January 9, 2015: The following is a statement made my Prime Minister, the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar on the evening of January 8, 2015 on matters of the state of the economy:

My fellow citizens, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. 

When we last spoke on the eve of the New Year, 2015, I made a commitment to have this conversation with you.

My commitment came about because of growing turbulence in the global energy sector, and the impact of lower oil prices on economies such as ours.

Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 08, 2015 (SKNIS): The first phase of an initiative to replace all of 5000 street lights in the federation with energy-saving LED bulbs began yesterday (January 07) in Basseterre.

Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Hon. Earl Asim Martin, officially handed over the first 1000 bulbs to the St. Kitts Electricity Company Ltd (SKELEC) CEO, Mr Cartwright Farrell and said that this initiative dovetails a broader push to increase the federation’s use of renewable energy and reduce its reliance on harmful and expensive fossil fuels.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Jan 7 2015 (IPS) - Meat and vegetables are never missing from the dinner table of Damaris González and Omar Navarro, since they get almost all of their food from their farm, La Revelación, on the outskirts of the city of Santiago de Cuba, 765 km east of the Cuban capital.

 GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) -- The World Trade Organisation (WTO) says the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a multi-donor programme that helps the poorest countries, including in the Caribbean, will have its mandate extended into a new phase.

The WTO said the EIF Steering Committee made the decision.

"Trade can be an effective tool for economic growth and poverty reduction when the right conditions exist," said WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo, in addressing the committee.

Latin America and the Caribbean's economic growth might recover modestly to 2.2 percent in 2015, up from 1.3 percent in 2014, its lowest rate since last decade's global financial crisis. Despite the slowdown, the region has managed to maintain its gains against poverty, said Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno.