The authorities in the Cayman Islands expect to have greater autonomy from Britain from the 6th of November.

	Mr Bush will have the title of premier from next month

That's when a new constitution takes effect, giving the Caribbean territory its first premier, McKeeva Bush.

Mr Bush is at the moment leader of government business.

The November 6 date was announced by Governor Stuart Jack in a speech to the islands' legislature on Friday.

Election goes to court

A court challenge has been filed in Montserrat against the election of Reuben Meade, the island's Chief Minister.

Mr Meade led his Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) to victory in elections on 8 September.

According to court documents, Mr Meade's election to the legislature is being challenged on grounds that it violated the island's constitution.

It is alleged that he was the director of a company doing business with the government at the time of his nomination as a candidate.

The challenge was filed by newspaper publisher Bennette Roach, who was a losing candidate.

A pre-election protest against Mr Meade's candidacy was rejected by the island's electoral authorities.

French island given high credit marks

Guadeloupe has received a high rating from Fitch credit rating agency.

Fitch said it gave the AA- rating largely on the basis of the French Caribbean department's low debt and its secure financial management.

The agency also said it took into account structural economic weaknesses and the high tax burden.

It said despite the unfavourable domestic and international economic environments, the outlook for the French island was positive.

However it did note that compared to mainland France, standards of living indicators for Guadeloupe are unfavourable.

The rating, which means Guadeloupe is a very low credit risk, is one of the highest among Caribbean nations.

Haiti business conference closes

More than 200 businessmen have ended a two-day visit to Haiti to explore business opportunities in the country.

It was essentially a networking event but some potential investors said they were encouraged by Haiti's newfound political stability.

The conference has no far produced no major investment or jobs announcements but the United Nations has said that economic developments since Bill Clinton was named UN special envoy to Haiti in May hold promise.

For example, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line recently invested $55million to develop Labadee, a north coast beach resort, and to create a new vocational school to train Haitians for jobs in the hospitality industry.

George Soros' Open Society Institute also plans to spearhead a free-trade zone of clothing factories near the Cite Soleil slum.

Mr Clinton, the former US president, chaired the conference which was organised by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Sugar agreement ends

For 34 years, the EU-ACP sugar protocol has been the bedrock of the Caricom sugar export trade.

But this past week, the agreement that governed sales from a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to the European Union officially expired, rather quietly.

The protocol provided selected ACP nations with guaranteed access to the EU market for fixed quantities of sugar at preferential prices.

New arrangements are in place that will allow a six year transition period, but the change has meant a reduction in prices of 36%.