A smaller deficit. Higher spending. Uncertain energyrevenues. Can Trinidad and Tobago make the numbers—and the economy—work?

Trinidad and Tobago's FY2027 Budget promises to reduce thefiscal deficit from TT$7 billion to TT$3.6 billion while increasing expenditure and public investment. But is this a credible recovery strategy—or another case of fiscal ambition exceeding the country's capacity to deliver?

On Caribbean Business Review, host Joseph Coxis joined by Dr Marlene Attzs, economist and Independent Senator, for a probing examination of the budget's assumptions, the proposed Petrotrin refinery restart, institutional weaknesses and the elusive promise of economicdiversification.

Beyond the Trinidad budget, two questions withfar-reaching Caribbean implications:

Is Washington rewriting the rules of development finance?The US is pressing for an IMF–World Bank mandate reset. Could greater scrutiny of currency pegs, tighter lending conditions and reduced climate-financing priorities constrain Caribbean economic policy?

Are Caribbean taxpayers subsidising investment—orinefficiency? Our CBR Briefing challenges the effectiveness of longstanding investment incentives and examines their fiscal costs, economic distortions and questionable additionality.

Plus, Market Watch and Global Pulse examine theeconomic, financial and geopolitical developments shaping the region and the wider world.

Fiscal arithmetic is not economic strategy. Andexpenditure allocations are not economic outcomes.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 — Welcome to Caribbean Business Review
01:58 — Redefining the IMF & World Bank
04:17 — This Week's Headlines
04:55 — CBR Briefing | What exactly are we incentivising?
10:29 — Market Brief | 90 Seconds
12:51 — Dr Marlene Attzs | Interview Preview
13:26 — Trinidad FY 2027 Budget: Ambitious Plan or Overpromise
49:11 — Market Watch
52:33 — Global Pulse
56:02 — The Playbook & Closing

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Knowledge is Strength. Information is Power.

Most Caribbean businesses that seek financing never clear due diligence. The reason is rarely a pure shortage of capital.

Is the region’s biggest challenge a financing gap — or a shortage of investment-ready enterprises?

Joseph Cox speaks with Dr Vishnu Doerga, Chairman of ActionINVEST Caribbean, about the structural weaknesses that keep too many micro and small businesses stuck in survival mode. Drawing on years of assessing enterprises for financing, he explains why capital alone cannot fix gaps in financial records, governance, management systems and business models.

What actually makes a business bankable? Why do promising firms fail basic due diligence? And what must change if Caribbean enterprises are to generate the margins needed to grow and compete?

Also in this episode: Jamaica’s planned phase-out of cheques by 2028, questions over Jamaica’s continued shareholding in Caribbean Airlines, and the latest economic signals from across the region and global markets.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to Caribbean Business Review

02:13 Opening Commentary | The CAL Audit Fiasco

04:30 This Week's Headlines

05:07 CBR Briefing | Jamaica’s Cheque Phase-Out

11:10 Market Brief | 90 Seconds

12:42 Dr Vishnu Doerga | Interview Preview

13:12 Takes Cash to Care – Why Access to Finance May not be the Real Problem

49:38 Market Watch

52:46 Global Pulse

55:52 The Playbook & Closing

Caribbean Business Review — independent analysis of theeconomic and business developments shaping the Caribbean.

Who controls what Caribbean audiences see—and whocaptures the value when they watch?

The Caribbean media landscape is being transformed.Broadcasting once meant reaching the widest possible audience. Today, algorithms, streaming platforms, social media and increasingly sophisticated targeting allow content and advertising to find particular consumers withextraordinary precision.

But greater precision raises a bigger question: asCaribbean media becomes better at finding consumers, is it becoming less effective at reaching citizens?

This week on Caribbean Business Review, Joseph Coxsits down with Kiran Maharaj, President and Co-Founder of the Media Institute of the Caribbean and Managing Director of Caribbean Lifestyle Communications, for a wide-ranging conversation about the struggle for control of the Caribbean audience.

They examine the shift from broadcasting to narrowcasting,the growing influence of algorithms and artificial intelligence, changing advertising models, audience fragmentation and the increasing power of global technology platforms over how Caribbean content is discovered and distributed.

But this is also a conversation about money and survival.

If Caribbean media organisations create the content, employthe journalists and finance the production—but global platforms increasingly control distribution and capture advertising value—who really owns therelationship with the audience?

And as traditional media business models come underpressure, can subscriptions, specialist content and smaller but more valuable audiences provide a sustainable alternative? Or does the commercial logic ofnarrowcasting risk weakening the common information space that broadcasting historically provided?

Maharaj also brings the perspective of a media entrepreneur and Caribbean business leader to a deeper question: what must Caribbean media become if it is to remain commercially viable without surrendering its public-interest role?

Also in this episode:

US Diesel Export Curbs — Another Caribbean Energy Shock?
The Caribbean remains heavily exposed to imported fuel, particularly supplies originating from the US Gulf Coast. With US diesel export restrictions being discussed, CBR examines what even a reduction in available supply could meanfor electricity, transportation, tourism, agriculture and production costs across the region.

Sandals × Royal Caribbean — Investment or GreaterLeakage?
A proposed US$3 billion investment for a 50% stake in Sandals and Beaches could bring together two of the Caribbean's most powerful tourism ecosystems:cruise and resort. But greater integration also raises a fundamental development question—will more tourism investment translate into greater Caribbean value capture, or could vertically integrated tourism increaseeconomic leakage?

From who controls the audience, to who controlsenergy supply, to who captures the value from Caribbean tourism, Episode 13 examines how changing structures of power are reshaping the region's economic landscape.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to Caribbean Business Review

02:30 Opening Commentary | Sandals × Royal Caribbean: What Does the Deal Mean?

03:56 This Week's Headlines

04:33 CBR Briefing | US Diesel Export Curbs: The Caribbean Exposure

09:58 Market Brief | 90 Seconds

12:15 Kiran Maharaj | Interview Preview

12:48 Who Controls what the Caribbean Sees? The Future of Caribbean Media

51:19 Market Watch

54:26 Global Pulse

57:47 The Playbook & Closing

Knowledge is Strength. Information is Power.

Caribbean Business Review — independent analysis of theforces shaping Caribbean business, economics, policy and risk.