Category Archives: Finance

5th Summit of the Americas News: April 17, 2009

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures

Obama, Chavez arrive today
After months of preparation, the Fifth Summit of the Americas gets going this evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain.

Michelle opts out of Summit

CHAVEZ WARNS OBAMA
Don’t try to set me up at summit

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ramped up his verbal artillery yesterday saying US President Barack Obama should not follow the example of Spain’s King Juan Carlos who told him to shut up during a 2007 summit…
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 17, 2009

5th Summit of the Americas News: April 16, 2009

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures

» Castro and the Summit of the Americas
Cuba, and in particular its former President, Fidel Castro, is already a player at the fifth Summit of the Americas which takes place Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. That much is evident from information coming out of Havana, Moscow, Santiago de Chile and La Paz in recent days.
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 16, 2009

5th Summit of the Americas News: April 13, 2009

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in Photos

The Fifth Summit of the Americas in pictures

Chavez holds own talks: Nations meet in V’zuela
Three days before the Fifth Summit of the Americas, scheduled for April 17-19, a group of Latin American and Caribbean leaders led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will meet in Caracas to discuss new paths for regional integration, trade and cooperation.

Much conflict and contradiction
Questions were being raised about the alleged breaking of the rules, the outright refusal to be governed by the rules, about the refusal of the UDeCOTT leadership to submit to ministerial oversight.
Continue reading 5th Summit of the Americas News: April 13, 2009

First Citizens Exploiting CIB Depositors

By Stephen Kangal
April 05, 2009

First Citizens BankI wish to bring to the attention of civic society that First Citizens Bank (FCB) is exploiting former CIB depositors, most of whom are senior citizens. FCB is holding us to ransom although the State has made tax-payers money available to finance the bail-out or the buy-out and made public guarantees to assuage and allay the fears of CIB customers.
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We have come a long way, Barack

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, April 5th 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasFOR those charged with securing the Summit delegates from rampaging protestors, as happened at last week’s G20 meeting in London, their bigger challenge is likely to be refereeing jousts among the delegates. Our people are not known for violent protests. In my youthful days I was involved in some of the biggest protest demonstrations that followed the Black Power eruption of 1970. Among them was the infamous “Bloody Tuesday” on March 18, 1975, which, by the time it was violently attacked by the police on Coffee Street, San Fernando, had grown in size to more than 5,000 people-and expanding by the minute. The violence, when it came, was on orders from Dennis Ramdwar, not from the demonstrators.
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Corruption poster child

Newsday’s Editorial
Thursday, April 2 2009

PNMIt seems that every expert testimony given so far to the Uff Commission of Inquiry has revealed mismanagement, technical incompetence and, perhaps, deep-rooted corruption.

The testimony given by engineer Arun Buch last Tuesday on the Tarouba Stadium project was especially damning. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Buch, who has more than 30 years experience in the construction industry. But he placed blame for the myriad faults at the feet of Turner Alpha Limited, who were responsible for the stadium’s design. Udecott, said Buch, was not culpable, since the corporation was not required to know about design issues.
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McCaffrey disgrace

Newsday Editorial
Wednesday, March 25 2009

Calder HartThere is clearly a link between the findings contained in the February 20 report presented by Gerry McCaffrey, construction expert hired by the Uff Commission of Inquiry that the structural steel work at the Brian Lara Stadium project “is effectively condemned” and the cancelling of his return flight to Trinidad on February 27 by the Office of the Prime Minister.

In addition, the report had effectively cleared former Minister of Housing, Dr Keith Rowley, of any wrongdoing with respect to the Cleaver Heights Housing Project. Instead of McCaffrey’s report triggering a desire by the authorities to facilitate the further pursuit of the investigation, McCaffrey’s probe into a series of projects has been abruptly halted as the cancellation of his return flight meant that he was unable to continue his inquiries.
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Summit of contempt for Tobago’s tourism industry

…a trigger for national protest

By Pierre Small
March 25, 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasPrime Minister Patrick Manning has been trying effortlessly to convince Trinidadians and Tobagonians that the Fifth Summit Of The Americas will bring them great prosperity ‘in all areas of our economy.’ This claim is being met with overwhelming skepticism throughout the country as the Prime Minister and his administration has become notorious for false promises, consistently failing, and short sighted policies in all areas of our economy.
Continue reading Summit of contempt for Tobago’s tourism industry

Food pact from Summit

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, March 22nd 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasI understand and can excuse the average citizen’s call for Government to cancel hosting the Fifth Summit of the Americas (SOA), and later this year, the Commonwealth Heads’ (CHOGM) meeting. After all, most ordinary people will have noted these conferences mere months ago, when Government alluded to them, to their costs, and what the country hoped to gain by hosting half of the world’s heads of governments (when both meetings are combined). The man-in-the-street would think Prime Minister Patrick Manning awoke one morning last year, and while still in a daze, took the billion-dollar decision up St Ann’s way.
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Karen’s dilemma

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, March 15th 2009
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog

Karen Nunez-TesheiraWhen she entered the political arena and accepted the Cabinet position of Minister of Finance, Karen Nunez-Tesheira must have been familiar with the adage, “In politics, perception is reality.” She would also have been aware that politics exposes office holders to intense scrutiny, and more than that, all politicians are presumed to be corrupt and liars unless or until they prove otherwise. In other words, politics is downright dirty business.
Continue reading Karen’s dilemma