Economy
Inflation falls but people feeling price pain
(CNS): The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 1% in the first quarter of 2021 against the same three months in 2020, and while three of the twelve CPI divisions that are used to calculated inflation decreased, most people did not feel a drop in the cost of living this spring and continue to navigate […]
Inflation one of several threats on horizon
(CNS): In his address to Parliament on Wednesday on the PACT Government’s first strategic policy statement, Finance Minister Chris Saunders painted a relatively optimistic picture of figures for public finances and the economic recovery from the COVID-19 fallout. But he also noted some threats on the horizon, not least the problem of inflation. Caymanians are […]
Pension holiday rolls on for six more months
(CNS): Government has confirmed that Cabinet has agreed to a six month extension to the National Pensions Act to extend the freeze on the mandatory requirement for private sector workers and their employers to pay into a pension scheme. The holiday was introduced by the previous government more than one year ago as a result […]
Inflation continued to plague Cayman through COVID
(CNS): According to the Economics and Statistics Office’s third quarter report, the gross domestic product fell by around 8.2% in the Cayman Islands but Caymanians were still facing inflationary pressure from price increases. Available indicators show that the challenges the Cayman Islands faced at the end of last year, nine months after COVID-19 arrived here […]
CI economy boosted by residency ‘sales’ for over 10yrs
(CNS): The Cayman Islands economy has seen a boost of almost half a billion dollars over the last decade from what is effectively the sale of residency to foreign investors. According to research conducted by Christian Henrik Nesheim, the founder of Investment Migration and an expert on the subject, Cayman has been one of the […]
Pension break rolls on after $400M fund ‘raid’
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government is extending the freeze on mandatory pension payments until June next year to help ease the strain for employers and workers, as they continue to navigate the difficulties of the COVID-19 economy. Pension holders can no longer withdraw funds from their accounts, but officials revealed this week that more than […]
Inflation falling but food prices increase
(CNS): The overall cost of living fell by 1.6% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to 2019, but that doesn’t mean Cayman Islands residents are seeing prices come down in general, despite the economic challenges of COVID-19. While costs have declined in some sectors, when it comes to food and telephone costs, shoppers are […]
Over $400 million taken from pensions
(CNS): With just a few more weeks to go before the emergency pension fund withdrawal opportunity ends, Caymanians and residents have already taken over $400 million from their funds. Almost 34,000 successful applications were made to take money from pensions and over 71% asked for the full amount, which was $10,000 plus 25% of the […]
Gov’t to guarantee $millions in business loans
(CNS): The government has announced a new guaranteed loan programme to help prop up medium and larger businesses in the Cayman Islands through the current economic uncertainty. Finance Minister Roy McTaggart said it was to help businesses struggling to meet operating and capital expenditure and debt repayment or re-financing.
Imports plunge during lockdown
(CNS): The total value of imports slumped by more than 32% during the second quarter of this year when Cayman was under the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Despite the online shopping sprees during the stay-home order, buoyed by the pension payout during the last month of the quarter, all imports fell. Fuel imports declined in quantity […]
Pension payments paused until year-end
(CNS): The current holiday from the mandatory pension contributions by employers and workers in the private sector will now continue until at least the end of the year. However, the window of opportunity for people to access the funds they have in their pensions will not be extended and there will be no second go […]
