HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda was all but a fright this Halloween weekend as thousands gathered to witness the all-star line-up of musicians and comedians who descended on Bermuda to honour the legendary Quincy Jones during the 2009 Bermuda Music Festival, which kicked off on Thursday night. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda's Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Paula Cox, said that the government of Bermuda welcomed the independent review of British offshore financial centres produced by Michael Foot and released on Thursday by the United Kingdom government. read more...

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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Britain's overseas financial havens should bump up taxes to wean their economies off credit crunch hit banking, insurance and funds services, a government commissioned report said on Thursday. The UK government signalled its backing for the report. read more...

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LONDON, England (IFEX) -- ARTICLE 19, a British-based organisation that defends and promotes freedom of expression and freedom of information all over the world, has produced a submission on the Public Access to Information Bill prepared by the government of Bermuda. "We very much welcome efforts... read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- New flights by British Airways to St Kitts and other Caribbean destinations will mean an additional 2,000 seats to the region. BA will operate a total 55 flights a week from London to the Caribbean, with 11 destinations served from Gatwick and three from Heathrow. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- US Open champion Lucas Glover coasted to a five-shot victory at the end-of-season PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Wednesday after firing a five-under-par 66. Two strokes ahead overnight in the elite 36-hole event, Glover posted an 11-under total of 131 at Port Royal Golf Course. read more...

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SOUTHAMPTON PARISH, Bermuda (AFP) -- US Open champion Lucas Glover seized control on the first day of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf firing a course record six-under 65 Tuesday. Glover has a two-stroke lead over fellow American and British Open champion Stewart Cink at the Port Royal Golf Club course. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda's Minister of Finance Paula Cox announced on Tuesday that Bermuda has concluded a bilateral agreement with Aruba that provides for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters between Bermuda and Aruba. The tax information exchange agreement... read more...

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DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) -- Ireland has picked Matthew Elderfield, chief executive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), as the new head of financial supervision at the Central Bank of Ireland, Governor Patrick Honohan said on Monday. Elderfield will take up his position in January 2010. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda has signed a bilateral agreement with Mexico that provides for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters. The signing of the tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) and Memorandum of Understanding took place in Mexico City. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- The Minister of Finance Paula Cox, announced last week that Bermuda has signed a bilateral agreement with France that provides for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters between the two countries. Currently, Bermuda has 16 signed TIEAs in place. read more...

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) -- Caribbean and Atlantic offshore finance centers are hitting back against attempts to portray them as shady tax havens and say world leaders are making them scapegoats for the global downturn. "It's not fair," said McKeeva Bush, political leader of the Cayman Islands. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- The Internal Revenue Service is moving to bolster enforcement of a 2004 law that bars companies from avoiding US taxes by moving their headquarters offshore to Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The action is the IRS’s latest effort to stop practices that let US companies avoid taxes. read more...

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LOS ANGELES, USA -- Legendary producer & composer Quincy Jones (or "Q" as he has come to be known amongst fans and friends alike) and boxing-turned-entertainment promoter Rock Newman this week unveiled the group of award-winning musicians that will assemble to perform with Quincy in Bermuda. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda has been elected Vice Chair of the Steering Group of the new Global Forum at the 5th Meeting of the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information
for Tax Purposes held in Mexico City September 1-2 2009.  Some 178 delegates from over 70 jurisdictions... read more...

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FORT WORTH, USA -- Here's a simple way to save money on a trip to your favorite sunny destinations this fall: grab a great low fare on American Airlines and make a dash for an exciting spot in the Caribbean, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda. The choice is up to you and your imagination. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Bermuda-based insurers Argus Group Holdings Ltd. and Tremont International Insurance Ltd. reached a partial settlement of a lawsuit on behalf of policyholders over the companies’ investment with Bernard Madoff, court records show. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda (Reuters) - Hurricane Bill doused Bermuda with rain and battered its shores with powerful surf on Saturday as it moved on a path off the US East Coast. Residents of Bermuda, a 20 square mile island British territory and a center for the insurance industry, mostly stayed off the streets overnight. read more...

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HAMILTON, USA (Reuters) -- Bermuda advised its residents to stay off the streets on Friday to avoid rain, battering surf and flooding as Hurricane Bill followed a path between the island and the US East Coast. The core of the large hurricane was expected to pass west of Bermuda early Saturday. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- The trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff’s business told a judge in the US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan that two Cayman Islands and Bermuda hedge-fund firms accused of profiting from the fraud are ignoring his lawsuits seeking a total of $230.7 million in damages. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda (Reuters) -- Hurricane Bill weakened slightly on Thursday but was expected to regain power on a northwest ocean track that will take it between Bermuda, where inhabitants prepared for high winds and heavy seas, and the US East Coast. Bill is the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- Powerful Hurricane Bill, a dangerous Category 4 storm with 135 mph (215 kph) winds, raged across the open Atlantic on Wednesday, days from land but on a path that could menace Canada's eastern provinces next week. Residents of Bermuda were warned to prepare for the storm. read more...

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BOSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Bill strengthened into a Category 3 major storm as it swirled through the Atlantic on a forecast course for Bermuda, the US National Hurricane Center said. Bill, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, packed maximum sustained winds of almost 125 miles per hour. read more...

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BOSTON, USA (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Bill strengthened in the Atlantic and may grow into a major storm as it heads for Bermuda later this week, while tropical depression Ana dissipated in the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said. Bill packed maximum sustained winds of about 90 miles an hour. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda (Reuters) -- Four Guantanamo prisoners who were released to Bermuda in June have been given jobs tending a public golf course on the tiny Atlantic island. The four members of China's Muslim Uighur minority began working last week to help prepare the lush, seaside Port Royal course. read more...

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DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) -- Ireland and Bermuda have signed an agreement that will enable Irish tax investigators to request information from Bermuda authorities, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said on Tuesday. A number of companies are relocating from Bermuda to Ireland. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Multi-Grammy winning producer, composer and arranger Quincy Jones will be joined by a number of A-list artists, including Ne-Yo, for a performance at the 14th Annual Bermuda Music Festival from October 29 - 31, 2009. Over the past 14 years, Bermuda has welcomed an unparalleled lineup. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- The trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff’s business told a judge he is in settlement talks with three hedge funds accused of taking $3.54 billion in fake profit from the conman’s fraud. Trustee Irving Picard said he’s in similar talks with two funds run by Bermuda-based Kingate Management. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- A Venezuelan investor has sued Bermuda-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd over the collapse of the Stanford banking empire, saying he relied on assurances from Willis that Stanford was sound.  The lawsuit accused Willis of fraud, negligence and misrepresentation. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., Arch Capital Group Ltd. and Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. may seek to buy reinsurers after Bermuda-based rivals Validus Holdings Ltd. and PartnerRe Ltd. announced takeovers this week. “There’s always been a herd mentality,” said Michael Paisan. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda’s Minister of Finance Paula Cox announced on Friday  that Bermuda has signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Germany. The bilateral agreement, which was signed at a ceremony at the German Embassy in London, provides for a full exchange of information. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA -- Starwood Hotels has announced plans to open a new St Regis hotel in Bermuda, marking the debut of Starwood and the St Regis brand on the exclusive island. Scheduled to open in 2013, the St Regis Bermuda will be located in the heart of downtown Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- The Bank of NT Butterfield & Son Limited has announced the official closing of the Offering Period for an issue of USD 200 million of Government guaranteed, 8.00% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Limited Voting Preference Shares on 22 June 2009. The initial offering was oversubscribed. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bermuda’s Ministry of Finance moved a step closer to its goal of signing Tax Information Exchange Agreements, (TIEAs), with all G7 nations and other major international trading and commercial partners having completed negotiations on the exchange of tax information with Japan. read more...

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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- National insurance regulators across the world have begun signing up to a global framework for sharing information about large cross-border insurers. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors said the Bermuda Monetary Authority was one of the first to sign. read more...

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (GIS) -- Bermudian government officials reviewed Cayman’s experiences with Freedom of Information (FOI) during an official visit last week. The country’s two Cabinet Office policy analysts Kimberley McKeown and Marisa Sharp spent three days in Cayman. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda -- At the recently concluded Annual Business Meeting of the University of the West Indies' Council, which was held for the first time at the St Augustine Campus, the petition by Bermuda to be recognised as a full contributing country was unanimously accepted. read more...

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HAMILTON, Bermuda (Reuters) -- Bermudian Premier Ewart Brown on Saturday survived a parliamentary no-confidence motion brought by opponents after he allowed four Chinese prisoners from the US prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, to settle on the mid-Atlantic island. Brown has faced angry public demonstrations. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- The former head of ailing US insurance giant AIG told a court Wednesday that he had a private jet fly a large block of the company's stock to Bermuda from New York to prevent AIG from seizing it. Maurice "Hank" Greenberg told US District Judge Jed Rakoff "It was starting to get very ugly." read more...

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I had to read the words of the letter three times because I could not believe my eyes on either of the two previous readings. This is what the Chairman of the US Congress, Bill Delahunt, wrote to Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown when his government controversially agreed to give refuge to four Chinese Muslims read more...

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