Black Immigrant Daily News

Main Event, PBS cumulative preference shares and Salada Foods led gains during Thursday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

Main Event gained 24 per cent to close at $8.00, PBS preference shares increased 16 per cent to $126.17, and Salada increased 15 per cent to $5.29.

The top declining stocks were Sygnus Credit down 15 per cent to US$0.11 and Berger Paints down 13 per cent to $9.11.

The JSE Index declined by 225.41 points (0.06 per cent) to close at 366,974.17 points and the volume traded amounted to 3,472,392 valued at $25,553,670.34.

Also on the day, the Junior Market Index advanced by 37.78 points (0.94 per cent) to close at 4,064.12 points and the volume traded amounted to 5,618,693 valued at $18,792,608.47. The JSE Combined Index advanced by 129.07 points (0.03 per cent) to close at 379,670.69 points and the volume traded amounted to 9,091,085 valued at $44,346,278.81.

Meanwhile, the JSE Financial Index declined by 0.15 points (0.17 per cent) to close at 87.75 points and the volume traded amounted to 925,659 valued at $8,259,775.68.

The JSE Manufacturing & Distribution Index advanced by 0.26 points (0.25 per cent) to close at 102.38 points and the volume traded amounted to 4,101,093 valued at $28,182,255.67.

Overall market activity resulted from trading in 103 stocks of which 50 advanced, 37 declined and 16 traded firm.

The JA$ Market Volume (excluding blocks) amounted to 9,091,085 units valued at $44.34 million. The US$ Market Volume (excluding blocks) amounted to 703,183 units valued at some US$76,500.

Wigton Windfarm, Edufocal Limited and Fesco were the volume leader.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

MP for St. Peter Asot Michael has indicated that he will contest the upcoming general elections as an independent candidate, as he has been removed from the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) ticket.

Michael was not ratified as a candidate during what he describes as the Labour Party’s recent “kangaroo convention.” Instead, Rawdon Turner was unanimously voted in to represent St. Peter.

In no uncertain terms, however, Michael says he will contest the St. Peter seat in the general elections, and declares he will make history by becoming the first independent candidate to win an election in this country.

According to MP Michael, the ALP’s Suitability Committee did not give reasons why it found him not fit to run on the party’s ticket.

In fact, he claims the Chairman of that committee, Hilroy Humphreys, voted in favour of his remaining the party’s candidate for that constituency.

Further, Michael alleges that one of the members of the Suitability Committee is a relative of Turner.

Meanwhile, he says the popularity of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, the political leader of the ALP, is very low in the St. Peter constituency. Browne’s behaviour and attitude have infuriated many of the constituents, Michael claims. – REAL NEWS

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Black Immigrant Daily News

President of the Leeward Islands Airlines Pilot Association Patterson Thompson is appalled and dismayed that the shareholder government of LIAT (1974) Ltd left out talks about severance to ex-employees at their recent meeting.

LIAT shareholders Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines made it clear that their discussion on August 2nd was primarily to decide on the creation of a new airline or a rebooted carrier, LIALPA expected the highly contentious issue of severance would have been discussed.

However, to their dismay, the topic never even came up at the virtual meeting.

“We are struggling and we would like some attention paid to our plight. It has been very difficult to survive in these times and we just find it very hard that our prime ministers did not address this from a collective point of view…,” Thompson said.

LIALPA also issued a statement on Monday, saying that they are appalled and dismayed that the unsettled issue of payment of owed entitlements to the terminated employees of the company was not discussed at the recently concluded virtual meeting.

“We find it disgraceful that discussions on a new entity could be addressed with such urgency, while over six hundred former employees who continue to face harsh economic conditions have not been given equal attention or any attention at all,” LIALPA said in the widely circulated document.

Nevertheless, LIALPA remains optimistic and hopeful that payment of the owed entitlements will be satisfactorily addressed at subsequent meetings of regional prime ministers.

“We have always advocated the importance of the airline for regional integration, tourism, and to regional economies,” LIALPA said.

The shareholder governments also agreed to engage the services of an aviation consultancy firm – as had been previously touted – to develop a long-term plan to ensure the sustainability of LIAT and the provision of affordable air transportation.

But LIALPA believes that a new study now may be superfluous in light of the several studies which have been completed in the past, the recommendations of which have never been implemented.

They are suggesting that perhaps these funds and efforts would be better used to relieve the plight of the former workers and their families.

“We strongly encourage the shareholder prime ministers and other regional leaders to emulate the Prime Minister of St Lucia the Honourable Philip Pierre in declaring in Parliament that he will pay all owed entitlements to former St. Lucian employees of LIAT (1974) Ltd,” the Pilots Association said.

Hundreds of LIAT workers were terminated more than two years ago when the Covid pandemic exacerbated the airline’s long-standing financial woes by grounding it for several months. – DNO

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