• The EU Tax Observatory has proposed the introduction of a global minimum tax on billionaires as part of international efforts to combat tax evasion. This tax could potentially generate $250 billion annually.
• Billionaires often pay lower effective personal taxes compared to individuals with more modest means, primarily because they can place their wealth in shell companies, shielding it from income tax. This practice is seen as undermining the sustainability of tax systems and public support for taxation.
• Rising wealth inequality in some countries has led to calls for the wealthiest individuals to bear a larger share of the tax burden. This is driven by factors such as ageing populations, the need for financing climate transition and addressing COVID-related debt.
• The text mentions successful international initiatives to reduce tax evasion, such as the reduction of offshore tax havens through the automatic sharing of account information and the establishment of a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% for multinational companies. The EU Tax Observatory suggests that similar efforts should be applied to billionaires, even if it requires a "coalition of willing countries" to lead the way.

(Source: Reuters)

• Jamaica has hired banks to arrange investor calls for a new local currency bond, and it is offering to buy back some of its dollar notes, just a day after the nation received its second credit-rating upgrade in just over a month.
• Officials from the Ministry of Finance and Public Service will hold calls with bond investors starting next week, according to people familiar with the matter. The country may sell a note denominated in Jamaican dollars with an intermediate tenor thereafter.
• At the same time, the country is offering to repurchase two series of notes due in 2025 and a bond due in 2028 for cash, according to a Thursday statement. The tender offer will expire on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. in New York.
• The offer comes after S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service both raised Jamaica’s credit score by a notch in just over a month. The credit-rating companies cited the government’s push to carry out structural reforms and reduce its debt load.
• Director of Fixed Income at Oppenheimer & Co., Thomas Jackson noted that the tender and new JMD issuance follow a series of good news from Jamaica, including the two upgrades. He further highlighted that the JMD issuance makes sense as it is in line with authorities' plan to reduce their exposure to foreign currency debt which is still above 60% of the balance.
• Moody’s lifted Jamaica by one notch to B1, it said in a Wednesday statement, putting the Caribbean nation four levels below investment grade. Moody’s also raised its outlook to positive from stable, signalling another upgrade is possible if the nation’s debt burden keeps shrinking.
• S&P Global Ratings in mid-September raised Jamaica’s score by a notch to BB-, three levels into junk. Fitch Ratings scores Jamaica a notch lower at B+, with a positive outlook.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• The European Union recently launched a Digital Transition Programme for Jamaica in support of the country's transition towards a digital economy and society.
• The multi-sector initiative is a collaborative effort of the EU and the Jamaican Government with a total investment of €9.5 million.
• Support will be provided to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt technological solutions.
• The Digital Jamaica programme seeks to connect citizens with improved broadband access while providing those working and learning in the education sector with training in digital skills.
• Digital Jamaica is the first bilateral EU Global Gateway Flagship Programme to be signed in the Caribbean.
• The move will also contribute to Jamaica's national digital plan, which includes addressing the digital divide in rural areas, facilitating access to education and technological innovation for the private sector

(Source: RJR News)

• An increase in the cost of transport services, particularly air transport, has accounted for more than 26% of the overall August inflation rate, according to the Statistics Division in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for Antigua and Barbuda.
• Overall, inflation rose by 6.6% in the last year ending August 2023, a larger increase than the 5% for July annual statistics.
• According to the CPI, transport services rose 34.2% with air transportation rising by 39.5%. Consumers also saw a rise in food prices, with a 3.6% surge in the last 12 months. Bread and cereals alone rose by 9.1%, accounting for almost 40% of this increase.
• Milk, cheese, and eggs accounted for the second largest contribution to food increases, with 22.8% of the overall food inflation rate. Those items grew 10.4% over the 12-month period.
• Meanwhile, vegetables saw a slight decrease in inflation with prices dipping by 1.3% in August after increasing 9.5% in July. The Statistics Division attributed the decline to an 11.7% decline in the cost of potatoes, while another notable decrease was in meats and meat products, which also slightly declined by 1.3%.
• Other indices with notable increases over the last year include restaurants and hotels, which saw an increase in their prices by 30.8%, communication services increased by 13%, and clothing and footwear saw an uptick of 8%.
• For the monthly report (July to August), inflation rose by only 1.4% after increasing less than 1% for the previous month.

(Source: Antigua Observer)

• As Venezuela deployed 150 soldiers near their border with Guyana, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd asked the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana to explain the movement of troops near the border between the two countries that are embroiled in a territorial controversy.
• The Foreign Affairs Ministry said though the Venezuelan Ambassador, Carlos Amador Pérez Silva claimed that the mobilisation of troops was geared towards curbing illegal mining, Georgetown has shared the information with regional and international partners.
• “The Government of Guyana remains on guard and has nevertheless shared the increased military activities by Venezuela taking place on its border with CARICOM Heads and other international partners,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
• The Guyana government said it has taken “careful note of the various social media posts” which have reported the ‘mobilization of increased personnel and execution of military exercises by Venezuelan troops in close vicinity to its borders.
• Even as Guyana awaits a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land border with Venezuela; the United States, the Organisation of American States, the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom and former British colonies and Brazil have all solidly supported Guyana’s right to exploit its natural resources in its existing borders.
• Tensions boiled over within the past month after Guyana auctioned 14 offshore oil blocks, a decision that Venezuela said should not have been made without its permission as the maritime boundary has not been delimited.  Over the years, Venezuela had intercepted seismic research vessels in offshore oil concessions and had objected to the establishment of Omai and Aurora gold mines and the Beal Aerospace project, but investors had hardly been scared away.
• Guyana last month bluntly rejected a previously stated accusation that the United States was planning to set up a military base there to attack Venezuela.

(Source: Demerara Waves)

• The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a nine-month low, with initial jobless claims dropping by 13,000 to 198,000. This is the lowest level since January and was unexpected.
• The decline in jobless claims adds to a series of positive economic indicators, including strong retail sales and factory production in September, suggesting continued momentum in the U.S. economy.
• The positive economic data has increased expectations that the Federal Reserve may maintain higher interest rates for a longer period. This is partially due to soaring U.S. Treasury yields, and financial markets do not expect a rate hike in the coming month.
• While the labour market is gradually cooling, conditions remain tight, and claims are at the lower end of the range for the year. The impact of recent United Auto Workers (UAW) strikes has been limited, with claims rising in Michigan during the week ending October 7.
• Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher, the dollar fell against a basket of currencies, and U.S. Treasury prices slipped, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note approaching 5%, a level not seen since just before the financial crisis in 2007.

(Source: Reuters)

• U.S. stocks declined, and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields reached a 16-year high following remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
• Powell's comments were seen as suggesting the possibility of further interest rate hikes due to economic strength and a tight labour market, contrary to market expectations of the Fed's rate-hiking cycle ending.
• The lack of clarity in Powell's comments led to reduced market confidence, as investors were uncertain about the Fed's future policy decisions.
• Rising Treasury yields, nearing the 5% level, raised concerns about the impact on mortgage rates, consumer spending, and the potential for higher rates to lead to a recession.
• The third-quarter earnings reporting season is in progress, with a mixed bag of results from high-profile companies like Tesla and Netflix.
• Market participants are actively seeking common themes or trends in these earnings reports amid the uncertainty caused by economic and interest rate developments.

(Source: Reuters)

• There was a 0.5% increase in the All-Jamaica Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2023 resulting in the index moving from 132.2 to 132.9 in September. The main contributor to this movement was an 11.8% rise in the index of the ‘Education’ division, due to higher tuition fees for private schools at the primary level. The inflation rate was also impacted by the 0.7% rise in the ‘Transport’ division mainly as a result of higher petrol prices.
• The index for the heavily weighted ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ division went up by 0.1% influenced by increases in the index for most classes within the division. However, there was a 1.9% decline in the index ‘Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses’ class and this tempered the overall increase of the division. This was due mainly to lower prices for agricultural produce especially yellow yam and tomato, due to increased rainfall. For the group ‘Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, the index for the classes ‘Fruit and vegetable juices’ and ‘Coffee, Tea, Cocoa’ each increased by 0.7%, while ‘Water, Soft drinks, and Other non-alcoholic beverages’ went up by 0.4%.
• As of September 2023, the point-to-point inflation rate was 5.9%. This was 0.9 percentage points lower than the inflation rate for the prior point-to-point period due to lower prices for some agricultural products, as a result of favourable weather conditions. The chief contributors to the 5.9% inflation rate were the divisions: ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages', up by 9.8% and ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ up by 12.0%. These increases were, however, moderated by the 1.9% fall in the index of the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ division.
• On September 28, 2023, the BOJ had its monetary policy meeting, where it deemed it appropriate to maintain the policy rate at 7.00% and watch the pass-through effects on deposit and loan rates. Point-to-point inflation was projected to fall and enter the BOJ’s target range of 4.0% to 6.0% by the December quarter, which was achieved in September for the second time this year; the rate entered the range briefly in April. However, there is a risk of an uptick in inflation in October given the recent fare increase and rising oil prices due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The BOJ forecasts that inflation will generally remain within its range, except for some months in 2024. The next policy decision will be on the 21^st of November, where it is expected that BOJ will maintain its policy rate at 7.00%.

(Source: STATIN)

• STATIN reported that the unemployment rate in July 2023 was 4.5%, 2.1 percentage points lower than in July 2022.
• In July 2023, the number of persons in the Labour Force was 1,377,300, an increase of 19,600 (1.4%) compared to July 2022. The male labour force increased by 8,400 (1.2%) to 734,400 and the female labour force by 11,200 (1.8%) to 624,900.
• The participation rate for males (71.2%) and females (60.1%) increased by 0.7 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively. The largest increase in the participation rate for persons by age group was for those 20-24 years (2.1 percentage points).
• ‘Elementary Occupations’ and ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers accounted for the largest increases in the employed workforce. There were 173,800 persons employed in this occupation group in July 2023, an increase in employment of 23,500 persons (15.6%) relative to July 2022. Nearly two-thirds (63.0%) of this increase was in male employment. The number of persons employed as ‘Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers’ was 304,500, an increase of 13,800 (4.7%) compared to 290,700 in July 2022. Two-thirds (65.2%) of this increase was female. There were 142,700 ‘Clerks’ employed in July 2023 compared to 132,000 in the similar quarter of 2022. Approximately 89.5% of that increase was female.
• The number of persons employed as ‘Skilled Agricultural and Fishery Workers’ declined by 8,500 (4.7%) to 173,400 persons, 129,900 males and 43,500 females. The number of males and females employed in this group decreased by 7,300 (5.3%) and 1,200 (2.7%), respectively.
• The unemployment rate for July 2023 was 4.5%, which was 2.1 percentage points lower than the 6.6% in July 2022. The unemployment rate for males of 3.3% declined by 1.8 percentage points while the unemployment rate for females of 5.8% declined by 2.4 percentage points. For the youths, the unemployment rate was 13.2%, representing a decrease of 3.5 percentage points compared to 16.7% in July 2022.
• The number of persons Outside the Labour Force was 722,800 in July 2023. This represents a decrease of 16,800 (2.3%) compared to 739,600 in July 2022. There were 296,700 males and 426,100 females outside the labour force. The number of males declined by 6,700 (2.2%), while the decrease for females was 10,100 (2.3%).

(Source: STATIN)

• The Nassau Cruise Port has reported that, after a comprehensive year-over-year comparison of passenger data, the total number of passengers who visited the port as of September 2023 exceeded the 2022 passenger count by more than 11,000.
• The Nassau Cruise Port said by September 24, 2023, the port team had welcomed 3,224,210 cruise passengers for the year. By comparison, 3,212,603 passengers visited the port between January and December 2022.
• Company executives estimate that they will welcome 4.2 million passengers for 2023, which, if achieved, will mark a new total annual passenger record for the leading cruise port in the region.
• “We are thrilled to have reached this milestone, and to do so just in time to celebrate our fourth anniversary makes the achievement extraordinarily special,” said chief executive officer Mike Maura Jr.
• “Our success reflects the resilience and commitment of the cruise industry and is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire Nassau Cruise Port team, the Bahamian government, our community, and our industry partners. Together, we have transformed the Bahamian cruise tourism product and brand, quickly turning Nassau into a premier destination for cruisers around the world. The best is yet to come.” added officer Maura.

(Source: Eyewitness News)