A close battle for owners" championship

BY RUDDY ALLEN OBSERVER STAFF REPORTER

Friday, December 19, 2014    

WITH the jockeys’ championship already decided, there is another close battle going on, this time it is the owners’ championship involving leaders Elite Bloodstock Limited, Hamark Farms, defending champion Carlton Watson and Elias Haloute.

With just three races left in the year, approximately $2,918,050 separate first from fourth. Elite Bloodstock leads this race, with $1,415,450 in front of Hamark Farms, who is just $663,100 ahead of third place Carlton Watson. Elias Haloute occupies fourth place, some $839,500 behind Watson.

The Elite Bloodstock horses are trained by Richard Azan and while they have no runners in the top grade they are well represented all round. Franfield, one of Elite’s better horses, is developing quite nicely being a late bloomer and is sure to have an earning presence in the upcoming Harry Jackson Cup scheduled to be run on Boxing Day. Border Line, Piscean Rocket and Edison are some other top earnings for the leader, who is favoured to take the title.

The chances of Hamark Farms winning the championships have been dented somewhat with the recent retirement of speedball and money earner Bubbling Angeline and also Ladylike. Hamark, however, has the filly Come Dance With Me, one of the top juveniles to race thus far this season. Come Dance With Me will be present in the Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes on Boxing Day. For Hamark to win, Come Dance With must win the major juvenile event. Hamark is also represented by Crucial Appeal.

Watson has a number of horses in the stables of Lawrence Freemantle, Patrick Chang and the champion Wayne DaCosta and is expected to have a number of runners on the programme each raceday to the end of the season on December 27.

Haloute can’t be left out as his horses are trained by the in-form Anthony Nunes. Haloute owns Alacrann who will be a strong contender in the Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes, having displayed his credentials by recently defeating Polly B and Come Dance With Me.

View the original article here

A close battle for owners" championship

Close encounter goes viral

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Close encounter goes viral

Entries close today for CB Pan Chicken competition

Entries for the CB Pan Chicken Championship, Western Regional Elimination, close today.

Win, lose or draw, nobody will leave empty handed, as the annual competition is designed solely for the benefit of entrants.

“We realised that Pan chicken men and women lacked a platform to exhibit their culinary skills or develop their businesses, despite pan chicken and jerk being synonymous with the Jamaican food experience,” Alicia Bogues, CB Chicken & Bad Dawg Sausages, brand manager, said.

In its ninth season, the CB Pan Chicken Championship is regarded as Jamaica’s biggest food festival, a family friendly event, free to the public.

Bogues explained that there are benefits to be gained long before contestants get to the Kingston Waterfront for the grand showdown. They must pass the regional eliminations, where each parish winner and runner-up receive $40,000 and $20,000, respectively, plus gift baskets from sponsors. Each contestant is provided with products or items they will use in the competition.

“In essence, all the competitor has to do is show up, cook their best pan chicken, adhering to all food-handling regulations, and wow the judges with taste and presentation They prepare only a quarter of chicken for the judges, then sell what’s left and retain all profits for themselves,” Bogues explained.

The CB Pan Chicken Championship, Western Regional Elimination, is scheduled for September 27 at Dump-Up Beach in Montego Bay.

Interested persons from St James, Hanover, Trelawny, Westmoreland and St Ann need only a valid food-handler’s permit and completed registration form from Social Development Commission office. Registration is free.

View the original article here

Entries close today for CB Pan Chicken competition

Entries close today for CB Pan Chicken competition

Entries for the CB Pan Chicken Championship, Western Regional Elimination, close today.

Win, lose or draw, nobody will leave empty handed, as the annual competition is designed solely for the benefit of entrants.

“We realised that Pan chicken men and women lacked a platform to exhibit their culinary skills or develop their businesses, despite pan chicken and jerk being synonymous with the Jamaican food experience,” Alicia Bogues, CB Chicken & Bad Dawg Sausages, brand manager, said.

In its ninth season, the CB Pan Chicken Championship is regarded as Jamaica’s biggest food festival, a family friendly event, free to the public.

Bogues explained that there are benefits to be gained long before contestants get to the Kingston Waterfront for the grand showdown. They must pass the regional eliminations, where each parish winner and runner-up receive $40,000 and $20,000, respectively, plus gift baskets from sponsors. Each contestant is provided with products or items they will use in the competition.

“In essence, all the competitor has to do is show up, cook their best pan chicken, adhering to all food-handling regulations, and wow the judges with taste and presentation They prepare only a quarter of chicken for the judges, then sell what’s left and retain all profits for themselves,” Bogues explained.

The CB Pan Chicken Championship, Western Regional Elimination, is scheduled for September 27 at Dump-Up Beach in Montego Bay.

Interested persons from St James, Hanover, Trelawny, Westmoreland and St Ann need only a valid food-handler’s permit and completed registration form from Social Development Commission office. Registration is free.

View the original article here

Entries close today for CB Pan Chicken competition

Jamaica welcomes close to 1.3 million tourists

Jamaica welcomed almost 1.3 million tourists over the first seven months of  the year. 

The Jamaica Tourist Board says the figure was 2 percent higher than last year. 

The strongest growth was seen from the Canadian and European markets helping the country to steadily reduce the dependence on the U.S. market for tourists.    
In the meantime, cruise arrivals were up 7 percent over last year.   

More than 845 thousand passengers on 246 ships visited Jamaica from January to July. 

Growth was seen in arrivals in Falmouth and Ocho Rios, but there was a decline in arrivals in Montego Bay.

View the original article here

Jamaica welcomes close to 1.3 million tourists

China pushing for close economic ties with Cuba

Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared that Cuba’s economic reforms could lead to greater commercial ties between the two nations.      
Mr Xi made the comment while he was in Cuba on Tuesday as part of  a nine-day tour of  Latin America that has highlighted China’s growing ties to the region. He previously visited Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.      
The Chinese President said, given the reforms, Cuba could attract significant Chinese investments.    
Under Raul Castro, Cuba has decentralised state-owned enterprises, legalised home and used car sales and let hundreds of  thousands of people open or work for small businesses.     

View the original article here

China pushing for close economic ties with Cuba

Policy makers urged to close gender gap in regional trade, business

Regional trade policymakers called for further sensitisation and education on “gender mainstreaming” in their respective territories, as they came to the end of Day 2 of the Caribbean Development Bank’s seminar on Gender Mainstreaming in Caribbean Trade Policies and Programmes, in Barbados.

Delegates from across the region, looked at recent statistics, challenges and best practices relating to gender equality and mainstreaming in trade and commerce. The day’s presentations allowed the trade experts to assess the situation in their respective territories, in respect of gender mainstreaming, and to identify possible needs and next steps in the way forward.

ITC challenge

Meg Jones, Senior Officer, Millenium Development Goals at the International Trade Centre (ITC), who was lead facilitator for the discussions, charged the participants to use the information they receive during the CDB seminar, to guide their work and decisions going forward in the area of trade in their respective countries.

Jones emphasised the importance of implementing Gender-Sensitive Value Chain Analyses as one way of ensuring gender mainstreaming in trade policy development. This method includes an examination of gender roles at each step required to bring a product/service from conception to consumption. This approach is expected to effectively identify where there are gender inequalities and where investment in training is really needed in the given process.

On the cusp

Denise Noel-De Bique, Gender Equality Advisor at the CDB, said the region is on the cusp of change linked to global debates to inform a new sustainable development agenda. She told the delegates, “This workshop is a signal moment in advancing CDB’s work in building awareness and positioning policy makers for integrating gender in the context of trade.  We look forward to continuing to build on this at the national level to further this transformative process.”

The workshop examined research data provided by Professor Miguel Carillo of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business in Trinidad and Tobago.

Trade/business gender gap

Using the Global Enterpeneurship Monitor (GEM), Professor Carillo disclosed that the most recent international data confirms that there is still a gender gap worldwide in the area of trade and business. He explained that women entrepeneurs struggle at the point of transforming their businesses from the early stages into established companies.

Professor Carillo told the participants that, while women are more inclined to start a business as a means of providing for their families, they showed less confidence than men in their capacity to succeed in business.

The Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) also called for greater input from a wide range of stakeholders in coming up with effective trade policy.

Shantal Munro-Knight, CPDC’s representative at the seminar,  said certain groups in society are still not given the space for effective participation in stakeholder engagement and as a result, the importance of the gender perspective is not always fully understood. According to her, there is lack of coherence between trade and economic policy and social development policy in the region.

“Trade policy cannot be simply (decided and) announced by governments. Policy must be a clear and thought-out process,” Munro Knight said.

Ugandan Model

Using the Ugandan model, the ITC’s Jeanette Sutherland then discussed critical factors needed to ensure a gender-sensitive export strategy.

The four-day seminar, co-hosted by the CDB and ITC, was designed to increase awareness of the value of mainstreaming gender into the Caribbean’s trade and economic development agenda, and to improve participants’ gender mainstreaming skills. The event targeted senior policy makers from the Ministry of Trade and operational staff from other trade support institutions and agencies within CARIFORUM Member States.

The seminar, which started on June 16, was scheduled to end on Thursday.

SOURCE: Caribbean Development Bank

View the original article here

Policy makers urged to close gender gap in regional trade, business

Proven looks to close two private equity deals

PROVEN Investments Limited (PIL) expects to complete two additional private equity deals before year-end.

The firm made the announcement amid reporting solid first-quarter results for the period ending June 30, 2013, with a 25 per cent increase in consolidated net revenue to US$2.6 million, and a 22 per cent improvement in net profit to US$1.03 million for the period compared with the same three months last year.Johann Heaven, the senior vice-president of investments at Proven, said that the investment company’s focus is now on diversifying its revenue streams and building on its private equity portfolio.“These deals will fit nicely in the portfolio and we expect them to provide an above-average return to our shareholders. Our preferred avenue for investment is through mezzanine debt, which is a hybrid of debt and equity financing,” Heaven said.“This financing is in the form of debt capital, where we have the rights to convert to an ownership or equity interest in the company, if we so choose in the future,” he continued.“We are targeting companies that have a solid track record in their industry with an established reputation and product, history of profitability and viable expansion plans for the business. We are seeing numerous opportunities right now and the deal flow has increased considerably over the past few months.”Heaven said that Proven Wealth Limited (PWL) has been growing its off-balance sheet business steadily and has been performing well. The acquisition of the broker dealer licence by PWL last November has already begun to bear fruit, he said, as the company executes on its objective of listing companies on both the Junior and Main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.PWL successfully raised US$2 million in preference shares for a major corporate during the quarter and will be listing these shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange before the end of the calendar year, Heaven said.Asset Management Company Limited (AMCL) during the quarter contributed US$160,000 in net revenue to the Proven Group. The company, which offers consumer, personal, student and micro-business loans, saw further growth in its loan portfolio since the start of the financial year as it continues to expand its product offerings and reach through marketing and other initiatives. AMCL has been aggressive in the retail loan space and is seeing the rewards of its efforts with a doubling of the portfolio in just one year.A major project planned for Proven REIT Limited, of which PIL is majority owner with an 85 per cent stake, is scheduled to kick off before the end of the year. Proven REIT Limited provided net rental income of US$6,853 for the quarter under review. Though minute in the context of total revenue, they are in the process of evaluating other properties and expect that this subsidiary will have a very profitable year.PIL reported that its bottom line benefited from robust gains in securities trading and foreign exchange translation during the quarter. Increases in securities trading climbed to US$1.04 million from US$376,000 a year earlier, on the heels of the continued rebound in global asset prices. PIL saw a more than six-fold increase in its foreign exchange translation gains to US$388,000 due to positive movements in their foreign exchange positions. HEAVEN… These deals will fit nicely in the portfolio and we expect them to provide an above-average return to our shareholders

View the original article here

Proven looks to close two private equity deals

Snowden link as email services close

9 August 2013 Last updated at 10:42 Edward Snowden is believed to have been using the Lavabit service after fleeing the US Two encrypted email services have closed down for reasons linked to US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.

Texas-based Lavabit service has shut down but said legal reasons prevented it explaining why.

Correspondents say Lavabit appears to have been in a legal battle to stop US officials accessing customer details.

In addition, secure communications firm Silent Circle has shut its email service because messages cannot be kept wholly secret.

Web watchers

Mr Snowden, a former contractor to the American National Security Agency (NSA), has admitted leaking information about widespread US surveillance on electronic communications to the media.

He fled the US – where he now faces espionage charges – and has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.

Lavabit came under scrutiny following reports that Mr Snowden was using the service while holed-up in Moscow airport.

“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people, or walk away from nearly 10 years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit,” Mr Levison wrote in a letter posted on the Lavabit website.

He said he had decided to “suspend operations” but was barred from discussing the events over the past six weeks that led to his decision.

“This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States,” he wrote.

Silent Circle said it shut down its email service for both technical and political reasons.

Protests have followed revelations about the scale of NSA surveillance

“Email as we know it… cannot be secure,” wrote Jon Callas, co-founder and head of technology officer at Silent Circle, in a blogpost. “Email that uses standard Internet protocols cannot have the same security guarantees that real-time communications has.”

By contrast, he said, the firm was keeping its secure voice and text services going because it had control over the infrastructure supporting them and could guarantee that messages were not intercepted or tampered with en route.

In addition, said Mr Callas, it was anticipation of future government calls to hand over customer details that prompted the Silent Mail shutdown.

“We see the writing (on) the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail now,” he said. “We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything else by any government, and this is why we are acting now.

“We wanted to be proactive because we knew USG would come after us,” Silent Circle boss Michael Janke told the TechCrunch website in an interview.

The US Department of Justice has so far not commented on the Lavabit closure.

Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, said America’s widespread surveillance could have far-reaching consequences for its technology industry.

“…the US government, in its rush to spy on everybody, may end up killing our most productive industry,” she wrote in a blogpost. “Lavabit may just be the canary in the coal mine.”

View the original article here

Snowden link as email services close

First IAAF Level 1 coaches’ course draws to a close

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Expectations are that western Jamaica will start to directly benefit as soon as next season from the first IAAF Level 1 coaches’ certification course held outside of the Corporate Area.

Twenty-one participants from western Jamaica are taking part in the 10-day Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)- sanctioned course, which is being hosted at the Montego Bay Community College. It started on Wednesday, July 17, and will end tomorrow afternoon.IAAF-certified instructors Wayne Long and Lorna Vernon are the instructors, and each participant was given books and other literature on proper coaching techniques.Stephen Smith, president of the County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA), organisers of the course, told the Jamaica Observer that he expected to see the improvement almost immediately, especially at the primary school level.“A number of the participants would have been taught the formal way how to coach for the first time and this will be significant, as they will pass on this knowledge to their students as well as others,” Smith said.“We have others who would have been taught on different occasions at different places, including GC Foster, but to be IAAF certified, one must sit an IAAF designed course.”The stipulations of the course are that only 24 participants are allowed in each cohort and Smith said they got the maximum number, but three were unable to attend. “This is good for western Jamaica as it exposes more young coaches from all levels, prep schools, primary schools and even high schools to internationally accepted coaching methods.”Long told the Observer that the course had gone very well so far. “Things are going very, very good and the students are very receptive and open to new ideas and willing to learn.”The course, he said, would qualify them “to coach at the youth level, to spot talent and to be assistant coaches at their high schools”.Each student will sit a written exam at the end and have to get 45 out of 60 to pass.The curriculum includes “all aspects of kids athletics”, Long said. “We took them through all aspects of throws, jumps, running and race walking.”

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

First IAAF Level 1 coaches’ course draws to a close