06 PM ET
U.S. scientists on Tuesday completed a nearly two-week mission to explore waters around the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of a 12-year project to map the Caribbean seafloor and help protect its reefs.
A team with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studied an area of 270 square miles (700 square kilometers), using equipment including underwater gliders and a remotely operated vehicle to help map the seafloor and locate areas where fish spawn. They focused mostly on the southern coast of St. Croix and the northwestern coast of St. Thomas.
“It’s a relatively unexplored but believed to be rich ecosystem,” lead researcher Tim Battista said by telephone. “We’re able to map large areas that you couldn’t do with just divers.”
The information will be used in efforts to conserve coral reefs as well as to update navigational charts and help government officials manage and better protect fish populations.
Reefs across the Caribbean have shrunk by more than 50 percent since the 1970s, with experts blaming climate change as well as a drop in the populations of parrotfish and sea urchins.
Part of the mission focused on studying the habitat and number of deep-water snappers that have become increasingly popular with fishermen in the area, scientist Chris Taylor said. Researchers currently know very little about the status and habitat of the silk snapper, which has golden eyes and is almost iridescent pink in color, he said.
About two-thirds of the survey was conducted in deep water, in depths up to 7,500 feet (2,300 meters), researchers said.
Among the more interesting discoveries was an underwater landslide about 6 square miles (16 square kilometers) in size as well as hundreds of cylindrical sea floor structures that were packed closely together and featured hard and soft coral on top, Battista said.
“It was really kind of unique,” he said. “I hadn’t seen that before.”
Researchers also found a collection of sea anemones in purple, green, white and black; gray sea cucumbers with stubby green spines; and white starfish with red stripes.
Francis: Caribbean Church hampered by negative perceptions of US counterparts
By Andre Huie
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Caribbean church is in a dilemma in that it is constantly being compared with the American church as seen on TV, when the reality on the ground is totally different. That’s the view of Pastor of the Moravian Church in Mansion Reverend Jeremy Francis.
“To me, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, TBL…was the mainstream American, publicized televised church…between TBL and Jimmy Swaggart, those two persons became the face…for what church is. They had their fallout and their breakdown…the same public way in which they exercised their ministry, and that was calculated and documented via television, is the same way that their fall from grace…was also documented and publicized, and unfortunately…that casted a shadow…the churches that are doing good, the pastors that are doing right, those are the ones you don’t hear about, you don’t see them splashed across CNN.”
Speaking on a special Easter edition of Inside the News on Saturday, Reverend Francis noted that the perception that churches in the Caribbean are financially able to carry out their functions without having to always seek donations, is false, and is formed based on what people see on TV with American televangelists.
Reverend Francis notes that Caribbean churches do not have the resources to carry out some of their functions, unlike the churches in more developed countries like the U.S. Part of the problem he hinted, is due to the inability of Caribbean churches to get funding.
Amazon sued for docking late workers’ pay
By Marisa Kendall, From The Recorder
SAN FRANCISCO — For warehouse workers at Amazon.com, plaintiffs lawyers say the punishment for arriving late to work far exceeded the crime.
A suit filed Monday on behalf of a potential class of California laborers claims Amazon illegally docked workers’ wages and vacation time if they showed up more than three minutes late to a shift.
A late clock-in at the start of the workday or after a meal break bought workers a 30-minute deduction from their vacation time, or if they had no vacation time accrued, the company sliced their wages. Plaintiffs say the 30-minute blocks were non-negotiable, even if the employee worked 26 of those 30 minutes. That practice amounts to “wage theft,” according to the complaint filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court.
Plaintiffs are represented by lawyers with The Markham Law Firm and Cohelan Khoury & Singer in San Diego, and United Employees Law Group in Huntington Beach. Named plaintiff Eric Chavez made about $13.75 per hour preparing Amazon.com customers’ orders to ship, according to the suit.
“For legally mandated 30-minute break periods, Chavez and others usually took shorter break periods in order to avoid both a write-up and a time penalty,” the plaintiffs lawyers wrote.
Amazon.com representatives did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The plaintiffs lawyers claim the penalty was imposed even if delays were unavoidable or if workers were late because they were performing other tasks mandated by their supervisors.
Workers also earned “points” each time they were late, according to the lawyers, and when enough points were accumulated, the workers were automatically fired.
“This practice, given certain requirements imposed by the employers, is questionable,” the lawyers wrote, “but not challenged by this lawsuit.”
For more: http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202722898423/Amazon-Sued-for-Docking-Late-Workers-Pay#ixzz3WinjdeLI
CFP: Investment in the Caribbean (T&T)
Armand Garcia’s picture Discussion published by Armand Garcia on Wednesday,
Call for Papers
3rd Annual Conference of the Caribbean Economic History Association/Asociación de Historia Económica del Caribe (AHEC), entitled “The History of Investment in the Caribbean”
Location: The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
Dates: November 4 – 8, 2015
Paper and Panel Proposals may be submitted under the following themes:
Systems of production – individuals and institutions as economic agents; free and forced systems of labour and commerce; public and private regimes of investments and enterprises
Production and exports of raw materials (principal lines of production and services; plantations and other agrarian histories)
Exploitation of raw materials and the impact on the environment
Tourism and service sectors
International commerce and/or other international trade networks
Banking and financial systems in the Caribbean
Shareholders, multi-national corporations and capital markets
Foreign direct investment and foreign debt in the Caribbean
Financing of colonization and/or colonial ventures in the Caribbean
Military and defence investments and their impact on local economies
Evolution of economic thought and theory
Development of economic historiography
Deadline for Paper and Panel Proposal Submission: May 15, 2015
Individual paper proposals should include name, institutional affiliation, title and abstract of 250 words max. and a brief CV. For Panels, please include a max. 100 panel abstract in addition to the above information for each presenter and Chair/Discussant.
Proposals are to be submitted in Spanish or English to all of the following three email addresses:
Accepted Proposals will be notified by May 31, 2015
Early Registration fees:
Before May 15, 2015: Professional US$80.00; Students US$40.00
After May 15, 2015: Professional US$120.00; Students US$60.00
On site: Professional US$140.00; Students US$70.00
For further information: http://ahec.uji.es/es/ahec/noticias/2014/11/24/iii-congreso-internacional-de-la-ahec-1
CONCACAF Appeals Committee decision on Club America Case
MIAMI, FL (Wednesday, April 08, 2015) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that its Appeals Committee has reduced by three matches the suspension to Club America player Paolo Goltz for the actions that occurred during the first leg of the semifinal match between CS Herediano and Club America on March 17, 2015. The Committee also reduced the undisclosed fine imposed on the player.
After a thorough analysis of the evidence at its disposal — in particular the videos –, the Appeals Committee determined that it cannot be duly established that Paolo Goltz intentionally kicked Cristhian Lagos.
Instead, Goltz’s actions were considered to be reckless and dangerous (dangerous play) with the use of excessive force.
The Appeals Committee considered that the penalty imposed on Goltz should be proportionate to the offense committed; thus the sanction of the player was reduced to a three-match suspension. The first match of the suspension must be served on April 8, 2015, for the evening’s Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League return leg semifinal game scheduled for the Estadio Azteca versus CS Herediano.
In the event that Club America advances to the finals of the current Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, Goltz will serve his second and third match suspensions during the first and second leg of such finals.
The 2014/15 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League resumes today, with the second match of the home-and-away semifinal between Club America and CS Herediano, at the Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City, Mexico.
Haiti lone Caribbean nation to win IDB energy innovation contest
From CARIBBEAN360
Biomass-Energy-740WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Tuesday April 7, 2015, CMC Haiti is the lone Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country named among the winners of the IDEAS V 2014 Energy Innovation Contest, an initiative by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for improving energy efficiency and expanding access to renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The IDB said that the other winners came from Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua and Guatemala. It said there were 282 entries from all 26 IDB member borrowing countries.
FdS Haiti submitted a proposal for an ecological biomass stove.
The contest was sponsored by the Energy Sustainability Fund from Mexico’s National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Ministry of Energy (SENER), the South Korea government, the Multilateral Investment Fund and the IDB.
The contest sought proposals to promote innovative solutions to energy problems, benefit local communities or regions, create jobs, and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Each winner will receive up to US$100,000, as well as technical and business development support to implement or scale up their ideas. They will also receive access to consultations with technical experts, policy makers, institutions, and potential financial partners.
“The goal is to enable the winners to turn their ideas into financially sustainable businesses, thereby helping solve the energy problems of the region,” the IDB said.
“This year’s IDEAS winners provide an excellent example of the quality of innovation our region is capable of developing. The IDEAS contest recognizes the region’s brightest innovators and helps improve the region’s economic performance,” said Arnaldo Vieira de Carvalho, IDEAS team leader at the IDB.
Darren Bravo to launch [cricket] Youth Academy
From West Indies Cricket
Trinidad & Tobago Newsday article.
Port of Spain, Trinidad – Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricketer Darren Bravo plans to give back his knowledge of the sport to aspiring players, as he announced yesterday, on his Instagram page, the setting up of the Darren Bravo Youth Cricket Academy.
The Academy will run from May 2 to July 26, with sessions conducted by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) registered coaches Eldon Ramadeen and Frank Sorzano. They will take place on Saturdays and Sundays, from 9-11 am, at the Brian Lara Recreational Ground, Sam Boucaud Road, Santa Cruz.
The registration fee for participants (boys and girls between the ages of six and 19) is $200, with the deadline set for April 19.
And the Academy is being sponsored by Toyota and the Santa Cruz Sports Association.
The 26-year-old Bravo, in a post on his Instagram page, wrote, “Santa Cruz is and has always been my home. I’ve always received support from the people of Santa Cruz.
“As a kid I was fortunate to attend QPCC (Queen’s Park Cricket Club) which has helped to mould and hone my skills. I’ve always wanted to be able to give back to my community and alongside the Santa Cruz Sports Association, we felt the time was right to introduce this Academy.”
Bravo, with 32 Tests, 81 One Day Internationals and 12 T20 Internationals continued, “I want to be a part of the rise of West Indies Cricket as a player, but I also want to inspire young players not only by my performances but by my personal interaction with them. Cricket mirrors life in that it demands that individuals have to always assess where they are and try to develop themselves to become better human beings.
“I have learnt so much from the game and the various people that have helped me along the way give me the will and desire to play a part in helping young people through sport. Our motto for the duration of the Academy is ‘DISCIPLINE BREEDS SUCCESS’ and let’s make it a success.”
For more information, call 317-8319, 754-9345, 689-2948, 781-5582 or 773-6297.
SOURCE: http://www.windiescricket.com/news/darren-bravo-launch-youth-academy
Watch sound extinguish fire
By Adam K. Raymond from New York Mag
Photo: George Mason University
George Mason University engineering students Seth Robertson and Viet Tran encountered plenty of doubters when they settled on an idea for their senior project. Even the typically experimental thinkers of academia thought a fire extinguisher that puts out flames with sound waves was outrageous. And in a sense, they were right. Robertson and Tran did invent something outrageous. But they also invented something that works.
Here’s how: By blasting a flame with low-frequency sound waves in the 30 to 60 hertz range, the extinguisher separates oxygen from fuel. “The pressure wave is going back and forth, and that agitates where the air is. That specific space is enough to keep the fire from reigniting,” Tran told the Washington Post.
Robertson and Tran envision their technology being used to put out fires in homes — and in the wild. If properly scaled, sound-wave extinguishers would eliminate the need to douse forests in chemicals or waste untold gallons of water. But that’s still a long way away. So far, the extinguisher has only put out fires that use rubbing alcohol as fuel. Proving the ability to extinguish real-life fires, like those that involve fabric, wood, or cooking oil, is the team’s next step.
If nothing else, their invention is a step toward modernizing fire-fighting, a goal DARPA began working toward in 2008. In 2012, the military’s experimental research lab presented a video of its own fire-suppressing sound waves, but the bulky, impractical setup would only put out a fire if it was set between two booming speakers. Unlike the design Robertson and Tran are toying with, it’s hard to imagine that working in a kitchen.
For more and video: http://nymag.com/next/2015/03/watch-sound-extinguish-fire.html?om_rid=AACMTw&om_mid=_BVIr8WB9AW2oNN
Legislation allowing cannabidiol for clinical trial approved in Senate committee
From The Norman Transcript
OKLAHOMA CITY —A medical pilot program using cannabidiol, a derivative linked to marijuana, is heading to a vote of the full Oklahoma Senate after being unanimously approved in the Senate Health and Human Services committee yesterday by a vote of 9-0.
House Bill 2145, co-authored by State Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, and Senator Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, creates Katie and Cayman’s Law, which would legalize clinical trials using CBD, a non-intoxicating derivative of marijuana. Previous medical studies indicate this product can be used to treat children and adults who suffer from epileptic seizures and help reduce the number and intensity of their seizures.
“This bill would allow the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to partner with the Commissioner of Health and provide ultimate oversight to the clinical trials,” said Crain. “Oklahoma has children who are suffering from different types of epileptic seizures and this bill allows the opportunity to be supportive of innovative treatments that could help them.”
Rep. Echols emphasizes the bill is not an attempt to legalize marijuana, but an effort to help his niece and other children in the state who suffer from a variety of debilitating types of epilepsy.
“Katie and Cayman’s Law would allow children with severe epilepsy to participate in a clinical trial using cannabidiol, a marijuana derivative with less than a .3 level of THC to help with seizures, headaches and other effects of various epilepsy-associated ailments,” Echols said. “Cannabidiol is very high in the CBD content, but very low in the THC content, which is the component that gives users the feeling of being ‘high’.”
HB 2145 provides for a pilot program with the option for the Legislature to extend the initiative after the 2-year trial period expires in December 2017.
The bill passed in the House by a vote of 99-2 earlier this year and is now headed to a vote of the full Senate.
Heritage Foundation’s Stephen Moore: ‘[US] Government discourages work’
By Dan Weil From Newsmax
Stephen Moore, a distinguished visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, offers an interesting description of weakness in the job market.
“The great conundrum of the U.S. economy today is that we have record numbers of working age people out of the labor force at the same time we have businesses desperately trying to find workers,” he writes on Forbes.com.
The labor force participation rate matched a 37-year low of 62.7 percent last month, but unemployment totaled only 5.5 percent, a seven-year low.
“While the jobs market overall remains weak, demand is high in certain sectors,” such as mechanics, computer technicians and nurses, Moore says. “The shortage of trained employees and of low-skilled employees willing to work,” represent major problems now.
Moore sees four obstacles for increasing employment.
“First, government discourages work. Welfare consists of dozens of different and overlapping federal and state income support programs.
“Second, our public school systems often fail to teach kids basic skills.
“Third, negative attitudes toward blue collar work. I’ve talked to parents who say they are disappointed if their kids want to become a craftsman instead of going to college.
“Fourth, a cultural bias against young adults working.”
As for the March jobs report released Friday, it was weak, but not weak enough to keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates this year, says Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets.
Non-farm payrolls rose only 126,000 last month, the smallest gain since December 2013. And wages climbed just 2.1 percent in the 12 months through March, equaling the average increase since the recession ended in June 2009.
“The report was mostly disappointing, but it’s not surprising,” given corporate retrenchment and bad weather, Belski told CNBC. “We don’t think it takes the Fed off track from raising rates later this year.”
Many economists expect the central bank to begin boosting rates in September. It has kept its federal funds rate target at a record low of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008.
