• For the year ended December 31, 2019, Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited reported audited net profit attributable to shareholders of $15.65Bn (EPS:$4.01), up by 10.0% relative to the $14.23Bn reported one year prior.
• This improvement was driven by a 31.2% (or 22.01Bn) in total revenues, which outstripped the 28.4% (or 7.47Bn) increase in expenses.
• The stock price has fallen 44.1% since the start of the year. Sagicor closed Tuesday’s trading session at $40.55 and is currently trading at a P/E of 10.1x, which is below the Main Market Financial Sector Average of 15.7x.

(Source: Sagicor’s Financials)

• Fitch has revised its 2020 real GDP growth forecast for Mexico to –2.8% y-o-y, from -0.2% previously, the worst annual growth performance in the country since 2009.
• This revision is driven by the view that the global economy will tip into recession, and the country’s relative lack of preparations for a domestic outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus).
• While it is expected that the country’s economy will begin to recover in H220, downside risks to this timeline are significant.

(Source: Fitch)

• It is expected that the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak will significantly stunt real GDP growth in Panama in the coming quarters as the government implements restrictions on mobility and commercial activity.
• Meanwhile, a drop in global growth will further limit Panamanian exports given the economy's reliance on the Panama Canal and other service sector exports.
• Fitch has significantly revised its 2020 Panama real GDP growth to 1.8% y-o-y, from 3.9% previously, as restricted domestic production and meagre global growth hinder economic activity. In 2019, growth was 3.4%.

(Source: Fitch)

• The Trump administration struck a deal with Senate Democrats and Republicans on an historic rescue package that tees up more than $2 trillion in spending and tax breaks to bolster the hobbled U.S. economy and fund a nationwide effort to stem the coronavirus.
• The legislation was still being drafted but McConnell said the Senate would vote on it Wednesday. It would still have to pass in the House before it gets to President Donald Trump’s desk. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had consulted with Schumer throughout his negotiations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
• The plan includes about $500 billion that can be used to back loans and assistance to companies, including $50 billion for loans to U.S. airlines, as well as state and local governments. It also has more than $350 billion to aid small businesses. Then there is $150 billion for hospitals and other health-care providers for equipment and supplies.
• For individuals the package provides direct payments to lower- and middle-income Americans of $1,200 for each adult, as well as $500 for each child. Unemployment insurance would be extended to four months, the benefits would be bolstered by $600 weekly and eligibility would be expanded to cover more workers.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Oil prices slipped into negative territory on Wednesday as faltering fuel demand from the spread of the coronavirus outweighed a massive pending U.S. economic stimulus package.
• Brent crude was down 92 cents, or 3.4%, at $26.24 per barrel after earlier rising to a high of $28.29. U.S. crude was down 34 cents, or 1.42%, at $23.67 after earlier hitting a high of $25.24 per barrel.
• U.S senators and Trump administration officials have reached an agreement on the $2 trillion stimulus bill which is expected to be passed through the Congress later on Wednesday. Still, demand for oil products, especially jet fuel, is falling worldwide as more governments announce nationwide lockdowns, putting a lid on oil price gains.
• Refineries globally are responding to the fall in demand by reducing output, with plants in India the latest cut crude processing, while ports in the country could face delays to crude discharging amid new measures to curb the spread of the virus.
• India, the world’s second most populous country and the third largest oil consumer, has entered a 21-day government enforced lockdown.
• ING on Wednesday slashed its Brent crude price forecast for the second quarter to $20 a barrel from $33 due to the coronavirus outbreak and an expected supply surge from Saudi Arabia and Russia from April.

(Source: CNBC)

• The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today US$70 million in budget support financing to Jamaica to support the country’s reform program and efforts to strengthen and accelerate recent gains in fiscal consolidation and sustainable growth.
• The First Economic Resilience Development Policy Loan (ERDPL I) aims to help Jamaica advance its economic reform agenda, while at the same time protecting the poor and vulnerable, including from natural disaster risks.
• “Jamaica’s authorities have shown the commitment needed to maintain macroeconomic stability and demonstrated significant progress, including major reduction in public debt,” said Ozan Sevimli, World Bank Resident Representative for Jamaica. “These efforts will contribute to strengthening the country’s capacity to cope with the threats of natural disasters and public health crises.”

(Source: World Bank)

• Brazil cut its benchmark interest rate by half a point to a record low in a bid to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic that’s likely to push Latin America’s largest economy into recession.
• The central bank’s board, led by its President Roberto Campos Neto, on Wednesday lowered the Selic to 3.75%.
• Brazil now joins a wave of nations from the U.S. to Turkey that are pumping monetary stimulus to counter the pandemic’s economic impact.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Venezuela’s military seized control of gasoline pumps in at least three states, as the coronavirus outbreak deepens fuel shortages and further isolates the country from the rest of the world.
• In Zulia, Carabobo and Guarico, states in the northern part of the country, soldiers displaced PDVSA personnel and private managers at gas stations.
• The takeover comes as President Nicolas Maduro ordered the entire country to enter quarantine as the number of coronavirus cases doubled to 33 early this week. The country’s armed forces are heading the effort and enforcing strict controls at state borders and on the capital’s streets.

  (Source: Bloomberg)

• The World Bank and IFC’s Boards of Directors approved today an increased $14 billion package of fast-track financing to assist companies and countries in their efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19
• IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will increase its COVID-19 related financing availability to $8 billion as part of the $14 billion package, up from an earlier $6 billion, to support private companies and their employees hurt by the economic downturn caused by the spread of COVID-19.
• The bulk of the IFC financing will go to client financial institutions to enable them to continue to offer trade financing, working-capital support and medium-term financing to private companies struggling with disruptions in supply chains. IFC’s response will also help existing clients in economic sectors directly affected by the pandemic--such as tourism and manufacturing—to continue to pay their bills. The package will also benefit sectors involved in responding to the pandemic, including healthcare and related industries, which face increased demand for services, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.

(Source: The World Bank)

• Oil prices rose on Friday as the world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy to stop a coronavirus-driven recession and U.S. President Donald Trump hinted he may intervene in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
• Brent crude futures were up 82 cents, or 2.8%, to trade at $29.29 per barrel. U.S. crude futures for April rose $1.34, or 5.3%, to trade at $26.56 per barrel. The front-month contract expires later on Friday. The more active U.S. crude futures contract for May was up $1.89, or 7.3%, at $27.80.
• Both U.S. contracts gained more than Brent because of U.S. plans to buy up to 30 million barrels of crude for its emergency stockpile by the end of June and reports that regulators in Texas might curtail output.
• As the spread of the coronavirus brings much of the world to a halt, nations have poured increasing stimulus into their economies while central banks have flooded markets with cheap dollars to ease funding strains.

(Source: CNBC)