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Dominican golf on a shoestring
Santo Domingo.– The Dominican Republic is the 800-pound gorilla of Caribbean golf, with more great courses than any other island. It is most famous for Pete Dye's Teeth of the Dog at the massive Casa de Campo resort, which has been the number one ranked course in the Caribbean or Bahamas since it was built 35 years ago. But there is far more to the island's offering than Teeth and the two other Pete Dye courses at the resort. All three of the nation's coasts -- north, south and east -- have world-class golf, and new courses keep opening, most recently the island's first Jack Nicklaus Signature course at a new resort community called Cap Cana. Not much else has been built at Cap Cana so far, and until homes and a hotel come, the course, Punta Espada, opening November 7th, is open for public daily play.Short-Term Paradise
For the definitive family reunion or romantic escape, consider renting an island. Rentals start at about $4,000 per week for two. About 30 island rentals are located within a day's flying time of major U.S. cities. For 15 years, Mike and Robin Bommer of Avon, Ohio, have rented a series of private islands in Lake Erie, the Florida Keys and the Bahamas with another couple. (Both couples leave the kids at home.) This spring, they stayed for two weeks on Channel Cay, a 25-acre private island in the Abaco islands, Bahamas, in a three-bedroom, three-bath house. Channel Cay is about a half-hour boat ride from Marsh Harbour, the nearest major town. On that trip, Mike and Robin particularly enjoyed scuba diving in the turquoise-blue water. "Our island trips are the one thing we most look forward to every year," says Mike.
Butterfield Fund Services to create 400 jobs in NS with $9.1 tax ...
HALIFAX (CP) - Butterfield Fund Services has opened an office in Halifax with the hope of creating up to 400 full and part-time jobs.The Bermuda-based company is looking at an incremental payroll tax rebate of up to $9.1 million if job targets are met within seven years. Butterfield plans to add 30 to 60 positions in Halifax in 2007.
The company will offer opportunities for a wide range of financial professionals, from recent business graduates to senior accounting professionals.
Butterfield Bank also operates in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Barbados, Guernsey, the U.K. and Switzerland.
Butterfield Fund Services subsidiaries look after more than $65 billion US in hedge fund and mutual fund assets.
.Predictions for economy 'extremely encouraging'
NASSAU Prospects for economic growth and development in The Bahamas are "extremely" encouraging, Minister of State for Finance Senator James Smith told a recent financial seminar.Minister Smith said the Government has been actively engaged in monitoring and making the necessary policy and legislative changes for a sustained economic environment.
"The Bahamas has performed well over the past few years," Mr. Smith said in an address at a Bahamas Finan-cial Services Board briefing on Thursday, November 2 at the British Colonial Hilton.
Minister Smith provided an update on a number of key issues, which are likely to have some impact on the country's financial services sector.
He outlined the Bahamas' position in relation to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD) initiative as regards international tax co-operation, and gave a brief review of efforts under way to deepen The Bahamas' plan for E-Government.
Ithmaar posts record profits of $161 million
MANAMA: Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank announced yesterday that its consolidated net profits for the first nine months of this year soared to $161.7 million, compared to $20m of the same period last year.The new record figures follows the bank's best-ever half-year performance, which saw profits reach $33.2m, and even surpassing by more than four times the full-year profit of $ 37.6m last year, it said in a statement.
Operating profit surged to $47.6m at September-end, an eight-fold increase from $5.9m at the same time last year.
"We are delighted by the strong revenue growth, thanks to stellar performances from all areas of the bank's core business as well as our associates and subsidiaries," said a bank spokesman.
Group's total equity also increased significantly by 289 per cent, from $253m at the beginning of the year to $985m at September-end.