Regional News

HOUSTON, (Reuters) – The Houston office of the FBI is  seeking to identify victims in its criminal fraud investigation of  Stanford Financial Group and its affiliated companies, the agency  said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira has presided over the billion-dollar bail-out of the CL Financial group, even as she herself has owned shares in the conglomerate, Guardian investigations have revealed.

(Trinidad Express) Non-performing loans on the books of the state-impounded CL Financial-owned Clico Investment Bank (CIB) could account for over 20 per cent, significantly more than the industry standard of two-to-three per cent, sources close to the bank have disclosed.

(BBC) The president of the Caribbean Development Bank, Compton Bourne, said Friday that the problems facing conglomerate CL Financial point to a serious gap in the region’s regulatory system.

DAR ES SALAAM,  (Reuters) – Developing countries  could face a financing gap of $270-$700 billion — equivalent to  the latest U.S.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Tragedy struck at a basic school in the Tucker-Irwin area of St James on Thursday afternoon when a little girl died after an abandoned piano in a schoolyard fell on her.

Trinidad Express) – A 33-year-old man who raped and sodomised his 73-year-old mother was caught by police officers around 3 am on Thursday.

(Trinidad Express) – The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has begun investigations to determine whether the erroneous reports of the “discovery of children in a container on the port within Trinidad and Tobago was public mischief on the part of the broadcasting stations involved”.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has taken over a eucalyptus tree farm run by Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa, his latest move on foreign companies as he tightens his grip on the farm and food sectors.

Bahamas eyes beauty boost Officials in the Bahamas are hoping this year’s Miss Universe pageant will add some beauty to an ugly year for tourism.

Receiver seeks Stanford ease The court-appointed receiver in charge of the operations and assets of the Stanford Financial Group has asked a federal judge to release some client brokerage accounts that contain $250,000 or less.

(Barbados Nation) – The region has not co-operated enough in terms of how each country regulates its financial matters, and the Clico crisis has painfully exposed this.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela said yesterday it has no plans to take over any additional holdings of US food giant Cargill after socialist President Hugo Chavez ordered the seizure of the rice plant, renewing his nationalization drive.

(Trinidad Express) – The collapse of a large financial conglomerate and continued exposure to plunging oil and gas prices make Trinidad and Tobago’s economy vulnerable, a new report from the International Monetary Report has shown.

(Antigua Sun) – Prime Ministers Baldwin Spencer and Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines, have attempted to further reassure the public of the soundness of Bank of Antigua Ltd (BOA) by opening, and reactivating personal chequing accounts there.

Council set for Haiti The UN Security Council is heading to Haiti next week to assess the country’s progress.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday warned that the global crisis had shifted to the world’s poorest nations and 22 countries may need as much as $25 billion in additional funding in 2009 to cope with the downturn.

(Trinidad Guardian) – There was a complete shutdown of the Port-of-Spain Port on Tuesday as rumours spread throughout the country that a container with missing children had been discovered.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the Brazilian government yesterday to push for the return of an 8-year-old boy to his US father, who says his son was abducted illegally more than four years ago.

(Barbados Nation) – In a new twist to the CLICO saga, the life insurance arm of the group could be sold.