• Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, while investors parsed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's latest comments.
• The U.S. Central Bank is in no rush to cut its short-term interest rate again given the economy is "strong overall", with low unemployment and inflation still above the Fed's 2% target, Powell said in opening remarks at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
• Investors are also on the lookout for any new tariff comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, a day after he substantially raised levies on imports of steel and aluminium and said there would be announcements over the next two days about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose duties on U.S. goods.
• "Valuations are elevated, company guidance is measured, inflation is persistent, government policy is uncertain, tariff talk is ongoing and global tensions are elevated. So, in aggregate, the level of uncertainty is high, which implies increased volatility," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
• "The Fed has so far, rightly, avoided commenting on the possible implications of the trade and immigration policies of the new administration, but the emergence of new details on tariff measures since last week offers a platform for Powell to add more specifics around the thought process," Societe Generale analysts wrote in a morning note.
• Powell's Senate testimony is the first of two days of hearings on Capitol Hill. He is set to speak to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
• Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point rate cut from the Fed this year, and a 44% chance of another reduction of the same magnitude, according to LSEG data.

(Sources: Reuters & Yahoo Today)

• Major U.S. airlines on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, asked the U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) to abandon a review launched by the Biden administration over whether carriers should be required to pay passengers compensation over flight disruptions.
• Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and others, urged the Trump administration to end the review launched in December to take comments on whether airlines in the United States should provide cash to compensate for carrier-caused disruptions like they are required to do in the European Union and Canada.
• "Airlines do not need further incentive to provide quality service," the group wrote, arguing that USDOT lacks legal authority and that the requirement would drastically boost airlines' costs and hike ticket prices.
• Then, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in December that compensation rules for delays "would change the economic incentive in a way that motivates airlines to do more."
• In May 2023, President Joe Biden said his administration would within months write rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for disrupted flights. Airlines must refund passengers for cancelled flights but are not required to compensate customers for delays.
• Major carriers have committed to paying for meals, hotel stays, and other expenses when they cause significant flight disruptions. Last month, a U.S. court blocked the Biden administration's 2024 rule requiring upfront disclosure of airline service fees, saying USDOT had not complied with procedural rules.

(Source: Reuters)

• Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to securing Jamaica’s economic independence and resilience. This assurance comes in the wake of the recently announced halt in funding support provided under United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes.
• Holness said the Government has taken note of the decision, “that sent waves of concern across Jamaica.” He said this shift presents immediate challenges, particularly regarding cash flow for ongoing initiatives locally.
• “So far, we have assessed that we have about US$54 million of programmes being funded by the USAID over several yearly budget periods. Some programmes range from one to three years, or maybe a little bit more. Given that these programs have lost funding, the prime minister is assessing any potential fallout from the hold placed on funding from USAID.
• The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government has been proactively making strides toward reducing its dependency on foreign aid by developing a robust economy, improving fiscal management and creating an environment conducive to sustainable inclusive growth.
• Holness maintained that rather than focusing on aid dependency, the aim is to build mutually beneficial bilateral relationships with international partners. “So… we await what would be the new direction and we look forward to working with the United States Government on issues that are of mutual and strategic importance. I am confident that there will be a new future for US-Jamaica relations,” he said.

(Source: JIS)

• Following the close of the recent takeover offer by Simply Secure Limited, the company no longer meets the listing requirements of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. 
• Pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Directors, and in accordance with Junior Market Rule 505 (14) (b), the company has therefore applied to the Jamaica Stock Exchange for the delisting of the company’s ordinary shares.  
• It is anticipated that the effective date of the delisting will be no later than Friday, February 28, 2025.

(Sources: JSE & TTech Limited)

• Trinidad’s Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell has projected that foreign visitors will spend more than the $640 million recorded during last year’s Carnival celebrations.
• Speaking at the opening of the John Cupid Carnival Village on Friday night at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain, Mitchell based his expectation on the anticipated increase in tourist arrivals and the growing attendance at the Carnival Village in recent years.
• He also highlighted a significant rise in international flight arrivals, with 410 more aircraft expected to land in Trinidad and Tobago between February 1 and the first week of March, indicating a larger influx of visitors during this year’s Carnival season.
• Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell expressed confidence that Carnival Village 2025 will attract over 100,000 patrons, surpassing last year’s numbers.
• Speaking on the impact of tourist arrivals on the country's economy, he highlighted that spending by visitors will serve as a significant economic boost for everyone involved in the Carnival celebrations—from accommodation providers and promoters to artists, taxi drivers, and vendors

(Source: Caribbean National Weekly)

• Mexico's inflationary environment is expected to allow policymakers to keep cutting the benchmark interest rate, as the fight to bring down inflation has entered a new phase.
• Banxico, as the Mexican central bank is known, cut the key rate by 50 basis points to 9.50% on Thursday, double the 25-basis-point cuts it had made since it began lowering borrowing costs from a record high of 11.25% in March 2024
• "Our work is not over. The fight against inflation is now in a new phase," Banxico Governor Victoria Rodriguez said in an interview late on Sunday.
• Last week's rate reduction brought Mexico's interest rate to its lowest since September 2022 as annual inflation in Latin America's second-biggest economy slowed to 3.69% in the first half of January. That is the lowest level for headline inflation since early 2021 and is within the bank's target of 3%, plus or minus one percentage point.
• "In order to face the challenges of this new phase, we need lower (interest) rates," Rodriguez added. Mexico's peso currency and domestic stocks have suffered extended volatility amid the threat of U.S. tariffs on its neighbor's exports, even though the strictures were paused until March 1, following a pact between the two.
• Some analysts have warned the tariffs could throw Mexico into recession and trigger "stagflation" - high inflation, stagnant growth and elevated unemployment. Banxico could act if needed to ensure the orderly functioning of Mexican financial markets, Rodriguez said, underscoring the importance of trade ties for both nations.

(Source: Reuters)

• Hamas on Monday, February 10, 2025, announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what the Palestinian militant group said were Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
• The unexpected announcement comes amid growing doubts over an already fragile ceasefire even as families of the Israeli hostages urge the government to stick to the deal and Gazans try to start rebuilding their lives in the shattered enclave.
• Hamas was to release some Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians held in Israeli detention as had happened over the past three weeks.
• Hamas military wing spokesperson Abu Ubaida said Israeli violations had included Israel delaying Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, targeting Palestinians with Israeli shelling and gunfire and stopping aid from entering the strip.
• The ceasefire has largely held since it began on January 19, although there have been some incidents where Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. The amount of humanitarian aid in Gaza has increased since the ceasefire, aid agencies say.
• But Hamas' Ubaida said the next scheduled release of hostages on Saturday would be postponed until Israel complies with the ceasefire agreement and "compensates for the past weeks".
• Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hamas' announcement violated the ceasefire deal and that he had instructed the military to prepare at the highest level of readiness in Gaza and to defend Israeli communities.

(Source: Reuters)

• A U.S. judge on Monday, February 10, 2025, ordered the Trump administration to fully comply with a previous order lifting its broad freeze on federal spending after a group of 23 Democratic state attorneys general last week said that some funds remained frozen.
• U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, ruled that all funding must be restored at least until he can hold a hearing on the State's motion for a longer-term order.
• The Trump administration had told states that it believed the order did not apply to certain environmental and infrastructure spending, and that some payments were delayed for "operational and administrative reasons." However, McConnell said that his order had been "clear and unambiguous" in applying to all funding frozen in response to sweeping executive orders by President Donald Trump.
• The states originally sued the administration over a memorandum from the White House's Office of Management and Budget announcing a wide-ranging freeze of federal spending. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, OMB rescinded that memo.
• The states said last week that the still-frozen funds included $4.5Bn for a home electrification rebate program, at least some of $7Bn for rooftop solar panels, $5Bn supporting state, local and Native American tribal governments' greenhouse gas reduction measures and $117.5Mn for air-quality monitoring.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has allocated $134Mn to provide tangible relief to farmers affected by the current dry period. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, made the disclosure during a statement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (February 4).
• He indicated that while no parish has experienced a meteorological drought, seven recorded below-average rainfall, with measurements in December 2024 ranging from 53% to 85% of their 30-year climatological means. “This means that seven parishes got lower rainfall than their 30-year average.
• Recognising the urgency of the situation and the potential impact of drier months ahead, particularly February, March and July, Mr. Green said the Ministry has already commenced taking the necessary steps to alleviate the effects of the dry period and brace for the months to come.
• “First on the front lines is water trucking, to aid in the hardest-hit parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon. The Ministry has already committed $30Mn, of which $14Mn will be administered by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and $16Mn by the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) to accelerate delivery and to ensure that our farmers get the water that they need,” he outlined.
• Mr. Green further explained that $79Mn has been earmarked to procure the tanks and drip irrigation kits. The Ministry is also partnering with individual farmers and groups of farmers to establish water catchment areas, necessitating the provision of pond liners.
• “We have earmarked $17Mn to provide pond liners in response to our ongoing dry period,” Mr. Green said. Additionally, $8Mn is being earmarked to provide grass mulch, a powerful input to help farmers retain soil moisture and safeguard crops.

(Source: JIS)

• Clearing the way for the continuation of transformative interventions, Guyana’s largest budget of $1.382Tn on Wednesday, February 6, 2025, was passed in the National Assembly. This year’s budget, which was noted was fully financed with no new taxes, was approved during the 100th sitting of the Twelfth Parliament, following the completion of the budget debate and consideration of estimates and expenditures over the past few weeks.
• To be included in this year’s budget is the sum of US$2.463Bn or GYD$512.4Bn to be withdrawn from the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) for the financial year 2025 following the NRF Act of 2021.
• When the budget was presented to the National Assembly in January, the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, indicated that the formulation of the budget with no new taxes marks a significant step towards fulfilling the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s commitment to sustainable economic development.
• The historic budget is set to serve a dual purpose to complete and exceed the undertakings promised by the PPP/C administration in its 2020 manifesto and further lay the foundation for the PPP/C’s next term in office.
• In the most recent budget, the Government of Guyana listed several measures to be executed, including an increase in the income tax threshold from $100,00 to $130,000 per month or $1,560,000 per annum. This represents a 100% increase in the last five years. This measure is expected to benefit 22,000 people by removing them from the tax net. Adjustments to income tax rates and taxable bands will also be enacted, along with income tax relief for overtime pay and income from second jobs.
• Social welfare and other fiscal measures will also be implemented including, Reduction in electricity costs; Containing the cost of fuel; Abolition of bridge tolls; Reduction in freight charges; Continuation of a part-time job programme; increase in old age pension; Free university and technical and vocational education; a one-cash grant of $100,000 for every citizen 18 years and over, among other measures.
• Finally, this year, the continuation of several transformational projects is expected including the advancement of Guyana’s energy sector for which some $88 billion has been set aside. This includes the continued expansion of renewable energy and upgrading infrastructure.

(Sources: Guyana Chronicle & PWC)