Minister Paula Cox is now reading her budget statement, now grandiosely elevated to the National Budget: Bermuda Government 2009-10 Budget Bermuda National Economic Report 2008 (for historical interest as the data is really 2007) For comparison: Bermuda Government 2008-9 Budget Bermuda National Economic Report 2007 (published with 2008 budget, data is is really 2006) Bermuda [...]
Entries from February 20th, 2009
Campaign Finance
February 20th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Reform
MP Wayne Furbert has tabled a motion in the House calling for a joint select committee to be formed to consider “Campaign Finance Disclosure.” PLP chairman David Burt expressed his support to the Royal Gazette. However, Mr. Burt’s “define your opponent” dictum sticks in my mind … it’s not clear if his comments are just [...]
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Aggregation of Talent
February 20th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
XL CEO Micheal McGavick spoke to Insurance Day magazine yesterday making the case that Bermuda provides more to the US economy as an insurance centre than the US Government would claw back through punitive tax measures against the country. Mr. McGavick said the Island’s most valuable industry asset was its “aggregation of talent”. “While people [...]
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The Big Budget
February 19th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Well, Friday’s the big day when the Government will lay out its budget plans for the next year. It will be an interesting balancing act as during the boom years Government lost control of its expenditures – doubling the budget in just five years – without socking some away for a rainy day or tackling [...]
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Bermuda, FL
February 18th, 2009 · Comments Off · Development
Check this out – it’s a planned community in Florida whose master design is a riff on Bermuda architecture. It’s funny because so many of the new developments in Bermuda seem to be designed to look like Florida.
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20/20 give or take a few
February 17th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
In what may be a death knell for offshore banking in the Caribbean, the American financial regulators have accused the Stanford International Bank (SIB) of Antigua of an $8 billion fraud. This sounds like Bernie Madoff all over: Contrary to the representation that responsibility for SIB’s multi-billion portfolio was “spread out” among 20-plus [analysts], only [...]
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Cutting Corners
February 17th, 2009 · Comments Off · Business
Government has announced that Dr. Brown’s stem cell research facility will be allowed to operate under guidelines being developed by the Ministry of Health with the Brown-Darrell Clinic. Beyond the obvious potential for conflict of interest between his public and private roles, I think there’s a larger issue here. Stem cell research and treatments are [...]
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Stability
February 16th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics, Business
After a decade of neglect of the international business sector by our Government, some of the shine has worn off Bermuda’s Gold Standard™. In the past, stability and good sense government were among Bermuda’s strongest selling points. That’s less true today. A major UK insurer today announced they will add operations in Ireland, and justified [...]
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Cayman New Constitution
February 14th, 2009 · Comments Off · Islands, Reform
The Cayman Islands has a new draft Constitution and Bill of Rights that will go before a public referendum on May 20. Accompanying the draft are three letters from Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Minister for Overseas Territories Gillian Merron, detailing the terms under which the Cayman Islands can negotiate foreign treaties on its own; [...]
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Term Limits ~ Epic Fail
February 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Bermuda Politics
Term limits have been one of the major points of resentment amongst international companies in Bermuda, and have been the direct cause for many management positions being shifted out of the island to other jurisdictions. This undermines the “nexus of knowledge” that has made the Bermuda market so attractive, and also has negative consequences for [...]
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