Barbados Advocate – There is a need for stock exchanges in Barbados and the Caribbean to attract new types of products and market activities.

Marlon Yarde, general manager of the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) has made the suggestion while addressing a recent function in Jamaica.

He spoke on the topic, “Strengthening Institu-tional Development in the Regional Capital Markets.

There are stock exchanges in Barbados, The Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Eastern Caribbean, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Expansion must be done in a more co-ordinated way into the fixed income and debt market as internationally the market for these is even larger than for equity securities.

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Jamaica Gleaner – The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela pledged Saturday to invest US$100 million each in a special fund in hopes of boosting cross-border trade as the world economic crisis slashes global demand for their exports.

The cash will help create small businesses and should finance infrastructure projects along the border, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said after four hours of talks in the Caribbean port of Cartagena with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe.

"Nobody knows where this crisis might go," Chávez told a televised news conference.

Trade between the two nations reached a record US$7.2 billion in 2008, and Chávez said they should aim for US$10 billion a year in 2009 and 2010.

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Tags: 100-million, border trade, cartagena, colombia, counterpart, economic-crisis, global demand, hugo chávez, infrastructure projects, jamaica, news-conference, president hugo chávez, presidents, slashes, small businesses, venezuela, venezuelan president hugo