"Terrorist attacks rattle New Credit Trust Fund"

NEW CREDIT - The economic impact of the World Trade Centre disaster hit close to home Monday night, when it was announced the New Credit Community Trust has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of the widespread financial slump triggered by the events of Sept. 11.

Mark Sylvester, general manager of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations Community Trust, told band council at its monthly general meeting the community's $14 million trust fund suffered a loss of about $300,000 as a result of the sharp economic downturn in North America over the past two weeks.

"We did lose some value in our investments, but it's not nearly as bad as it could have been," said Sylvester.

"The advice we're getting is not to panic, not to worry."

Despite the loss, Sylvester said he believes the trust is well protected from significant short term market instability, as a sizable portion of the trust is in fixed income investments.

He added that although the picture of North American markets has been bleak over the past two weeks, New Credit is poised to recoup at least some of its losses in the foreseeable future.

"We are in a very good position for future growth," he said.

"There's a lot of bargains out there, so I suspect in the next couple of months we will be in a good position to buy."

Sylvester noted past instances of political turmoil, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, also produced immediate economic hardship, but that all ultimately led to significant market growth.