Dollars and Sense, a News is my Business podcast

Today’s special episode features interviews with representatives from Puerto Rico’s private sector to discuss the events of the last week, when six people with ties to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s administration were arrested on corruption charges, as well as the contents of nearly 900 pages of a chat on Telegram involving the governor and a group of his tightest collaborators were revealed. 

The lineup of interviewees is:

At Dollars and Sense, we wanted to know the effects of these situations on Puerto Rico’s current and future business and investment climate. These were their thoughts.

In this special “Throwback Thursday” edition of our podcast series, we re-visit our exclusive  interview with Sir Richard Branson, who took shelter in Puerto Rico —  with most of his family and staff — after Hurricane Irma ravaged the  British Virgin Islands and his property on Necker Island in September  2017.

This is the first time News is my Business has released the audio of this interview, done at a lobby of a hotel in Isla Verde.

Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Antonio Sosa-Pascual, co-chair of the Puerto Rico Technology Cluster talk about the opportunities for small companies in Puerto Rico to do business with the large federal agency. They spoke about the importance of promoting innovation and entrepreneurial vision in this industry.

Nonprofit organization Causa Local Founder Ana María Cintrón talks  about the mission to provide alternative access to capital for small and  medium  businesses in Puerto Rico. 

Through crowdfunding and loans, local operations like Molcajete Foods  are able to get their businesses off the ground, says Roberto Rivera,  one of the three founding brothers of the Caguas-based manufacturing  operation.

Puerto Rico Information Technology Cluster co-Chairman, Antonio  Sosa-Pascual and Board member José Huyke discuss the agenda for the  upcoming conference that will feature local and international IT  industry leaders talking about Artificial Intelligence, Health  Technology, Cyber ​​Security, Innovation and Business Vision, IT as  Economic Development, among others.

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Dennis Román, vice president of the Sila M. Calderón Foundation’s Centro para Puerto Rico discusses the nonprofit’s missions and programs  to promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance among the island’s youth  and low-income women.

CPA Rubén Rodríguez, a member of the Puerto Rico Society of CPAs, and  expert on the topic of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), discusses  their benefits to taxpayers in Puerto Rico in our latest podcast  episode.

Liberty Puerto Rico President Naji Khoury says NBCUniversal is holding customers hostage, while no new negotiations are scheduled to solve the matter to get Telemundo, NBC and 13 other channels back on the air. In the meantime, the carrier is offering discounted services and vows to give credit.

Listen to the full interview HERE!

In this episode of Dollar$ and $ense, we share with you information provided during a news conference in San Juan about the agreement reached between the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (known as COR3) and FEMA for the review and reimbursement approval of federal recovery funds. Heading the news conference were Omar Marrero, executive director of COR3, and Mike Byrne, FEMA's acting Caribbean area division director for disaster operations in Puerto Rico.

U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Steven Bulger  is visiting the island this week as a curtain raiser to the start of  this year's Emerging Leaders program, which so far has graduated more  than 90 local companies, said SBA District Director for Puerto Rico and  the U.S. Virgin Islands, Yvette T.  Collazo.