Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Finance Minister Audley Shaw summoned senior financial technocrats to a special meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the global financial crisis and the implications for Jamaica.
Among those expected to attend is Derrick Latibeaudiere, Governor of the Bank of Jamaica as well as government advisors.
With financial markets around the world in turmoil following Monday's shocking collapse of United States (US) banking giant, Lehman Brothers and the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, Mr. Shaw will huddle with the officials to assess how Jamaica will be affected.
There are fears that the crisis will, among other things, seriously affect Jamaica's ability to raise funds on the international capital market.
Speaking with the RJR News centre Monday night, Mr. Shaw said the situation is indeed grave, however, the local financial sector should not panic.
"At this stage I don't see any great reason for any panic in Jamaica at this time, notwithstanding that, of course we have to be cautious on all fronts as what has happened with that company no doubt could have some impact on the global credit market and part of our financing arrangement for our own budgetary process has to do with our ability to raise funds on the international capital markets," said Mr. Shaw.
The Finance Minister added that during Tuesday morning's meeting he would be informed whether local financial institutions have suffered any exposure in the wake of the failure of Lehman Brothers.
Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, becoming the latest victim of the global credit crunch.
Economic stagnation in JA - Chung
It is being predicted that the international financial crisis will have a devastating impact on Jamaica.
Dennis Chung, government Consultant, says the fallout is likely to result in economic stagnation for at least two years.
"The growth rate that we've seen in terms of tourism and remittances definitely is not going to be there, I think that will be the first sign that this is going to affect us.
I think certainly this year going into next year, growth will be a challenge for us, but with that said, I think that there's some thing we can do ... now is not the time to go for expansionary policies because there's nothing to really expand into," said Mr. Chung, who was speaking on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines on Monday.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/11636/26/
Finance Minister Audley Shaw summoned senior financial technocrats to a special meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the global financial crisis and the implications for Jamaica.
Among those expected to attend is Derrick Latibeaudiere, Governor of the Bank of Jamaica as well as government advisors.
With financial markets around the world in turmoil following Monday's shocking collapse of United States (US) banking giant, Lehman Brothers and the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, Mr. Shaw will huddle with the officials to assess how Jamaica will be affected.
There are fears that the crisis will, among other things, seriously affect Jamaica's ability to raise funds on the international capital market.
Speaking with the RJR News centre Monday night, Mr. Shaw said the situation is indeed grave, however, the local financial sector should not panic.
"At this stage I don't see any great reason for any panic in Jamaica at this time, notwithstanding that, of course we have to be cautious on all fronts as what has happened with that company no doubt could have some impact on the global credit market and part of our financing arrangement for our own budgetary process has to do with our ability to raise funds on the international capital markets," said Mr. Shaw.
The Finance Minister added that during Tuesday morning's meeting he would be informed whether local financial institutions have suffered any exposure in the wake of the failure of Lehman Brothers.
Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, becoming the latest victim of the global credit crunch.
Economic stagnation in JA - Chung
It is being predicted that the international financial crisis will have a devastating impact on Jamaica.
Dennis Chung, government Consultant, says the fallout is likely to result in economic stagnation for at least two years.
"The growth rate that we've seen in terms of tourism and remittances definitely is not going to be there, I think that will be the first sign that this is going to affect us.
I think certainly this year going into next year, growth will be a challenge for us, but with that said, I think that there's some thing we can do ... now is not the time to go for expansionary policies because there's nothing to really expand into," said Mr. Chung, who was speaking on RJR's daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond the Headlines on Monday.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/11636/26/
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