Economic Highlights
United States: Tariffs May Live On as Trump’s Best Bet to Enforce a China Deal American tariffs are what got China to the negotiating table in the first place, the Trump administration argues. Those same tariffs may be needed even after a trade deal is reached –- to ensure that China sticks to it. That’s
Date: February 01, 2019 For the period of April 2018 to December 2018, the GOJ reported Total Revenues & Grants of $448.77 billion, $11.47 billion more than the Government’s projection. Year over year, this represents an increase of approximately 14.8% relative to the $390.95 billion recorded for the corresponding period in 2017. ‘Tax Revenue’, ‘Non-Tax
Date: February 01, 2019 According to the latest report published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, unemployment within the EA19 remained stable month over month for December 2018 at 7.9%. This figure when compared to 2017 statics represents a decrease in unemployment moving from 8.6% twelve months earlier to the current 7.9%.
United States: Fed Conspiracy Theories See Powell as Fickle Boyfriend, Wise Man The momentous, mysterious monetary U-turn by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues this week has spawned a host of conspiracy theories as to what’s really going on at the world’s most powerful central bank. They range from the simple -– the
Brent Oil Brent oil prices decreased by 0.33% or US$0.20, as prices decreased this week relative to the prior week. Oil traded on January 31, 2019 at a price of US$62.42 per barrel relative to US$61.13 on January 24, 2019. Brent oil began the year at US$53.80 per barrel. Petrojam prices 87 Octane prices decreased
Date: January 31, 2019 United States: Fed Adopts ‘Patient’ Rate Stance With Balance-Sheet Flexibility The Federal Reserve signaled it’s done raising interest rates for at least a while and will be flexible in reducing its bond holdings, a sweeping pivot from its bias toward tighter monetary policy just last month. U.S. stocks rallied, Treasury yields
Date: January 30, 2019 Based on the latest information received by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) since December, The FOMC has indicated the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a solid rate. In addition to this, Job gains have been strong on average in recent months.
United States: Powell to Stress Fed Patience on Rate Hikes: Decision Day Guide Jerome Powell will debut the Federal Reserve’s latest communications strategy -- a press conference eight times a year -- by emphasizing patience in raising interest rates, a message the chairman struggled to deliver in December. The Federal Open Market Committee is widely
Date: January 29, 2019 138 Student Living Jamaica Limited (138SL) held its 4th Annual General Meeting today at the Mona Visitors Lodge, UWI Mona. Chairman, Mr. Richard Byles, in his opening remarks, highlighted that this was a very challenging year for the Group which concluded with a loss after taxation of $16.25 million. The Chairman
United States: U.S. Treasury Set to Borrow $1 Trillion for a Second Year to Finance the Deficit The U.S. Treasury Department is set to maintain elevated sales of long-term debt to finance the government’s widening budget deficit, with new issuance projected to top $1 trillion for a second-straight year. Many strategists at primary-dealer firms predict
