National News

Dominicans lure Bahamian businesspersons

By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Manufacturers of clothing, textiles, furniture, cosmetics, and craft, various Dominican businesses were on hand Monday to woo the scores of Bahamians visiting the island over the weekend. The Bahamian contingent, comprising mainly of business owners and budding entrepreneurs, were taking advantage of the four-day "familiarisation" trip to Santo Domingo hosted by Bahamasair. The trip was also geared toward those interested in importing goods for their businesses from Santo Domingo at a much cheaper rate than in Florida and other U.S. destinations. More..

More public discussions needed on FTAA

By MARTELLA MATTHEWS,Guardian Business Reportermartella@nasguard.com While the ambitious dream of achieving a Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005 established in Miami in 1994 by the 34 countries of the Western Hemisphere has become a rapidly fading reality as the time line narrows, The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce is convinced the dream will be revived. Since the eighth Ministerial Meeting in 2003 that saw a break down in talks between the 34 countries, efforts to establish a common set of rights and obligations by the Trade Negotiations Committee have come to a standstill. More..

An extremely private person with a high profile position

By Ava M. Cargill "I'm an extremely private person," states Ms Wendy Warren, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of The Bahamas' Financial Services Board. "Aside from this, BFSB is not just Wendy Warren. BFSB is a team effort," she continues. The Executive Director maintains that her life history bears little relevance to the position of responsibility she possesses. The aspect of her journey that does undeniably relate to her career path is specifically the part of her formal education and training that has prepared Ms Warren for her work in the financial services sector. For this purpose, then, Ms Warren is a chartered accountant who holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting from the Universty of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. From 1992 to 2001, she worked in the private banking and investment funds aspect of the financial sector. Ms Warren has held the posts of Senior Auditor with KPMG and Director of The Bahamas Electricity Corporation. She joined The Bahamas Financial Services Board in 2001, after having served as a member of its Board of Directors for some two years. More..