(CNS Business): The first cruise ship for five years will stop at Cayman Brac next week. The MS Delphin, operated by Passat Kreuzfahrten (Cruises), which has its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, will have 300+ passengers onboard and 119 crew when she arrives off the coast from Scotts Dock in the West End on Tuesday 5 March, staying for five hours between 8am - 1pm, according to a spokesperson for District Administration. Passengers will have the opportunity for an island tour pre-booked by the ship and there will be an information booth, a craft market as well a few samples of local food, she said. The ship will tender its own passengers.
 

(Miami Herald): A Cayman Islands firm says a former official severed ties to the company one day before the SEC filed suit against him. Fred Davis Clark, Jr. — a Cayman Islands man who was accused of securities fraud in a civil suit filed Jan. 30 by the Securities and Exchange Commission — sold his ownership interest and resigned his posts at a separate Cayman Islands business a day before the SEC suit was filed, according to a spokeswoman for the firm. CMZ Group Ltd. a Cayman Islands company that includes a Caribbean pawn shop network, said Clark “is no longer affiliated with our company,” and had left before the US SEC complaint was filed.

(CNS Business): The Trade and Business Licence Unit (TBL) is now storing files digitally and says this means documents will now be retrieved much faster and allow greater sharing of multiple-purpose documents across government departments, once the relevant permissions are granted. The TBL unit is also working towards online submission of applications and payment. However, a spokesperson for the department said that although discussions have begun, final implementation will depend on budget and resources. Once the project is started, it is expected to take about 9 months to complete. In the meantime, the digital sharing will allow different government agencies such as immigration, the labour department and others to communicate more effectively and allow the unit to ensure compliance. 

(CNS Business): The Westin Hotel on Seven Mile Beach officially unveiled the $9 million renovation work to government representatives last week at a special gala evening. At the end of last year the hotel upgraded all of the guest accommodation, the seaside patios and beach areas, the fitness centre, the entrance, lobby and corridors, as well as the entire landscaping. Executives said that the spa, the ballroom and restaurants are to be renovated next. The governor, deputy governor, premier and tourism minister all welcomed the refit, saying it added to Cayman’s tourism product.

(CNS Business):  The chairman of a London based PR agency claims it was the aggressive campaign pursued by his firm on behalf of the local business community in Turks and Caicos Islands that resulted in a “dramatic” U-turn by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office over its controversial plans to impose VAT on the overseas territory.  Jack Irvine, the head of Media House International, said he was contacted eight months ago by Clive Stanbrook QC, who is based in TCI, about the local business community’s concerns about the introduction of VAT without researching the implications or allowing time for consultation.

(CNS Business): An independent director services provider has been opened in Cayman by Hedge fund industry specialists Michael Pearson and Chris Rowland. Fund Fiduciary Partners has been approved by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) and will offer independent corporate governance services for hedge funds to a select few clients. The principals of the firm explained it would only take on a small number of opportunities. "Institutional investors are increasingly and rightfully demanding more transparency regarding the volume of work an independent hedge fund director has oversight of,” said Pearson about the decision to adopt the boutique corporate governance model.

(CNS Business): Butterfield Bank has announced its year-end results for 2012, boasting core earnings of $54.9 million, up 45.2% compared to $37.8 million a year ago. Net income for the year was $25.6 million, including one-time items that generated a net loss of $29.3 million, compared to net income of $40.5 million in 2011. Tangible book value per share grew 10.5% to end the year at $1.16 per share, compared to $1.05 per share last year.  The core cash return on tangible common equity increased from 3.8% in 2011 to 6.6% in 2012. In Cayman alone the bank enjoyed a net income of $19.5 million, which was more than double the previous year’s earnings of $9 million.

(CNS Business): Cayman Airways has confirmed that the return of what was a seasonal flight to Dallas has been delayed by around six weeks but it will be a permanent year-round gateway for the island. Both the Cayman Islands Tourism Association and the Department of Tourism have confirmed that the route has proved to be a success and boosted Cayman’s record breaking arrival figures for last year. The re-launch of the Dallas/Fort Worth route has, however, been postponed from 10 April until 25 May in order to adjust capacity to forecasted demand.

(CNS Business): Over 30 government employees from eight departments and two ministries engaged in project-management principles and practices training programme last week normally taken up by employees in Fortune 500 companies. The Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs (PIE) is hosting the training “Agile Project Management” from February 18-22. The US-based company “Agile Transformation”, who are described as experts in this field, are delivering the training, which includes management strategies and techniques to promote the concepts of collaboration, improved efficiency and enhanced customer satisfaction.

(CNS Business): As the battle between local lawyers and government’s latest version of the proposed Legal Practitioners Bill continues, research commissioned by the Law Society has revealed that in 2012 just nine local firms’ foreign law offices practicing Cayman law overseas generated US$28 million in 2012 for government coffers. In the previous year these international branches brought in around US$24 million in fees, figures that the lawyers hope may persuade government to change course over the requirements and the restrictions that the law firms say it is trying to impose on them with the new legislation.

(CNS Business): The international rating agency Moody's has downgraded the UK's credit rating one notch from top-grade Aaa to Aa1 because of slow growth and a rising debt burden. Moody's said Friday that a "high and rising debt burden" as well as subdued growth were behind the drop as they were believed to  be taking a toll on the UK’s economic fortunes. The agency also demoted the Bank of England from Aaa to Aa1. Earlier this month Moody's affirmed the Cayman Islands at Aa3 with a stable outlook, citing a relatively low debt burden and high income levels. In a statement, the rating agency also highlighted the country's narrow economy, "susceptible to weather-related shocks," and its strong institutional framework.

(CNS Business): The Department of Investment and Commerce is hosting a new event to encourage and recognise the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs. Cayman Entrepreneurship Day (CED) on Thursday, 11 April will be a day-long free event and open to the public, exhibiting Cayman entrepreneurs’ projects and businesses along with technical assistance workshops and face-to-face meetings with accomplished Cayman-based entrepreneurs. There will also be a platform for budding entrepreneurs to present their products and business ideas to a panel of established business owners, investors and business consultants.

(CNS Business): Following on from the early successes of the award winning 'Caymankind' marketing campaign in the US, the Department of Tourism is moving into phase two of the promotion with the unveiling of a huge mural on the arrival and departure doors and windows of Owen Roberts International Airport. The life-sized mural is a photo montage of some well-known Caymanians welcoming visitors to their islands. DoT officials said the Caymankind brand captures the islands’ unique appeal, from the friendliness of the people to the cultural heritage, cosmopolitan style and stunning natural beauty.

(CNS Business): As Turks and Caicos continues to do battle with the UK to overturn the implementation of value added tax (VAT) in that country and Cayman continues to hold out against a direct sales tax, the Bahamas has included the introduction of VAT to its 2014 budget. From 1 July government will be imposing a 15% rate of sales tax to offset reductions in hotel occupancy tax and import duty as a result of the country joining the World Trade Organization. A broad range of goods and services will be subject to the tax, which is described as a consolidation of the country’s finances. Around 3,800 local businesses will now have to file and pay the tax they collect from customers on a monthly basis.

(New York Times): The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma: the new minimum requirement, albeit an expensive one, for getting even the lowest-level job. Consider the 45-person law firm of Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh here in Atlanta, a place that has seen tremendous growth in the college-educated population. Like other employers across the country, the firm hires only people with a bachelor’s degree, even for jobs that do not require college-level skills. This prerequisite applies to everyone, including the receptionist, paralegals, administrative assistants and file clerks. Even the office “runner” — the in-house courier who, for $10 an hour, ferries documents back and forth between the courthouse and the office — went to a four-year school.