highlighted to the local community in Expo 2000.

The event has secured sponsorship from over 50 companies including the banks, accounting firms, law firms and insurance companies.

A cyber cafe will be a new addition to the festivities this year.

Duane Dill organiser of the event said the cafe would be "a highlight of the technolgy focus'' and will feature nearly 30 terminals carrying the special IB Week website and providing wireless connection to the Internet.

"This is a very exciting feature which we feel will be popular among everyone attending the Expo,'' he said.

The week will culminate in a special tented Expo in the City Hall car park.

S&P: INSURANCE RATES BEGINNING TO FIRM UP BUC S&P: Insurance rates beginning to firm up After a year of several catastrophes the insurance ratings group, Standard & Poor's announced that rates are beginning to firm up.

The information is contained in the 2000 issue of Global Reinsurance Highlights which was released this week.

The news is on the agenda for discussion as the annual reinsurance rendezvous in Monte Carlo taking place this week., "Although markets in general performed poorly in 1999, Standard & Poor's report of the top 150 reinsurers indicates that individual companies were able to report excellent results through a combination of underwriting, creative reinsurance programmes and luck,'' said Robert Mebus, managing director of Standard and Poor's.