Prominent Guyanese attorney Nigel Hughes, Managing Partner of Hughes, Fields and Stoby in Guyana, joins Caribbean Business Review following leakedinternal correspondence in which five sitting CCJ judges reportedly raised concerns involving panel composition, judicial influence and the exercise of authority at the Court’s highest level.

The issue goes beyond the leaked emails.

What happens when litigants begin questioning not simply ajudgment, but the process that produced it?

Hughes examines judicial independence, accountability andwhether the existing institutional architecture can credibly address concerns involving the Court’s leadership. We also explore what the controversy could mean for confidence in the CCJ’s Original Jurisdiction, the CARICOM SingleMarket and Economy (CSME), commercial dispute resolution and regional investment risk.

Also in this episode, Jamaica’s Property Tax Illusionexamines the revaluation of approximately 900,000 land parcels, international property-tax comparisons built on false equivalences, extensive exemptions and the country’s highest-and-best-use valuation framework.

We also examine FinCEN’s major US beneficial ownershiprollback, which permanently exempts US companies and persons from reporting requirements while foreign reporting companies remain subject to disclosure—raising wider questions about shifting standards in global financialregulation.

Plus, Market Watch and Global Pulse cover the US$750 millionPoint Lisas steel revival, Jamaica’s fiscal and FDI performance, Cayman’s record surplus, falling reinsurance pricing, Strait of Hormuz oil disruption, global energy and shipping pressures and the wider international economic outlook.

Caribbean Business Review | Season 4, Episode 7

Executive intelligence on Caribbean business, economics,markets, public policy, governance and regional integration.

Knowledge is Strength, but Information is Power.

What happens when a weather event becomes a balance-sheet risk?

In Episode 6 of Season 4 of Caribbean Business Review, Joseph Cox speaks with Cherri-Ann Farquharson, Manager of Sustainable Development at Environmental Solutions Limited, about why El Niño is no longer simply a climate or weather story. For Caribbean businesses, it is increasingly a financial, operational and competitiveness risk.

The conversation examines how extreme heat, drought, water scarcity and changing weather patterns can affect electricity demand, agricultural production, food prices, supply chains, insurance, infrastructure and the cost of doing business.

More importantly, El Niño's economic consequences may extend well beyond a single weather season. Cherri-Ann explains why businesses increasingly need to incorporate climate intelligence into financial forecasting, budgeting, insurance, investment decisions and business continuity planning.

The discussion also explores Caribbean microclimates and the importance of localized climate data; urban heat and development; climate-smart agriculture; pressure on electricity and water systems; floating solar; and whether climate risk is becoming so fundamental to economic activity that it should be considered alongside land, labour and capital as a factor of production.

Also in this episode: the CBR Briefing examines a different constraint emerging across Caribbean economies—labour scarcity.

As unemployment falls and skilled-worker shortages intensify, Caribbean businesses are recruiting increasingly across borders. Yet citizen workers, expatriate workers and the large informal labour market operate under different institutional rules. We examine how work permits, employer sponsorship, CSME Skills Certificates, locals-first policies and national immigration systems affect wages, worker mobility, productivity and competitiveness.

The central question: Are Caribbean labour-market institutions designed for an era of labour abundance still fit for an era of structural scarcity?

And in our opening commentary, we examine the growing challenge of misinformation in the Caribbean, the responsibility of governments to respond more effectively, and the difficult balance between protecting the integrity of the public information space and safeguarding freedom of expression.

Plus, Market Watch and Global Pulse track the key economic, financial and policy developments shaping the Caribbean and global economy.

In this episode: El Niño and Caribbean business risk • climate resilience • cost of doing business • financial forecasting • energy and water security • Caribbean labour shortages • CSME labour mobility • wages and productivity • misinformation and public confidence • Market Watch and Global Pulse.

Caribbean Business Review — Come for the Analysis. Stay for the Conversation.

The European Union is reviewing Caribbean Citizenship byInvestment (CBI) programmes, putting one of the Region's biggest sources of development finance under pressure. St Lucian Opposition Senatorand former CARICOM Single Market Director Leo Titus Preville joins host Joseph Cox to break down how Caribbean governments can negotiate CBI reform from a position of strength — not just defend the status quo.

In this episode of the Caribbean Business Review:

- Why the EU's scrutiny of Citizenship by Investment has intensified, and what's actually at stake for CARICOM and OECS economies

- A practical framework for regional diplomacy and CBInegotiation

- How transparency reforms could protect CBI programmeslong-term

- CBR Briefing: Belize's proposed Broadcasting Bill and whatit could mean for podcasters, streamers and digital media across the Caribbean

- Market Brief: sovereign credit ratings, tourism, regionalbanking, digital currencies, trade policy and the global economic outlook

The Caribbean Business Review delivers independent weeklyanalysis of Caribbean business, economics, finance and public policy — the data, context and strategic thinking behind the forces shaping the Region's future.

Knowledge is Strength, but Information is Power.

Follow for weekly episodes covering Caribbean economics,CBI, CARICOM policy and regional business news.