The quiet retreat

LUCAS STOCK INDEXThe Lucas Stock Index (LSI) increased marginally by 0.97 percent in light trading during the fourth week of April 2013. A mere 9,600 stocks of five companies changed hands. Demerara Bank Limited (DBL) traded the highest number of stocks, 3,300, with a 3.82 percent increase in value. Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) traded 2,100 shares and saw the value of its stock increase by 9.02 percent. Republic Bank Limited (RBL) traded 3,000 shares with no change in value. Both Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (BTI) and Demerara Tobacco Company (DTC) saw no change in value with trades of 400 and 800 units of their stock respectively.

Hive of Activity

All eyes have been plastered on the behavior of gold over the last few years as the price of the commodity created enormous buzz and stirred many to invest in the industry in Guyana.  The hive of activity has seen the movement of goods and people in unprecedented frequency and in unprecedented numbers between Georgetown and the gilded poles of Region 7 and 8.  Those operating in the industry raked in a staggering G$109 billion last year alone, 47 percent more than was expected from the budget projections of 2012.  Within the last four years the revenue generated by the industry has grown by leaps and bounds reaching an aggregate of G$268 billion.  Undoubtedly, those numbers have caused some