Topic
Writing on fiscal risk, budget strategy, public debt sustainability, and the medium-term fiscal frameworks that anchor Caribbean economies.
24 pieces on this topic
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
On 14 May 2026, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement on a 36-month precautionary Stand-By Arrangement for Barbados, providing access to SDR 189 million should it be needed. What a precautionary arrangement actually signals, and what it means for the rest of the Caribbean, is the more important story.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
Antigua and Barbuda ran a 2025 primary surplus near 5 per cent of GDP. The same staff report flagged significant arrears to Paris Club creditors and domestic suppliers. Both sentences are true. They describe the same fiscal year. The instrument that holds them together is the Citizenship-by-Investment programme, and the same instrument tells the opposite story in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
Total investment in the Caribbean averaged 28 per cent of regional GDP in 2023, above both OECD and Latin American averages. The OECD and IDB say the figure is misleading. What is driving it, and what it is actually building, tells a different story.
Almost forty years after Errol Barrow delivered his "Mirror Image" speech on 13 May 1986, the question Barrow put to the country is still on the table: what kind of mirror image do you have of yourself? A reflection on civic identity, fiscal choice, and the work nation-building still demands.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
On 20 April 2026, 54,300 Barbadians received the first payment under the Cost of Living Cash Credit. The monthly $100 transfer is the social dimension of BERT 2026. The quarterly review on 29 April will show the GDP line. The 54,300 payments processed show something the GDP line does not.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
Within six days, the Central Bank of Barbados made two announcements that say more about the economy than either one does on its own. Fiscal discipline without credit access is austerity by another name; with it, it is a strategy that can hold.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
Fitch says Barbados’ fiscal trajectory is improving. It also says the tourism base underneath is not. Cruise arrivals are up 9.6 per cent; stay-overs only 3.3. Volume has outpaced value. When Fitch flags tourism, it is flagging the ground everything else is standing on.
Bridgetown Brief
2-min read
On 16 April 2026, ahead of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters that “even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade.” The next day, the Fund’s World Economic Outlook confirmed the shape.
Everyone confidently claims to offer foresight, despite relying on lagging data. Corporate profits, GDP figures, and “the economy feels fine” headlines usually arrive after markets have already moved. If you’re trying to understand risk before it shows up in your portfolio, you need a weekly checklist centred
Three central banks, three slightly different stories: The US Federal Reserve has just cut rates again, taking the federal funds rate down to 3.5–3.75 per cent. Inflation is running at roughly 3 per cent, core PCE is in the high-2s, unemployment has drifted up to about 4.5 per cent.
Three central banks, three slightly different stories. The US Federal Reserve has just cut rates again, taking the federal funds rate down to 3.5–3.75 per cent. Inflation is running at roughly 3 per cent, core PCE is in the high-2s, unemployment has drifted up to about 4.5 per cent. What this means for the Caribbean.
Over the past quarter, the US agreed to purchase a 9.9% stake in Intel as part of a CHIPS-linked package, with additional options tied to programme milestones. The Department of Defence committed to a convertible-preferred and warrant package in MP Materials that, if fully converted and exercised, would equate.
Over the past quarter, the US agreed to purchase a 9.9% stake in Intel as part of a CHIPS-linked package. The Department of Defence committed to a convertible-preferred and warrant package in MP Materials that, if fully converted, would be an eye-opening position for a sovereign.
In today’s fast-paced, competitive business environment, data has emerged as a company’s most valuable asset. The ability to analyse and interpret data has transformed how businesses operate, strategise, and grow. With the rise of big data, companies now have access to unprecedented amounts of information.
The turn of the 21st century marked significant economic challenges and opportunities for Barbados, necessitating strategic decisions that have significantly shaped its economic landscape. Among these, the Barbados National Bank (BNB) sale to Republic Bank Limited (RBTT) in 2003 and substantial investments in tourism infrastructure.
The turn of the 21st century marked significant economic challenges and opportunities for Barbados. The Barbados National Bank sale to Republic Bank Limited in 2003 and substantial investments in tourism infrastructure have significantly shaped the economic landscape since.
In this pivotal age where climatic flux constitutes a dire peril to our natural and economic terrains, monetary governance and ecological prudence have ascended to unparalleled prominence. Strategic fiscal tools can carve beneficial environmental impacts and bolster against climatological fiscal perils.
In this pivotal age where climatic flux constitutes a dire peril to our natural and economic terrains, monetary governance and ecological prudence have ascended to unparalleled prominence. Strategic fiscal tools can carve beneficial environmental impacts.
What the key indicators of American financial health show, and why they matter for the global economic order. A look at household balance sheets, debt patterns, and the metrics that signal stress before the headline numbers move.
Delving into the delicate equilibrium of American fiscal affairs is to navigate a precarious economic stratum of indebtedness and savings. The ensuing examination casts a stark light upon the disturbing patterns of savings deficit, debt accumulation, and economic vulnerability permeating U.S. households.
The patterns of savings deficit, debt accumulation, and financial vulnerability across American households. What the numbers say about how exposed US consumers are, and what that exposure means for the broader economy.
To achieve consistent and sustainable economic growth, Barbados and other Caribbean countries could adopt a multifaceted approach that carefully balances capital and infrastructure projects with the country’s financial constraints and the need to manage debt prudently. Short-term Tourism Enhancement Immediately boost the tourism sector by upgrading tourism infrastructure.
Essay
3-min read
A review of American households’ savings, debt, and economic susceptibility. With $17 trillion in consumer debt and mortgage rates at two-decade peaks, the financial standing of many is fragile across the income spectrum — and the implications reach beyond US borders.
To achieve consistent and sustainable economic growth, Barbados and other Caribbean countries could adopt a multifaceted approach that balances capital and infrastructure projects with the country's financial constraints and the need to manage debt prudently.