S. Secretary of State warned Venezuela on Thursday that it would be "a very bad day" for the South American country if it were to attack its neighbor Guyana or U.S.-based energy giant ExxonMobil, in comments that threatened unspecified action in such a case.
Guyana and Venezuela are locked in a long-running dispute about which country has rights over the 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) Esequibo area, which is the subject of an ongoing case at the International Court of Justice. Washington has offered military support to Guyana, a tiny South American country, amid the dispute and increasing U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
"It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they were to attack Guyana or attack ExxonMobil or anything," Rubio said. "It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well for them. I'm not going to get into details of what we'll do. We're not big on those kinds of threats."
Tensions rose early this month when Guyana said a Venezuela coast guard patrol entered its waters and approached an output vessel in an offshore oil block operated by Exxon. Venezuela has said the vessel did not enter Guyanese waters, as the maritime zone delimitation is still pending as part of the dispute. The U.S. Navy cruiser Normandy and the Guyana Defence Force patrol vessel Shahoud were conducting exercises in international waters and the Guyana Exclusive Economic Zone, the U.S. embassy in Guyana said in a social media post early on Thursday.
A consortium by Exxon, Hess, and China's CNOOC controls all oil and gas output in Guyana, which this year is producing some 650,000 barrels per day. The northwest portion of the block, close to Venezuela, has remained in force majeure as the Exxon group has been unable to complete exploration there.
The U.S. Justice Department is considering merging the lead agencies enforcing drug and gun laws in a major shakeup as it follows President Donald Trump's instructions to sharply streamline the government, according to a memo.
In addition to potentially merging the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, department leaders are considering eliminating field offices that handle antitrust, environmental and civil cases, according to the March 25 memo.
A possible merger of the ATF and DEA into a single agency would "achieve efficiencies in resources, case deconfliction and regulatory efforts," the memo says.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered department officials in the memo to provide feedback on the proposed restructuring by April 2. He said the plan for proposed cuts and mergers to various offices was previously provided to the Office of Personnel Management and the White House Office of Management and Budget.
A DOJ official said the memo represents a preliminary proposal that is being circulated to solicit feedback from various department leaders. Some of the recommendations, such as the DEA-ATF merger, would require congressional approval, the official added. The memo does not specify how many jobs could be affected by the changes. The department employed about 115,000 people as of January.
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Thursday, March 27, 2025, projected significant increases in federal budget deficits and debt over the next 30 years, in part due to rapidly rising interest costs, as it sketched out sluggish economic growth and a shrinking workforce. It also projected real economic growth, forecast at 2.1% in 2025, slowing to 1.4% in 2055.
CBO’s latest long-term budget projections show federal deficits accelerating to 7.3% of the economy in fiscal year 2055 from 6.2% in 2025. That is up from the 30-year average from 1995 to 2024 of 3.9%. The U.S. public debt, meanwhile, is seen rising alarmingly, to 156% of GDP in 2055 from 100% in 2025.
As the non-partisan budget analyst for Congress, the CBO bases its projections on current law, which could change significantly in the short term. That is due in part to the push now underway by President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans who control the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to slash federal spending and the government's workforce, while also extending costly tax cuts that are due to expire at the end of this year under current law.
Trump also has ordered tough border security measures and efforts to deport immigrants that experts see potentially denting the economy as a result of labor shortages. Whether or not Congress will be able to pass legislation implementing Trump's agenda could be determined over the next several months.
Another unknown factor is the outcome of court challenges to Trump policies that are already pending. The CBO does not include any consideration of the outcome of those court cases in its long-term projections. The report also does not factor in the potential impact on the U.S. economy from a broad range of tariffs Trump is implementing against foreign goods.
Details surrounding the basis of allotment of the TransJamaican Highway offer for sale, which closed on March 18, 2025, were released on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on March 25th.
Given that the offer for sale was oversubscribed by more than 36.0% of the upsized amount, not all applicants will receive the full allocation. The pool of Strategic investors will receive 100.00% of the amount applied for. Meanwhile, the General Public will be allotted the first 2,778,000 Sale Shares applied for and approximately 33.065% of any remaining shares requested.
All Applicants will receive a formal letter from the JCSD informing them of their respective allotments of shares in Transjamaican Highway Limited in due course. JCSD Accounts for successful Applicants are expected to be credited with the allotted Sale Shares on or before Monday, March 31, 2025.
At market close on March 26th, TJH’s USD and JMD shares traded at US$0.026 and J$3.99, respectively, which is 14.0% and 10.8% higher than the offer prices of US$0.0228 and J$3.60.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund completed the ninth and final review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Suriname. The approval allows for an immediate purchase equivalent to SDR 46.8Mn (about USD 62Mn) of which Special Drawing Right SDR 33.6Mn or about USD44.7Mn would be for budget support. This brings the total financial support provided under the program to US$572Mn.
The IMF executive board also granted Suriname a waiver for non-observance of the end-December 2024 performance criteria on the central government primary balance, citing corrective actions already undertaken by the authorities.
Suriname’s EFF arrangement was approved by the Executive Board on December 22, 2021, in an amount equivalent to SDR 472.80Mn (366.8% of quota). Under the EFF, Suriname pursed an ambitious economic reform agenda to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, while laying the foundations for strong and more inclusive growth.
The program focused on restoring fiscal and debt sustainability, protecting the poor and vulnerable, upgrading the monetary and exchange rate policy framework, addressing banking sector vulnerabilities, and advancing the anti-corruption and governance reform agenda.
“The authorities’ reforms under the EFF-supported program—the first ever to be completed by Suriname—are increasingly bolstering macroeconomic stability and investor confidence. According to the IMF, Suriname’s debt restructuring process is nearing completion, with agreements reached with all official creditors and all but one commercial creditor. The country has also cleared its domestic debt arrears, and the IMF urged continued efforts to improve budgetary controls and cash management to prevent further arrears.
Kenji Okamura, IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair encouraged Suriname to persist with its ambitious structural reform agenda, which includes strengthening institutions, enhancing governance, improving data quality, and addressing the gender gap.
The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has announced a partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) to launch a capacity-building project aimed at enhancing the disaster resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The project, titled Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of SMEs, was unveiled at the BCCI Power Summit 2025, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
BCCI Executive Director Misha Lobban-Clarke, speaking at the summit, highlighted the importance of equipping businesses, particularly women-led enterprises, with the necessary tools to withstand and recover from disasters. “The Chamber will be jointly working with the UNDRR, the leading agency in the United Nations on disaster risk reduction, to implement a capacity project aimed at equipping SMEs with the tools necessary to implement effective disaster risk reduction strategies, and to enhance their resilience in times of disasters,” Lobban-Clarke said.
The one-year project will assess the current resilience levels of SMEs, develop tailored business continuity plans, and deliver a comprehensive training programme. Special emphasis will be placed on supporting women-led businesses, ensuring equitable access to resources and knowledge.
British inflation slowed more than expected in February, bringing some relief to consumers ahead of a likely new pick-up in price growth and before Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' budget update speech on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
The Office for National Statistics said that in February, consumer prices rose by 2.8% in annual terms after a 3.0% increase in January. This occurred as clothing and footwear prices fell for the first time in over three years. Economists polled by Reuters had pointed to a reading of 2.9% in February, while the Bank of England (BoE) had expected 2.8%.
Notwithstanding, Economists warned that rising energy prices will push inflation up again soon. "February's slowdown is a false dawn as notable near-term price rises are already baked in, with next month's jump in energy bills and national insurance likely to push inflation perilously close to 4% sooner rather than later," Suren Thiru, Economics Director at accountancy body ICAEW, said. He also noted that the BoE would remain wary about price pressures.
On the flip side, Luke Bartholomew, deputy chief economist at investment firm Aberdeen, said the BoE would probably take comfort from Wednesday's data. "This report does not fundamentally change the inflation outlook, but it should keep the path clear for another interest rate cut in May," Bartholomew said.
Last week, the BoE warned investors against assuming borrowing costs would be cut quickly. The Office for National Statistics said services inflation, closely watched by the BoE, held at an annual rate of 5.0%, against expectations for a fall to 4.9%.
Overall, the central bank expects consumer price inflation to peak at 3.75% in the third quarter of this year - almost double its 2% target - driven mostly by higher energy costs and regulated tariffs for household utility bills and bus fares.
The U.S. government will probably risk defaulting on some of its $36.6 trillion in debt as soon as August, or possibly even by late May, unless Congress acts to raise the nation's debt ceiling, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
The CBO's forecast of the so-called "X-date" when the Treasury Department would no longer be able to cover its obligations follows an estimate by the Bipartisan Policy Center on Monday that the U.S. could face the risk of default sometime between mid-July and early October.
The CBO said the date would "probably" occur in August or September. But the agency warned that in the meantime, if borrowing needs exceed CBO projections, "the Treasury's resources could be exhausted in late May or sometime in June." Establishing a firm X-date is difficult given that the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening months are a moving target, the CBO explained.
For example, the short-term flow of revenues into the Treasury will not become clearer until the government calculates receipts around the April 15 deadline for taxpayers to submit annual filings. CBO noted other important dates: a mid-June tax payment deadline and additional extraordinary measures that become available on June 30.
A failure by Congress and President Donald Trump to agree upon and enact a debt limit increase would bring severe consequences. "If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before the extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government will be unable to pay all of its obligations. As a result, it would have to delay making payments for some activities, default on its debt obligations, or both," CBO warned.
Republicans, who control the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, have not said when they intend to advance legislation to raise Congress's self-imposed debt limit. Lawmakers, however, have repeatedly taken negotiations over raising the government's borrowing limit to the last minute, a trend that has rattled financial markets and led the major credit agencies to lower their ratings on the federal government's creditworthiness.
Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has reaffirmed the Issuer/Corporate Credit Ratings assigned to Pan Jamaica Group Limited (PanJam). PanJam maintains a rating of CariA (Foreign Currency (FC) and Local Currency (LC)) on the regional rating scale and jmAA (FC and LC) on the Jamaica national scale.
The regional scale ratings indicate that PanJam has good creditworthiness compared to other obligors in Jamaica and the broader Caribbean region. The national scale ratings indicate that PanJam has high creditworthiness compared to other obligors within Jamaica.
CariCRIS has assigned a stable outlook to these ratings, as it expects PanJam to remain profitable, albeit at a reduced rate over the next 12-15 months. This outlook is supported by economic growth expectations in PanJam's key markets, which should support asset growth and income. Additionally, strategic initiatives and technological advancements continue to support the Group’s operations.
Although PanJam’s performance might be affected by reduced profit contributions from its associated companies, CariCRIS expects the Group to remain well-capitalised and comfortably service its debt obligations over the next 12-15 months.
Key strengths of PanJam include diversified and competitive operating segments enhanced by ongoing strategic initiatives following recent amalgamations; improved financial performance supported by contributions from associated companies and adequate liquidity and strong debt-servicing capability backed by sufficient cash balances and a significant portfolio of marketable assets. Increased capital strength and a seasoned management team, complemented by a robust board of directors with strong risk management policies and frameworks, were among the drivers of the rating.
Key risks for the company include continued reliance on dividend income and profit contributions from associated companies, though this reliance is expected to diminish in the medium-term following amalgamation efforts. Additionally, challenging economic conditions in its operating markets, though improving, remain potential downside risks to PanJam’s financial operations.
Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has downgraded the Jamaica national scale Issuer/Corporate Credit Ratings assigned to The Jamaica National Group Limited (JNGL) by one notch to jmA (Foreign Currency Rating) and jmA+ (Local Currency Rating). The rrating agency also reaffirmed JNGL’s regional scale ratings at CariBBB+ (Foreign Currency) and CariA- (Local Currency).
The national scale ratings indicate good creditworthiness relative to other obligors within Jamaica, while the regional scale ratings reflect adequate creditworthiness (Foreign Currency) and good creditworthiness (Local Currency) compared to other Caribbean obligors.
The one-notch downgrade reflects breaches in three of the six previously identified Rating Sensitivity Factors. The breaches include three consecutive years of: losses after tax resulting in negative returns on assets and equity, deteriorating Group cost-to-income ratios, and declining Group tangible net worth relative to total assets. There were also increased regulatory capital adequacy ratio requirements for JN Bank due to financial constraints at JN Financial Group Limited.
Despite continued losses after tax in FY2025 (albeit reduced), CariCRIS has assigned a stable outlook as it expects JNGL will likely stabilise its liquidity and capital positions and return to profitability by March 2026. This outlook is supported by the divestment of its largest loss-making subsidiary in September 2024 and the anticipated partial or full divestment of two other significant loss-making subsidiaries by June 2025.
