Christopher Ram

Who’s left now? Conclusion The death of socialism Business Page last week suggested that amidst the cataclysmic dislocation to have rocked the capitalist world first manifested in the housing market in the United States, the response of the governments in the developed market economies is leading to a fundamental rethink of the role of ideology, and in the context of Guyana, raised the question playing on the word ‘left.’

Who’s left now? The crisis facing the world economy is leading to a fundamental rethink of the role of ideology and the place of the ‘market’ in economic development.

Response to a crisis Introduction Today’s column looks at some of the ironies and contradictions in the response to what started as a domestic crisis in the mortgage sector in the US and the prospects for the developing countries arising out of the Obama victory.

Adjustment time in Trinidad and Tobago Introduction It has been a challenging week for Trinidad and Tobago where crime seems to dominate the headlines in the dailies.

David – a Goliath of a man David de Caires was very clear on what Business Page was about – the dissemination of financial and economic information and discussion of ideas and issues aimed at enhancing the business culture and environment.

Curbing corruption: The Corruption Perception IndexConclusion Introduction Today we conclude this three-part article arising out of the publication of the 2008 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International which ranked Guyana at a lowly 126 out of a total of 180 countries surveyed, with a score of 2.6 out of 10.

Curbing Corruption – The Corruption Perception Index Introduction Not unexpectedly, the Government has taken issue with the ranking accorded Guyana in the Transparency International (TI) Index for 2008 announced late last month.

Died on a Monday, exhumed on a Wednesday and born on a Friday:  The rescue of a rescue package It takes going back to the childhood nursery rhyme to capture the events of the past week in the United States of America.

A look at the Trinidad and Tobago Budget 2008-09 It was like a baptism of heat for new Minister of Finance Karen Nunez-Tesheira of the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago as she presented the first budget of the re-elected Patrick Manning government and more personally, her first since her surprise appointment as the country’s first female Minister of Finance.

Crisis in the USA: Is America too big to fail? September has been a disastrous month for the US whose leading presidential candidates like to refer to it jarringly as the greatest country on earth.

Coping with the EPA Introduction Over the strident objections of President Jagdeo the Caribbean countries and the Dominican Republic will sign the Cariforum-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) some time within the next few weeks.

Auditor General’s Report Conclusion Introduction Today we conclude our 3-part review of the Auditor General’s report for 2006.

We need a culture of reading across the country September is Education Month and September 8, International Literacy Day.

The Auditor General’s report for 2006 (Continued) UpdateIn the first part of this review (BP 24.8.08) of the Auditor General’s report for 2006 we examined the several statutory obligations of the Audit Office under the constitution and several other statutes.

The Auditor General’s Report for 2006 Introduction It is now established that the Report of the Auditor General was late by more than ten months.

GO-INVEST – Investment and reality Introduction As we conclude the series of columns on the QA II privatisation, we turn our attention to the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-INVEST), an entity established in 1994 under the Public Corporations Act 1988 to replace GUYMIDA, an agency with similar objectives closed down soon after the change of government in 1992.

Brassington confirms QA II rent at $12 -17 million annually Introduction Contradicting several earlier statements about the rent the Government would be getting from the lease of 20 acres of land to Queens Atlantic Investment Inc.