Bank of Saint Lucia | Online Banking

JA. Select

9,032.82

80.94

0.89%

TTSE Composite Index

1,317.15

4.88

0.04%

BSE Composite Index

671.09

0.03

0.00%

DOW Jones Indus AVG

26,763.13

525.05

1.92%

S & P 500

3,236.92

78.65

2.37%

NASDAQ

10,632.99

330.65

3.02%

NIKKEI 225

23,346.49

258.67

1.11%

STOXX 600

359.53

1.08

0.30%

FTSE 100

5,899.26

17.66

0.30%

EUR-USD

1.166

0.00

0.13%

USD-JPY

105.39

0.0800

0.0759%

GBP-USD

1.27

0.00

0.17%

ECSE Index

160.77

0.00

0.00%

JSE Main

370,507.50

882.30

0.24%

Brent Crude Futr

41.77

0.06

0.14%

Gold 100 Oz Futr

1,860.50

9.60

0.52%

Silver Future

23.01

0.77

(3.34)%

JA. Select

TTSE Composite Index

BSE Composite Index

DOW Jones Indus AVG

S & P 500

NASDAQ

NIKKEI 225

STOXX 600

FTSE 100

EUR-USD

USD-JPY

GBP-USD

ECSE Index

JSE Main

Brent Crude Futr

Gold 100 Oz Futr

Silver Future

The Daily Global Market Performance Click Here

ECFH Closing Price as at September 23, 2020: $4.49

Market News

September 24, 2020

Grenada: October seen as turning point for tourism industry

With the return of 3 international airlines to Grenada in October 2020, there is every indication that October is set to be a turning point for Grenada’s tourism industry, which went into hiatus in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The airlines from 2 of our major international source markets are set to resume weekly flights, and Sandals Hotel is set to reopen. I see that as incredibly positive news for the tourism industry,” said Tourism Minister, Clarice Modeste. “American Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada will be offering weekly flights to the island and this will see our hotels once again welcoming guests, and with guests comes the return of employment for many in the sector.”

Grenada is part of the Caricom bubble and 3 smaller airlines provide connecting flights from Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines or Antigua. The international airlines are set to resume the weekly flights during the first 8 days of October. However, Sandals, which is an all-inclusive property, will reopen as of 1 October.

“This is exciting news for Grenada. We look forward to the reopening of the hotel and to resume welcoming visitors to our shores. This will largely signal the resumption of activity in the tourism sector, which has been particularly hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, is quoted as saying in a news release from the Government Information Service (GIS). “What is even more heartwarming is that hundreds of our nationals are returning the work after 6 months. This is good news on a personal level for these employees, and for the suppliers of goods and services, who benefit indirectly from the hotel’s operations. On a wider scale, it is also good news for the country and I am truly heartened by this announcement.”

As part of adjusting to the new normal with guidance from the new health protocol, several hotels in Grenada received the approval from government to be official quarantine facilities, and this gave them limited business with reduced staff.

Radisson, Sandals and Royalton are 3 international hotel brands operating in Grenada and each one of them has in-house health and cleanliness protocols that are mandatory for the operating of the properties. Last weekend, Sandals held a 2-day workshop where, among other initiatives, shared its cleanliness protocol with government officials.

“The hotels in-house protocol is for the operations of the hotels and it will be complementary to our national protocol for incoming passengers. What this means that once we clear them at the airport and [they] are allowed to leave quarantine facilities, the hotel guest now has to comply with the in-house health protocols,” explained Modeste, as she pointed out that all hotel properties have in-house protocols.

Radisson never closed its operation; Sandals will reopen on 1 October, while Royalton is scheduled to reopen on 29 November 2020.

In a recent news conference, Health Minister, Nickolas Steele, indicated that Grenada was reviewing its health entry protocol. Currently, all arriving passengers from international cities must present a PCR negative test result dated no less than 7 days before entry. The cities of original departure will determine the length of the quarantine stay.

It is anticipated that by 1 October there will be a new health protocol which will work in harmony with the new Quarantine (Covid-19) regulations and the Public Health Act regulations.

It means among other things, that just like locals, visits to tourist attractions or any facility outside of the hotel contact tracing information will be required. Already there is a new health protocol for places of entertainment. The size of the venue or the location of a social event will determine the number of persons allowed to attend.

The first Covid-19 case was diagnosed on 22 March and days later a state of emergency with a curfew was declared, placing the island in lockdown to international commercial traffic. Grenada was not the only country in the region to take such action, because by April almost all of Caricom was in lockdown as part of efforts to control and contain the contagion.

By June, the curfew was removed and that began a new normal as health and law enforcement officials began applying the new health protocols. Critical in that protocol was the opening of the international airport to accept returning nationals.

Grenada currently has 24 recorded Covid-19 cases, all of whom have recovered. The last recorded positive Covid-19 case was in July 2020.

Article Published September 23, 2020 on nowgrenada.com

Antigua – Barbuda tourism arrivals begin gradual rise

ST JOHNS, Antigua – As Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Industry stakeholders prepare for peak season, tourism officials are cautiously optimistic that with arrivals steadily increasing each month since the destination’s re-opening, that the moderate upward trend will continue into the traditionally busy tourism period.

For the year to August 2020, tourism stayover arrivals show that the destination received 94,810 visitors. Though arrivals dipped drastically in March due to reduced airlift brought on by the global pandemic, as the V.C Bird International Airport re-opened to international flights in June, monthly visitor arrivals have more than doubled from then until the end of August.

For August, the destination received 4761 visitors. From the main source markets, 67 percent of Antigua and Barbuda’s visitors travelled from the United States, followed by 21 percent from the United Kingdom, 7 percent from the Caribbean and 3 percent from Canada.

The pie chart shows Antigua and Barbuda Stayover Tourism Arrivals as reported by the Ministry of Tourism for August, with locations visitors arrived from.

Minister of tourism, Charles Fernandez noted that: “The ministry of tourism and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority continues to carefully monitor the COVID-19 landscape within our main source markets. We remain committed to working with the ministry of health and the entire Antigua and Barbuda tourism sector to ensure that as the destination opens up further, we keep those protective measures in place that have been designed to safeguard our residents and those who visit our shores.”

The tourism minister explained that it would not be business as normal, as with the pandemic ongoing, COVID-19 protocols would still require visitors to travel with their negative PCR test, wear facial masks when social distancing was not possible and adhere to other protocols stipulated by the ministry of health. For tourism businesses, he noted that protocols would also affect operations, and in some instances would mean reduced occupancy levels.

Presently American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, interCaribbean Airlines and Winair are operating flights into the destination. In the next few months, Antigua and Barbuda will welcome, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, and Sunwing.

In October, additional hotel re-openings have also been planned. These include Antigua and Barbuda Hotels and Tourism Association member hotels: Blue Waters Resort, Tamarind Hills, Hermitage Bay, Antigua Village, Galley Bay, Carlisle Bay Resort, St James’s Club, The Great House, Antigua Yacht Club Marina, Ocean Point Resort, Curtain Bluff Resort, and Hawksbill.

“Each hotel or accommodation offering that has opened has been inspected by the ministry of tourism and the ministry of health, to ensure that they are adhering to the COVID-19 protocols set for tourism accommodation. Over 200 properties have been inspected to date ranging from small bed & breakfast styled properties, to the larger all-inclusive,” said the tourism minister.

The ministry of tourism also recently released to the Antigua and Barbuda yachting sector, operational guidelines, and protocols for the sector.

The tourism minister urged the tourism sector to remain mindful of the COVID-19 protocols in place that all key players should be guided by during the tourism recovery.

Article Published September 24, 2020 on caribbeannewsglobal.com

Trinidad Government Issues Warning Regarding Pyramid Scheme

The Trinidad and Tobago government Wednesday warned citizens against getting involved in rich quick schemes as law enforcement authorities probe the multi-million dollar pyramid scheme unearthed on Tuesday.

National Security Minister Stuart Young, speaking at the end of the weekly Cabinet meeting, said that persons should not get involved in schemes that appear to be “too good to be true”.

He said that Financial Intelligence Bureau (FIB) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) will get involved in the latest seizure of TT$22 million (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents by police on Tuesday at a house in La Horquetta, along the east-west corridor.

”That is a fairly complex investigation that needs to take place to find out if all of us in this room went and gave our money, we got a receipt etc and we haven’t been the victims of the collapse as yet, what is the criminal charge.

“There are possible criminal charges, I leave that up to the police under the Proceeds of Crime Act and other pieces of legislation,” said Young, an attorney, adding that the “government is concerned and now is a good a time as any to warn the population of Trinidad and Tobago don’t get caught in any pyramid scheme.

“If it seems too good to be true that is because it is too good to be true,” said Young adding that the incident has left many questions unanswered.

He said the scheme first came to the attention of law enforcement officials “when you saw scores of people breaching the public health protocols, the COVID health protocols, assembling outside a home, when the police investigated they found out that it is a possible pyramid scheme taking place”.

He said he has since received a report on the police exercise and that he was amazed at the TT$22 million in cash at the house.

‘For me that’s a huge amount of money, 22 million dollars in cash. Questions must be asked about the legitimacy of having 22 million dollars in cash (and) it is not for me to play judge or jury, there is a current investigation,” he told reporters.

Earlier, Police Commissioner Gary Griffith said he had launched a probe “at the highest level” to determine who had returned the money seized from the house.

A police statement said that the money was seized by officers of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) who executed a search warrant at the house where it was alleged that persons were operating a pyramid scheme.

The money was kept at a police station and Griffith said preliminary investigations show that the money was handed back to the operator of the scheme early Wednesday without his knowledge and those of his Deputy Commissioners.

Griffith said he found it “it very suspicious that $22 million in cash was seized and within hours, that money was checked and a decision made to give it back without the input of the Financial Intelligence Bureau (FIB) of the TTPS”.

He said the investigation would determine if “any criminal or disciplinary action is to be taken against any police officers” and that the “money was handed back without a proper investigation to determine whether any of it was counterfeit”.

Griffith said no proper investigation was done as to the source of these funds, or whether the person or persons involved had committed any criminal acts.

As part of this investigation, Griffith said external forensic personnel will be brought in to determine if any of the money was counterfeit.

Griffith said he is aware that there is a concern that a number of persons invested “their hard-earned money, hoping to cash in on this alleged pyramid scheme” and gave the assurance that once these persons can prove that their money was legitimate, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service will ensure that their money is returned to them in the shortest possible time.

“Diligent inquiries are being pursued at this time,” he added.

Earlier the police said they had arrested nine people as a result of the seizure. It said that those detained were also in breach of the Public Health Ordinance Regulations that limit gatherings to no more than five as the country seeks to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The police said the people were “waiting to collect large sums of money from a pyramid scheme”.

Media reports said that among the nine arrested on Tuesday was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.

Article Published September 23, 2020 on caribbeannationalweekly.com

A roller coaster six months leaves U.S. recovery still uncertain

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As businesses shuttered and millions hit the unemployment line last spring, the most dour predictions saw the United States heading for another Great Depression of spiraling collapse and years of massive joblessness.

The worst has been avoided.

But new academic research and commentary this week from Federal Reserve officials suggest the path of the U.S. recovery remains much in doubt, and the programs approved last spring to buffer the economy from the pandemic may still be in for their stiffest test.

Cash that households socked away over the summer from rich unemployment benefits will begin to run dry; small business loans appear to have limited bankruptcies and closures so far but were not designed for the long haul; Federal Reserve programs that helped unlock a massive round of private corporate financing may have left companies with difficult-to-service debt if business does not fully rebound.

“Given the magnitude of the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic, we still face the possibility of a coming wave of credit downgrades and defaults,” authors including Jeremy Stein, a Harvard University professor and former Fed Governor, warned in a paper being presented Thursday at the Brookings Institution, one of several which spelled out the risks facing the U.S. economy in the coming months.

After its emergency credit programs allowed companies to sell a record $1.7 trillion in corporate bonds to private investors through August, the Fed may have to rescue those markets if the bonds start to go bad, or risk the sort of financial crisis that has so far been avoided, the authors wrote.

The problems may not spool out all at once. But heading toward winter, when epidemiologists fear the spread of the virus will accelerate, renewed health fears may curb spending, make businesses less likely to hire and invest, and even prompt new restrictions - a phase the UK is entering, and which other European nations may face as case counts rise.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the steps taken so far “would have been fine if the pandemic lasted three months, but the pandemic isn’t lasting three months.”

“My baseline is that the pandemic gets worse this fall and winter,” he told Reuters on Wednesday. “Some parts of the country will do a lockdown or people will choose to do so...Either way it is going to result in a decrease in economic activity.”

ROLLER COASTER, NOW WHAT?

In the roughly six months since a national state of emergency was declared, the U.S. economy has been on a roller coaster - plummeting in March and April, reopening and rebounding in June and July, then reaching a plateau of sorts.

The pace of the initial recovery surprised many forecasters, and recent data has provided an explanation: the massive aid rolled out in March by the government did its job and then some.

Personal income was stable, small businesses used liberal access to loans to stay afloat, and families actually stuffed money into savings accounts as enhanced benefits gave many of the newly unemployed more than they were earning at their jobs.

A Fed report this week noted savings and checking accounts were about $700 billion higher at the end of June than in March.

But that money will eventually be spent. Proceeds of things like Paycheck Protection Program loans to small businesses will be used, and that may well happen before the economy fully reopens. The Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday said there would be no live performances until at least September, a high-profile example of how the entertainment and hospitality industry may face an extended recession even if other parts of the economy do better.

Congress is currently deadlocked over further aid, and it is unlikely any decisions will be made before the presidential election in six weeks.

In an analysis of the PPP program also to be discussed at Brookings on Thursday, economists Glenn Hubbard of Columbia University and Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute said it had been successful in stemming firm closures early on, but is still “unfolding” as the country’s battle with the pandemic lengthens.

“PPP was designed for a short shutdown that would be followed by a strong and rapid recovery. But the shutdown was longer than anticipated and the recovery decelerated after a burst of improvement in May and June,” the two wrote, advising that more open-ended programs, such as federal business interruption insurance or outright grants, might be needed.

And more help may be needed for individuals. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a congressional hearing Wednesday there should be no doubt that the progress the economy has made so far is a result of the federal actions last spring - and that it may depend on more going forward.

“The good economic data we have seen since May to a great extent reflects...the checks, unemployment insurance. It really helped keep people in their homes, keep them spending,” Powell said. “There is a long way to go...We need to stay with it.”

Article Published September 24, 2020 on reuters.com