Business

(Wall Street Journal): As John McCain and Barack Obama trade barbs over whose economic policies would better help swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, a divide has also emerged in their positions on Bermuda, the resort island nation home to many Americans seeking sunshine and lower taxes. Sen. Obama seeks to raise the rate that has allowed the island to become an offshore insurance capital.  Go to article

(caribbean360.com): Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the restructuring of the international financial system must move ahead more urgently, and he's getting support in his call from one other Caribbean leader. Mr Golding has insisted that reform is necessary to ensure that more focus is given to countries like his which, although regarded as middle-income, are still challenged by poverty.  Go to article

(The Telegraph): Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, is understood to have rejected a request for a meeting with Gordon Brown, delivering a snub to the Prime Minister during his visit to America. Mr Brown announced in his Labour Party conference speech that he would be meeting "financial and Government leaders in New York" in a bid to resolve the financial crisis gripping world economies. Go to article

(CNS): Locally based offshore law firm Walkers has created a new position of Chief Marketing Officer to build on what the firm described as its continued global growth and international recognition. The new post has gone to David Byrne (left), formerly of Clifford Chance, where he was global head of business development for the group's finance and capital markets divisions.

(Telegraph UK): A group of the world's biggest hedge funds are planning to sue the UK Financial Services Authority for millions of pounds of losses incurred as a result of the regulator's ban on short-selling last week. Lawyers are being galvanised on behalf of a raft of hedge funds which claim the financial watchdog has illegitimately extended its powers and caused "wide-spread capital destruction." Go to article. Go to article.

(CNS): The Aston Rutty Civic Centre on Cayman Brac was packed to capacity with upwards of 550 residents for a test screening of Cayman Went, an independent movie shot largely on the island. Meanwhile, Cayman’s only brewery, Caybrew, is set to receive welcome publicity as it was featured in many of the scenes.

(CNS): With an already diverse list of members the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA) recently welcomed a re-insurance firm and a fund services to the ranks. Each new member helps the organization with its aim to push the message that the financial services sector is crucially important to Cayman’s economy. Explaining that as the membership grows CIFSA can do even more to actively promote the full scope and spectrum of the industry, Eduardo D'Angelo Silva, chairman of CIFSA invited others to consider becoming members.

(CNS): The nominations process for The Young Caymanian Leadership Award YCLA 2009 is now open and the Foundation is looking for young Caymanians between the ages of 20 and 35 that demonstrate strong leadership qualities through their personal and professional accomplishments. Anyone may nominate a Caymanian of their choice, including parents, siblings, coworkers, fellow church members, friends or spouses. (Left 2008 winner Stephen Ryan).

(CNS): The creation of three new senior positions at the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has led to the promotion of Langston Sibblies, CIMA’s General Counsel since 2000, to the post of Deputy Managing Director (DMD) - General Counsel.  Making the announcement yesterday, (18 September) the Authority said that the appointment had actually become effective more than a month earlier on 1 August 2008. 

(CNS): Updating the public on advancements in green issues, the National Tourism Management Plan, the Go East initiative, Cayman Airways and the pending arrival of a new dive attraction, the Minister for Tourism, Charles Clifford, opened the Annual Tourism Conference yesterday, 18 September. “This government has pursued a multi-faceted approach to tourism which incorporates priorities identified within our National Tourism Management Policy and provides a disciplined strategy for managing the industry over the next five years,” he said.

(CNS): Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd (CUC) is providing assistance to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, following the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which devastated Grand Turk and damaged portions of Providenciales, Middle Caicos and South Caicos.Six of the Company’s linemen are currently on the ground in the islands helping to restore power, a CUC release said.

(CNS): Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson has urged business operators to be truthful when applying for employee work permits. Speaking at the Immigration District Evening in East End last week, Manderson disclosed that there have been cases where companies submit work permit applications for lower-level jobs in order to avoid paying the requisite fees which the senior-level positions attract, a government release reported.

(CNS): Insurance supervisors from 18 jurisdictions are in Grand Cayman this week to learn more about the regulation of captive insurance entities. The regulators have joined their counterparts from the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) for the Captive Insurance Supervisors Workshop, which began on Monday, 15 September 2008 and which runs until 18 September, a release from CIMA says.

(Legal Week): The former UK Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, has predicted an explosion of ‘mega-litigation’ in the aftermath of this week’s collapse of Lehman Brothers. Falconer said the demise of the US’s fourth-largest investment bank would be a turning point for credit crunch-related litigation, unlocking a flood of cases. “There is going to be litigation on a scale that we have not seen before,” he told a conference, predicting the emergence of “a new era” for litigation and dispute resolution.  Go to article

(Market Watch): Expectations of a global economic recession have risen sharply, and risk aversion has reached a new high, according to Merrill Lynch's Survey of Fund Managers for September. It found that 61 percent of respondents now believe a recession is likely in the next 12 months and investors have moved to their most risk-averse mindset yet recorded. The survey also shows that investors have adopted more defensive strategies and shortened their investment time horizons. Go to article