May 16, 2012 

 Market News

International: U.S. investors bought shares of industrials, airlines, gold mining companies and agricultural assets Wednesday as robust economic data offset fears stoked by the likelihood of Greece leaving the euro zone. U.S. industrial production rose more last month than it has risen in a year, and builders began work on more homes than expected in April, government figures showed on Wednesday.  JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq: JBLU) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) gained more than 2 percent. Trucking companies also rose, with logistics company Con-Way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) going up 59 cents to $35.46. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) shares added 3.59 percent. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) increased 1.27 percent. 

Bahamas: A recent article in the Nassau Guardian suggests that cruise arrivals should top 4.5 Million visitors in the Bahamas this year. The article was written on the backdrop of a twelve percent spike in cruise arrival to Nassau and an over four percent rise in cruise arrival to Grand  Bahama for the first quarter of 2012. The total cruise arrivals to the Bahamas during the first quarter of 2012 stood at 1.3 Million.  Carla Stewart, Director of Cruise Development in the Ministry of Tourism has reportedly projected a five percent annual growth rate for the cruise sub-sector in 2012.  Notwithstanding the growth levels, tourism interests in the Bahamas are of the view that there is room for spending level increases, as such; they are encouraging locals to engage in more entrepreneurial activity with a view of capturing a greater share of the tourism dollars in cruise visitors’ wallets and handbags.

Bermuda: Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) on Tuesday reported a 100 percent increase in its half-year profits to $3.23 Million. Even though customer deposit balances slightly decreased to $434.84 Million (1.9 percent) compared to the same period last year, fixed customer deposits rose by 45 percent. The bank also reported that customer deposit duration lengthened and customer concentration improved, resulting in a longer maturity cycle and a deeper and more stable deposit base. On the downside, there was a large increase in payroll costs as the number of employees grew from 43 last year to 58 at the reporting date. This resulted in payroll costs of approximately $4 Million for the half-year period as compared with $2.26 Million for the corresponding period last year.

Jamaica: Peter Melhado, chairman of West Indies Home Contractors Limited (WIHCON), and Robert Taylor, director of Alf Investments Limited, have announced a cash and land deal in which Alf has secured a 50 percent stake in the privately owned construction company. The land is treated as equity under the deal. Alf Investments is a property-management and real estate-development company owned by Mark and Ricky Mahfood. The partnership talks were initiated 12 months ago, Melhado said. He said the deal was not a merger of operations, but is best described as a joint venture. The two companies will retain their separate identities.
 
ECCU: The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says people across the region will be able to follow online, some of the activities associated with the bank’s 42nd Annual meeting of the Board of Governors. The meeting is being held this year in the Cayman Islands on May 23-24. According to a CDB release, one of the events slated to be made available to a Caribbean audience through live web streaming is the William G Demas Memorial Lecture – Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy will be presented by Professor Amar Bhide of Tufts University on May 22. Interested audiences will also have an opportunity to view the May 23 rd opening ceremony of the CDB Board of Governors meeting from nine in the morning via the Internet.

Market Performance Eastern Caribbean  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change ECSE Index 138.60  0.02  0.01 Jamaica  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change JSE Main 89,635.06  25.96   0.35 JA Select 2,638.66  4.84   0.68 Trinidad & Tobago  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change TTSE Composite Index 1,011.58  0.09  0.14 Barbados  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change BSE Composite Index 720.14 - - North America  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change DOW 12,598.55  18.77  0.26 S & P 500 1,324.80  5.98  0.44 NASDAQ 2,874.04  30.63  0.68 Europe/Asia  Closing Position  Index Movement  % Change NIKKEI 225 STOXX 600 FTSE 100 8,876.59 242.06 5,341.48  87.12  2.34  63.77  0.86  0.96  1.18 Major Currencies       EUR - USD 1.268000 JPY - USD 0.012465 GBP - USD 1.584000  0.00360  0.28000%  0.11000  0.14000%  0.00700  0.44000%     Commodity Futures Brent Crude Futr Gold 100 Oz Futr Silver Future  109.09  1,538.60  27.47  0.66  12.00  0.28  0.60  0.78  1.03 View Past Issues

Upcoming Bond Issues Issuer Government of St Vincent & the Grenadines Date June 4, 2012 Tenor 91 days Issue Amount in EC$ 25M Maximum Rate (%) 5.82% Credit Rating B1  Disclaimer The information contained in this publication have been obtained from reputable sources and has not been       independently verified by ECFH Global Investments    Limited.  Therefore no representation or warranty, express or implied is made as to its accuracy or completeness and the company accepts no liability for any loss resulting from reliance on any information contained therein.