St. Vincent Legislation
Did You Know?
Caribbean growth
Panama Canal to expand
India’s economy fastest after China
Latin America bounces back
Americans second most cash-strapped nation among developed nations
Reversal in US economy
The Blessedness of Drudgery

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St. Vincent Legislation

? St. Vincent & the Grenadines is reviewing an updated piece of legislation to take the place of the current legislation for Insurance companies.

? New IBC legislation is expected to come before parliament to take the place of the old legislation.

? Separate LLC legislation is expected to replace the LDL legislation that has been a part of the old IBC legislation since 1996.

? The Banking legislation of St. Vincent & the Grenadines was quietly replaced by new legislation a year ago.

Did You Know?

? That half of all hospital beds worldwide are occupied by people suffering from water-borne diseases—the same as crashing 150 jumbo jets every day, but very little is said about it?

? In the US the water from the tap has been recycled as many as 20 times before it is finally dumped in the sea?

? That whole cities are sinking because so much water is being withdrawn from underground aquifers?

? That in the periodic table of the elements the hydride of Oxygen (H2 O) is the only hydride in its family that is not a bad smelling gas (such as H2 S or Hydrogen Sulphide, which smells like rotten eggs)? But we cannot do without if except for a few days.

? That men and women who drink sufficient water, have a reduced risk of dying from heart attack (from study done by Loma Linda Medical University School in California)?

? That investments in water have outperformed investments in gold, oil, coal and many other commodities?

Caribbean growth higher than 2005
Trinidad Express: 28 September, 2006
"WHILE THE Greater Caribbean region is "going through a very positive economic cycle at the moment, it may not feel like an economic boom", senior economist, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Rudolf Buitelaar, said yesterday.
And while GDP growth across the wider Caribbean for 2006 is expected to be higher than in 2005, Buitelaar noted that the region is still growing less than developing countries as a group.
Buitelaar surmised: "The current favourable business cycle will not last forever-it should be used to strengthen fiscal and external accounts; human freedom and capabilities as well as the organisation of society.
"The region's record appears to be better than in previous cycles but continues to be mixed."

Panama planning canal extension
Trinidad Guardian: 28 September, 2006
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) plans to expand the Panama Canal over a seven-year period at a cost of US$5.25 billion.
Enrique Sanchez, manager of the contracting division of the ACP, said while Caribbean labour contributed to the construction of the canal almost 100 years ago, there is no plan to import labour for the expansion.
“There is a substantial labour force in Panama that is looking forward to this to get work. In terms of massive importation of labour, that is not in the plans,” Sanchez said.
He was speaking yesterday at a presentation on the expansion plans at the Association of Caribbean States, Ernst & Young building, Sweet Briar Road, St Clair.
In stating the expansion is expected to last seven years from 2007-2014, Sanchez said it will be “self-financed.”
“Self-financing, yes, because the canal is a business. The canal has turned out to be a very good business for the Panamanian people,” said Sanchez, a civil engineer by profession.
“This fiscal year, which ends on September 30, the canal will gross more than US$1.4 billion in revenue. Not as good as oil, but pretty good.”

India's Economy Probably Expanded Fastest After China
Bloomberg: 28 September, 2006
India probably maintained its position as the world's second-fastest growing major economy after China last quarter as rising consumer and government spending drove manufacturing output to a six-year high.
Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 8.4 percent in the three months to June 30 from a year earlier, after a 9.3 percent gain in the previous quarter, according to the median forecast of 15 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The statistics department report is due at noon tomorrow in New Delhi.

Latin America Bounces Back

Brazil’s inflation rate of 3.7% in the 12 months through mid-September is down from 6,821% in April 1990. Mexico is at 3.5%; down from 170% in 1988. However, the economies of Latin America, like the rest of the world could suffer if there are any unexpected jolts in the American economy which grew 5.6% in the first quarter of 2006, 2.6% in the second quarter and 2.0% in the third quarter. That is how much this mammoth economy affects what happens in the rest of the world.

Americans the Second Most Cash Strapped Nation

AC Nielsen conducted a survey among 21,000 people in 40 countries, mainly in Europe, Asia and North America. About 22% of Americans say they have no cash after covering basic living expenses. They are second to the Portuguese whose percentage was 23%. Compare this with 13% of people overall, which is the global average. The British and Dutch tied for third place with 17% of respondents claiming to be cash strapped, while Canadians, the French and the Turks were next at 17%.

More Deaths from Peanut Butter Allergies than Terrorism

Bill Bonner, an American Financial Newsletter writer for Agora, claims that since 2001, allergic reactions to peanut butter have caused more deaths than terrorism, but America continues to spend billions in the war on terror.

Former President Clinton Questions Sense in Blocking Iran Nuclear Aims

Former President Clinton questions the morality of denying nuclear technology to Iran, after the US repudiated the nuclear test ban treaty to work on two new nuclear weapons. However, he is skeptical of the Iranian claim to be developing nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.

The Question of Homeland Security

It is said that one of the most lucrative industries in the world today is Homeland Security, yet there are not enough terrorists in America to populate a small country jail. Seven years ago there were 9 firms with federal homeland security contracts. Today there are 33,890 and $130 billion in government contracts have been handed out. It is said that one contract provides bullet proof vests for dogs in Ohio. To date, there is no record of anyone having been saved by a dog in bullet proof vest.

An Unwelcome Reversal

One year ago, the net income per household in America from investments abroad was $31.00 per household. As of the second quarter of 2006, for the first time in 90 years, America is paying more to creditors than it is receiving from its investments overseas. The difference of $2.5 billion in the second quarter means a debt payment of $22.00 for every American household according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Blessedness of Drudgery

There is a plant that grows in the hedgerows and open fields of some countries that consists of a simple tubular stem growing four to five inches tall, with a single spherical flower at the top.

The flower consists of a spherical ovary with gossamer, white filaments radiating from that orb. There is nothing special about any one of its filaments which is a slender, elongated, white petal, but when you view all the petals in place, that flower is a thing of pure beauty.

It is a reminder of the statement of Michael Angelo, that “trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle.” If you have ever stood in the Cystine Chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and looked up at the masterpieces painted by that artist, you know that he knew what he is talking about.

It is our attention to the little things that will determine how far we will go in life. A young lady in high school once confided to me that she had a problem with stammering and asked if there was any way that she could stop doing so. I told her about Demosthenes, a young man in ancient Greece who had a similar impediment of speech.

Determined to conquer his obstacle, he went down to the beach every day, searched for pebbles worn smooth by the action of the waves rubbing stone against stone. He placed them in his mouth one at a time, and forcibly spat them out. This was sheer drudgery, but it strengthened the muscles of his lips. He went on to become the most famous orator of ancient Greece. The reaction of the young lady was “Stones? Yuk!” I knew instantly that here was no future Demosthenes.

Gainsborough, the British artist painted 30,000 ships before he painted his immortalized “slave ship”. That must have been sheer drudgery. Colonel Saunders of KFC fame tried one thousand times to sell his recipes and kept improving them until he found a buyer and now we have KFCs all over the world and a growing number of fat adults and children, bloated with growth hormones fed to chickens in cages.

Abraham Lincoln tried his hand at several things and failed. He ran for the US Senate eight times before he was elected and went on to become America’s best loved and revered President.

The success of the great people of the past was forged in the crucible of drudgery and hammered on the anvil of hardship. They had to learn to do what was sometimes boring, nevertheless necessary to build character.

It begins at the level of the mind. It is our attitude today that will determine our altitude tomorrow. That is why wisdom literature in the Bible says, “Be careful what you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Proverbs 4:23.

When we think positive thoughts, we attract opportunities and positive results. We must be prepared to do our own thinking and hew our own paths. We do not have to follow the crowd. The road to success is usually a lonely one.

Adversity may sweep the weak to oblivion,” said Clyde Rosencrantz, “but it may raise the strong and determined to great heights.” “A man struggling against adversity is a scene worthy of the gods.” (Junius the Roman). Even the wisdom literature of the Bible weighs in with the maxim: “Seest though a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”

The road to success can sometimes cost us dearly. It is paved with disappointments and defeats. It is at such times that we should remember the words of the legendary warrior who cried out,

“I’m hurt, I’m hurt, but I am not slain. I will lay me down and bleed a while, then get up and fight again.”

Clifford Pitt

Disclaimer

The material in this newsletter is provided for your information only. Offshore Reporter accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information gleaned from various sources, but seeks to obtain only what it considers reliable