Trinidad & Tobago

BMI View: Rather than offering pre-electoral fiscal gimmicks, the Manning government needs to take a long term view of the country's development needs in its final budget

With the general election expected in November, the government is under pressure to boost spending, with shortcomings in the provision of health and housing a recent focus of press... 2007-08-06

The continued strength of global energy prices is good news for the fiscal position. The treasury depends on the energy sector for well over half of total fiscal revenues, making... 2007-08-06

With late November the most likely general election date, the weakened opposition United National Congress (UNC) is holding talks with smaller opposition parties in a bid to secure... 2007-07-10

BMI View: While booming energy revenues have generated an overall fiscal surplus, a sustained increase in government expenditures have given rise to a large deficit on the 'non-energy'... 2007-06-12

The June 2 arrest of four Caribbean men (three Guyanaese and one Trinidadian) in an alleged terrorist plot against JFK airport in New York has put the spotlight on Trinidad in particular,... 2007-06-12

BMI View: The balance of payments position will continue to reflect strong energy receipts into the current account, with growth in capital outflows due to profit repatriation.... 2007-05-25

BMI View: While the fiscal accounts will again be buoyed by oil and gas revenues in 2007, the rise in the non-energy deficit remains a concern, particularly in this election year.... 2007-05-24

Trinidad's robust current account position will remain robust moving forward, thanks to continued growth in energy export volumes, particularly for liquefied natural gas, and slower... 2007-05-15

Trinidad scores 80.0 for its short term political risk under BMI's newly upgraded ratings system. The near-term outlook is affected by the upcoming elections, due by Q407, but with... 2007-05-15