Madagascar Development

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alberto Bacó-Bagué, the Secretary of Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), today spoke powerfully to business leaders and start-ups at the National Black and Latino Council’s Black, Brown and Green Sustainability Summit about Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial business growth and idea cultivation. “Our top priority is to put our strong skilled and educated workforce to work,” Bacó said. “We are focused on creating a diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem that will strengthen Puerto Rico’s well-established manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, while also supporting the emergence of new sectors.” Entrepreneurs account for the largest increase in recent job numbers on the island, and DDEC encourages this growth with financial incentives and training for young people, and provides resources to support the start-up of sustainable businesses. Bacó said the program is fostering the development of less traditio...

At the request of customers from Puerto Rico, Online Stores has produced the first commercially available 51-star American flag, symbolizing the possible conversion of Puerto Rico from a US Territory into US state. Social media followers of the US Flag Store, the flag division of Online Stores, offered their thanks and support when the flag was announced. American made of weather-resistant nylon in the popular 3'x5' size, the flag retails for $23.95 and is available for purchase online at the OnlineStores.com using this direct link: http://www.onlinestores.com/51-star-american-flag-3ftx5ft-sewn-nylon.html. The flag is of course not an official US flag yet as it has not been adopted by Congress. Jorge, a customer of Online Stores, Inc. said, "As a proud American citizen and a native of Puerto Rico, I would like to see my island as the 51st State of the Union. After 519 years first as a US colony and then as a US territory, the people of Puerto Rico demand equality so we ca...

Candidates are being interviewed this week for a chief restructuring officer at Puerto Rico's struggling power authority, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, must hire a CRO by Sept. 8 under an agreement with creditors as it works on developing a restructuring plan to revive the utility, which has more than $9 billion in debt. Interviews are expected to last a few days, one of the people said. The CRO will essentially lead PREPA through what are expected to be contentious restructuring talks, working with creditors to develop a business plan and manage the agency's liquidity. PREPA said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday the tapping of a CRO is a "competitive process." "PREPA is looking for the best candidate ahead of September 8th," the agency said. "We will provide an update when a final decision has been made." Interviews are likely to include candidates from established, U.S....

Former Microsoft MSFT   +1.00% Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is resigning from the company’s board after 14 years. Ballmer is Microsoft to the core — his letter to Satya Nadella even adopts the new chief’s mantra of “mobile-first, cloud-first” — but he has other, important work to do. He just took over the Los Angeles Clippers, and already has one solid Ballmer-esque press conference under his belt. ( Video below and on YouTube .) Here is the full text of Ballmer’s resignation letter, with Nadella’s response. Dear Satya, As I approach the six month mark of my retirement and your appointment as CEO, I have been reflecting on my life, my ongoing ownership of Microsoft stock, and my involvement with the company. I have reached some conclusions and wanted to share them with you. I know August is the key month during which the company starts to prepare the proxy statement for the next shareholders’ meeting, and so these thoughts are probably timely for that too. First, Micro...

The judge asked to consider the constitutionality of a new   Puerto Rico   law that allows government-owned entities to restructure debt outside of federal bankruptcy court wants each side to make its case by October. Saying the new law depressed the value of $1.6 billion in power utility debt they hold, bond funds affiliated with   Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN)   and   Oppenheimer Rochester Funds (RMUNX) sued Puerto Rico in June, contending the Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act violates the U.S. Constitution. The law would let a commonwealth court restructure debt in a process akin to Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code . Puerto Rico has asked U.S. District Judge Francisco A. Besosa in San Juan Besosa to dismiss the suit and declare the law constitutional. The bond funds filed a so-called summary judgment motion this week, taking the position that undisputed facts require Besosa to declare the law void, regardless of the specific circums...

A power station of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, in San Juan. Prepa faces a possible restructuring. Reuters Puerto Rico's cash-strapped electric power authority faces a key deadline on Thursday to extend lines of credit with banks or face a possible restructuring of about $9 billion in total debt. Extensions of the loans would help the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority overcome a short term cash crunch and avoid more uncertainty about its future, which is roiling the market for Puerto Rico bonds. The authority last month   reached deals   with   Citigroup   Inc.   C   +0.64%   unit Citibank and banks led by Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, a unit of   Bank of Nova Scotia ,   BNS.T   +0.18%   to delay some payments on $671 million it owed the banks between July and mid-August. It was the second agreement to postpone payments. The power authority, known as Prepa, said in a statement that it is prohibited by nondisclosure agreemen...

Puerto Ricans have left the financially troubled island for the U.S. mainland this decade in their largest numbers since the Great Migration after World War II, citing job -related reasons above all others. U.S. Census Bureau data show that 144,000 more people left the island for the mainland than the other way around from mid-2010 to 2013, a larger gap between emigrants and migrants than during the entire decades of the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s. This escalated loss of migrants fueled the island’s first sustained population decline in its history as a U.S. territory, even as the stateside Puerto Rican population grew briskly. The search for economic opportunity is the most commonly given explanation for moving by island-born Puerto Ricans who relocated to the mainland from 2006 to 2013, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. 1 A plurality (42%) gave job-related reasons for moving stateside, compared with 38% who gave family-related reasons. Among ...