• European ministers will begin debating on Friday how and when to start trade negotiations with the United States, aware that U.S. President Donald Trump may impose punitive tariffs on EU car imports if the bloc waits too long.

• Germany is keen to start as soon as possible, while France is reluctant to engage with Trump.

• The United States and Europe ended a stand-off of several months last July when Trump agreed to hold off on car tariffs while the two sides looked to improve trade ties.

(Source: Reuters)

• Fitch Solutions expect consumer price growth to recover over the coming quarters as oil prices edge higher. However, producer prices are likely to remain subdued amid weakening demand.

• The surprise recovery in exports growth in January is not expected to be sustained over the coming months as tariffs are likely to remain in place while China and the US work to reach a trade deal.

• Strong support for credit growth over the coming months from looser monetary policy is also expected.

(Source: Fitch Solutions)

• For the third quarter ended December 31, 2018, JMMB Group limited recorded net profit of $3.02Bn (EPS: $1.82), which was 18% higher than the corresponding period last year.

• Notably, there was a 12.13% increase in net operating revenue from $12.28Bn in 2017 to $13.77Bn which was due mainly to an improvement in fees and commission, net interest income and foreign exchange trading gains.

• In particular, the company’s operating expenses for the period was $9.4Bn, which represented an increase of 8.9% over the corresponding period of 2017.

• JMMB’s stock price has lost 1.7% in value year to date and currently trades at a P/E of 13.51x earnings which is below the Main Market financial sector average of 18.07x earnings.

(JMMB Group Financials)

• For the year ended December 31, 2018, the bank recorded net profit of $2.80Bn (EPS: $0.66), which was $1.02Bn or 57% higher than the corresponding period of 2017.

• Notably, there was an 8.7% increase in revenue from $6.8Bn in 2017 to $7.4Bn which was due mainly to an improvement in fees and commission and continued net gains on foreign exchange trading.

• In particular, the company’s operating costs for the period was $9.1Bn, which represented an increase of $693.6Mn or 8% over the corresponding period of 2017.

• Sagicor’s Banks’s cumulative redeemable preference shares have remained unchanged at $1 and has a dividend yield of 8.25%.

(Source: Sagicor Bank Jamaica Financials)

• Although high taxes on Caribbean air travel remain a concern, the region’s tourism watchdog is cautiously optimistic that the industry is set to continue to deliver solid results into 2019.

• Delivering a review of the Caribbean tourism industry, Acting Director of Research and IT at Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) said with a strong performance during the last four months of 2018, including a robust showing by countries impacted by the 2017 hurricanes, “the evidence suggests that Caribbean tourism is on the upswing”.

• Despite registering a 6.3% decline, to reach 13.9Mn American tourists last year, the US remains the region’s largest source market for tourists. But it was Canada that outperformed all other markets last year with 5.7% growth or 3.9Mn visits, mainly due to seat capacity to the region.

• The CTO is projecting that tourist arrivals will increase by between six and 7% in 2019, as the damaged infrastructure in the hurricane-impacted destinations returns to capacity. Cruise arrivals are also projected to expand by a further 4 to 5%.

(Source: Barbados Today)

• Fitch Solutions expects more room to run for the nascent recovery in China’s foreign exchange reserves, which was extended for a third month in December 2018.

• Positive valuation effects from waning USD strength and a reduced need to support a stabilizing CNY are likely to outweigh subdued exports growth over the coming months.

• They are mildly bullish on the CNY in the short-term as positive sentiment could be bolstered further by an extension to the March 1 deadline for the U.S and China to agree on a trade deal.

(Source Fitch Solutions)

• British Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to compromise with the European Union over the future of Ireland’s border, with just two weeks left to save her Brexit deal.

• On Thursday, members of the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Conservatives inflicted another embarrassing parliamentary defeat on the premier after they refused to endorse her approach to resolving the deadlock.

(Source Bloomberg)

• The Government plans to lobby the support of the international community, particularly the United States, for the Jamaican cannabis industry’s development.

• Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says this partly stems from a reluctance by local banks to fund the industry’s growth, due to fear of international de-risking, citing this as a major impediment with serious economic implications for Jamaica.

• The Minister stated that the government will be using all available diplomatic resources, including our Ambassador in Washington DC, to mount a lobbying effort to the Government of the United States, primarily through its Treasury Department, to address this very important matter.

• Mr. Shaw noted that while de-risking mainly affects smaller developing countries, like Caribbean states, the bigger developed nations “have managed to figure out a way” around the issue.

(Source: JIS)

• For the third quarter ending December 31, 2018, Proven Investments Limited reported a net profit of US$5.9Mn (EPS: US$0.0094), representing a 12.78% decline relative to the US$5.23Mn (EPS: US$ 0.0088) reported one year prior.

• Notably, there was a 15.90% increase in revenue from US$25.64Mn to US$29.72Mn which was due mainly to an improvement in fees and commission, continued net gains on the carry trade strategy, an improvement in both foreign exchange gains and other income.

• In particular, the company’s operating costs for the period was (US$20.01Mn), up 21.18% when compared with the US$ 16.52Mn recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

• Proven’s USD stock price has grown by 10.0% YTD and closed trading at US$0.22 yesterday. The stock currently trades at a P/E of 24.18x earnings which is above the Main Market finance average of 17.40x.

(Source: Proven Investments Financials)

• A paper would be going to the Barbadian Cabinet Thursday, February 14, 2019, to gain approval for a worldwide tender for the creation of a public-private partnership for the development, operation, and expansion of the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc.

• The proposal would be that the concessionaire, once identified, would be given an operating lease for a period of 20 to 30 years, allowing for a reasonable time to have a return on the investment.

• Stating that the ownership of the airport would remain with the Government and the people of Barbados, Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds said at the end of the period of the operational lease, the control of the airport would revert to the GAIA Inc., which for the foreseeable future, once given the blessing of Cabinet, would then be a holding company with regulatory oversight of all airport and civil aviation activities.

(Source: Barbados GIS