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The latest data released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) indicates that the inflation rate for the calendar year 2011 was six per cent, the lowest for the previous five years. The achievement of this relatively modest price movement compares to an 11.7 per cent turn-out in 2010. For the fiscal year-to-date, the inflation rate was 5.5 per cent,...

With an ever increasing demand to assist students to fund their tertiary studies each year, the Students Loan Bureau (SLB) continues to work assiduously to ensure that Jamaicans access the highest levels of education, in preparation for the local and international job markets. Executive Director of the SLB, Monica Brown, explains to JIS News that the demand for loans was...

The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) has indicated that most of the currency issued during December 2011 will be redeemed during January 2012. The seasonal spike of money in circulation in December reflected the heightened consumer demand for cash to satisfy Christmas shopping. Data from the Central Bank indicate that for December 2011, there was a net increase of $10.4 billion...

The Minister of Finance has confirmed that he has initiated steps to restart discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A delegation from the Fund will visit Jamaica starting January 17, and will meet with the Minister and his team, to discuss the current status of the economy and the prospects for the medium term, according to a release from...

The Net International Reserves (NIR) as at the end December 2011 stood at US$1.967 billion, an increase of some US$5 million over the November 2011 figure of US$1.961 billion. According to the latest NIR update from the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ), the reserves as at December 31 represented over 19 weeks of goods and services imports, based on the estimated...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has assured the local and overseas business community that her administration will pursue a tight fiscal policy, reduce the country’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, and maintain the key macro-economic fundamentals. She has also emphasised that the newly elected government will be “very careful and prudent” in its debt management....

The start of the new business year, Tuesday, January 3, 2012 will see the Falmouth Tax Office operating from a new location at the Port Authority Building, 2 – 4 Tharpe Street in Falmouth, Trelawny, commonly known as the Old Wharf Building, opposite Juici Patties. The move to the new location became necessary due to the continuing growth and expansion...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, has commended the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its assistance in addressing the impact of the “brain drain” on Jamaica. Speaking at a special ceremony at the PIOJ’s New Kingston offices recently to mark the IOM’s 60th anniversary, Dr. Hutchinson said the organization had been instrumental in...

KINGSTON — Recently released data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) showed that the level of net international reserves (NIR) at the end of November 2011, stood at approximately US$1.96 billion. The figure, though some US$70 million less than the US$2.03 billion in reserves recorded at the end of October, 2011, represents nearly 20 weeks of goods and services imports,...

Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw has outlined several achievements of the Finance Ministry including lowest interest rates in 30 years, single digit inflation despite the global recession, the JDX programme which saves Jamaica $31 billion annually in interest charges and the strengthening and stabilizing of the Jamaican dollar. Outlining the Government’s achievements since 2007 at a press conference at the Courtleigh...

KINGSTON — Advisor to the Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce, Dr. David Lowe, says that mobile payment services can facilitate commerce, by making business transactions more accessible, efficient and cost effective, especially for small businesses. Speaking at the Mobile Financial Services Conference on Monday December12, 2011, at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus, Dr. Lowe noted...

KINGSTON — Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon Audley Shaw, will later this week sign two loans, totaling US$ 198 million, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to improve the Kingston Metropolitan Area’s water supply, as well as to assist in the modernization of the fiscal administration to improve customs and tax revenue collections. The loans, which have an interest...