Monday, September 28, 2009

Government explains St. Lucia’s request from IMF

The approval by International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Saint Lucia of US$10.7 million available under the rapid-access component of the Exogenous Shock Facility(ESF), formed part of Prime Minister Stephenson King’s core budget presentation when he address matters of finance, in the House of Assembly.
The Minister of Finance meticulously explained that the engagement with the IMF was on special terms of a soft loan component and not the usual austerity measures infamously known as structural adjustment.
Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) have bee imposed by the IMF and the World Bank to ensure debt repayment and economic restructuring. Lamentably, the way it has happened has required poor countries to reduce spending on things like health, education and development, while debt repayment and other economic policies have been made the priority. In effect, the IMF and World Bank have demanded that poor nations lower the standard of living of their people.
It is therefore understandable that with such an unforgettable historical approach and trend much concern about dealing with the IMF will trigger concerns of fear, trepidation and involuntary trembling by the public. It is to be noted that such misgivings are well placed and understood with the historical context of the IMF and the World Bank.
However the good news is that there is no need for such misgivings, anxiety or apprehension. The terms of the IMF loan are highly concessionary and are not at all a structural adjustment Programme and as such there is nothing to fear.
When the context for which the IMF loan was sort is examined it will be realized that St Lucia is merely utilizing its privilege as a member of the IMF Club and that is perhaps that’s how Dwight Venner would probably put it. The facts on the global economic down turn which our island is not at all immune to, tells us explicitly that there has been negative impacts from the financial crisis.
This has resulted in a lackluster performance of the tourism sector in the fourth quarter of 2008; there was a further sharp decline in visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2009. Falling visitor and spending levels have led to job losses in the tourism sector, and are affecting plans for the construction of new (and expansion of existing) hotels and resorts. Given that government tax revenues, foreign exchange reserves, and employment levels are inextricably linked with the performance of the tourism sector, the damage to the economy from the crisis has been widespread.


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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Unsecured debt consolidation loans: Consolidate your multiple debts without putting your home at stake

Looking to debt consolidation loans or program from the cost of debt restructuring, a number of graduates have researched many sources and means to reduce the number of loans made each month and may reduce the amount paid for all loans at a lower single payment. Many students of the cases, the amounts of loans for students and today the costs of education can easily be more than fifty thousand dollars. In some cases, the amount could be double that amount.

Students in the 21st century is looking for a high price for the amount of debt and bankruptcy law has been much harder, not that easily allows students to withdraw from the responsibilities of the administrator. In fact, there are two types of student loans, federal and private. Each has specific characteristics and requirements must be satisfied if they have no chance of school loan consolidation.

The first is that federal student loans are eligible for federal loan consolidation. If the student has federal Stafford loans, including loans, loans, Perkins, Federal FFELP loans HEAL direct loans, loans that are eligible under the guidelines of the Ministry of Education for the consolidation of school expenses for loan payment. When a student leaves school, federal student loans are due in ten years.
Monthly payments are included in the ten year payment schedule. Often with a high balance, a payment in a loan can be high, but three or four separate bills due each month can be impressive for a young person. Bill consolidation and debt consolidation services help you consolidate the accounts of all students for the delivery of the loan liability with regard to thirty years, often cutting in half of the decade of the monthly obligations. But it does mean that the federal loan consolidation during the thirty years, much interest will be paid.

There are a number of directives and regulations of the debt settlement company consolidate federal student loans cost the federal government and the first is that consolidation will happen only with the federal loans totaling more than twenty thousand dollars. In addition, a student must not violate any of the loans and must be less than half-time student.



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