• The U.S. imposed sanctions on about 100 individuals, entities, and vessels, including a Chinese independent refinery and terminal that helped Iran's oil and petrochemicals trade, the administration of President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
• The Treasury Department sanctioned the Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, which it said is an independent teapot refinery in Shandong Province that has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023. It also sanctioned China-based Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal, which operates a terminal at Lanshan Port. Treasury said it has accepted more than a dozen of Iran's so-called shadow fleet vessels that evade the sanctions.
• The tankers included Kongm, Big Mag, and Voy, which Treasury said transported several million barrels of Iranian oil to Rizhao. The U.S. believes Iran's oil networks help Tehran fund its nuclear and missile programs and support militant proxies throughout the Middle East. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
• The sanctions came even as Israel and Hamas signed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, which, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.
• Treasury said it was the fourth round of sanctions in which the administration targeted China-based refineries that continue to purchase Iranian oil. Trump, at a Cabinet meeting in the White House after the sanctions were released, said Iran told the administration it was in favour of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal and that the U.S. would work with Tehran.
• Despite waves of U.S. sanctions, Iran continues to export large amounts of oil. United Against a Nuclear Iran, which tracks the country's petroleum shipments, said Iran's oil exports in September set a new high for the year of about 63.2 million barrels, worth about $4.26 billion. UANI said September's growth in sales was likely due to stockpiling ahead of the resumption of U.N. sanctions on Iran.
• The State Department said the U.S. also designated the first China-based terminal, Jiangyin Foreversun Chemical Logistics, for receiving Iranian-origin petrochemical products. The Chinese embassy in Washington and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Sources: Reuters)

• Buoyed by higher revenues and lower direct costs, Express Catering Limited (ECL) saw a 49.7% jump in its earnings for the quarter ended August 2025 (Q1 2026).
• Q1 revenues rose 4.8% YoY (to US$6.79Mn) on the back of a 5.52% increase in the number of passengers accessing the departure lounge of the Sangster International airport – where ECL operates restaurants, bars, and food outlets – to 704,56. This growth was sufficient to compensate for a marginal decline in per customer spend rate from US$9.70 to US$9.64.
• A 10.3% YoY decline in cost of goods sold (COGS) also supported higher profits. Management credited the lower COGS to initiatives to secure medium-term fixed-price contracts for ingredients, which allows the company sufficient time to review selling prices and to effect any necessary changes. It also pointed to increased controls and monitoring of standards in the use of ingredients.
• Meanwhile, overall operating expenses increased marginally (1.0%), reflecting lower wages that were eroded by increases in other costs. Wages and salaries declined by 15.0% following initiatives aimed at improving scheduling. However, this was countered by higher utilities, specifically electricity (+44.0%). Additionally, credit card commissions (+64.0%) also offset lower wages, as the company converted several outlets into a credit card-only payment option to increase controls.
• With a promising start for Q1, the company has a positive outlook for FY2026. Management noted that there was no empirical evidence of any slowdown in the sector [Tourism]. Tourist stopover arrivals have been more diverse in H1 2025, with a surge in LATAM and Asian tourists (+77.2% and +22.8% year-on-year, respectively¹). This helps to offset the decline seen in the US (-1.3%) and Europe (-1.0%) and bolsters the outlook for ECL in FY2025/26.
• ECL’s stock price has declined by 11.9% year-to-date, closing at $2.66 as at Wednesday. At this price, the stock is trading at a P/E ratio of 6.5x, which is below the Junior Market Tourism Sector average of 13.6x.

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¹Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB)

(Source: NCBCM Research and ECL Financial Statements)

• Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to fostering and maintaining the enabling conditions necessary to attract and retain investors.
• Addressing a business briefing and press engagement for the United Kingdom (UK) Trade Mission to Jamaica 2025 at the British High Commission in New Kingston on Wednesday (October 8), Senator Hill said the country continues to stand out as a premier investment destination.
• He noted that Jamaica’s strategic geographic location, natural deep-water port, low crime rates, strong legal and judicial system, political stability, economic growth, and low unemployment are all critical factors in attracting and sustaining investment.
• Additionally, the Minister noted that the ongoing development of critical infrastructure, the buildout of Jamaica’s logistics centres, and the upskilling of the population are central to the country’s investment strategy. He urged investors to capitalise on these advancements and invest in Jamaica’s future.
• Senator Hill also indicated that aspects of Jamaica’s procurement regulations will be revised to facilitate stronger partnerships and enhance investor engagement.
• The UK Trade Mission to Jamaica, which runs from October 8 to 10, brought together a high-level delegation of UK companies exploring trade and investment opportunities in Jamaica.
• It seeks to deepen UK-Jamaica commercial collaboration, foster trade expansion, and strengthen ties between UK exporters and Jamaican industries. Additionally, it aims to strengthen bilateral commercial ties, foster sustainable partnerships, and reinforce Jamaica’s position as a strategic gateway to the wider Caribbean market.

(Source: JIS)

• After a relatively strong 2024 and a contraction in Q1 2025, BMI expects that Trinidad and Tobago will see modest growth for the remainder of 2025 and 2026.
• T&T’s economic growth, measured by YoY real GDP growth, was above-trend at 2.5% in 2024, but contracted in Q1 2025 by 2.1%. This was T&T’s worst quarterly figure since Q1 2021 and was driven by contractions from the energy (-4.8%) and non-energy (-1.0%) sectors. The decline occurred amid a weak external demand environment, ongoing trade uncertainty, a softening labour market, and depressed energy prices.
• Domestic trade and repairs, the largest industry in Trinidad and Tobago’s quarterly GDP tables, contracted by 6.5%, with mining, transportation and storage, and utilities also contracting. However, some industries grew, including manufacturing and construction, though at a slower rate than in the previous quarter.
• Notwithstanding the Q1 slump, BMI expects modest growth for the remainder of 2025 and 2026. T&T’s energy-dependent economy is expected to grow by a modest 1.3% in 2025 and 2.7% in 2026, driven by increases in hydrocarbon production.
• BMI’s Oil and Gas team forecasts a 2.0% increase in gas output in 2025, a 12.0% increase in 2026, and a 4.2% increase in 2027. This view is underpinned by new gas fields coming online over these periods. Following a disappointing Q1, T&T’s LNG production saw strong growth in Q2 (27.8%) and in the first two months of Q3 (30.3%), with year-to-date output up 15.1%.
• Additionally, increased tourist arrivals in Q2 (16.8%), growth in cashless payments, and an increase in the volume of point-of-sale purchases (7.7%) suggest stabilising domestic demand. Inflation is also expected to remain low over the near and medium terms, supporting household consumption.
• However, declines in local cement sales and commercial vehicle sales in Q2 suggest sluggish business investment activity. Import data also points to ongoing investment weakness, with notable contractions in imports of capital goods in Q1 (-32.9%) and Q2 (-4.0%).
• Notwithstanding the moderate outlook, policy headwinds to growth will persist. In the near term, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) is unlikely to ease monetary policy to stimulate domestic growth. Instead, BMI expects that over the medium-term, the CBTT will raise its policy rate to counter capital outflows and stabilise the domestic foreign-exchange market, a headwind to growth in an already sluggish economy. Moreover, there is little scope for a growth-focused fiscal stance, with the forthcoming 2026 budget - expected in early October- unlikely to deliver meaningful stimulus given ongoing fiscal constraints.

(Source: BMI)

• Guyana has strengthened military cooperation with France to safeguard the oil-rich Essequibo region, escalating tensions with Venezuela just as the United States expands maritime strikes on vessels linked to Caracas. The defence announcement follows new reports of French assistance in surveillance and air patrols over Guyana’s western frontier, where ExxonMobil-led production continues to rise above 640,000 barrels per day (bpd), United Press International reported.
• Venezuela maintains its long-standing claim over Essequibo, an area that encompasses most of Guyana’s proven offshore reserves, which now rank among the largest discoveries of the century. Caracas argues the 1899 arbitral award granting the region to then-British Guiana is invalid and continues to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Guyana has filed its case.
• French defence officials said the partnership aims to reinforce “regional stability and maritime domain awareness,” while Georgetown emphasised that its growing oil output requires stronger security coordination as exports climb toward 800,000 bpd by mid-2026. The new alignment comes amid renewed confrontation between Washington and Caracas.
• Over the past week, U.S. forces have carried out at least four strikes on what the Pentagon described as “drug-trafficking vessels” operating near Venezuelan waters. One attack killed four crew members after a speedboat was hit in international waters off the Paria Peninsula. President Donald Trump has defended the actions under expanded rules of engagement against cartels, while Venezuelan officials denounced them as “acts of war.”
• The tensions now reach into two of South America’s main oil zones. In Guyana, production led by ExxonMobil and its partners has topped 640,000 barrels a day and is expected to double by 2027 as new fields come online. Just across the border, Venezuela holds the world’s largest crude reserves but remains trapped under U.S. sanctions and chronic underinvestment. The two stories are now intermingling, with one country expanding output under Western backing, and the other struggling to sell its oil as U.S. warships patrol nearby waters.

(Source: Oilprice)

• Canada's merchandise trade deficit widened in August to C$6.32Bn ($4.53Bn), its second-highest on record, as exports both to the U.S. and the rest of the world fell, data showed.
• The August data had been expected to show a more permanent impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, after exports increased earlier in the year to beat the tariffs and then dropped off sharply. Total exports dropped by 3% in August from July, while imports increased 0.9%, Statistics Canada said. It was the first decrease in total exports since April. In volume terms, exports fell 2.8% in August.
• Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the August trade deficit at C$5.55Bn, up from an upwardly revised C$3.82Bn in the prior month. Meanwhile, Trump imposed sectoral tariffs on Canada early this year, forcing businesses to reorient their supply chain from its biggest trading partner. But the shift has been volatile, erratic, and difficult.
• Overall, exports dropped in eight of the 11 product sections in August, with forestry, industrial machinery, and metals leading the charge. Exports to the U.S. were at C$44.18Bn, down 3.4% from July, StatsCan said, adding it was primarily led by unwrought gold exports. But other product categories contributed to the decline, including lumber, machinery, and equipment. Canada's share of exports to the U.S. fell below 70% a few months ago before recovering to 73% in August, compared with 75% during the same period last year.
• Prime Minister Mark Carney will be meeting with Trump on Tuesday as he comes under pressure to address the impacts of U.S. tariffs on critical sectors such as steel, cars, and lumber. Imports from the U.S. were down 1.4% in August, every month, shrinking the total trade surplus with its southern neighbour to C$6.43Bn from C$7.42Bn in July.
• Exports to countries other than the United States were down 2% in August, a third consecutive monthly decline, Statscan said. Lower exports of crude oil and nuclear fuel contributed most to the monthly decrease. However, Canada's imports from the rest of the world, barring the U.S., rose 4.2%, reaching a record in August, StatsCan's data showed. This pushed Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States to a record high of C$12.8Bn in August from C$11.2Bn in July, StatsCan said. The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker after the trade data, down 0.13% to 1.3960 to the U.S. dollar, or 71.63 U.S. cents. Yields on the two-year government bonds were up 0.2 basis points to 2.469%

(Source: Reuters)

• Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill highlighted that central bankers should adopt what he described as a "conservative" approach to setting interest rates, including responding firmly if price growth gets out of hand.
• Pill, who voted against the BoE's most recent rate cut to 4% in August, said his speech at the University of Birmingham was not intended to be a comment on the current stance of monetary policy or the economic outlook. But he said central bankers should make clear their commitment to prioritising price stability above wider goals for growth and employment over which they could not exert much long-term influence.
• "We should be cautious in assigning monetary policy responsibility for real economic outcomes because, over the longer term at least, all monetary policy can do is determine the nominal dynamics of the economy," he noted.
• The BoE estimates that British consumer price inflation reached 4% in September and forecasts that it will not return to its 2% target until mid-2027. Pill also said there was now too much uncertainty in the economy, both from unpredictable geopolitical events and difficulties estimating underlying economic variables, to focus on especially sophisticated approaches to setting rates.
• Pill also noted that noisy, frequently revised official economic data and potential shifts in labour market behaviour since the pandemic made it hard to estimate how much spare capacity there was in the economy. It also made it difficult to estimate the neutral level of unemployment in a timely enough way for policymakers.

(Sources: Reuters)

• The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), on Monday, welcomed the arrival of two state-of-the-art Post-Panamax ship-to-shore gantry cranes at Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL)¹.
• The cranes, among the largest of their kind in the Caribbean, will significantly enhance Jamaica’s capacity to efficiently accommodate the new generation of mega-vessels transiting through the expanded Panama Canal.
• PAJ President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Professor Gordon Shirley, told JIS News that the arrival of the cranes marks a major step forward in Jamaica’s efforts to enhance port productivity, strengthen operational efficiency, and elevate global competitiveness.
• Professor Shirley noted that the strategic investment forms part of an ongoing modernisation programme under the concession agreement between KFTL and the PAJ, signed in 2016. He added that, since then, more than US$500Mn has been invested in substantial infrastructure upgrades. These include the reconstruction of berths, installation of modern port operating systems, expansion of storage capacity, and upgrades to port security and logistics equipment.
• Professor Shirley further stated that the arrival of the new cranes will facilitate the redistribution of crane capacity across the terminal. The South Berth, designated for larger vessels, will now accommodate the new high-capacity cranes, enabling the port to efficiently service two mega-vessels simultaneously. Two of the existing smaller cranes will be relocated to the West Berth, optimising operations for medium-sized vessels.
• “This is all about the continued evolution of the terminal. By strategically aligning our equipment with vessel size and berth location, the entire port ecosystem becomes more streamlined and productive,” Professor Shirley informed.
• The crane expansion also responds to increasing cargo volumes and the imperative for faster vessel turnaround times. With rising demand from local distributors and manufacturers importing in larger volumes, existing port storage facilities have reached full capacity.

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¹Not to be confused with Kingston Wharves, Kingston Free Port is the operator of the Kingston Container Terminal, a French-owned concession from the Port Authority of Jamaica, focusing on container transhipment. Kingston Wharves, on the other hand, is a publicly traded company specialising in multipurpose cargo, particularly motor vehicle imports, and also offers logistics and warehousing services.

(Source: JIS)

• The World Bank nudged up its estimate for economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean next year, though the region remains the world's slowest-growing due to stubborn inflation, high debt and rising uncertainties due to United States (U.S.) tariff policies. The region's economy is likely to expand 2.5% in 2026, up from a June forecast of 2.4%. Its forecast for this year was unchanged at 2.3%, which would represent a slight improvement over last year's 2.2%.
• For Latin America, Brazil's estimate for 2025 remained at 2.4%, with growth seen decelerating to 2.2% next year. Mexico's economy is now expected to expand 0.5% this year, up from the June forecast of 0.2%, with growth accelerating to 1.4% next year. Argentina remains the fastest growing among the region's largest economies, but its 2025 estimate was cut by the most, to 4.6% from 5.5%. For 2026, growth for the grains exporter is expected to decelerate to 4%. Bolivia's economy is now seen contracting this year and next, presenting challenges for the winner of a presidential runoff vote scheduled for October 19.
• For the Caribbean, Guyana is still set to record the largest growth, with GDP projected at 11.8% in 2025 and 22.4% in 2026. Jamaica is forecasted to grow by 2% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026; Barbados: 2.7% and 2.0%; the Bahamas: 2.3% and 2.1%; the Dominican Republic: 3.0% and 4.3%; and Trinidad and Tobago: 1.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
• The World Bank said that while there is expectation for stable prices, inflation targets have gotten harder to meet and interest rates are falling more slowly. Uncertainty about global trade policies - in the face of tariffs imposed by the United States - has weighed on investment across the board. The report noted that familiar barriers like weak infrastructure, a bias in favour of established companies, and poor education at all levels were inhibiting entrepreneurship and how big companies can grow.

(Source: World Bank and Reuters)

• The governments of Dominica and Barbados have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at enhancing the appeal of both destinations and developing new vacation experiences for global travellers.
• Marva Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), announced the partnership, emphasising its strategic importance of helping to “…to cement a step towards strengthening the appeal of both countries to promote sustainable tourism and to develop new vacation experiences for travellers”.
• The MOU establishes a joint framework for cooperation, with a strong emphasis on marketing, knowledge sharing, idea exchange, and enhancing the visitor experience across both destinations. The timing of the agreement aligns with growing interest in Caribbean travel from key markets such as Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Latin America.
• Williams added that the collaboration “This collaboration is especially timely as the Caribbean continues to attract travellers… who are seeking diverse and enriching unique experiences,” she said. To ensure the effective implementation of the MOU, a joint working group will be formed to monitor the development of a detailed action plan to ensure that the partnership achieves its objectives and ensures that the economic value is seen for both countries.
• Ultimately, the MOU also highlights a broader regional significance as it aligns with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s “Re-imagine Tourism” initiative.

(Source: Dominican News Online)