Air Jamaica to cut routes and staff
Come February 26, Air Jamaica will discontinue service to Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Cayman, Grenada and Barbados, taking along the jobs of an estimated 600 staff.
In a three-page letter to staff, President and CEO Bruce Nobles outlined the airline's cost-cutting business plan which is aimed at quickly stemming the substantial cash losses at the company and positioning the airline on a path to profitability
The airline is making its reduction two days before what has traditionally been the country's best month - March. This is in response to the projections outlined by tour operators who have painted a gloomy picture that March bookings were down, anywhere between 15 and 30 per cent.
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Jamaica's first half a trillion budget
Its the first in Jamaica's history that the national budget has inched over the $500-billion mark.
Due to a combined increase of $9.7 billion in recurrent expenditure for the ministries of Education and Health the revised estimates has been pushed to $507.9 billion, up from the $489.5 billion that Parliament approved in April.
The revised estimates is said to represent an $18.4-billion increase, $4.86 billion of which is recurrent expenditure and $13.57 billion of which is slated to be spent on capital projects.
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NCB permitted to close Olint's Account
The United Kingdom Privy Council yesterday handed down judgment in favour of National Commercial Bank, giving permitting it to close the account of the investment club, Olint Corporation Ltd.
The bank had applied to the Jamaican courts for the accounts to be closed, claiming that Olint did not comply with certain requests, one of which was to furnish the bank with an audited financial statement.
The Jamaican court refused to grant the order for the closure and NCB took the mater to the Privy Council.
The hearing took place yesterday and the Privy Council ruled that the bank’s reason for wanting to close the accounts were valid and therefore, the bank was entitled to close them.
According to one of the lawyers representing NCB the decision was an important one, not only for NCB, but for banks and the banking system generally.
The written reasons for allowing the appeal will be handed down next month.
In March 2006, Olint was severed with a cease and desist order from the Financial Services Commission.
