NEWS
CCTV footage to be used as vital evidence in Shannon’s murder
Homicide officers probing the killing of Republic Bank employee Shannon Banfield have in their possession three short video clips showing her entering the IAM and Company store on Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, another video showing her speaking to an employee, and a third showing her walking to a staircase with the employee which police believe took them to the upper floor of the building. Police believe that Banfield may have been murdered between 5pm and 6pm last Monday. The video clip also showed Banfield entering I AM at around 5 pm and another clip showed the employee leaving the store with a knapsack. Investigators believe Banfield asked the employee to use the wash room where she was killed. Following the discovery of her body on Thursday, police held two male employees for questioning. Matthew Maharaj was released on Saturday night. Photographs of Banfield’s shopping bags and other personal items were shown to the suspects and portions of the video footage eventually retrived from the businessplace. Read more here
Network of NGOs: End violence now
Women, men and children assembled at the National Library, Abrecromby Street, Port-of-Spain, last evening demanding an end to violence in T&T. This as the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women and Organisation for Abused and Battered Individuals staged a solidarity vigil for 20-year-old banker Shannon Banfield and the other 45 women who were killed in T&T this year. They held their candles and formed a human shield in front of the library on Abercromby Street. Read more here
$4.5B More Debt
With public debt already at its highest level ever, Government is this month tapping the market for another $500 million for recurrent expenditure. In addition, the State-owned Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) power plant is also borrowing US$600 million (TT$4 billion) to pay back an earlier US$600 million loan. Read more here
POLITICS
COP: Turn to the people for crime answers
If Government cannot find solutions to curb crime they must turn to the people affected by the problem for answers, according to Congress of the People political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir. “Government must acknowledge the right of the people to be involved in decision-making in matters that affect their very lives,” he said. Demonstrations and other actions, Mahabir said in a release, must not merely be complaints but must demand involvement in the national dialogue about how to deal with the scourge, the social decay that is fuelling it, and how to make their right to safety and security real. Read more here
Ministers misinformed
Businessman Derek Chin said he believes that Government Ministers including, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, were misinformed regarding his $1 billion Streets of the World project. Recently, Chin said he was taken aback when he heard senior ministers in this PNM administration referring to his project as a “Government project” where he was allegedly given a billion dollars by the previous administration, the People’s Partnership government, to have the project up and going. However, Chin refuted these statements saying the project was his and all he was negotiating with, with officials from the last Government, was a lease that made “economic sense.” “It is my project, to be developed by Chin’s company, Dachin Enterprises. My idea. When I submitted the Streets of the World project everyone loved it. The last government saw the value of it from all aspects,” Chin said. Read more here
Govt ready to meet Opposition on FATCA
The Government remains “ready, willing and able” to address all legitimate concerns raised by the Opposition about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday. The Attorney General issued the release on the eve of today’s meeting of Parliament, which is due to go into committee with a view to passing the legislation. The Attorney General also stressed the importance of passing the bill, which requires a special majority and therefore Opposition support. Read more here
BUSINESS
Former TCL boss: Independent valuation needed
Former Group Chief Executive Officer of Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL), Dr. Rollin Bertrand, has suggested that the board of directors of the company hire a reputable investment banking firm to do an independent valuation of TCL’s shares and make a recommendation to the company’s shareholders whether they should accept or reject the latest takeover bid by the Mexican cement giant, Cemex. Cemex on December fifth, made a bid to buy 132,616,942 TCL shares at a cash price of TT$4.50 each through an indirect subsidiary Sierra Trading. If the bid succeeds, Sierra Trading would own up to 74.9 per cent of TCL’s shares because the company already owns 39.5 per cent. Read more here
Guyana stops buying TT dollars
The Bank of Guyana has temporarily stopped buying TT and Barbados dollars from cambios as part of efforts to stem increased demand for US currency. Guyana’s Central Bank Governor Dr Gobind Ganga said there was evidence that people have been travelling to Guyana from Barbados and T&T to buy US dollars, resulting in the decision to stop buying those countries’ currencies from cambios. “However, individuals can still come to the Central Bank with legitimate transactions for these currencies,” he said. Figures show there was BDS$8 million circulating in Guyana in 2014 compared to BDS$13 million currently and TT$9.1 million in 2014 compared to TT$38 million at present. The economic downturn in T&T, Barbados and Suriname has led to severe foreign currency shortages in those countries. Read more here
FirstCaribbean, Scotia deliver strong results
This week, we at Bourse discuss the year-end results of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited (SBTT) and FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCI). Both stocks have posted commendable full-year results, despite an increasingly difficult operating environment. We take a moment to review their respective performances and provide some perspective on future performance. Read more here
REGIONAL
Venezuela government seizes Christmas toys to distribute to poor
Venezuelan authorities have arrested two toy company executives and seized almost four million toys, which they say they will distribute to the poor. Officials accused the company of hoarding toys and hiking prices in the run-up to Christmas, the BBC reported. Venezuela's consumer protection agency, Sundde, said toy distributor Kreisel had stockpiled the goods and was reselling them at a margin of up to 50,000 percent. "Our children are sacred, we will not let them rob you of Christmas," it said in a tweet, along with photos and video of thousands of boxes of toys. In total, 3,821,926 toys were seized from two warehouses, and would be sold at low prices, it said. Read more here
Ravaged - Blocked Drains, Floodwaters Take Toll On St Ann, St Mary
Blocked drains have again been blamed for major flooding event, this time in sections of Runaway Bay, St Ann, yesterday morning, where the onslaught of heavy rain and rushing water tore away a box culvert on the main road linking the area to Brown's Town. At the main junction in Runaway Bay, the rains left the roadway under several feet of water, threatening the nearby police station. A corporal at the station told journalists that the water rose to the top of the steps leading to the front office of the station but did not flood the building. Several homes in the Runaway Bay area did not fare so well, however, as the waters got in, soaking furniture and other property. A resident of Coxheath, Courtney Gordon, said that he was at work when he got a call some time after 8 o'clock that his house was flooded. He said that he rushed home to assist members of his family and others living in the yard. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Beijing 'seriously concerned' after Trump questions 'one China' policy
China has warned that it's "seriously concerned" after President-elect Donald Trump questioned whether the United States should keep its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China." Trump has signaled a willingness to confront Beijing, and his latest comments in an interview with Fox News suggested that he won't hesitate to anger China until the country comes to the bargaining table on trade and North Korea. China's response was measured but clear: co-operation with the US "would be out of the question" if Trump doesn't adhere to the 'one China' policy -- a cornerstone of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in the 1970s. "I want to stress that the Taiwan question has a bearing on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. Read more here
Syria conflict: Aleppo rebels reduced to small pocket after new loss
12th December 2016