• United Oil & Gas Plc (AIM: "UOG"), the oil and gas company with a high impact exploration asset in Jamaica and a development asset in the UK has noted the recent rumours circulating in Jamaica media regarding its Walton Morant licence.
• United confirms that it has drilled no wells in the Walton Morant licence and therefore, no commercial oil or gas discovery has been made. United holds a 100% working interest and is currently engaged in a farm-out process. United's 2024 work programme is focused on conducting piston core sampling, which aims to detect any oil residue before considering future exploration drilling targets.
• Brian Larkin, United Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The Walton-Morant Licence is a vast exploration area containing numerous promising prospects. We are committed to improving our understanding of the resource potential within the licence area.”
• He further noted that, “We continue working to secure a strategic partner to unlock the immense potential within the licence, including recent positive interest that has been shown by several parties. Following securing an extension to the licence, our 2024 work programme is underway, and we will update the market at the next suitable opportunity."

(Source: United Oil & Gas)

• Tropical Battery Company Limited announced the appointment of Mrs. Jody Gager-Rose as a new director to the Board of Tropical Battery Company Limited, effective August 8, 2024.
• Jody Gager-Rose is a distinguished finance professional with over 21 years of experience in accounting, including 9 years at a senior management level. She holds an MBA from Heriot Watt University and is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (FCA).
• Jody’s expertise lies in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), with a proven track record in preparing standalone and consolidated financial statements, particularly within the travel, leisure, and tourism sector.
• Her career highlights include her tenure as Chief Financial Officer, where she oversaw the accounting, purchasing, and IT departments. At a big four audit firm, Jody rose to the position of Director, where she supported audit business operations across the Caricom region.
• Tropical’s stock price has increased 24.6% since the start of the calendar year and closed at $2.43 on Tuesday, August 27th. At this price, it currently trades at a P/E of 15.38x earnings, which is below the junior market distribution sector average of 18.58x earnings.

(Sources: JSE & NCBCM Research)

• Barbados is enjoying a record-breaking year for tourist arrivals, thanks in large part to the recently concluded ICC T20 Cricket World Cup and the popular Crop Over festival.
• Javon Griffith, president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) posit noted at the association’s quarterly media update that “Tourist arrivals are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in all markets. This is supported by the ICC World Cup, Crop Over, and increased airlift capacity into Barbados this year.” He further noted that “The appetite for Barbados remains very strong, with early forward bookings from major source markets exceeding 2023 by 18%.”
• From January to June 2024, the island welcomed 381,997 stayover arrivals, a 15% increase from the 323,948 arrivals during the same period in 2023, the BHTA head said, quoting figures from the Barbados Statistical Service. Notably, arrivals from CARICOM countries increased by 16%, with 42,063 visitors between January and June. Canada and the United States also showed impressive growth, with 16 and 31% increases, respectively.
• The cruise sector has not been left behind in this tourism resurgence. Griffith revealed that cruise activity is projected to continue recovering from pandemic setbacks, aided by the return of summer cruise activity and an increase in cruise calls in the last quarter. From January to June 2024, Barbados welcomed 475,028 cruise passengers, compared to 434,565 for the same period in 2023.  “As you would recall, we had no cruise ship arrivals between June to September 2023. This year, we have had regular visits from the Rhapsody of the Seas every Friday,” he noted.
• Looking ahead, the island is set to benefit from a gradual increase in flights starting with the winter 2024-2025 flight schedules. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will both double their London Heathrow to Barbados flights, while TUI will continue to service the destination with up to 99 flights a month from various UK cities.
• From the United States, JetBlue will triple its flights from Boston to Barbados, while American Airlines will resume daily flights from New York JFK. In an exciting development, Delta will return to Barbados after an eight-year hiatus, offering a daily service from Atlanta in winter.

(Source: Barbados Today)

• Panama’s dual function as a regional finance hub and a critical chokepoint in global merchandise trade means the economy will continue to channel foreign currency transactions and financial flows that comfortably exceed the size of its overall output.
• While seemingly excessive by other Emerging Market standards, Panama’s external accounts reflect its central role in trade and finance in the Western Hemisphere and are unlikely to be destabilising in the foreseeable future. Key to this are stable financial institutions, transparent governance, a dollarized economy, and the geographic location of the Panama Canal.
• Following a sharp widening of the current account deficit in late 2023 due to an abrupt drop in Canal activity, Fitch Solutions expects the deficit to widen again to 4.8% of GDP in 2024, up from 4.5% in 2023, before narrowing to 3.4% in 2025.
• That said, Panama’s external position will remain vulnerable to climatic changes, as well as external cyclical downturns, de-globalisation, and the challenges posed by coordinated crackdowns on tax havens in the longer term.
• Nevertheless, Panama has proven highly resilient in the face of such challenges in previous years and its high capacity to borrow externally and attract large quantities of foreign direct inflows (FDI) means the economy is well placed to continue adapting to changing climatic conditions.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• U.S. consumer confidence rose to a six-month high in August amid optimism over the economic outlook, but Americans are becoming more anxious about the labor market after the unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% last month.
• The better-than-expected reading in consumer confidence, reported by the Conference Board on Tuesday, reflected improved perceptions of business conditions over the next six months, and the survey suggested the odds of a recession had continued to decline. Consumers' uneasiness over the labour market is mirrored by concerns at the Federal Reserve, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell last Friday signaling.
• "This report supports a rate cut on both the decline in inflation expectations and a softening labor market but is not so weak as to suggest a recession at this point," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic adviser at Brean Capital. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index increased to 103.3 this month, the highest level since February, from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July.
• Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would be little changed from the previously reported 100.3. Confidence was higher among consumers aged 35 years and older, and those with annual incomes above $100,000. The cutoff date for the survey was Aug. 21. The rise in confidence could have been influenced by President Joe Biden dropping out of the November presidential race and the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris to head the Democratic Party ticket.
• Consumers were less upbeat, however, about the labor market. The share of consumers who viewed jobs as "plentiful" slipped to 32.8% from 33.4% in July. Some 16.4% of consumers said jobs were "hard to get," up from 16.3% last month.
• The survey's so-called labour market differential, derived from data on respondents' views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, fell to 16.4, the narrowest since March 2021, from 17.1 in July. This measure correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department's monthly employment report. The unemployment rate has risen for four straight months.

(Source: Reuters)

• British shop prices fell in annual terms this month for the first time since October 2021, pushed down by summer sales of clothes and household goods, a survey showed on Tuesday.
• The British Retail Consortium said shop prices fell by 0.3% in August compared with the same month in 2023, after a 0.2% increase in July. Prices of non-food goods dropped by 1.5%, the biggest fall in just over three years, while food prices increased by 2.0%, slowing from 2.3% in July and marking the smallest rise since November 2021.
• "Shop price inflation has fallen again in August as many non-food retailers have kept promotional support due to the unpredictable weather," said Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at market research firm NielsenIQ, which compiles the data. "Food retailers have introduced more price cuts to help drive incremental sales during the 'summer of sport'," Watkins added, referring to the Paris Olympics and the men's Euro 2024 soccer tournament.
• The BRC survey covered prices in major store chains between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7. The latest official measure of annual consumer price inflation - which includes services as well as shop goods - rose for the first time this year during July to 2.2%, from 2.0% previously.
• The Bank of England expects CPI inflation to reach around 2.75% by the end of the year as the effect of sharp falls in energy prices in 2023 fades before returning to the BoE's target of 2% in the first half of 2026. The BoE cut interest rates from their 16-year high earlier this month, and investors expect at least one more quarter-point reduction before the end of the year.

(Source: Reuters)

• Kingston Properties Limited (KPREIT) closed on Wednesday, August 21, on the acquisition of two buildings located at 6 Duke Street and 8-10 Duke Street in Kingston, Jamaica. The acquisition was done on a sale and leaseback arrangement with Victoria Mutual Building Society and its affiliate VM Real Estate Holdings Limited.
• The buildings encompass a total area of just under 60,000 square feet and are currently fully leased.
• Furthermore, KPREIT has concluded the sale of four more commercial units at the Tropic Centre in the Cayman Islands out of a total of ten. This transaction increases the number of units sold to nine, with the sale of the last unit anticipated to be finalised in September.
• Following the acquisition of properties on Duke Street in Jamaica and the sale of units at Tropic Centre in Cayman, the Group's assets in the Cayman Islands now constitute 49.6% of the overall portfolio, whereas the holdings in Jamaica account for 43.5%.
• With these recent developments, KPREIT is poised to achieve its medium-term goal of managing US$100Mn in assets and generating over US$2Mn annually in Funds From Operations (FFO). The trust is also exploring global market opportunities, having established a subsidiary in the UK as part of its strategy to broaden its geographical presence.

 (Sources: JSE and NCBCM Research)

• Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, announced on August 26, 2024, to the Executive Board her proposal to appoint Mr. Nigel Clarke to the position of Deputy Managing Director, effective October 31, 2024. He will succeed Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, who, as previously announced, steps down on September 12.
• In announcing her selection of Mr. Clarke, Ms. Georgieva highlighted that Mr. Clarke is an exceptional public servant and policymaker with proven leadership in institution building and economic crisis management who has stewarded his country’s economy to a stronger and more sustainable position.
• She noted that since 2016, he has been the IMF’s chief counterpart on successive and historically successful programs for Jamaica, including an Extended Fund Facility, a precautionary Stand-By Arrangement, and most recently a Precautionary Liquidity Line plus Resilience and Sustainability Facility, leaving the country with robust economic fundamentals.
• Clarke has served as Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and Public Service and a Member of Parliament since March 2018. Before this role, he was the Ambassador of Economic Affairs starting in 2016. He led significant reforms in central bank independence, fiscal governance, and public sector management. His tenure included steering Jamaica's economic response to COVID-19, overseeing privatizations and public-private partnerships, and introducing a disaster risk financing model. Under his leadership, Jamaica also became the first small country to independently sponsor a catastrophe bond and completed its inaugural international local currency bond issue in 2023.
• In 2022, Mr. Clarke was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Prior to his public service career, he was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of the Musson Group, a regional conglomerate, having started his career as an Equity Derivatives Trader at Goldman Sachs in London.

(Source: IMF)

• The Government of Guyana, led by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, and United Kingdom officials, recently discussed business proposals in various sectors that are currently under consideration.
• In a statement, the British High Commission said it recently concluded a productive visit by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jonathan Knott. During the visit, Knott met with President Ali to discuss United Kingdom-Guyana relations, focusing on business proposals currently under consideration by the Government of Guyana.
• According to the statement, those talks centred on investment opportunities in Guyana’s energy, maritime, and construction sectors, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to supporting Guyana’s development.
• Meanwhile, the UK delegation also engaged the British Chamber of Commerce, Private Sector Commission, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Georgetown Manufacturing & Services Association, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and several other local business-support organisations to discuss opportunities for improved commercial relations and access to finance through UK Export Finance (UKEF) to support projects in Guyana.
• Earlier this year, UKEF increased its risk appetite from £750Mn to £2.1Bn to support both public and private sector projects in Guyana. “This visit underscored the UK’s strong business interest in Guyana and highlighted the enduring spirit of long-term partnership, knowledge transfer, and development,” the British High Commission said.

(Source: Guyana Chronicle)

• The Grenada Tourism Authority reported a significant increase in tourist arrivals in the first half of this year, from January to July 2024.
• Visitor numbers have risen by 20% in Q1 and Q2 compared to 2019 and 18% compared to 2023, reflecting the continued growth of Grenada as a sought-after travel destination despite recent challenges. In July 2024 alone, visitor arrivals increased by 10% over 2019 and 5% over 2023.
• Travel intelligence and data analytics company ForwardKeys produced a detailed analysis of the impact of Hurricane Beryl. They included a focus on the quick recovery of Grenada as one of their case studies. “The market has shown impressive resilience, quickly bouncing back to normal booking levels,” the organization noted.
• Following Hurricane Beryl’s passage, tourism officials worked tirelessly to reassure the world and major source markets of the tri-island state’s resilience. While the northern parts of the island and sister islands needed relief aid and assistance, mainland Grenada remained open for visitors. These conscientious, strategic efforts have been pivotal in achieving these impressive results.
• “We are thrilled to see such positive growth in our visitor arrivals during this period, which speaks volumes about Grenada’s enduring appeal and the hard work of our tourism stakeholders,” said Petra Roach, CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority. “Our strategic efforts to maintain and grow our market share have been multifaceted. We have actively engaged with our key source markets to meet directly with travel and airline partners, as well as with media members,” she explains.

(Source: Caribbean News Now)