• British inflation rose unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Wednesday. Consumer price inflation increased to 0.6% in June from 0.5% in May, the Office for National Statistics said. The average forecast in a Reuters poll of economists was for the rate to fall to 0.4%.
• Core inflation - which excludes typically volatile energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco prices - rose to 1.4% from May’s 1.2%. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 1.2%.

(Source: Reuters)

• For the year ended March 2020, Wigton Windfarm Limited reported a 34.3% increase in audited net income relative to the corresponding period in 2019. Net Profits rose from $493.59Mn (EPS:4¢) in 2019 to $662.75Mn (EPS: 4¢) in 2020.
• Despite a 56.1% ($282.11) decline in other income, this favorable outturn was largely due to a 49.8% (or $522.88Mn) reduction in finance costs.
• The company’s stock price has fallen 18.6% since the start of the year, closing Monday’s trading session at $0.79. At this price, the stock currently trades at a P/E of 13.2x earnings, which is below the Main Market Industrials and Materials Sector Average of 24.5x.

(Source: WWF Financials)

• Jamaica Broilers Group Limited reported an audited net profit attributable to shareholders of $1.40Bn (EPS: $1.37) for the year ended May 2, 2020. This represents a 40.8% (or 965.49Mn) contraction relative to 2019, despite a 1.3% (or $690.00Mn) increase in revenues.
• This outturn can largely be explained by a 9.8% (or $880.49Mn) increase in administrative expenses, a 19.7% (or 195.217Mn) increase in finance cost, a 37.4% (or $218.71Mn) decline in other income as well as a 90.1% (or $330.36Mn) decrease in finance income. 
• The stock has fallen 36.4% since the start of the calendar year. JBG closed Monday’s trading session at $26.01 and currently trades at a P/E of 19.0x earnings, which is below the Main Market Distribution & Manufacturing Average of 19.4x.

(Source: JBG Financials)

• The COVID-19 pandemic has been inflicting major economic damage in both Curaçao and Sint Maarten. GDP is projected to drop by 23% in Curaçao, and 25% in Sint Maarten, wielding a major impact on the fiscal revenue, social security systems, and balance sheets in all sectors.
• This could put the countries in need of support measures for the rest of the year, which could result in a sizeable increase in debt. Following this, it will be pertinent that the authorities implement measures to put the debt firmly on a downward path as the crisis abates.
• Strong commitment to deep structural reforms that were urgently needed before the pandemic, also becomes critical to a successful post-COVID recovery.

(Source: IMF)

• Creditors holding Ecuador's sovereign debt issued a statement on Friday saying they commended to the government for its approach to restructuring $17.4Bn worth of bonds, but the terms need to be improved and strengthened for the equal treatment of all investors.
• The statement was issued by two groups of investors. The Steering Committee (SC) for more than 25 global institutional investors who hold various sovereign bonds is being advised by BroadSpan Capital and UBS, while the ad hoc group of investors who hold Ecuador 2024 notes is being advised by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
• Finance Minister Richard Martinez said in a press conference on July 6^th that, existing debt capital would be reduced to $15.8Bn from $17.4Bn; interest rates would come down to an average of 5.3% from 9.2. Maturities are to be lengthened 12.7 years on average from 6.1 years on average. This will be done by extending the maturity of some bonds to 2040. Currently, the longest maturity is 2030.
• A grace period was achieved both for capital and interest payments so for the next five years, Ecuador will not make any capital payments.

(Source: Latinfinance)

• Fitch Solutions has reduced its global growth forecast slightly since its June publication, and now anticipates a contraction of 3.9% for the global economy (from 3.6% previously). This change is largely on the back of revisions to economic growth in countries such as Belgium (-8.0%), the UK (-7.7%), South Africa (-7.0%), Thailand (-5.4%), Poland (-4.1%) and Australia (-3.3%).
• However, the agency does note several risks to this view. Firstly, the return to normality looks quite difficult given the second waves of infections. While they may not result in blanket lockdowns, the authorities in China and the US have imposed multiple localized lockdowns, while Australia has closed its internal borders to stop the spread of the infection. This suggests that the return to normality might prove to be quite challenging, which could sap momentum from the nascent recovery.
• Secondly, another wave of infections and a weak pace of recovery could result in a second wave of layoffs by businesses, since profitability would remain under pressure. This in turn could keep unemployment elevated for a sustained period, which would be negative for private consumption and headline growth.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Britain’s economy could shrink by more than 14% this year if there is lasting damage from the coronavirus, a scenario that would push government borrowing to nearly half a trillion dollars, budget forecasters said on Tuesday.
• The base scenario, with only moderate long-term damage, showed a 12.4% fall in output, with a 14.3% decline if the scarring is deeper. In the downside scenario, borrowing in the current financial year could hit £391Bn ($490Bn), and in the upside scenario- £263Bn, with output falling 10.6%.

(Source: Reuters)

• State Minister for Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Government is committed to supporting farmers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and safeguard the country’s food security.
• He noted that among the initiatives implemented was a $240 million stimulus package to purchase excess fruits and vegetables from those farmers, who lost their markets, largely due to the closure of hotels as a result of the pandemic.
• “There was significant demand and the access is what caused the breakdown in the supply chain so we had to help farmers to get through this period and also still be able to plant,” he noted.
• Green cited the additional $1billion that has been allocated to the Ministry’s Productivity Incentive Programme (PIP) for this financial year, to assist small farmers, as further indication of the Government’s intent to strengthen the country’s food network.

 (Source: JIS)

• Barbados’ economy is expected to contract in 2020, as previous quarantine measures limit private consumption and a global recession reduces demand for Barbadian exports.
• The persistence of global cases will impede the pace of a domestic recovery, despite the reopening of the local economy and resumption in tourism activity.
• Fitch Solutions maintains its 2020 real GDP forecast for Barbados of -4.1% y-o-y, with risks weighted to the downside.

(Source: Fitch)

• The El Salvadoran economy is expected to contract substantially in 2020 as strict lockdowns measures continue to undermine private consumption and a sharp recession in the US weighs on remittance inflows and exports.
• Fitch solutions has revised its 2020 real GDP growth forecast to -6.2% y-o-y, from -2.5% previously, due to delays in lifting coronavirus restrictions in El Salvador and the continued spread of the disease in the US.
• Risks to the forecast remain weighted to the downside, as a substantial worsening of the outbreaks in El Salvador or the US would further delay the recovery in economic activity.

 (Source: Fitch)