• Montserrat’s current account deficit will widen in 2019 and 2020, as a sharp spike in tourist expenditure in 2018 returns to historical levels and a number of infrastructure projects drive import demand.
• Fitch Solutions forecast the current account deficit to widen to 9.8% of GDP in 2019 and 12.3% in 2020, from 2.0% in 2018.
• Over the long term, Montserrat will continue to run wide current account deficits, raising risks to external account stability if financing from the UK, EU and multi-laterals falls off.

(Source: Fitch)

• Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement to acquire an eighth  Scotia Bank operation in the Caribbean, which comes after its previous purchase of Scotia Bank’s operations in seven countries which includes Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
• The Trinidadian entity stated that it is buying 100% of the shares of the British Virgin Island operations from Scotia Bank, for consideration it did not publicly disclose.
• Management has stated that the transaction supports its strategic decision to focus on operations across the region where it can achieve a greater scale and deliver the best value for customers.
• The company recorded a net profit of TT$1.58Bn for the year ended September 2019, which was an increase of $258Mn or 19.5% over the profit of TT$1.32Bn earned the 2018 financial year.

(Source: Trinidad Express)

• From rural bank runs to surging consumer indebtedness and an unprecedented bond restructuring, mounting signs of financial stress in China are putting the nation’s policymakers to the test.
• Xi Jinping’s government faces an increasingly difficult balancing act as it tries to support the world’s second-largest economy without encouraging moral hazard and reckless spending.
• While authorities have so far been reluctant to rescue troubled borrowers and ramp up stimulus, the costs of maintaining that stance are rising as defaults increase and China’s slowdown deepens. 
• For now, investors appear to be betting that policymakers can manage the country’s financial risks and keep the economy afloat.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• U.K consumer confidence will head into the election at the lowest level prior to a poll since 2010, which took place in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
• The odds are now tilting further in the direction of the Conservatives following this week’s closely-watched YouGov poll pointing to a big majority for the Tories.
• Some more data emerged this week that may catch the eye, showing net migration to the U.K. from the European Union has fallen to the lowest level since 2003.
• But even if the odds are in Boris Johnson’s favor, traders are staying cautious and keeping hedges in place just in case there’s another big surprise.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Minister of Science, Energy, and Technology, Hon. Fayal Williams, says Government will be revising the National Energy Policy to establish new targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation.
• “We have exceeded expectations in many areas and I am pleased to say that after just 10 years, we are looking at revising our National Energy Policy and our sub-policies to further develop the energy sector,” she said.
• The Minister, who was speaking at the opening of the National Energy Policy’s 10th-anniversary symposium at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Wednesday, November 27, said that the energy sector has seen tremendous growth over the years and she is proud of the country’s accomplishments.
• She noted that in 2008, petroleum accounted for 95% of electricity installed capacity, while wind and hydro accounted for 2.4% and 2.6%, respectively. Ten years later, petroleum accounts for 74.1%, wind 10% and hydro 2.8%.
• Natural gas and solar, which were added to the mix, provide 11.1% and 2%, respectively, of energy solutions.

(Source: JIS)

• Eppley Caribbean Property Fund Limited SCC – Value Fund (“ECPF”) announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Hastings Business Centre in Barbados. The 20,000 square foot, three-story office building has long been the head office of global professional services firm, KPMG in Barbados. Following ECPF’s acquisition, KPMG will remain an anchor tenant.
• In speaking about the acquisition, Chairman of ECPF, Nicholas A. Scott commented, “We’re delighted to add the Hastings Business Centre to our growing portfolio of high-quality commercial properties across the region. This acquisition exemplifies Eppley’s ability to work with sophisticated owners and tenants to originate and complete large transactions across the Caribbean.”
• ECPF is the largest listed real estate mutual fund in the Caribbean and trades on the Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago stock exchanges. ECPF now owns 11 buildings in Jamaica and Barbados comprising over 500,000 square feet.

 (Source: JSE)

• The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) awarded Apache Dominica Republic Corporation, a subsidiary of the U.S Apache Corporation, an offshore block in the San Pedro De Macoris basin for the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas. The award was delivered at the country’s first auction to develop the hydrocarbon industry.
• Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and Production Company with operations in the United States, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, which in the third quarter of 2019 reported a daily production of 451,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE).

(Source: Dominica Today)

• Fitch Solutions' forecast the Argentine economy will remain in recession through 2020, as high inflation erodes consumption and a lack of access to capital markets halts undermines commercial activity and investment.
• While it is expected that incoming President Alberto Fernández will pursue a relatively moderate economic policy mix and seek accommodation with key sectors, policy uncertainty will weigh on economic activity.
• Fitch maintains its forecast for real GDP to contract 2.6% y-o-y in 2019 and 2.7% in 2020.

(Source: Fitch)

• Plenty to keep in mind in oil markets today. Expectations that OPEC and its partners will make deeper cuts to crude oil production when they meet next week have essentially evaporated, according to a Bloomberg survey, raising new concerns about the outlook for prices.
• In Libya, output has been halted in a key oil field amid clashes between pro-government forces and their rivals.
• But any impact that could have on prices has been overshadowed by rising U.S. inventories and after Trump signed the Hong Kong bill, meaning oil prices are a touch lower going into Thursday.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) is reporting a 15.5% increase in credit extended by deposit-taking institutions (DTIs) to businesses and households for the 12-month period ending September 2019.
• Governor, Richard Byles, says this is “broadly consistent” with the level of growth in this area, since the start of the year.
• Byles said the continued buoyant growth in DTI credit results from institutions, such as commercial banks, merchant banks, and building societies, reducing lending rates on local currency loans.
• Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Wayne Robinson, noted that underlying the overall 15.5% increase in credit is a healthy 17.0% growth in loans to the productive sector, year on year. 

(Source: JIS)