News

Some good news and some bad news


Andrew Duncan one of the IOM’s young athletes arrives in Pune, India to compete in the Commonwealth Games. This is their Games site where you will discover that the honour of hosting the 2011 Youth Games has gone to the Isle of Man.
http://thecgf.com/countries/intro.asp?loc=IOM

Glummer news follows on the heels of the collapse of the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander bank. This Icelandic bank had been assured of its soundness right up until it failed and there were very worried depositors at the meeting held in the Gaiety theatre. The IOM Government has convened an emergency session of Tynwald to pass legislation to protect depositors. The Treasury Minister, Allan Bell, MLC, believes the Isle of Man is well placed to weather the effects of the current global financial storm. He spoke after an emergency sitting of Tynwald – the first for over 40 years – that passed a package for depositors which increased the guaranteed compensation for individuals from £15,000 to £50,000. He also said that the Isle of Man’s economy is currently far stronger and more diverse than it was during previous downturns: “Regulation and the tax changes and everything we’ve brought in over the last few years, I believe leaves the Isle of Man now in a far stronger position to fight off any potential recession in the future.
“There will undoubtedly be a downturn later on this year and into next year, we can’t escape it, we are not immune from the international situation.
“But I do believe the Isle of Man will still remain strong, we will not go into recession, and I do believe we will be well placed when the storm clouds finally clear and we can get back to normal business again.”