• OPEC is struggling to add barrels to the market after agreeing in June to increase output,  as an increase in Saudi Arabia was offset by declines in Iran, Venezuela and Angola.
• This adds to fears of a potential future oil crisis due to lack of capacity.
• Analysts fear that oil prices will return to previous highs in 2019. 

Source: Reuters

• Gross domestic product increased at a slower than expected 6.5% in China during the three months through September, the slowest pace since the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2009.
• The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.5%  during the trading session before the market was turned around by a verbal intervention from top officials, leading the gauge to close 2.6% higher.

Source: Bloomberg

• An injunction which restrained state-owned Petrotrin from terminating its workers has been discharged, which means there is now nothing preventing the company from going ahead with its plans to shut down.
• Bidding for Petrotrin refinery will commence shortly.  Notably, the plant will require an im­me­di­ate cash in­jec­tion of be­tween $7 to $8 bil­lion to get the plant and ma­chin­ery in a state that it can con­tin­ue and $25 bil­lion to keep the op­er­a­tion go­ing.

Source: Trinidad Guardian, Trinidad News

• Net profit for the first quarter ended August 31, 2018, was US$938 thousand (EPS: ¢0.057), compared with US$834 thousand (EPS: ¢0.051), one year earlier. 
• The performance over the period was supported by a moderate growth in revenue and improvement in cost efficiency.
• Revenue grew by a modest 6.61% to US$4.06Mn relative to US$3.81Mn for the corresponding period in 2017.  At the same time operating expense ratio improved from 75.9% in 2017 to 74.7% in 2018.

Source: JSE, ECL Financials

• Jamaica slid one spot in the ranking of Global Competitiveness Index to 70 among 140 nations, despite improving in its score.  Jamaica’s score improved slightly to 57.9 from 57.4 a year earlier.
• Jamaica also lost its spot as the most competitive nation in the Caribbean region to Trinidad and Tobago which ranked 78.
• The US was top of the list for the first time in years.

Source: Financial Gleaner           

-       The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 25-26 gathering is due to be published at 2 pm. Eastern Time today, with investors likely to comb through them to try to find any hint as to how high policymakers will push interest rates before pausing.

-       One key topic to watch for will be any discussion on where the neutral rate lies.

Source: Bloomberg

-       Streaming giant adds 6.96 million users globally in the quarter.

-       Outlook shows international markets will fuel the company’s growth.

Source: Bloomberg

-       The offer received the unanimous support of commercial banks, the general and life and insurers, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), the Central Bank of Barbados, as well the support of almost an entirety of ordinary Barbadians and firms holding claims.

-       Total claim size exchanged is in the region of  BB$11.9Bn or  US$5.95Bn

Source: Nation News

-       KEX reported a profit of $88Mn (EPS:$0.18) for the first quarter ended August 31, 2018, relative to $56Mn (EPS:$0.12) a year earlier.

-       Revenue grew by 23.5% over the period which was the primary driver for the performance. 

-       The company attributes its growth in sales to improvement in accessibility and throughput times at its call centre operations and its digitization efforts which has increased access to its services.

Source: JSE, KEX Financial Report

-      Jamaica’s benchmark CPI index for September 2018 grew 1.1% in September. 

-       This was primarily influenced by 4.6% increase, in the index for ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels’ due to increased rates for electricity, water and sewage. 

Source: STATIN