Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Another take on the Banks vs. Investment clubs
Well it is no surprise that Bruce Golding indicated that there would be no bailout for risky investors.
I have put forth some arguments about the similarities between Albania's schemes in the 1990's and Jamaica today (differentiating of course between Cash Plus and the forex trading outfits) but I want to dig deeper into the war the banks are waging.
I understand that a senior person from JMMB said yesterday that what David Smith is doing is wrong and Michael Lee-Chin has made it known that any of his NCB employees found to be investing in these clubs will be fired (which I doubt is legal grounds for dismissal).
I think the "war" is weird because of the following:
So if I can see this (I used to work in one of these major financial institutions helping to develop and market products), the senior managers also are aware of these realities.
Therefore it must be something other than pure jealously that is motivating their 'war', something we the public do not know. Otherwise, one would merely be cutting off their nose to spite their face, right?
Forex trading is done all over the World and by the major financial institutions, so I am not worried about Olint, just concerned about guaranteed rates. I am far more concerned about Cash Plus.
So my final question is what is the real motivation for the banks current 'war'? Could the US and the money laundering reporting have something to do with it?
I have put forth some arguments about the similarities between Albania's schemes in the 1990's and Jamaica today (differentiating of course between Cash Plus and the forex trading outfits) but I want to dig deeper into the war the banks are waging.
I understand that a senior person from JMMB said yesterday that what David Smith is doing is wrong and Michael Lee-Chin has made it known that any of his NCB employees found to be investing in these clubs will be fired (which I doubt is legal grounds for dismissal).
I think the "war" is weird because of the following:
- The money withdrawn from the big institutions goes into accounts held by the investment clubs at these same institutions (otherwise they couldn't threaten to close the accounts)
- The interest earned from the clubs is deposited back into the big financial institutions because none of the clubs offer checkbooks, debit or credit cards (Cash Plus is now launching a card)
- The interest earned also goes toward paying mortgages, car loans and other debt held by the major financial institutions (Everybody likes on time payments for their loans)
So if I can see this (I used to work in one of these major financial institutions helping to develop and market products), the senior managers also are aware of these realities.
Therefore it must be something other than pure jealously that is motivating their 'war', something we the public do not know. Otherwise, one would merely be cutting off their nose to spite their face, right?
Forex trading is done all over the World and by the major financial institutions, so I am not worried about Olint, just concerned about guaranteed rates. I am far more concerned about Cash Plus.
So my final question is what is the real motivation for the banks current 'war'? Could the US and the money laundering reporting have something to do with it?
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Carlos Hill of Cash Plus bas been in trouble with the Law before?
I still have never gotten a satisfactory answer as to who this man is and what is his background. This article in the Gleaner troubles me further: 'I VIOLATED UNITED STATES LAW' - But the gov't returned my money, says Cash Plus boss.
What is the name of the company he became President of? We want to verify that claim.
What is the name of his company that got in trouble when they "loaned out too much money and weren't able to fulfill some of our obligations"?
What was he doing between 1986, when that happened, and 5 years ago, when he started Cash Plus?
He labels the current situation a "conspiracy" in the TVJ interview below:
In April of this year, Mark Wignall of the Jamaica Observer managed to get some answers from Cash Plus - Cash Plus gives its answers. Most interesting was this question/answer:
Question: If businesses are so profitable, why not get financing from banks/other lending institutions at lower interest rates of 8-20 per cent instead of paying out what amounts to 120 per cent, Wouldn't that be the prudent thing to do?
Answer: 'Jamaica does not have a viable secondary market, and as such it is extremely difficult for the company to grow its businesses because the banks are limited in the extent of loan amounts they can approve and, in most instances loans involving significant sums must be approved from the head office which sometimes may be situated overseas. It becomes a very lengthy, frustrating and arduous task for most businesses which, by the time a decision is reached by the bank, the business finds itself granted a smaller amount than the capital required/requested.
'Owing to the fact that the business has no other alternative, it is then forced to take that capital, even though it does not meet its requirement. This creates its own unique set of problems which can seriously injure the business seeking growth.
'One would be surprised at the number of businesses that seeks Cash Plus' intervention in assisting them with additional capital in order to meet their objectives.
If Cash Plus is indeed a business that is seeking out debt to make acquisitions of profitable companies and prefers to borrow from the masses instead of the banks - as is the case Mr. Hill has made - then eventually, Cash Plus would want to reduce the rates for borrowed funds since that is the common sense thing to do.
Cash plus says the deposits are loans - which makes them completely different from a savings account at a bank - but every business ALWAYS seeks to borrow the required amount of capital at the most favourable rate.
Some would argue that Cash Plus is issuing a perpetual bond - a bond with no maturity date. Perpetual bonds are not redeemable but pay a steady stream of interest forever. Some of the only notable perpetual bonds in existence are those that were issued by the British Treasury to pay off smaller issues used to finance the Napoleonic Wars (1814). (According to Investopedia).
Clearly though, a perpetual bond has a price based on a calculated value while Cash Plus just takes loans of varying amounts.
Others would argue that it works like a Pension plan - where the new people pay in money that is used to sustain the initial group of contributors (a legal pyramid). However, pension schemes, especially those like Social Security in the USA, rely on the fact that claims to original members eventually stop - they die, and this helps to offset the addition of new people.
In the case of Cash Plus, it is not clear what happens to the loan repayments when a person dies, but I would think that similarly to how liens can be sold to other people, the lien held against Cash Plus, as described in their own words, can be passed on to a relative or other entity.
From the Observer article again:
Question: If Cash Plus is unable to pay principal and interest, do investors/people holding promissory notes have a charge or lien over the businesses or assets?
Answer: 'The lenders of Cash Plus have a lien over the businesses and assets until that amount is repaid.'
A person can purchase real estate liens and it follows that these Cash Plus liens could be sold or even willed to a second party, meaning that new people are not automatically offset by the removal of old ones.
It is legally possible to run something similar to Cash Plus:
A private equity firm typically makes an acquisition in the following way -
The company could take the remaining US$3 million and use it to pay promised returns to investors over the next 5 years while paying down the debt for acquisition and growing the company. It could also seek out new debt (new loans) and use those loans to pay the promised interest to the first lenders, using the additional profit from the growth of the company and reducing interest payments to pay group 2.
This of course is not sustainable unless the returns for each new loan cycle has diminished returns - a lower interest rate than the previous loans.
I am watching this whole thing closely to see how it shakes out. As for OLINT, it is completely different from Cash Plus because it explains that it only trades in Foreign Exchange and that is risky. At least I understand what they are doing and it is done by all financial institutions.
What is the name of the company he became President of? We want to verify that claim.
What is the name of his company that got in trouble when they "loaned out too much money and weren't able to fulfill some of our obligations"?
What was he doing between 1986, when that happened, and 5 years ago, when he started Cash Plus?
He labels the current situation a "conspiracy" in the TVJ interview below:
In April of this year, Mark Wignall of the Jamaica Observer managed to get some answers from Cash Plus - Cash Plus gives its answers. Most interesting was this question/answer:
Question: If businesses are so profitable, why not get financing from banks/other lending institutions at lower interest rates of 8-20 per cent instead of paying out what amounts to 120 per cent, Wouldn't that be the prudent thing to do?
Answer: 'Jamaica does not have a viable secondary market, and as such it is extremely difficult for the company to grow its businesses because the banks are limited in the extent of loan amounts they can approve and, in most instances loans involving significant sums must be approved from the head office which sometimes may be situated overseas. It becomes a very lengthy, frustrating and arduous task for most businesses which, by the time a decision is reached by the bank, the business finds itself granted a smaller amount than the capital required/requested.
'Owing to the fact that the business has no other alternative, it is then forced to take that capital, even though it does not meet its requirement. This creates its own unique set of problems which can seriously injure the business seeking growth.
'One would be surprised at the number of businesses that seeks Cash Plus' intervention in assisting them with additional capital in order to meet their objectives.
If Cash Plus is indeed a business that is seeking out debt to make acquisitions of profitable companies and prefers to borrow from the masses instead of the banks - as is the case Mr. Hill has made - then eventually, Cash Plus would want to reduce the rates for borrowed funds since that is the common sense thing to do.
Cash plus says the deposits are loans - which makes them completely different from a savings account at a bank - but every business ALWAYS seeks to borrow the required amount of capital at the most favourable rate.
Some would argue that Cash Plus is issuing a perpetual bond - a bond with no maturity date. Perpetual bonds are not redeemable but pay a steady stream of interest forever. Some of the only notable perpetual bonds in existence are those that were issued by the British Treasury to pay off smaller issues used to finance the Napoleonic Wars (1814). (According to Investopedia).
Clearly though, a perpetual bond has a price based on a calculated value while Cash Plus just takes loans of varying amounts.
Others would argue that it works like a Pension plan - where the new people pay in money that is used to sustain the initial group of contributors (a legal pyramid). However, pension schemes, especially those like Social Security in the USA, rely on the fact that claims to original members eventually stop - they die, and this helps to offset the addition of new people.
In the case of Cash Plus, it is not clear what happens to the loan repayments when a person dies, but I would think that similarly to how liens can be sold to other people, the lien held against Cash Plus, as described in their own words, can be passed on to a relative or other entity.
From the Observer article again:
Question: If Cash Plus is unable to pay principal and interest, do investors/people holding promissory notes have a charge or lien over the businesses or assets?
Answer: 'The lenders of Cash Plus have a lien over the businesses and assets until that amount is repaid.'
A person can purchase real estate liens and it follows that these Cash Plus liens could be sold or even willed to a second party, meaning that new people are not automatically offset by the removal of old ones.
It is legally possible to run something similar to Cash Plus:
A private equity firm typically makes an acquisition in the following way -
- Raise money, eg. US$5 million
- Buy a company, eg. US$10 million
- Purchase is leveraged (leveraged buyout, LBO) - $2 million cash, $2 million owner finance, $6 million bank loan at reasonable interest rate (less than 15%)
- Make loan payments using profit from acquired company
- Double size of company in 5 years (growth rate of only 15% per year)
The company could take the remaining US$3 million and use it to pay promised returns to investors over the next 5 years while paying down the debt for acquisition and growing the company. It could also seek out new debt (new loans) and use those loans to pay the promised interest to the first lenders, using the additional profit from the growth of the company and reducing interest payments to pay group 2.
This of course is not sustainable unless the returns for each new loan cycle has diminished returns - a lower interest rate than the previous loans.
I am watching this whole thing closely to see how it shakes out. As for OLINT, it is completely different from Cash Plus because it explains that it only trades in Foreign Exchange and that is risky. At least I understand what they are doing and it is done by all financial institutions.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Albania 90's high-interest schemes experience coming to Jamaica?
Are Jamaicans about to learn the same lesson Albanians learnt in the late 1990's?
Read about what happened in Albania in the late 90's to better understand my perspective and why I say what I Say - Albania under the Shadow of the Pyramids - now you may understand why I have major reservations (eerily similar to some of these clubs).
The Jamaican financial institutions are waging war on unregulated investment schemes?
I heard through the grapevine that Cash Plus was being pressured because the JLP plans to allow OLINT back in since it was one of their biggest donors to their campaign for the recent elections. However, the Gleaner article today, read it here, would seem to indicate that all of these "unregistered schemes" are being targeted with account closures and non-acceptance of cheques.
I find it interesting that some people have said that even if an "investment club" like Cash Plus, which operates much more like a bank (or a private equity firm that pays every month), shuts down, they would not go back to local banks.
Why is there such resentment for local financial institutions by these individuals? My experience is that DB&G, JMMB and Mayberry customers are quite satisfied with their returns - but maybe these customers are more sophisticated investors than the ones in Cash Plus, I don't know.
A sophisticated investor is often defined as an investor who has sufficient knowledge and experience with investing that he/she is able to evaluate the merits of an investment and in the USA, such a status (Accredited Investor) is required to make certain investments.
When a friend asked me 2 years ago about my opinion of Olint, I expressed concern that there was no regulation, Forex is one of the riskiest kinds of investments (I know people that have lost tens of thousands of US trying to do it themselves) and even Warren Buffett, who is the greatest investor of the modern era NEVER guarantees an interest rate (He averaged 20% for over 20 years and the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, his holding company, is the most expensive on the US stock market - Series A shares cost over $100k).
As a student of Buffett's investing philosophy and his life, I can see how a company flush with cash can generate significant returns, but I still fail to see how they can pay out those returns every month, except in the case of real estate, a pyramid scheme or outright money laundering.
There is no free lunch in life, but so many people seem to believe that they can get something for nothing. High returns ALWAYS mean high risk - it is taught in every basic Finance class.
It seems that Jamaicans throughout the years have always been easy to convince to join anything that pretty much is a get rich quick scheme - why?
Am I surprised though? Not at all, afterall we have so many people involved in drugs from the 70's until now who prefer to make their money any way possible, as long as they can live the high life. Many have gone legitimate, but they started unscrupulously.
I don't know whether any of these 'investment clubs' are legit but if you have already gotten back your principal and now simply collect interest, you haven't lost at all, so good for you. I remain a skeptic and believe that the whole thing will come crashing down.
Read about what happened in Albania in the late 90's to better understand my perspective and why I say what I Say - Albania under the Shadow of the Pyramids - now you may understand why I have major reservations (eerily similar to some of these clubs).
The Jamaican financial institutions are waging war on unregulated investment schemes?
I heard through the grapevine that Cash Plus was being pressured because the JLP plans to allow OLINT back in since it was one of their biggest donors to their campaign for the recent elections. However, the Gleaner article today, read it here, would seem to indicate that all of these "unregistered schemes" are being targeted with account closures and non-acceptance of cheques.
I find it interesting that some people have said that even if an "investment club" like Cash Plus, which operates much more like a bank (or a private equity firm that pays every month), shuts down, they would not go back to local banks.
Why is there such resentment for local financial institutions by these individuals? My experience is that DB&G, JMMB and Mayberry customers are quite satisfied with their returns - but maybe these customers are more sophisticated investors than the ones in Cash Plus, I don't know.
A sophisticated investor is often defined as an investor who has sufficient knowledge and experience with investing that he/she is able to evaluate the merits of an investment and in the USA, such a status (Accredited Investor) is required to make certain investments.
When a friend asked me 2 years ago about my opinion of Olint, I expressed concern that there was no regulation, Forex is one of the riskiest kinds of investments (I know people that have lost tens of thousands of US trying to do it themselves) and even Warren Buffett, who is the greatest investor of the modern era NEVER guarantees an interest rate (He averaged 20% for over 20 years and the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, his holding company, is the most expensive on the US stock market - Series A shares cost over $100k).
As a student of Buffett's investing philosophy and his life, I can see how a company flush with cash can generate significant returns, but I still fail to see how they can pay out those returns every month, except in the case of real estate, a pyramid scheme or outright money laundering.
There is no free lunch in life, but so many people seem to believe that they can get something for nothing. High returns ALWAYS mean high risk - it is taught in every basic Finance class.
It seems that Jamaicans throughout the years have always been easy to convince to join anything that pretty much is a get rich quick scheme - why?
Am I surprised though? Not at all, afterall we have so many people involved in drugs from the 70's until now who prefer to make their money any way possible, as long as they can live the high life. Many have gone legitimate, but they started unscrupulously.
I don't know whether any of these 'investment clubs' are legit but if you have already gotten back your principal and now simply collect interest, you haven't lost at all, so good for you. I remain a skeptic and believe that the whole thing will come crashing down.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The case for selling Air Jamaica in 2008
Here are the facts:
- Air Jamaica is clearly vital to the economy, accounting for 50% of the tourists coming to the island.
- The JLP wants to privatize it again - sell it off to someone who can then deal with it - which I agree with, rather than just shut it down like the IMF suggested in 2006.
- The name "Air Jamaica" is a source of national pride, but the airline has also be named the official carrier of Barbados and is really a CARIBBEAN airline, not just a Jamaican one.
- In 2005, Air Jamaica lost US$135 million, roughly $8 Billion JA, and has never been profitable
- Over the past decade, Air Jamaica has accumulated a deficit of over US$1 Billion (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060915/business/business6.html)
Would you agree with the JLP selling Air Jamaica to a company even if they were going to rename the airline?
I say sell it to Virgin because they just bought the London route, setup a new code share into Miami and recently launched Virgin America. Very few companies could be a better partner (and Air Jamaica execs are in London right now talking to Virgin).
I say sell it, let them rename it if they want.
That money could be better spent:
- $5 Billion alone covers free tuition and healthcare (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070704/cleisure/cleisure2.html)
- The JLP has already committed to free tuition and begun repaying parents so this money would replenish whichever budget they got that money from
How about spending the money on the following:-
- improved training and facilities for the police
- better schools (buildings/facilities especially)
- better pay for public sector workers
- improved roads
$8 Billion a year can go very very far, especially when added to decreases on the interest we pay on debt - a decrease of 1% on the interest the Govt. pays on debt saves $5 Billion per year!
On top of that, the damage that has been caused by hurricanes in the last 2 years runs into the billions as well - and we don't have the money for the repairs.
- Air Jamaica is clearly vital to the economy, accounting for 50% of the tourists coming to the island.
- The JLP wants to privatize it again - sell it off to someone who can then deal with it - which I agree with, rather than just shut it down like the IMF suggested in 2006.
- The name "Air Jamaica" is a source of national pride, but the airline has also be named the official carrier of Barbados and is really a CARIBBEAN airline, not just a Jamaican one.
- In 2005, Air Jamaica lost US$135 million, roughly $8 Billion JA, and has never been profitable
- Over the past decade, Air Jamaica has accumulated a deficit of over US$1 Billion (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060915/business/business6.html)
Would you agree with the JLP selling Air Jamaica to a company even if they were going to rename the airline?
I say sell it to Virgin because they just bought the London route, setup a new code share into Miami and recently launched Virgin America. Very few companies could be a better partner (and Air Jamaica execs are in London right now talking to Virgin).
I say sell it, let them rename it if they want.
That money could be better spent:
- $5 Billion alone covers free tuition and healthcare (http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070704/cleisure/cleisure2.html)
- The JLP has already committed to free tuition and begun repaying parents so this money would replenish whichever budget they got that money from
How about spending the money on the following:-
- improved training and facilities for the police
- better schools (buildings/facilities especially)
- better pay for public sector workers
- improved roads
$8 Billion a year can go very very far, especially when added to decreases on the interest we pay on debt - a decrease of 1% on the interest the Govt. pays on debt saves $5 Billion per year!
On top of that, the damage that has been caused by hurricanes in the last 2 years runs into the billions as well - and we don't have the money for the repairs.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Govt. to privatize Air Jamaica within 12 months?
The Jamaica Gleaner recently ran an article about the finalizing of the relationship between Virgin Atlantic and Air Jamaica, and that part of the deal will see an expanded Code-share agreement into Miami, with Virgin passengers en route to Jamaica through Miami changing over to an Air Jamaica place (read full article).
The real interesting part about the article was this piece in regards to on-going meetings between the two airlines:
"Virgin has said the two airlines remain in discussion on areas of cooperation to expand their partnership."
We all knew that the JLP had planned to rid the country of the 'Air Jamaica burden' during their term (it consumers as much as 10% of our national budget and has never been profitable) and my well-placed sources have said that we could see something as early as next year summer, but some things have to be worked out.
They also said that Virgin had expressed interested but originally wanted a 1-year review period. With this piece of news mentioned in the article, I am convinced that Virgin Atlantic is seeking a deal to privatize Air Jamaica and keep the name of the national carrier (there is precedent for such deals within the airline industry).
I personally would welcome this deal or any other privatization deal other than giving it back to 'Butch' Stewart, unless he repaid all the debt he gave it back with. Mr. Stewart is known to have been a big donor to the JLP this past election and it would be rather controversial if he in fact got Air Jamaica.
I understand that there are a number of interested parties and I hesitate to guess a few others but only a few people could afford to get into the airline business, much less benefit from it directly through tourism.
Michael Lee-Chin, with his new tourism investments in Portland, would benefit and certainly has the money. Is he interested? Could he strike a partnership deal with Virgin and share the ownership?
Cash Plus, the "not a financial institution but we pay out money every month" investment club is also awash with cash, but has little experience in the industry, and I personally don't expect it to be around for many more years.
A US Private Equity firm could certainly buy the airline and most certainly would turn it around. The size of the deal is tiny compared to many others that have happened and I know Jamaicans involved in private equity firms in the US, although I have never once heard anything like remote interest.
All I can say is that there is reasonable buzz involving the following words:
- Air Jamaica
- Privatization
- Virgin Atlantic
The real interesting part about the article was this piece in regards to on-going meetings between the two airlines:
"Virgin has said the two airlines remain in discussion on areas of cooperation to expand their partnership."
We all knew that the JLP had planned to rid the country of the 'Air Jamaica burden' during their term (it consumers as much as 10% of our national budget and has never been profitable) and my well-placed sources have said that we could see something as early as next year summer, but some things have to be worked out.
They also said that Virgin had expressed interested but originally wanted a 1-year review period. With this piece of news mentioned in the article, I am convinced that Virgin Atlantic is seeking a deal to privatize Air Jamaica and keep the name of the national carrier (there is precedent for such deals within the airline industry).
I personally would welcome this deal or any other privatization deal other than giving it back to 'Butch' Stewart, unless he repaid all the debt he gave it back with. Mr. Stewart is known to have been a big donor to the JLP this past election and it would be rather controversial if he in fact got Air Jamaica.
I understand that there are a number of interested parties and I hesitate to guess a few others but only a few people could afford to get into the airline business, much less benefit from it directly through tourism.
Michael Lee-Chin, with his new tourism investments in Portland, would benefit and certainly has the money. Is he interested? Could he strike a partnership deal with Virgin and share the ownership?
Cash Plus, the "not a financial institution but we pay out money every month" investment club is also awash with cash, but has little experience in the industry, and I personally don't expect it to be around for many more years.
A US Private Equity firm could certainly buy the airline and most certainly would turn it around. The size of the deal is tiny compared to many others that have happened and I know Jamaicans involved in private equity firms in the US, although I have never once heard anything like remote interest.
All I can say is that there is reasonable buzz involving the following words:
- Air Jamaica
- Privatization
- Virgin Atlantic
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Lights Out! - Paulwell and Spencer resign
Stop the presses - Paulwell and Spencer resign!
I know a ton of people that are saying "About damn time!" and who could wrong them! Paulwell has probably been the most scandal plagued Minister in the history of Jamaican politics, and while I have met him personally and liked what he said, some of his actions have been damaging to Jamaica.
He drives a hybrid, wants more Jamaicans to drive hybrids so we can cut our oil bill and put that money towards other things, I agree with his vision for Port Royal and I love that he liberalised the telecommunications sector - but...
As for Kern Spencer, the weeping one, he better be consulting his lawyers because I feel that this will fall heavily on his shoulders, whether or not he was taking orders from higher up. What I really want to know are the names of the companies and individuals who got rich off this scandal - point them out please.
Jamaican politics is as dirty as any other and the people who benefit the most are the politicians and their cronies - the people getting rich off the taxpayers who are struggling for the most part. How can someone who truly loves Jamaica and want to see it progress participate in such a blatant rip-off of public money?
I know a ton of people that are saying "About damn time!" and who could wrong them! Paulwell has probably been the most scandal plagued Minister in the history of Jamaican politics, and while I have met him personally and liked what he said, some of his actions have been damaging to Jamaica.
He drives a hybrid, wants more Jamaicans to drive hybrids so we can cut our oil bill and put that money towards other things, I agree with his vision for Port Royal and I love that he liberalised the telecommunications sector - but...
As for Kern Spencer, the weeping one, he better be consulting his lawyers because I feel that this will fall heavily on his shoulders, whether or not he was taking orders from higher up. What I really want to know are the names of the companies and individuals who got rich off this scandal - point them out please.
Jamaican politics is as dirty as any other and the people who benefit the most are the politicians and their cronies - the people getting rich off the taxpayers who are struggling for the most part. How can someone who truly loves Jamaica and want to see it progress participate in such a blatant rip-off of public money?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Where did the money go?
So the light bulb scandal is going to be the first big case against the PNP - Kern Wept - Former State Minister jolted by Cuban bulb saga.
So the person in charge of the distribution of free light bulbs from Cuba was crying while the new Government outlined how the Cubans had supplied volunteers and money for them to distribute the bulbs - which somehow ended up costing the Jamaican Govt. under the PNP some $270 million.
Does crying in parliament while a case is being made that fraud was committed amount to a guilty plea?
I really want to see how they explain this one because it stinks more than Trafigura, and we all know what happened with that money.
Story come to bump.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
This past summer Red Stripe was the primary sponsor of a magazine that contained some very racist remarks, never mind that the remarks are things said in private all the time - a company has no place in seeming to support such bigoted views.
This is what actually prompted me to start this blog and write my first web article at NowPublic - Racist Comments from Red Stripe in Jamaica?. I felt that our companies and government had to be held to a higher standard and I could use the web to show that I wasn't the only one with a certain opinion.
Since then, Red Stripe has issued an apology through the Jamaica Observer - Red Stripe Says Sorry, but an earlier blurb in the Jamaica Gleaner even went as far as saying that some people are still upset about the big brands' faux pas and they should get over it - simply disgusting.
3 days after posting the first story, I was contacted by a PR person from Diageo who then put me in touch with Mark McKenzie - at least someone was on top of things while Red Stripe was not taking any inquiries - Jamaican companies still have a lot to learn clearly. Red Stripe had felt that little harm was done because it was "only a few magazines to adults in Jamaica", to which I replied that it was all over the web and nothing is limited to a country anymore thanks to the web and social networks like MySpace and Facebook.
To this day there is still a group on Facebook that is called Amistad and Friends and contains a graphic that says "Boo - Red Stripe". Mark McKenzie sent me a letter that outlines the results of the investigation. You can read the letter from Mark McKenzie here.
Whoever said that blogging is a waste of time?
This is what actually prompted me to start this blog and write my first web article at NowPublic - Racist Comments from Red Stripe in Jamaica?. I felt that our companies and government had to be held to a higher standard and I could use the web to show that I wasn't the only one with a certain opinion.
Since then, Red Stripe has issued an apology through the Jamaica Observer - Red Stripe Says Sorry, but an earlier blurb in the Jamaica Gleaner even went as far as saying that some people are still upset about the big brands' faux pas and they should get over it - simply disgusting.
3 days after posting the first story, I was contacted by a PR person from Diageo who then put me in touch with Mark McKenzie - at least someone was on top of things while Red Stripe was not taking any inquiries - Jamaican companies still have a lot to learn clearly. Red Stripe had felt that little harm was done because it was "only a few magazines to adults in Jamaica", to which I replied that it was all over the web and nothing is limited to a country anymore thanks to the web and social networks like MySpace and Facebook.
To this day there is still a group on Facebook that is called Amistad and Friends and contains a graphic that says "Boo - Red Stripe". Mark McKenzie sent me a letter that outlines the results of the investigation. You can read the letter from Mark McKenzie here.
Whoever said that blogging is a waste of time?
Friday, November 2, 2007
Virgin vs. the JLP Govt.?
Sorry for being away for a little while - work has been getting real busy.
I couldn't help but agree with a recent Jamaica Gleaner Editorial that spoke about "shooting from the hip" by two of the new Ministers - Mike Henry and Karl Samuda - Petulance as Public Policy
Virgin had it's first flight land in Jamaica recently and Henry refused the invitation to attend! That comes across as so childish, worse for a person holding such a high position.
Virgin paid good money and has a legally binding contract, they are going to be integral to tourism - our lifeblood - and they have brought over 70,000 passengers to Jamaica through MoBay since starting service before the agreement with Air Jamaica.
Why would you want to diss a company that is so vital airlift and foreign currency earnings in Jamaica?
I couldn't help but agree with a recent Jamaica Gleaner Editorial that spoke about "shooting from the hip" by two of the new Ministers - Mike Henry and Karl Samuda - Petulance as Public Policy
Virgin had it's first flight land in Jamaica recently and Henry refused the invitation to attend! That comes across as so childish, worse for a person holding such a high position.
Virgin paid good money and has a legally binding contract, they are going to be integral to tourism - our lifeblood - and they have brought over 70,000 passengers to Jamaica through MoBay since starting service before the agreement with Air Jamaica.
Why would you want to diss a company that is so vital airlift and foreign currency earnings in Jamaica?
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