• FosRich Company Limited, which trades in lighting and energy products, will be setting up a production base to grow its slice of a market it estimates to be worth at least $20 billion.
•  The company will also be issuing a corporate bond for funds to finance inventory for its new industrial division. The size of the bond remains undisclosed, but Managing Director Cecil Foster expects the bond placement to close in November.

Source: Gleaner

• For the second quarter ended September 30, 2018 LASF reported net profit of $161.1Mn, representing a 3% decline relative to the $166.7Mn reported a year prior.
• Core income was $1,084Mn, up 59.5% relative to 2017, while other income was 57Mn, which represent a 68% improvement on the amount reported in 2017.
• The improvement in revenue was offset by increases in operating expenses (+65.4%), finance cost (+1925%) and taxes (+61.4%).

Source: LASF Financials

• US. government debt yields jumped after the government’s monthly jobs report showed the U.S. economy adding jobs at a brisk pace and wages rising at the fastest pace since April 2009.
• The yield 10-year Treasury note was higher at 3.178 percent at 8:34 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was higher at 3.405 percent.
• The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7 percent. Wages are up 3.14 percent over the past 12 months through the end of October.

Source: Bloomberg

Strengthening export growth and robust foreign investment will narrow Panama's current account deficit and support its external position. Increasing import demand and capital repatriation by foreign companies will largely offset the spike in exports. We forecast Panama's current account deficit at 5.1% of GDP in 2018 and 4.1% of GDP in 2019, respectively. 

Source: Fitch

• Barbados improved slightly in the World Bank’s ease of doing business 2018 rankings. This is an improvement from the fall-off in the country’s ranking last year.
• This year the country is ranked 129TH out of 190 economies, which is an improvement over its placement of 132 last year. This improvement in placement occurred despite the country receiving the same score of 56.78 which it received last year.
• Barbados ranked higher than other countries such as St Vincent and the Grenadines (130); St Kitts Nevis (140); Grenada (147); Suriname (165) and Haiti (182). However, Jamaica continued to hold the number one spot in the Caribbean, ranked at 75TH, followed by St Lucia (93); Dominica (103); Trinidad and Tobago (105); Antigua and Barbuda (112) and The Bahamas (118).

Source: Barbados Today

• In July 2018, the unemployment rate was 8.4%. This was mainly due to an increase in the number of persons employed and a simultaneous reduction in the number of persons in the labor force.
• The youth unemployment rate was 22.2 percent, influenced by a decline in the number of youth (14- 24 years) in the labor force. 
• This is the lowest level of unemployment reported in Jamaica, according to Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke.

Source: STATIN

October 30, 2018 – Kingston, Jamaica: Digicel Group Limited (“Digicel”) today announced that two of its subsidiaries are extending the early tender date (the “Early Tender Date”) and expiration date (the “Expiration Date”) of each of their previously announced Exchange Offers (as defined below) with respect to certain series of Digicel Group Limited’s outstanding senior notes.

Digicel continues constructive discussions with an ad hoc group of noteholders regarding the Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations.

• The USMCA, NAFTA's replacement, will likely be implemented in 2019, leaving preferential trade access intact in North America and modernizing rules for deeper integration, in line with other recent US-led trade agreements.
• Key changes around autos rules of origin are restrictive in nature, reflecting the policy shift towards protectionism in the US under the Trump administration. 
• The alleviation of uncertainty will support investment in the near term, especially in Mexico; over the long run, Fitch expects relatively minimal economic impact on most industries when compared to the status quo.

Source: Fitch

• Fitch Ratings on 29 October 2018 affirmed Trinidad Generation Unlimited's (TGU) senior unsecured debt at 'BBB-'.
• The rating on the notes reflects TGU's importance to the country's energy matrix and operational integration with its ultimate parent, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
• Additionally, the rating is supported by the highly stable cash flows derived from the 720MW generation plant fully contracted position under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission.
• Payments under the PPA are guaranteed by the government. On a standalone basis, TGU would be similarly rated considering its position relative to other availability-based utilities and its current counterparty risk.

Source: Fitch

• For the year ended June 30, 2018 Wisynco Group Limited reported net profit of $2.3Bn (EPS: $0.61), representing a 28% increase relative to the $1.76Bn (EPS: $0.49) reported a year prior (after discounting for $500Mn ‘other income’ which mostly represented a one-off fire insurance payment in 2017 and removing discontinued operations).
• The performance was primarily driven by a 15% increase in sales to $24.5Bn thanks to strong growth in its beverage portfolio and solid growth in the brands it represents in Jamaica.
• The company made the largest investment in its history in new beverage equipment installing two new beverage lines and one filler replacing its first ever beverage filler.
• Overall, capital expenditures on fixed assets in the past year amounted to some $2.6Bn, of which $1.5Bn represented the capital investment in production equipment.
• The primary focus for the 2018/19 FY is are improving profitability and building greater efficiency.
• The company also expects the new investments made last FY to provide a 30% lift in its overall capacity in 2019. 

Source: Wisynco Financials