Search Results for: Caribbean

THE CARIBBEAN may be a small and fragmented regional market but it is a hotbed of innovation in the personal care product industry, and a potential source of inspiration in formulation and ingredients for major brands.

Its island nations, politically independent and dependent territories, have long relied especially on the nearby USA for imports.…

COLOMBIA’S oil and gas sector is stabilising after a crisis provoked by the plunge in global oil prices, but efforts to recover growth are being hampered by guerrilla attacks, corruption scandals and a popular backlash against the industry.

The crash in oil prices that began in 2014 has left the oil industry in Colombia in a precarious position, with only an estimated five years of commercially reliable reserves remaining, according to government calculations.…

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a comprehensive study into the healthiness of consuming sugar, that could guidance telling consumers when to stop eating sugary foods, such as confectionery. An ad-hoc working group with expertise in dietary exposure, epidemiology, human nutrition, diet-related chronic diseases and dentistry will examine the issue, along with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which requested the work.…

EU PROPOSES BOOSTING ANTICARTEL POWERS OF NATIONAL EUROPEAN COMPETITION AUTHORITIES

A DIRECTIVE has been proposed by the European Commission that would ensure that national competition authorities across the European Union (EU) have a minimum level of powers enabling them to enforce EU antitrust laws.…

The gradual opening up of trade relations between Cuba and the United States has sparked a raft of bold predictions about how Cuban cigars are poised to sweep into the US premium cigar market. However, Cuban producers will have to navigate several serious obstacles if they are to lay claim to a significant market share, not the least the potential rolling back of détente by the Trump administration in Washington DC – at present a question being asked by many cigar traders.…

The Syria conflict is into its sixth year, as are the multilateral sanctions imposed on the government in Damascus. How effective have the sanctions been, given the Syrian regime’s survival? And where may have funds from members of the regime, and those linked to it, gone?…

THE FIRST phase of a EUR5.6 million upgrade to French Saint Martin’s L’Esperance Airport has been completed, with a renovated terminal building being opened. It has enlarged arrivals and departures halls, free wi-fi, more check-in desks, and a bigger luggage carousel.…

As Auditor General for Jamaica’s public sector institutions, the country’s Pamela Monroe Ellis commands respect, sometimes bordering on anxiety and apprehension, when word gets out that a state agency is to be the subject of an audit. Yet, her easy laughter and cheerful personality quickly dispel any pre-conceived image of a dour, dogged bean counter searching for unapproved expenditure or inadequate accounting practices.…

MOBILE money transactions surged in 2015 across the world – increasing by 31% to reach 411 million mobile money accounts, and this is a critical platform for expanding financial inclusion globally, according to GSMA, a UK-based global mobile industry association, in its February 2016 annual report on the ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money’. …

ITALIAN law enforcement agencies are cracking down on the use of the country’s gambling sector by transnational organised criminal groups (OCGs) to launder dirty money. The country’s most powerful mafias – Cosa Nostra (Sicily); ‘Ndrangheta (Calabria); Camorra (Campania); and Sacra Corona Unita’ (Apulia) all abuse gambling to hide criminal proceeds, according to reports from national police investigations.…