PRESS RELEASE – BISX Increases International Presence Through International Recognition The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) is pleased to announce that BISX has been registered by The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) as a Designated Offshore Securities Market (DOSM). This designation is a recognition within the meaning of Rule 902(b) of Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.

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This is an excerpt from Bahamas International Securities Exchange as it appeared on November 2, 2011. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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Recent upheavals in US case law could have far-reaching implications for offshore financial centres, according to civil litigation expert Thomas L Long.

Long, a lawyer with leading US law firm Baker Hostetler, warned that the law in the US relating to securities and asset recovery is changing. “It is a global economy. Increasingly the courts, regardless of jurisdiction, are beginning to assess the fact that the decisions they make in one country affect the economy elsewhere just as much,” he said.

The lawyer, whose over 30 years of experience in civil litigation includes the tracking and recovery of funds from offshore hedge funds, told members of the Bahamas’ legal and financial communities that recent case law, such as the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme case, is redefining how the US views financial activity involving overseas institutions.

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Nov. 1/11 (Reuters) — Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) will cut another 1,500 jobs and scale back its capital-guzzling investment banking business as it seeks to meet tough new regulations ahead of other banks after the unit reported disappointing third-quarter results.

The job losses come on top of 2,000 cuts announced by the Swiss bank in July out of a total of about 50,700. The cuts, which amount to 7 percent of its global workforce, should bring annual cost savings of 2 billion francs by 2013, the bank said on Tuesday.

Banks are shedding jobs as strict capital rules aimed at shielding them from future financial crises and a tough third quarter for trading income take their toll on investment banking divisions in particular.

Japan’s Nomura Holdings (8604.T), which posted its first quarterly loss in 2-1/2 years on Tuesday, also increased its cost cutting target.

Credit Suisse Group AG shares traded 8.2 percent lower at 23.51 francs by 1139 GMT, compared with an 8.6 percent drop in European banks as a whole .SX7P after Greece called a referendum on the eurozone bailout deal.

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This is an excerpt from Reuters as it appeared on November 1, 2011. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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The Bahamas is weathering the global economic fall-out better than many of its regional peers, according to officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The Bahamas started from a much stronger position than others, because it had essentially low debt levels to start with. That gave it more room to observe the shock of the crisis and three years later, it’s still–in relative terms–better than others,” says Miguel Savastano, deputy director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department.

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NASSAU, Bahamas – Prime Minister the Rt Hon Hubert A Ingraham opens a 150,000 square foot plaza in southeast New Providence, Saturday, October 29. The $12 million plaza has 22 stores and will employ 350 persons.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette represented Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, at the official opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Perth, Australia, on October 28, 2011.

The ceremony took place at the Riverside Theatre of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth.

Invitees were welcomed by the traditional elders of the local Noongar Aboriginal Community and were addressed by Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia; Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; and Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General.

Fifty-four heads of government assembled in Perth to attend the event 28-30 October.

Oct. 28/11 (Reuters) — Sluggish growth in U.S. consumer income in September led households to cut back on saving to increase their spending, casting doubts over the durability of the economy’s third-quarter growth spurt.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending increased 0.6 percent, matching expectations, after a 0.2 percent gain in August. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

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This is an excerpt from Reuters as it appeared on October 28, 2011. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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NASSAU, Oct. 28 (The Central Bank of The Bahamas) – Issued under The Bahamas Registered Stock Act, and authorized by Resolutions of the House of Assembly, 9th June, 2011, the Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas invites applications for Bahamas Registered Stock totaling B$60,000,000.00. The Stock will be available in a range of maturity dates; the earliest being repayable in 2016 and the latest in 2028. Applications will be received by The Banking Department beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 31st October, 2011 and will close at 3:00 p.m. on 8th November, 2011. Allocations will commence at 9:30 a.m. on 9th November, 2011 and will cease at 3:00 p.m. on 10th November, 2011. If the total subscriptions exceed the sum of B$60,000,000.00 (Nominal) partial allotment will be made to subscribers, and a proportionate refund will be made as soon as possible after allotment. No interest will be paid on amounts so refunded.

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This is an excerpt from The Central Bank of The Bahamas as it appeared on October 28, 2011. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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While macroprudential policies should remain part of the toolkit to protect the stability of banking system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says policy makers should focus on gradually reducing debt and on returning structural balances to precrisis levels.

This strategy would support policy credibility, while rebuilding fiscal buffers that could be deployed in a downside scenario, says the world body in its October 2011 issue of the Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere.

Given the current high levels of financial uncertainty, the IMF report says any fiscal easing now would be “premature.”

“Fiscal consolidation efforts should avoid placing an undue burden on infrastructure spending (needed to support medium-term growth), and pressures to increase recurrent spending (particularly wages) should be resisted,” the report warns.

In the financial services sector, the IMF says macroprudential policies should remain the order of the day.

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