• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday issued a new 60-day moratorium on residential evictions in areas with high levels of COVID-19 infections citing the raging Delta variant after having rejected an earlier push by the White House.
• The order applies to about 80% of U.S. counties that have substantial or high COVID-19 community transmission rates and covers about 90% of the U.S. population. The CDC said it will expand the protections to additional counties if they see a rise in COVID-19 cases.
• "The emergence of the Delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. "This moratorium is the right thing to do to keep people in their homes and out of congregate settings where COVID-19 spreads."

(Source: Reuters)

• The Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) ll is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund through a loan agreement from the World Bank valued at US$40.0Mn. The objectives of the project include enhanced access to markets and climate-resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries. 
• Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said the undertakings are critical in supporting community tourism development in the country, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the sector. 
• Project Manager of REDI II, Kemeisha Batchan, has noted that the demand study will help to better position Jamaica internationally, regionally and locally based on the trends in demand. It will also assist in developing the types of products and experiences needed to be able to meet the various market tastes. 
• Further, Dr. Henry, JSIF Chairman noted that there are myriad linkages and synergies that can be derived from a strengthened community tourism product, which leverages outputs and relationships with key industries.

Source: (JIS News)

• Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has said that the investment climate remains positive despite the tourism sector being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that investor confidence in Jamaica is reflective of the level of multibillion-dollar investment projects that are now under way or programmed for implementation over the next two years. 
• Bartlett highlighted several projects that were completed in 2020 or are nearing completion. He further indicated that there are several projects slated for implementation between 2021-2023 which include the construction of over 7500 rooms across the island. 
• These investment projects have helped to place the sector on a path to recovery while creating more job opportunities for Jamaicans and further bolstering the growth of Jamaica’s tourism and economy. 
• The strategic public-private investment partnerships will be crucial to the tourism industry’s economic recovery from the effects of COVID-19. Continued investor confidence, even in a pandemic environment, is evidence that Jamaica is still a coveted destination and a powerful global brand.

 (Source: JIS News)

• The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) top executive yesterday hailed The Bahamas for leading the revolution” by becoming the first nation to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). 
• Mr Rolle (Bahamian Central Bank Governor) described the Sand Dollar as “the glue that will connect the system together” in terms of modernizing The Bahamas’ payments system infrastructure, with its digitization having “started from ground zero” more than a decade ago. 
• Explaining the rationale for launching the digital Bahamian dollar, he added that it holds out the potential for reduced costs and greater efficiency in payments transactions. 
• This digitization also promises greater financial inclusion and access to financial services, especially in remote Family Island communities without a physical commercial bank branch, while also bringing the so-called ‘unbanked’ and ‘under-banked’ into the formal system.

(Source: The Tribune)

• Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon met with Shante Moore, charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, late last month to discuss trade relations between both countries and opportunities for non-energy investment in Trinidad and Tobago. 
• She highlighted Trinidad and Tobago as an ideal location for investment in the areas of manufacturing, agro-processing and maritime activities given its geographic location, skilled labour force, low electricity rates, market access through trade agreements and existing industrial parks. 
• Moore shared information on the upcoming 2021 Trade Americas, Caribbean Region Trade Mission and Business Conference to be held on October 24-29, 2021 in Miami. The mission aims to provide opportunities for US companies to find reputable business partners in the Caribbean Region. It will include region-specific sessions, market entry strategies, export compliance, legal, logistics, disaster resilience and recovery and trade financing resources. 
• Following the Mission, interested companies will travel to markets of interest to pursue business deals. Moore noted that there were currently six companies interested in travelling to Trinidad and Tobago to further explore collaborations in the Information Communications Technology (ICT), food and beverage and energy sectors.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspapers)

• Crude oil prices slipped lower Tuesday, falling below $70 a barrel on fears that rising Covid cases in China would stunt growth in the second-largest oil consumer in the world. U.S. crude futures traded 2.3% lower at $69.61 a barrel, falling beneath $70 for the first time in two weeks, while the Brent contract fell 1.9% to $71.50. 
• China had largely managed to control the COVID-19 virus since the initial outbreak, helping to underpin a strong economic recovery from the pandemic, greatly contributing to the broader rebound in oil.
• However, it is now implementing a wave of travel restrictions and quarantine orders at a level not seen since the initial outbreak. Wuhan, where the virus was first reported in 2019, reported three new locally transmitted cases on Monday after more than a year, prompting the authorities to test the city’s 12 million residents amid fears the delta variant of the virus will quickly take hold. 
• China's factory activity growth had already slipped sharply in July, with the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index falling on Monday to the lowest level since April 2020. This may be an indication of a slowdown that could impact the country’s oil demand.

(Source: Investing.com and NCBCM Research)

• U.S. consumers' demand for new debt grew in the second quarter and credit card use rebounded, reversing the trend of declining card use seen earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released on Tuesday by the New York Federal Reserve. 
• Total household debt increased by $313 billion in the second quarter to $14.96 trillion, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report on household debt and credit. Mortgage debt continued to be the biggest driver of that growth, rising by $282 billion to $10.44 trillion by the end of June. 
• "We have seen a very robust pace of originations over the last four quarters with new extensions of credit for mortgages and auto loans combined with rebounding demand for credit card borrowing," Joelle Scally, administrator of the Center for Microeconomic Data at the New York Fed, said in a statement. 
• The increased demand for debt is likely supported by the low-interest rate environment in the US and is also reflective of the increase in the consumer confidence which was at a 17-month high in July. Consumer confidence held up despite the Delta variant of the coronavirus driving a surge in new infections mostly among the unvaccinated. "Higher confidence suggests that consumer spending should support robust growth in the second half of this year," said Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, an economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

(Source: Reuters & NCBCM Research)

• Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, is projecting that Jamaica will recover sufficiently from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to welcome 4.2Mn visitors and generate about US$4.0Bn in earnings by 2024. These projections are based on the growth trends since the reopening of local borders to international travel in June 2020, following its closure due to the pandemic. 
• The minister noted that arrivals have increased at an average of 20.0% each month since the reopening, with Jamaica welcoming over 837,000 stopover visitors over the 12-month period since June 2020. 
• The projection for stop over visitors for the month of July is 189,001, with a total of 1.7Mn tourists expected between January and December. With the anticipated resumption of cruise arrivals in August, Mr. Bartlett said an estimated US$2.0Bn in earnings is expected to be generated over the 12 months. 
• Bartlett also noted that Jamaica is projected to welcome 3.2Mn tourists and earn US$2.7Bn in 2022, putting the country well on its way to recovery in 2023. In 2023 visitor arrivals and inflows are anticipated to be 3.7Mn and US$3.7Bn respectively. Consequently, Jamaica would be back on track for 4.2Mn visitors and US$4.0Bn in earnings in 2024, according to the minister.

Source: (JIS News)

• Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has officially launched the Government’s $800.0Mn Social Pension Programme, the first of its kind in Jamaica, which provides a guaranteed income for vulnerable persons 75 years and older. 
• He noted that apart from the COVID-19 Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) programme, and the Social and Economic Recovery (SERVE) programme, which are pandemic related, the new Social Pension Programme is the largest social protection initiative to be implemented by the Government since the introduction of PATH 20 years ago. 
• He also acknowledged that there are many elderly persons in need of financial support, who do not qualify for existing social welfare initiatives. The implementation of this programme for needy seniors is therefore crucial given the Government’s moral and social obligation to guarantee a minimum level of social protection for all citizens. 
• The introduction of the new Social Pension Programme will enable the government to reduce income inequality and promote a better quality of life for Jamaica’s older population.

(Source: JIS News)

• The strain of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to steadily ease in much of Latin America over the coming months. Most countries in the region experienced a worse outbreak in Q221 than the initial wave in cases in Q220, but case levels across South America have fallen significantly from the surge seen in late-May 2021. 
• At the same time, vaccination programmes have accelerated in the past month as global production continues to increase and US and Chinese vaccine donations to the region rise. Uruguay and Chile have the highest vaccination rates in South America with 73.5% and 72.2% respectively of the total population receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of July 27. 
• Despite the high case levels and re-imposition of lockdown measures, the economic recovery across South America has continued as external demand for commodities remains strong and economies become more resilient to the impact of public health restrictions. 
• Still, the broadening of South America’s vaccination programmes will leave economic activity less vulnerable to the kind of disruptive public health restrictions seen in Q221, suggesting that the region’s recovery will strengthen in the coming quarters. 
• That being said, the pandemic will continue to pose downside risks to growth as major economies such as Colombia and Peru have struggled to ramp up vaccination campaigns and fast-spreading variants of COVID-19 have emerged.

(Source: Fitch solutions)