Market Wrap

Activity on the ECSE was minimal for the week with only two stocks trading. 200 BON traded firm at $5.00 and 1,000 SKNB shares traded firm at $3.00. The ECSE Share Index ended the review period unchanged at 120.20.
On March 13, 2007, the Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines auctioned EC$16 million 91-day Treasury Bills. The issue was oversubscribed and closed at a discount rate of 5.82%.

THE MONEY ART

Trading Volume (TVOL) represents the number of shares or contracts traded during a specific period of time (5-minute, 30-minute, 1-day, 1-week interval, etc.).
Joseph Granville, USA analyst, trader and author famous in the 70s, said: “volume is the steam that makes the choo-choo go”. Truly so, because TVOL shows how many shares speculators bought and sold. In so doing, it shows whether the security is in demand or not.

Saint Lucia at WTO Negotiations

Trade Ministers and High Level officials of the G-33 alliance of Developing Countries met in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st March to consider the status of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Round negotiations and to discuss specific flexibilities for Developing countries including those of the OECS.
During the two day session hosted by the Government of Indonesia and chaired by Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, the Minister of Trade of Indonesia,

G-33 Ministerial Meeting Jakarta Indonesia March 21, 2007

Madame Chair;
These remarks are being delivered on behalf of the ACP Group Coordinator.
I would first like to extend heartfelt thanks to you and to our hosts, the Government of Indonesia, for what has been warm and generous hospitality.
We in the African Caribbean Pacific Group (ACP) welcome this exchange of views between developing country groups and applaud this initiative by the G-33.
I would like to quickly note some of the concerns harbored by the group.

Are we achieving our expectations from CWC 2007?

Has Cricket World Cup 2007 delivered on the expectations of the business community? I guess it is early days yet and those who are optimistic will eagerly look forward to the semi final a month away. However, up to this point, many businesspersons are not optimistic about the outcome. The hotel sector has been voicing some concerns but again it is early days and patience could bring some comfort in the end.

The LIAT and Caribbean Star Merger - Part 2

Salient point(s) in last article
In the last article, it was pointed out that: Historically, mergers have often failed to add significantly to the value of the acquiring firm’s shares (King, et al., 2004). Corporate mergers may be aimed at reducing market competition, cutting costs (for example, laying off employees), reducing taxes, removing management, “empire building” by the acquiring managers, or other purposes which may not be consistent with public policy or public welfare. Thus they can be heavily regulated, requiring, for example, approval in the U.S. by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.