• The Bank of England said Britain's economy would grow by the most since World War Two this year and slowed the pace of its trillion-dollar bond-purchasing program, but stressed it was not reversing its stimulus.
• Governor Andrew Bailey welcomed the prospect of a stronger recovery than previously forecast as the country races ahead with its coronavirus vaccinations, with much lower unemployment. But he also said there was still a big gap compared with how big the economy would have been without the pandemic.
• The BoE raised its forecast for British economic growth in 2021 to 7.25% from February's estimate of 5.0%. That would be the fastest annual growth since 1941 when Britain was rearming. But it comes after output plunged by 9.8% in 2020, the biggest drop in more than 300 years.
• With the economy on course for recovery, the BoE said it would reduce the number of bonds it buys each week to 3.4 billion pounds ($4.7 billion), down from 4.4 billion pounds now. "This operational decision should not be interpreted as a change in the stance of monetary policy,"

(Source: Reuters)

• US economists expect to see job creation in each of the next several months of over 1 million, as more Americans are vaccinated and the economy booms. According to Dow Jones, economists expect 1 million jobs were added in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.8% from 6% in March.
• April is the first month of the second quarter, which is expected to be the peak in terms of growth. The gross domestic product is expected to grow by 10% or greater. Mass vaccinations and the easing of business restrictions likely supported rapid job growth in virus-sensitive industries, including leisure and hospitality, retail, and education (public and private),” noted economists at Goldman Sachs.
• The April employment report is also being widely watched in markets because of the Fed’s pledge to keep its zero rates policy and other easing measures in place until it believes the job market has healed and inflation is picking up. But with increasing concerns about rising inflation, some investors believe a very strong job market could be a catalyst for the Fed.

(Source: CNBC News)

• Eppley Caribbean Property Fund Limited SCC-Value Fund (“ECPF”) wishes to announce that it has acquired two buildings located at 155-157 Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, and 52 Valsayn Branch Road, Curepe in Trinidad and Tobago
• The Fund Manager indicated that the acquisition of these two fully-tenanted office properties in Trinidad is directly in line with the Fund’s strategy to scale and diversify by geography and asset type.
• ECPF has now acquired 10 properties totaling in excess of 500,000 square feet since Eppley assumed management three years ago, and it continues to pursue opportunities throughout the region to add to its growing portfolio of industrial, retail, and commercial office assets. With the above-mentioned acquisitions, ECPF now owns 16 buildings in Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago comprising over 775,000 square feet.
• The acquisitions not only increase ECPF’s regional footprint but also enhance the Fund’s resilience through added diversification. They will also serve to increase ECPF’s net rental income, given that they are fully tenanted, fair value gains through property value appreciation, and improve the net asset value per share.
• ECPF’s stock price has declined by 17.7% since the start of the year and currently trades at $40.26 per share. This is 19.5% below the last reported net asset value per share (NAVPS) of J$50.00 (BDS$0.70) at the end of December 2020.

(Source: JSE & NCBCM Research)

• Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., says Jamaica will begin testing its climate predictive system in June.
• He said that Jamaica is the first country in the world to begin the process of developing a predictive and climate-risk assessment planning tool for major infrastructure, under the global private-sector-led Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment (CCRI) initiative.
• Considering Jamaica’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change and natural disasters, this tool will enable decision-makers to assess climate risk to Jamaica’s infrastructure networks to visualize hot spots of high levels of economic and social value at risk, in relevant time horizons.
• This will allow the GOJ to be proactive in making the necessary improvements to infrastructure and implementing protective measures to limit the impact of natural disasters on the most vulnerable areas of the country. This is expected to lower the impact of climate change on the island’s infrastructure and the post-disaster recovery period.

(Source: JIS & NCBCM Research)

• Fitch Solutions believes that the change in administration in Suriname has increased the likelihood of reforms to address structural fiscal and external imbalances. As a result, the agency has revised Suriname's score, in its Short-Term Political Risk Index, to 52.9 out of 100, from 50.8.
• Financing from the IMF and other multilateral lenders will likely reduce some near-term fiscal constraints on the government and support the implementation of reforms.
• However, reforms to reduce the fiscal deficit and allow a flexible exchange rate will likely weigh on the economic recovery, potentially triggering a backlash that could undermine the government's commitments.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Fitch Solutions expects a growing goods trade surplus will widen Ecuador’s current account surplus to 3.1% of GDP in 2021, up from 2.5% in 2020. The agency has revised its forecast up from a surplus of 2.7% previously, to reflect its expectation that higher oil prices will boost goods exports.
• Higher global oil prices will underpin a surge in exports, while labor market weakness and subdued household incomes will weigh on import demand.
• Risks to external accounts stability have waned due to an improving oil price outlook, Guillermo Lasso’s victory in the run-off presidential election, and the passage of critical reforms that bring Ecuador in compliance with its IMF agreement.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Strained relations between China and Australia took a turn for the worse Thursday after Beijing said it has “indefinitely” suspended all activity under a high-level economic dialogue with one of its largest sources of imports.
• It was not immediately clear what impact the announcement would have on trade between the two countries, which has already fallen amid retaliatory pressure from Beijing.
• The Australian dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar following the news, falling close to breaking 77 cents after trading near 77.47 cents Wednesday. Beijing’s economic planning agency, the National Reform and Development Commission, said in an English-language statement Thursday that some Australian officials recently launched unspecified measures “out of a Cold War mindset” to disrupt cooperation with China.
• The commission said that based on this attitude, it has decided to “indefinitely suspend all activities under the framework of the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue.”

(Source: CNBC)

• U.S services industry activity grew at a slightly slower pace in April, likely restrained by shortages of inputs amid a burst of demand that is being driven by massive fiscal stimulus and a rapidly improving public health environment.
• The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday its non-manufacturing activity index fell to a reading of 62.7 last month from 63.7 in March, which was the highest on record. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index rising to 64.3 in April.
• The findings mirrored the ISM’s manufacturing survey published on Monday showing bottlenecks in the supply chain constraining factory activity in April. The economy is experiencing a boom in demand, thanks to the White House’s massive $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package and the expansion of the COVID-19 vaccination program to all adult Americans.

(Source: Reuters)

• For the 9 month period ending March 2021, Pulse Investments reported a net profit of $928.01Mn (EPS: $0.15), which translates to a 27.4% increase over the same period in the prior year.
• Its performance was bolstered by fair value appreciation on an investment property (37.3% or $162.74Mn), and an 11.7% (or $55.49Mn) increase in revenue.
• The company recently received $1.20Bn in the financing, with $440.00Mn coming from a loan facility and a $771.00Mn note issued to a related party. The proceeds were used to acquire Villa Ronai ($640.00Mn) and $571.00Mn was used to retire debt. 
• Pulse plans to commence construction of 30 two and three-bedroom homes in the valley at Villa Ronai, with completion scheduled for 2024. This should bolster future income.
• The company’s stock price has depreciated by 11.8% since the start of the year, closing trading at $4.26. It currently trades at a P/E of 26.6x earnings, above the main market average of 24.0x earnings.

(Source: Company Financials)

• President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Clifton Reader, says there continues to be a low COVID-19 positivity rate across accommodations and attractions in the country.
• He said that based on test results for tourists and staff, figures are showing that there is a less than 1.0% positivity rate in the tourism sector. Widespread implementation of COVID-19 health and safety protocols in the sector is behind the continued low rate.
• This together with successful containment of COVID-19 positivity rates and greater vaccination in the general population, bodes well for future arrival levels, as tourists from the fast recovering source markets will be more inclined to visit the island.

(Source: JIS News)