Black Immigrant Daily News

Première adoption de texte en vue à l’Assemblée nationale en cette rentrée: les députés s’apprêtent à voter mardi en première lecture un projet de loi emblématique amorçant une nouvelle réforme de l’assurance chômage, grâce aux voix des LR.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The International Monetary Fund is downgrading its outlook for the world economy for 2023, citing a long list of threats that include Russia’s war against Ukraine, chronic inflation pressures, punishing interest rates and the lingering consequences of the global pandemic.

The 190-country lending agency forecast Tuesday that the global economy would eke out growth of just 2.7 per cent next year, down from the 2.9 per cent it had estimated in July. The IMF left unchanged its forecast for international growth this year — a modest 3.2 per cent, a sharp deceleration from last year’s 6 per cent expansion.

The bleaker forecast was no surprise. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, noting the grim backdrop to this week’s fall meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, warned that the “risks of recession are rising” around the world and that the global economy is facing a “period of historic fragility.”

In its latest estimates, the IMF slashed its outlook for growth in the United States to 1.6 per cent this year, down from a July forecast of 2.3 per cent. It expects meagre 1 per cent US growth next year.

The fund foresees China’s economy growing just 3.2 per cent this year, down drastically from 8.1 per cent last year. Beijing has instituted draconian zero-COVID policy and has cracked down on excessive real estate lending, disrupting business activity. China’s growth is forecast to accelerate to 4.4 per cent next year, still tepid by Chinese standards.

In the IMF’s view, the collective economy of the 19 European countries that share the euro currency, reeling from crushingly high energy prices caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow, will grow just 0.5 per cent in 2023.

The world economy has endured a wild ride since COVID-19 hit in early 2020. First, the pandemic and the lockdowns it generated brought the world economy to a standstill in the spring of 2020. Then, vast infusions of government spending and ultra-low borrowing rates engineered by the Federal Reserve and other central banks fueled an unexpectedly strong and speedy recovery from the pandemic recession.

But the stimulus came at a high cost. Factories, ports and freight yards were overwhelmed by powerful consumer demand for manufactured goods, especially in the United States, resulting in delays, shortages and higher prices. (The IMF expects worldwide consumer prices to rise 8.8 per cent this year, up from 4.7 per cent in 2021.)

In response, the Fed and other central banks have reversed course and begun raising rates dramatically, risking a sharp slowdown and potentially a recession. The Fed has raised its benchmark short-term rate five times this year. Higher rates in the United States have lured investment away from other countries and strengthened the value of the dollar against other currencies.

Outside the United States, the higher dollar makes imports that are sold in the American currency, including oil, more expensive and therefore heightens global inflationary pressures. It also forces foreign countries to raise their own rates — and burden their economies with higher borrowing costs — to defend their currencies.

Maurice Obstfeld, a former IMF chief economist who now teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, has warned that an overly aggressive Fed could “drive the world economy into an unnecessarily harsh contraction.”

By PAUL WISEMAN and FATIMA HUSSEIN

Associated Press

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Fire Department and the Police are investigating a house fire on Bay Street, Villa, in the vicinity of the football field.

Reports say the St. John’s Fire Station received the call early Saturday morning, October 8, and the No. 10 and 15 trucks, a water tank, and a rescue jeep were deployed to the scene.

Firefighters quickly went into action and put out the blaze, which allegedly started in a concrete house measuring 20 × 40 feet.

Although there were no injuries, reports say the interior of the structure was completely destroyed.

The house reportedly was abandoned and uninsured, but it was being used as a storage unit by 65-year-old Victor Clarke, alias “Sunku,” of Bay Street.

Clarke reportedly told investigators he did not know the cause of the fire.  However, it is alleged that electricity was attached to the house via a drop cord from a neighbour.  Accordingly, fire officials are continuing their inquiries.

The Police were notified about the incident and visited the scene at about 12:10 a.m. REAL NEWS

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Basket – Coupe Départementale 

Ce week-end s’est déroulé la rencontre entre Ban é Lot et les Flyers au Palais des sports Laura Flessel. Les Pointois se sont imposés durant cette rencontre avec un score final de 75 à 63. 

France-Antilles Guadeloupe

105 mots – 11.10.2022

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Businesses are being encouraged to consider driving their operations utilising renewable energy.

This urging comes from Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr Norman Dunn, who said “customers and big investors are switching allegiance to companies that pay greater attention to how their operations impact the natural environment”.

He pointed out that as the global agriculture industry adopts more efficient and sustainable production techniques, “the Government of Jamaica signals its readiness to support models that are particularly responsive to climate change”.

“Our local businesses are, therefore, being encouraged to include renewables in their practices as part of their core business model, especially as we approach 2030, the decade of growth and development,” Dr. Dunn said

The State Minister added that the Government continues to invite more private sector-led projects to strengthen Jamaica’s energy resilience and to accelerate the adoption of distributed renewable energy.

This, Dr. Dunn further said, in order to create a more sustainable energy future for all Jamaicans.

He was addressing the commissioning of a solar-powered plant at Austrojam Limited in Bluntas, St. Elizabeth, on Saturday (October 8).

Dr. Dunn congratulated the entity’s Chief Executive Officer, Martin Zsifkovics, for making the switch to solar energy.

“The conversion of this 2,100 square feet facility to 100 per cent solar energy demonstrated that there are still effective mechanisms which businesses can use to scale up, while supporting significant energy conservation and climate adoption imperatives,” the State Minister said.

“With our perpetual sunlight, large water volumes [and] strong wind currents, Jamaica is ideally suited for renewable projects. So, projects in agriculture, such as yours at Austrojam, will be useful in supporting the Government’s goal of increasing the ratio of energy generated from renewables to 50 per cent by 2050,” he said.

Dr. Dunn also encouraged businesses to take advantage of energy loans being offered by the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of Jamaica to help entities in retrofitting their operations to accommodate energy-efficient fixtures, energy conservation, and alternative energy projects.

“This will be useful in supporting greater diversity in our energy supply, which is already looking good following the submission of several proposals to the Government this year, including solar and hydroelectricity,” he pointed out.

For his part, Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth South West, Hon. Floyd Green, also commended Mr. Zsifkovics.

“I think Austrojam is a model that we all can emulate, [because Mr. Zsifkovics is] a strong believer in community. If you go and interact with the workforce, you will realise that they come from the area. [He] is a strong believer in engaging the small farmers through the model farm concept, which has gone well, and a strong believer in using technology to move the company forward,” he stated.

Mr. Zsifkovics, who told JIS News that his company started the process of transitioning to renewable energy two years ago, said the solar plant will power Austrojam’s refrigerated warehouses.

“It’s an off grid [plant]… We have over 210 solar panels. We just [want] to save energy and cut down our cost because, as you know, production costs of the raw material for the farms went up significantly, so we have to cut down on some of the other expenses,” he informed.

Austrojam Limited, which is in its 14th year of operation, grows and distributes watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, honeydew, peanuts, and cucumbers year-round.

The entity supplies produce to several hotels across the island.

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