• U.S. job growth rebounded more than expected in November after government-related spending cuts triggered the biggest drop in nonfarm payrolls in nearly five years in October, suggesting no material deterioration in labour market conditions as businesses navigate economic uncertainty wrought by President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policy.
• While the Labour Department's closely watched employment report on Tuesday showed the unemployment rate at more than a four-year high of 4.6% last month, the Bureau of Labour Statistics changed its methodology after the 43-day government shutdown prevented the collection of data from households.
• The jobless rate is calculated from the household survey. No unemployment rate for October was published for the first time since the government started tracking the series in 1948. The BLS warned on Monday that standard errors around the November household survey results would be "slightly higher" than usual. Economists said they were focusing on private job growth to get a better sense of the labour market's health. Private employment growth has averaged 75,000 jobs per month over the past three months, which some economists said should allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in January.
• "The firmer private sector employment figures support the Fed taking a pause in its rate-cutting cycle for some period," said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. "The unemployment rate ... should be taken with a large grain of salt since the disrupted normal collection of the household survey data due to the government shutdown distorted the data readings and is associated with higher-than-usual standard errors."
• Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 jobs last month. The economy shed 105,000 jobs in October, the biggest decline since December 2020. That slide was tied to a decrease of 162,000 jobs in federal government employment, the most since June 2010.
• Employees who took deferred buyouts as part of the Trump administration's push to shrink the government's footprint collected their last paycheck in September.

(Source: Reuters)

• Britain's unemployment rate hit its highest since the start of 2021, and private sector pay growth was the weakest in nearly five years in the run-up to finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual budget last month, official figures showed on Tuesday.
• The downbeat data reinforced the chances that the Bank of England will cut interest rates on Thursday to help the almost stagnant economy. The jobless rate edged up to 5.1% in the three months to October, its highest since the three months to January 2021, while private sector pay growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 3.9% from 4.2%.
• "The UK's jobs market visibly buckled ahead of the budget," Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said. "The unrelenting uncertainty from a torrent of policy speculation and a slumping economy forced more firms to reduce recruitment and curb wage settlements." Official data last week showed the economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% in the three months to October.
• After months of media speculation over possible tax increases, Reeves announced £26Bn ($35Bn) of tax hikes in her budget on November 26. But she delayed the introduction of most of them and spared employers the hit that she imposed in her first budget a year earlier. Many employers have said they scaled back hiring this year after Reeves raised their social security contributions in October 2024.
• Many employers have said they scaled back hiring this year after Reeves raised their social security contributions in October 2024. A measure of payroll data provided by the tax office showed a monthly drop of 38,000 in November. A fall of 32,000 first reported for October was revised to show a decline of 22,000 people in payrolled employment.

(Sources: Reuters)

• In accordance with Section 7 (1) (a) of the Banking Services Act 2014, the Bank of Jamaica has granted approval for JMMB Financial Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of JMMB Group Limited, to operate as a financial holding company. The Act suggests that a deposit institution must satisfy the Supervisory Committee as to the capacity of its operations to adequately support the establishment of a branch or a representative.
• To uphold the principles of good governance, the boards of directors for both JMMB Group Limited and JMMB Financial Holdings Limited have undergone a reorganisation. This restructuring aims to ensure the independence of each board, thereby strengthening oversight and accountability within the group.
• The separation of board responsibilities is designed to facilitate more focused and effective governance for each entity, allowing for tailored strategic direction and risk management in line with their respective mandates.
• By clearly delineating the roles and decision-making authority of each board, the Group can better safeguard its stakeholders’ interests and comply with regulatory requirements, such as those outlined in the Banking Services Act 2014. Furthermore, the reorganisation supports the Group’s long-term objectives by fostering a culture of transparency and responsiveness, which are essential for sustainable growth and operational resilience.
• Since the start of its financial year (April 2025), the company’s earnings have grown by 451.5% largely due to higher revenues and a 295.2% increase in the share of profit from Sagicor Financial Company.
• JMMB’s stock has decreased 20.1% year-to-date, closing at J$17.83 on Wednesday. At this price, the stock trades at a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.5x, which is lower than the Main Market Financial Sector’s average of 1.2x.

(Sources: JSE & NCBCM Research)

• West Indies Petroleum Terminal Limited (WIP Terminal) is seeking a listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) in a move to capitalise on the advantages associated with being a publicly traded entity.
• The Company is seeking to list up to 11,180,372,000 participating ordinary voting shares in the capital of West Indies Petroleum Terminal Limited at a price of J$0.50 per share. These shares will be listed on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. via a Listing by Introduction.
• West Indies Petroleum Terminal Limited (WIP Terminal) was incorporated as ERI Services (St. Lucia) Limited on August 10, 2006, and was acquired by West Indies Petroleum Limited (Jamaica) (WIP) for the purposes of becoming vertically integrated in the fuel business and entering the storage business.
• WIP is headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica and its customers includes Guyana Oil Company, Barbados National Oil Company, La Romana in Dominica Republic, Dominica National Petroleum Company Ltd, Kimazou Energy in Haiti, Curoil in Curacao, CMA-CGM, Zim Integrated Shipping Services Limited, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Caribbean Feeder Service, Lindsay Blee Limited, several other container and cargo shipping lines and over 200 retail customers in Jamaica.
• VM Wealth Management will serve as the lead broker for the upcoming listing by introduction.
• The term listing by introduction means a listing of the company’s securities on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, where none of the securities are being offered to the public. However, the advantages of listing encompass increased liquidity for existing shareholders, enhanced access to capital through equity transactions such as rights issues and Additional Public Offerings (APOs), heightened profile and visibility, and improved corporate governance.
• WIP Terminal is currently 79.84% majority owned by WIP Energy Limited, a 19.96% owned by World Energy Solutions Limited.

(Source: JSE)

• Petronas Suriname has successfully completed the Caiman-1 exploration well in Block 52 and reports encouraging results from the drilling. The well, which should contribute to the further delineation of oil and gas deposits for a possible commercial project, is a crucial step in the four-well campaign that the company is carrying out off the coast of Suriname in 2025-2026.
• The Caiman-1 well was drilled from July 21, 2025, and completed on December 6, 2025. According to Petronas, this completion marks an important milestone in the company's exploration and appraisal program in Block 52. The data collected should clarify which development concepts are feasible for future commercial production.
• Caiman-1 is the first of four scheduled wells in the program. It was drilled in the western part of Block 52. The activities were fully supported from Suriname: materials, fuel and provisions were delivered via the Surinamese shore base, while personnel were flown in and booked out via Paramaribo. As a result, Petronas emphasises, local supplier work has been strengthened, and new opportunities have been created for Surinamese companies.
• Block 52 covers approximately 4750 square kilometres, in water depths ranging from 60 to 1000 meters, and is located approximately 140 kilometres off the Surinamese coast. The area has long been seen as a promising offshore block, partly due to the successful discoveries in the adjacent blocks by other international operators.
• With the completion of Caiman-1, the course will be set in the coming year towards the next three wells, which should confirm whether Block 52 can grow into a commercial oil and gas development for Suriname.

(Source: Suriname Herald)

• The United States (U.S.) has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, three officials told Reuters on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, a move that raised oil prices and is likely to further inflame tensions between Washington and Caracas. President Donald Trump has ordered a massive U.S. military build-up in the region, including an aircraft carrier, fighter jets and tens of thousands of troops.
• The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the operation was led by the U.S. Coast Guard. They did not name the tanker, whose flag was flying or exactly where the interdiction took place. Oil futures rose following news of the seizure, after trading in negative territory earlier in the day. Global Brent crude futures were trading at $62.35 a barrel, up 41 cents, at 2:32 p.m. ET, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures settled up 21 cents at $58.46 a barrel.
• The Coast Guard referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
• Venezuela exported more than 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil last month, the third-highest monthly average so far this year, as state-run company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.) imported more naphtha to dilute its extra-heavy oil output. Even amid increasing pressure over Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Washington had not moved to interfere with the country's oil flows.
• Oil exports are Venezuela's main source of revenue. The country has had to deeply discount its crude in its main buyer, China, due to growing competition with sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged that the U.S. military build-up off Venezuela is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nation’s vast oil reserves. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.

(Source: Reuters)

• The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday in another divided vote but signaled it will likely pause further reductions in borrowing costs as officials look for clearer signals about the direction of the job market and inflation that "remains somewhat elevated."
• New projections issued after the U.S. central bank's two-day meeting showed the median policymaker sees just one quarter-percentage-point cut in 2026, the same outlook as in September, with inflation expected to slow to around 2.4% by the end of next year even as economic growth accelerates to an above-trend of 2.3% and the unemployment rate remains at a moderate 4.4%.
• "In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rates, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data," the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in language that in the past has been used to signal a pause in policy actions - an outlook at odds with market expectations, which remained locked into two rate cuts next year even after the Fed issued its statement.
• "It's definitely a hawkish cut, not so much in the fact that we had two dissenters that wanted to stand pat, but if you look at the dot plot, there were six of them that penciled in no rate cut at this meeting," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. The dot plot graphic of Fed policymaker rate-path projections showed six "dots" at 3.9%, where the policy rate was before Wednesday's rate cut.
• The decision to lower the benchmark policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 3.50%-3.75% range drew three dissents, with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee joining Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid in arguing the policy rate should be left unchanged, and Fed Governor Stephen Miran again advocating a larger half-percentage-point reduction.
• How monetary policy evolves from here, heading into a midterm U.S. election year that could revolve around the performance of the economy and with President Donald Trump urging sharper reductions, will now hinge on data that is still lagging from the impact of the 43-day federal government shutdown in October and November.
• The projections are in a sense optimistic. Interest rates may remain higher than anticipated, but the economy is seen growing faster even as inflation falls and the jobless rate also eases lower. However, the latest policy statement and projections were crafted without the benefit of recent job and inflation reports, and instead relied on "available indicators," which Fed officials have said include their own internal surveys, community contacts and private data.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Bank of Canada held its key policy rate steady at 2.25% on Wednesday as widely expected. Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient overall to the effect of U.S. trade measures.
• Despite tariffs between 25.0% and 50.0% on some critical sectors such as cars, lumber, aluminum and steel, Canada's economy has shown signs of strength.
• Third quarter annualized GDP grew by 2.6%, much more than expected, while employment data showed the economy added 181,000 new jobs between September and November. "It's been a difficult year for Canadians and Canadian businesses, but as the year is closing, it's looking better than it looked in the spring, in the summer," Macklem said during a press conference after the rates decision.
• Macklem said the impact of tariffs has not totally spilled over into the broader economy. Uncertainty remains high and if the outlook changes, the bank is ready to respond, Macklem said, reiterating comments he made when the bank cut rates in October to their current level.
• "Governing Council sees the current policy rate at about the right level to keep inflation close to 2.0% while helping the economy," said Macklem. Macklem said even though the economy had shown some resilience, he expected GDP growth to be weak in the fourth quarter and hiring intentions to be muted.
• While the economy is adjusting to tariffs, volatility in trade and quarterly GDP numbers are making it more difficult to assess the underlying momentum of the economy, Macklem noted. The recent data has "not changed our view that GDP will expand at a moderate pace in 2026 and inflation will remain close to target."

(Source: Reuters)

• Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has welcomed a US$50Mn investment by Tropical Sugar Company Limited to re-establish commercial-scale sugar production in Clarendon. The new state-of-the-art, vertically integrated facility with an installed capacity of 50,000 metric tons will be situated in Chesterfield, near the former Monymusk Estate.
• Construction is set to begin in January 2026 and is expected to be completed within approximately 18 months. The factory will be built on approximately 11,000 acres of former sugar lands leased from Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings (SCJH) Limited and is expected to generate roughly 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, providing new opportunities to farmers, heavy equipment operators, factory workers, transport providers and small business owners.
• Dr Holness hailed the decision by the Indian investors to put into production a portion of the almost 50,000 acres of unutilised and underutilised former sugar lands owned by the SCJH Limited in Clarendon. The project is expected to improve the economic standing of residents in the area, noting that communities that once blossomed under sugar will be revitalised. The Government has been looking at ways to stimulate economic activity in the area, “so, when the opportunity came for an investment in sugar, in agriculture, we took it, but we were very clear that we are not about to return to the old sugar industry” he explained.
• Notably, the investors indicated that Tropical Sugar Company Limited will have the capability to produce brown and white sugar, jaggery and molasses, use bagasse for energy and process sugar for other byproducts and derivatives.
• High Commissioner of India to Jamaica, His Excellency Mayank Joshi, in his remarks, said that the project represents a “powerful convergence of heritage, technology, investment, and shared vision for India and Jamaica”.

(Source: JIS)

• Jamaica's cruise industry is back on track after the country recently celebrated the official reopening of all four major ports, namely, Port Royal/Kingston, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Falmouth, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. The reopening sends the message "Jamaica is open, Jamaica is ready, and Jamaica is back in business."
• The rapid restoration and reopening of the cruise gateways was attributed to efforts made by the Ministry of Tourism as well as Jamaica Vacations (JAMVAC), Jamaica Cruising, the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), the Destination Assurance Councils (DACs), municipal corporations, emergency teams and dozens of supporting partners.
• Jamaica also celebrated a historic milestone this week with the arrival of Vasco da Gama, which is the first homeporting vessel in Port Royal/Kingston. "Homeporting is directly tied to higher economic impact," said Jamaica Cruising.
• For Jamaica, this implies the possibility of significant increases in passenger and crew spending, more airlift into and out of the destination, a surge in demand for hotels, transportation, restaurants and tour operators. This will also lead to greater business for essential services, such as bunkering, provisioning, freshwater supply, waste and sludge removal, and increased opportunities for pre- and post-cruise vacation stays, thus enhancing the overall visitor economy.
• "For January to August 2025, cruise passenger arrivals declined by 5.3% to 840.17k. In October, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett projected that the industry would welcome 1.34 million cruise passengers for the year, representing a 7% increase over last year. However, despite this projection, the industry could underperform due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa.

(Sources: Travel Pulse, Seatrade Cruise News)