NEW YORK, CMC - A major international credit rating agency says the liquidity crisis leading to Grenada’ default on its US and Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar bonds is “credit negative” for the country and elevates the risk of distress spilling over to member countries in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
The newly-elected Dr. Keith Mitchell administration in Grenada said it would default on the bonds due 2025 because it is unable to secure financing to make a coupon payment on Friday.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC- The Government of Suriname has embarked on a joint venture with the Kaloti Group of Dubai to establish the first gold refinery in the Caribbean.
The refinery that is being built near the village of Wit Santi, close to the country’s International Airport, is expected to start operating by next year and produce as much as US$2.77 billion worth of refined gold.
On the weekend, President Desi Bouterse joined Kaloti Chairman Munir Kaloti in expressing high expectations of the facility.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - All is in place for Monday’s sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Barbados to hear evidence in the case of Shanique Myrie, the Jamaican woman who took the Government of Barbados to court on allegations that she was assaulted by an immigration officer in 2011.
The CCJ will hear from Immigration department officials who came into contact with  Myrie when she landed at the Grantley Adams International Airport in March 2011.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - For the sake of continuing warmth in the bilateral relationship between Guyana and Venezuela, the Government of Guyana has made all the right diplomatic moves. President Donald Ramotar led the delegation to Hugo Chávez’s state funeral last Friday, declaring a day of national mourning on the same day, and an evening of reflection to honour the late leader was held at Red House on Monday. Elsewhere, however, Mr Chávez’s death has, unsurprisingly, aroused heated debate and divided opinion about his record in office and his legacy.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Incumbent West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dr Julian Hunte is dismissing claims that he informed fellow directors that he would not be seeking re-election. In an interview ahead of the WICB’s annual general meeting in Barbados on March 27, Hunte sought to set the record straight against the background of earlier reports that suggested he would not be going after a fourth successive term.