News

As local businesses are working to recover from the hits taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, some are finding it a challenge to hire workers to fill vacant positions.

The smell of fresh baked bread and other delicious foods are filling the air as Guam welcomes a new barcade and barista, artisan bread shop, and a fast-food joint serving up rice bowls to the island. 

The island’s small business community is seeing changes – from a new food delivery service to new ownership of a long-standing pest control company, and a new venue for the decades-old Faith Bookstore and Gifts Shop.

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — After eight deliveries of skipjack tuna to Walmart in 2022, the first year of a new supply deal with the Majuro-based Pacific Island Tuna Provisions company, Walmart is looking to accelerate the volumes of fish being delivered for processing under the U.S. retail giant’s house tuna brand, Great Value.

As the island nation of Palau works to rebuild an economy devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitni Kekerelchad Joseph and Clint Moore are two entrepreneurs hoping they’ll make a positive impact. 

As we entered 2023, we welcomed with relief the ending of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, which was in effect for more than three years. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the PHE will end on May 11. COVID-19 will cost the global economy over $12.5 trillion through 2024, according to a report from The International Monetary Fund. The lasting social and economic effects of the pandemic are still unfolding and will be felt for several years to come.