Business

India has retained its title of the world’s fastest-growing major economy as it expanded 8.4 per cent in the last three months of 2023, from a year earlier. India is forecast to overtake Japan and Germany as the world’s third biggest economy in the next few years. The better-than-expected growth was led by a strong performance from the country’s manufacturers, […More]

Chevron can resume key role in Venezuela’s oil output, exports By Daphne Psaledakis and Marianna Parraga WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – Chevron Corp on Saturday received a U.S. license allowing the second-largest U.S. oil company to expand its production in Venezuela and bring the South American country’s crude oil to the United States. The decision grants broader rights for the last big […More]

Mortgage rates drop by largest amount in 41 years Mortgage rates plunged by nearly a half-percent this week, marking the largest week-over-week decline since November 1981. The rate on the average 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.61% from 7.08% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac, which this week changed its methodology calculating rates. The drop follows a sharp decline […More]

Fed unleashes another big rate hike but hints at a pullback Fed interest rates increased by 75 basis points again, Powell says ‘very premature’ to talk about pause WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve pumped up its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time but hinted that it could soon reduce the size […More]

Mortgage rates top 7% for first time since April 2002 Mortgage rates surpassed 7% for the first time since April 2002, adding more reason for price-struck homebuyers to stay on the sidelines. The rate on the average 30-year fixed mortgage hit 7.08%, up from 6.94% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac. Rates have jumped 3.86 percentage points since the […More]

Mottley announces new BERT programme Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced a new financial plan for the next four years in the House of Assembly on Tuesday. The Resolution, titled the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Plan 2022: Fiscal Year 2022/23-Fiscal Year 2026/27, is the successor to the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan 2018 (BERT 2018). The document’s […More]

Jamaica Thanks Japan for Support to Coffee Industry Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., has hailed Japan for almost 70 years of support to Jamaica’s coffee industry. In the early 1960s, the Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC) became the first Japanese company to import coffee directly from Jamaica. “We, therefore, want to say a big thank you to […More]

T&T to host first Caribbean Investment Forum T&T will host the inaugural Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) in November that is expected to attract hundreds of businesses and investors from across the world. Billed as the “largest gathering of businesses since Covid-19” in the region, CIF 2022 is being hosted by the Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in collaboration […More]

Breaking News Today 5/19/22 Existing home sales slide for third straight month. Housing activity tumbled for the third straight month in April, as soaring borrowing costs weighed on would-be buyers. Existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.61 million units in April from a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was down 2.4% from March […More]

CARIBBEAN EXPORT HELPING REGIONAL BUSINESSES REBOOT AND RECOVER Caribbean Export Development Agency Launches Annual Results Report BARBADOS (May 6, 2022) – The Caribbean Export Development Agency is playing a key role in helping regional small businesses emerge from the economic onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic by preparing them for the export market. Delivering a video message at the launch of […More]