• China fined Ford Motor Co.’s main joint venture in the country for antitrust violations, marking the latest action toward a U.S. company as tensions between the two nations escalate.
• The announcement comes just days after China said that it’s investigating FedEx Corp. for “wrongful” deliveries, a move framed by the state news agency as a warning by Beijing after the Trump administration declared a ban on business with telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co.
• China has also threatened to blacklist foreign firms that damage domestic companies’ interests and on Tuesday warned its citizens against travel to the U.S.
• Though China didn’t spell out any links between the fine and the U.S. tensions, "it’s hard to see it as not related," said Andrew Polk, co-founder of research firm Trivium China in Beijing. "At this stage, I think our baseline assumption should be that there are no coincidences."

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited reported net income of $79.48Mn (EPS: $0.06) for the six-month period ended April 30, 2019. This performance represents a 55.5% improvement relative to the corresponding period of 2018. Normalization of the net profit for exchange gains and losses revealed a growth of 5.0%
• Increases in revenues (+19.9%) coupled with a decline in finance costs (loan interest) to $196,728 down from $7.49Mn helped to boost net profit.
• There was also a slight decline (3.2%) in cost of sales for the period which also partly contributed to an improvement in the bottom line.
• The stock has fallen 1.6% since the start of the calendar year. Indies Pharma closed trading yesterday at $3.13 and currently trades at a P/E of 28.6x earnings which is above the Junior Market Distribution sector average of 21.6x.

 (Source: Indies Pharma Financials)

• The audited financials for Seprod revealed that net profit for 2018 increased to $1.06Bn (EPS: $2.07), representing an improvement of 63.9% over the $647.84Mn (EPS: $1.42) recorded in 2017.
• The major items which contributed to this performance were an increase in revenues (+42.7%) and a decline in other operating expenses (-25.1%).
• The stock has rallied 58.2% since the start of the calendar year, closing yesterday’s trading session at $47.41. At the current price the stock trades at a P/E of 15.6x earnings which is below the Main Market Distribution sector average of 18.3x.

 (Source: Seprod Financials)

• Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd (TPHL), the parent company of Heritage Petroleum and successor of oil company Petrotrin, has secured US$850Mn to cover the first of its $2Bn bonds. The first-a US$850Mn bond-becomes due in August.
• TPHL chairman Wilfred Espinet told the Sunday Express yesterday: 'The board is extremely pleased with the performance of the operations of the new entities that have been created to own and operate the State's oil industry.’
• 'The financing now accessible will remove the uncertainty associated with the bonds maturing in August 2019 and give us the chance to focus on maximizing value.' On Friday, TPHL announced it had received loan commitments of up to US$720Mn from a syndicate of financial institutions led by Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands branch, as global co-ordinator.
• The loans are guaranteed by TPHL's three companies-Guaracara Refining Company Ltd, Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd, and Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspaper)

• Policy continuity will continue to be a primary strength of Panama over the coming years, as business-friendly policies are commonplace in legislation.
• Over the coming years, Fitch Solutions expects Panamanian policymakers to focus on increasing transparency and passing anti-corruption initiatives to help repair the country's image abroad while addressing domestic concerns.
• The government's shortcomings in addressing popular concerns over crime and income inequality will also weigh on its popular support.
• While public demonstrations over the perceived impunity of officials are increasingly common, opinion polls indicate crime and inequality in urban areas remain the primary concerns of citizens. This situation could weaken the country's mainstream parties over the long term and bolster the prospects of smaller parties with 'outsider' reputations.

 (Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Bond investors are positioned for at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts by the end of the year.
• St. Louis Fed President James Bullard says a cut may be needed soon to counter trade-war risks. Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said the bank is prepared to ease if needed.
• It’s no wonder then that today’s opening remarks by Chair Jerome Powell at a policy conference in Chicago, due at 9:55 a.m. Eastern Time, will be very closely watched for any pushback against the rising consensus.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Euro-area inflation eased more than expected in May, piling further pressure on European Central Bank policymakers as they assess a deepening slowdown and the need for stimulus.
• The euro area failed to live up to expectations when the flash inflation estimate for May came in at 1.2%, which may increase the pressure on the European Central Bank to act at this week’s policy meeting on Thursday.
• There was also disappointing data for the U.K. this morning, with retail sales declining the most on record in May, while the construction industry slowed the most in more than a year.
• The numbers come as President Donald Trump continues his visit to the country, where he urged his hosts to throw off the shackles of European Union membership and hinted at a trade deal.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• For the three-month period ended March 31, 2019, Everything Fresh reported a profit of $301,000 (EPS: $0.04), a downswing of 97% relative to the March 2018 quarter.
• A significant increase in expenses (84%) was a partial contributor to the fall-off in net income. Administrative and selling expenses were the main contributor to the growth in overall expenses; this line item increased by 97%.
• The stock has fallen 3.23% since the start of the calendar year. Everything Fresh closed trading yesterday at $1.50 and currently trades at a P/E of 108.11x earnings which is above the Junior Market Distribution sector average of 36.12x.

 (Source: Everything Fresh Financials)

• Sygnus Credit Investments Limited (SCI) has advised that, at a meeting of their Board of Directors held on May 16, 2019, approval was granted for the Company to raise up to J$1.2Bn (or USD equivalent) in debt. 
• SCI further advised that the capital raised will be done in various tranches and may take the form of Bonds, Loans, Notes or Preference Shares.
• The Company also advised that two senior managers sold a total of 86,000 SCI shares on May 21, 2019.

 (Source: JSE)

• Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado of the center-left Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) will continue to build a political consensus around economic reforms to reduce the country’s fiscal deficits in the coming months.
• The Alvarado government will also prioritize policies to reduce carbon emissions and improve social programs for poor and minority Costa Ricans.
• However, higher unemployment and general pessimism among Costa Ricans pose a moderate risk to the government's reform agenda.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)