LIAT Update

Click image to sign the PETITION!

The following was circulated to those who signed the petition by James Lynch, PETITION FROM THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC TO THE OWNERS OF THE CARIBBEAN AIRLINE LIAT.

You need to know that LIAT are about to have another huge meltdown. Yes, it’s probably going to happen again, and maybe even worse.

All the ATR Pilots trained at the beginning before the aircraft were delivered are now due for re-currency training, and many of the senior pilots are going on their usual booked holiday in December. That’s the start of it.

So, unless somebody comes up with a small (large?) miracle, LIAT are going to have to park many of their planes and cancel/reschedule/ delay many of their flights.

LIAT management were warned by both the ECCAA (the Civil Aviation Authority) and the LIAT Pilots Association LIALPA that this was going to happen unless they made alternate plans (LIALPA also warned Brunton before the first meltdown), so the many shortages which came to a head in August are going to be dwarfed by what is about to happen again at LIAT approaching and during the Christmas Season.

The Caribbean Advances Claim for Reparations

14 Caribbean states have retained the services of the British law firm Leigh Day tom press reparation claim.

Reports circulating in the international media indicate 12 Caricom countries along with Haiti and Suriname have initiated proceedings to sue three former colonisers, Britain, France and the Netherlands. This is good news for many Blacks in the Caribbean who believe (and justly so) that the heinous practice of slavery must be addressed in a material way. Why should it be addressed? The societies of the mentioned colonisers have benefited from untold wealth which has been acquired as a result of sweat,blood  and tears shed our ancestors. It does not matter if slavery was an accepted practice of those times. What matters is that it was a heinous act which has stained history’s page and said page should now reflect those who benefitted most address it!

The region  recently appointed Sir Hilary Beckles to head Caricom’s reparations committee. He has not wasted any time lighting a fire under the issue. The committee has secured the services of British law firm Leigh Day whose reputation was enhanced recently when the it won compensation for hundreds of Kenyans arising from the Mau Mau rebellion.

Although there is no official figure given of the repatriations claim a few regional newspapers have suggested £200 billion, the equivalent to the £20 million paid to slave owners in 1834 when slavery was abolished. Prime Minister Ralph Gonzales, the most vocal of regional leaders, stated in a speech to the UN recently that “The awful legacy of these crimes against humanity ought to be repaired for the developmental benefit of our Caribbean societies and all our peoples.”

The Myrie Order

Sir Dennis Byron, President of the CCJ

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) decision between Shanique Myrie and Barbados (Jamaica the Intervener) continues to resonate across the region – editorials, talk shows and on the streets. What is evident is that members of Caricom need to better manage how we promote freedom of movement given our obligation under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramus (RTC).

There is the view that significant weight was given by the CCJ to the 2007 Conference Decision by Heads of Caricom [item 45].  In simple terms: can we say that the decision handed down last week is what Heads of Caricom intended in 2007 i.e. “definite entry of six months …”. The fact that Barbados argued against the efficacy of the 2007 decision without a single intervention from another Caricom member was taken as acquiescence by the CCJ. Barbados therefore has to abide by the decision until such time a similar case in re-argued before a CCJ with justices of a different interpretation or lobby to have Heads modify the decision at the next Heads of Caricom meeting.

Loud by its silence has been the reaction of Barbados to the decision. The DNA of the Barbados government is to be slow in deliberation. One wonders though if the Prime Minister sees a need to demonstrate a departure from the norm given the psychological punch Barbadians have taken since the decision was delivered.  Is there a role for the leader of the country in the prevailing circumstances?

LIAT

Jean Holder resigned two years ago but continues to perform the role as Chairman.

We were asked to share the following article with the BU family. Although against our policy which is to be original in our postings sometimes we have to concede when there is merit in deviating from policy.

Business: LIAT’s turning point?

9/30/2013

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

THE Caribbean is a diverse multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-culinary, multi-genre (musical) and multi-lingual region officially made up of an archipelago of islands and selected mainland emerging territories nested between North and South America, Central America in the West and the Atlantic Ocean in the East, in and bordering on the Caribbean Sea.

The 17 English heritage administrations in the Caribbean are distributed as follows: North (7); South (7) and West (3) with an estimated population of six million, including the mainland territories of Belize and Guyana. The six French heritage administrations in the Caribbean are distributed as follows: North (5) and South (1) with an estimated population of 17.2 million, including the mainland territory of French Guiana. The seven Dutch heritage administrations in the Caribbean are distributed as follows: North (3); South (1) and West (3) with an estimated population of 0.8 million, including the mainland territory of Suriname. The three Spanish heritage administrations in the Caribbean sea are all in the North with an estimated population of 22.5 million, including the US territory of Puerto Rico. There are 33 Caribbean administrations with a total population of 46.5 million, albeit over managed, which is not to be ignored as a geographical market to be explored within the wider Latin American and Caribbean region.

Read full article

One Scapegoat Does NOT Fix LIAT or Caribbean Airlines

Robert MacLellan, Managing Director of MacLellan & Associates

Some might believe that, for the second time in only three years, Captain Ian Brunton has been made a scapegoat by the board of directors of a Caribbean airline company – fired as CEO of Caribbean Airlines Limited in late 2010 and, this week, he resigned as CEO of LIAT. Indisputably, the overall operation of LIAT has continued to be disastrous during the last four months but so has the marketing / P R / communications function and yet the senior management there appears unchanged going forward. More importantly, the chairman, Jean Holder, and the LIAT board – which has authorised the strategy, business plan, operating budget and bank loans underlying the recent chaos and financial uncertainty – also appear unchanged going forward.

While Captain Brunton has resigned, Mr Holder is reportedly on vacation in the midst of the crisis. The chairman has been in position since 2004 and submitted his own resignation two years ago, although this was not accepted by the LIAT government ownership group at that time.

“Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.” When Mark Darby, an undoubted airline industry expert, was fired from the LIAT CEO position in 2009 (and subsequently sued successfully for unfair dismissal) Caribbean 360 News carried excerpts from his interview concerning LIAT in Flight Global, a leading airline industry website. Darby pointed to “the lack of focus of the shareholder governments and the board of management as major stumbling blocks to the regional airline moving to higher heights”. He spoke of the complexity of three governments owning the airline, which involved conflicting agendas. Darby commented that this problem was compounded by weak corporate governance, with a board where few directors had held senior roles in major companies. “Instead, it operated more like a government department”, he said. Darby continued, “Board members got themselves involved in operational areas. This is one of the company’s greatest weaknesses”.

CARICOM, Barbados and Me

The following was posted by David Weekes to the Shanique Myrie Goes to Court blog.

Caribbean Leaders signed treaty in Chaguaramas on July 4th 1973 – CDA

Could anyone please explain this to me since I am slow of mind. Ms. Shanique Myrie, citizen of Jamaica, and CARICOM denizen, while travelling to Barbados, purports to have been inappropriately searched by Barbadian Immigration (and thereafter denied the right to move/reside in Barbados as allowed for under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTOC). Within mere weeks of her claim, her government equips her with its premiere lawyers and she brings her case to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) where the Government of Barbados brings it legal luminaries to fight on behalf of its Immigration Officials.

David Weekes, citizen of Barbados, CARICOM citizen, brings a case of breach of contract against CARICOM in 2007 and here in 2013, still cannot get a date for his case. Furthermore, said file 191/2007 goes missing from the spanking new facility at Country Road and cannot be found even up to today.

Related Links:

• A Request For Copies Of The Instruments Of Ratification [Caricom]

• Will No One Rid Me Of The Meddlesome Priest?

Does Barbados Aspire to Become the Warehouse and Whorehouse of Unskilled Labour in the Caribbean?

Canadian Court orders woman to remove Niqab

This week in the news we learned that a Canadian woman will have to remove her Niqab in order to testify against her attackers. This is a case which has occupied the attention of the Courts for five years – read Niqab ban in sexual assault trial causes controversy. Also in the news this week, and closer to home, we heard from Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade AJ Nicholson uttering his concern that Jamaica is not satisfied with how free movement of nationals across the Caribbean Community (Caricom) is being facilitated – read Nicholson to address Jamaican travel across CARICOM.

BU took interest in the comments of Nicholson because he pointed to the Shanique Myrie case which is pending before the Caribbean Court of Appeal. By doing so he made his intention obvious that Barbados was in his ‘gun sight’.

In strictly legal terms the two cases are unrelated BUT for BU the cases resonate because in the Canadian judgement there is a sense that the laws of Canada are in consonance with the expectation of mainstream society. In the case of the Myrie matter one gets the feeling that Barbados is being bombarded by some obligation under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas even at the risk of compromising its rights as a sovereign country. Are we a sovereign country or not? Why doesn’t Jamaica take a similar case to the World Court to challenge the decision to refuse their citizens entry into the USA, UK and several other developed countries which occur with frequency on a daily basis. If they were to pursue this avenue one may believe that their motive in the Myrie case is sincere.

CARICOM Stock Market Review 1st Quarter,2013

Compiled by the UWI,Cave Hill – view more tips and other information at: http://www.carifinanceonline.com/

The first quarter of 2013 provided equity investors in Caricom with little or no relief from the misery of 2012. Despite gains on Manufacturing, Conglomerate and Communications & utility stocks, returns were depressed by declines on Insurance, Investments and Tourism and Real Estate stocks…Full Report.

CARICOM STOCK MARKET REVIEW 2012

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Cave Hill

NEW LISTINGS AND DELISTINGS

There were a number of listings and De-Listings across the regional exchanges in 2012. On the Bahamas International Securities Exchange, Arawak Port Development was listed on April 23 2012. In Guyana, Rupununi Development Company Limited was listed on March 19 2012. In Jamaica, First Caribbean International Bank Jamaica, First Jamaica Investments Limited, Montego Freeport and Pegasus Hotels were De-listed, while on the main market Proven Investments was listed, and, Consolidated Bakeries, Paramount Trading Jamaica, C2W Music Limited and K. L.E. Group Limited were listed on the Junior Market. Supreme Ventures was De-listed from the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

Full report

WEEKLY CARICOM STOCK REPORT 3 December to 7 December 2012

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Cave Hill

Keep It Simple.
Keeping it simple in investing is not stupid. Seventeenth-century philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, “All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” This aptly describes the investing process. Those who trade too often, focus on irrelevant data points, or try to predict the unpredictable are likely to encounter some unpleasant surprises when investing. By keeping it simple–focusing on companies with economic moats, requiring a margin of safety when buying, and investing with a long-term horizon–you can greatly enhance your odds of success.

 

Read full report

 

WEEKLY CARICOM STOCK REPORT 26 November to 30 November 2012

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Cave Hill

The Float Ratio of a stock refers to the number of outstanding shares held by “public investors” as opposed to company officers, directors, controlling-interest investors or other strategic investors. In essence, the float ratio refers to the proportion of shares that are available for regular trading, as distinct from shareholdings that are only likely to be traded as part of a major re-organization of the firm.  The float ratio is a major determinant of the liquidity of a stock.  Stocks with relatively small float ratios tend be rather illiquid, with very little trading.  This makes it extremely difficult for investors to earn capital gains on such investments, and may leave minority investors at the mercy of the dividend policy set by dominant shareholders.  To help promote liquid markets, the Hong Kong Stock exchange, for example, requires a minimum float of 25% of the outstanding shares.  In a number of cases, stocks listed on Caricom exchanges have float ratios way below this minimum.

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WEEKLY CARICOM STOCK REPORT 12 November to 16 November 2012

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI Cave Hill

Listen to Your Gut.
Any valuation model you may create for a company is only as good as the assumptions about the future that are put into it. If the output of a model does not make sense, then it’s worthwhile to double-check your projections and calculations. Use DCF valuation models (or any other valuation models) as guides, not oracles.

Know Your Friends, and Your Enemies.
What’s the short interest in a stock you are interested in? What mutual funds own the company, and what is the record of those fund managers? Does company management have “skin in the game” via a meaningful ownership stake? Have company insiders been selling or buying? At the margin, these are valuable pieces of collateral evidence for your investment thesis on a company.

Read full report

WEEKLY CARICOM STOCK REPORT 5 November to 9 November 2012

Compiled by the Department of Management Studies, UWI Cave Hill

Prepare for the Situation to Proceed Faster than You Think.
Most deteriorating businesses will do so faster than you anticipate. Be very wary of value traps, or companies that look cheap but are generating little or no economic value. On the other hand, strong businesses with solid competitive advantages will often exceed your expectations. Have a very wide margin of safety with a troubled business, but do not be afraid to have a much smaller margin of safety for a wonderful business with a shareholder-friendly management team.

 Expect Surprises to Repeat
The first big positive surprise from a company is unlikely to be the last. Ditto the first big negative surprise. Remember the “cockroach theory.” Namely, the first cockroach you see is probably not the only one around; there are likely scores more that you can’t see.

Read full report