Innovative Energy Group (IEG), formerly Wigton Windfarm Limited, has signed a Distribution Agreement with Huawei Technologies, setting the stage for a significant impact on the renewable energy sector in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean. This partnership underscores the region’s growing demand for advanced digital power products and solutions.
The two-year renewable agreement grants IEG distribution rights for Huawei’s Tier 1 digital power products, including inverters, battery energy storage systems, power conversion systems, and SCADA/monitoring equipment.
With Jamaica’s renewable energy penetration currently below 20% and a national goal of 50% by 2030, this partnership is poised to play a pivotal role in achieving these ambitious targets.
Over the past two years, IEG’s subsidiary, Innovative Energy Company (IEC), has procured over US$6Mn worth of Huawei’s digital power products. With this agreement, Huawei aims to capture at least 50% of Jamaica's market share, ensuring strong growth and increased adoption of renewable energy technologies.
In addition to providing cutting-edge products, Huawei will support IEG with marketing resources, advanced training, and trade credit facilities, strengthening IEG’s ability to meet market demands.
Guyana's oil exports rose 54% in 2024 to 582,000 barrels per day (bpd), fueled by European refiners' demand for easy-to-process sweet crudes to replace some Middle Eastern grades, according to traders and shipping data from financial firm LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group).
Since it started exporting oil in early 2020, the burgeoning oil nation has emerged as the fifth-largest Latin American crude exporter after Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia.
But unlike Latin America's usual offer of heavy sour oil, Guyana's lighter and sweeter crude grades have carved out a rising share in Europe, where most refineries are not as complex as most Latin American and U.S. Gulf Coast plants that turn heavy grades into motor fuels. In 2024, 66% of Guyana's crude exports or some 388,000 bpd went to Europe, compared with 62% the previous year, the shipping data showed.
Of note, Guyana's oil began gaining favour in Europe in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which pushed many refiners to avoid sanctioned Russian crude and seek alternative supplies.
Furthermore, last year, attacks in the Red Sea affected oil flows from the Middle East, giving crudes from Guyana and Brazil better chances of finding buyers in Europe, said Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior analyst of crude markets at data analytics platform Kpler.
Producers in Guyana also almost doubled shipments to the United States last year to 23,000 bpd, while exports to Asia increased in smaller magnitude to around 139,000 bpd. Sales to Latin America and the Caribbean were almost unchanged at around 32,000 bpd.
The rise in exports has been possible due to a consortium led by U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil expanding output rapidly through three floating production facilities (Liza 1 and 2, and Payara), with a fourth expected to add about 250,000 bpd of capacity this year.
Panama has insisted that its sovereignty over the Panama Canal is "non-negotiable" after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out military force to seize it.
Trump remarked during a news conference on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at which he also falsely stated that the Panama Canal was being operated by Chinese soldiers. Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha responded by saying that "the only hands operating the canal are Panamanian and that is how it is going to stay".
The Panama Canal was managed by the US for decades but under a treaty signed by the late US President Jimmy Carter in 1977, it was handed over to the Panamanians on December 31, 1999.
In his news conference on Tuesday, Trump described President Carter's decision to hand the canal back as "a big mistake". Pressed by journalists on whether he would rule out using military or economic force to acquire the Panama Canal (and also the Arctic Island of Greenland), he said: "No, I can't assure you on either of those two."
Panama's foreign minister denied his country had received any offer from the president-elect. "Trump's opinions today, that he has talked about a certain amount of money, are not true. No kind of offer has been received, let it be clear," Martínez-Acha said. He added that "our canal's sovereignty is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest".
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to an 11-month low last week, pointing to a stable labour market, though a slowdown in hiring has led some laid-off workers to experience long bouts of joblessness. Signs of a steadily cooling labour market could allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in January against the backdrop of still-high inflation.
The U.S. central bank last month projected a shallower path of rate cuts this year than had been forecast in September when it launched its policy easing cycle. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday that he expected further rate cuts, adding that the pace of the reductions "will depend on how much progress we make on inflation while keeping the labour market from weakening."
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 for the week ended Jan. 4, the lowest level since February 2024, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 218,000 claims for the latest week.
Although claims tend to be volatile at the turn of the year, they have bounced around levels associated with low layoffs that are underpinning the labour market and broader economy. The four-week average of claims, which strips out seasonal fluctuations from the data, dropped from 10,250 to 213,000 last week.
Minutes of the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting published on Wednesday showed policymakers viewed labour market conditions as "gradually easing," and saw "no signs of rapid deterioration."
U.S. private payrolls growth slowed sharply in December, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Private payrolls rose by 122,000 jobs last month after increasing by an unrevised 146,000 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment rising by 140,000.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of Friday's more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for December from the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics.
There is no correlation between the ADP and BLS employment report. Initial ADP prints have mostly understated private payroll growth this year. A slowdown in job growth is anticipated in December after being boosted in November by fading disruptions from hurricanes and strikes by factory workers at Boeing and another aerospace firm.
Private payrolls likely increased by 135,000 jobs in December after rising 194,000 in November, a Reuters survey showed. With gains anticipated in government employment, nonfarm payrolls are forecast to increase by 160,000 jobs after surging 227,000 in November. The unemployment rate is forecast to be unchanged at 4.2%.
The Ministry of Tourism is reporting that Jamaica earned US$4.3Bn from the industry in 2024, with some 4.3Mn visitors according to Portfolio Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.
Bartlett said the sector finished the year strong, despite the slight shortfall in arrival figures due to aviation disruptions, Hurricane Beryl and travel advisories.
“We had 68,000 less seats into Jamaica, which meant there was a natural reduction in the projected figures in terms of arrivals. Tourism, as you know, is resilient. Notwithstanding those disruptions, we are coming out of the year with a small increase in arrivals, but the earnings are in line with what we projected,” Mr. Bartlett said.
Minister Bartlett further disclosed that Jamaica is on track to realise its 5x5x5 growth strategy of five million visitors and earnings of US$5 billion by 2025. 1.6Mn airline seats have been secured so far for the winter season, which, he said, “is the largest amount ever”.
“Assuming an 80% load factor, that is … the plane is coming 80% full, we would bring 1.3Mn visitors in that space, and that’s a 12.9% increase over last year. So, the winter is strong, and winter is the strongest period for earnings in tourism, and so we anticipate a very strong first quarter of 2025,” the Minister said.
Jamaica’s commitment to climate justice and social equity has been given a boost by the International Labour Organization (ILO), through its Just Transition Project. The two-year project was officially launched on November 27, 2024, and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
“Through the ILO Just Transition project, Jamaica is taking bold strides towards a sustainable future, ensuring that its workers are protected and that policies are inclusive and forward-thinking,” says Just Transition Officer and Project Coordinator in Jamaica, Marissa Shepherd. Jamaica’s journey towards a sustainable economy will be guided by the Just Transition Project implementation, with the primary goal of fulfilling international commitments while also protecting the livelihoods of local individuals and communities.
By integrating policy coherence, fostering social dialogue, and enhancing social protection, this project is set to outline a thoughtful pathway towards a just and equitable future for all Jamaicans.
ILO is a United Nations agency that promotes social justice and fair labour practices globally. Its initiatives aim to advance labour rights and improve working conditions through partnerships and innovative policy frameworks.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday upgraded its rating for El Salvador to B- from its prior CCC+ status, along with a stable outlook, citing a reduction in financing needs helped by a recently announced International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. The B- rating is, however, six notches into the credit rating agency's speculative grade, or junk, status.
Last month, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement with El Salvador on a new loan program for about $1.4 billion to support government reforms.
"Fitch expects the program to support the implementation of fiscal consolidation measures which in conjunction with the reduction in outstanding short-term debt owed to domestic banks and buyback of external debt, due to last year's liability management operations, should reduce financing needs," according to a statement from the ratings agency.
The rating agency added that successful fiscal consolidation could boost investor confidence and potentially enable future debt issuances. It expects Salvadoran economic growth to slow to 1.9% in 2024, from a 3.5% expansion in 2023, and then pick up to 2.3% growth this year despite the government's heavy debt burden.
Eurozone inflation accelerated in December, an unwelcome but anticipated blip that is unlikely to derail further interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank. Inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro picked up to 2.4% last month from 2.2% in November, Eurostat said on Tuesday. This was in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists, lifted by more expensive energy and stubbornly high service costs.
Inflation has been oscillating just above the ECB's 2.0% target recently and data over the next few months could remain choppy, but the overall trend is expected to point downwards with the ECB's goal likely to be hit sometime in the second half of the year.
Underlying inflation, a valuable indicator of the durability of price growth, remained sticky, possibly fuelling calls for the ECB to exercise caution in removing policy restrictions over the coming months. Price growth excluding volatile food and energy held at 2.7% and the closely watched services component, the single biggest item in the consumer price basket, accelerated to 4.0% from 3.9%.
Adding to the case for caution, a separate consumer survey from the ECB showed both near and medium-term inflation expectations were rising, with figures three years ahead seen at 2.4%, well above the previous survey's 2.1% and the ECB's own target. December's inflation jump, anticipated by markets after data out of Spain and Germany foreshadowed the trend, is not overriding near-term rate cut bets for now and investors still fully price in a further reduction on Jan 30.
However, a cut at every meeting through June is no longer fully expected, with investors seeing a 50% chance that the ECB will skip a meeting sometime in the first half. The 3% deposit rate is then seen to hit 2% by the end of the year. One reason for the more cautious market pricing is the dollar's recent strength which is making imports of key commodities more expensive, quickly feeding through to prices via more expensive energy, including car fuel.
Major central banks in December delivered their biggest policy easing push since the spring 2020 COVID rate-cutting frenzy, with the latest moves making the annual 2024 easing effort the biggest in 15 years as policymakers brace for unsteady times.
Among central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies, five of the nine that held meetings in December cut interest rates. Central banks in Switzerland and Canada shaved off 50 basis points (bps) each, while the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and Sweden's Riksbank trimmed benchmarks by 25 bps each.
Policymakers in Australia, Norway, Japan and Britain left interest rates unchanged, while New Zealand did not hold a meeting. The latest moves come ahead of Donald Trump taking over the White House on Jan. 20, with uncertainty over how aggressively the U.S. President-elect will pursue his trade and economic policies keeping markets on edge.
December marked the biggest monthly tally of rate cuts across G10 central banks since March 2020, when turmoil over the COVID pandemic roiled global markets. The latest moves took the 2024 rate cut total to 825 bps - the biggest annual easing effort since 2009. "2024 was another strong year for asset returns, as economic growth surprised on the upside and central banks finally began to cut rates," said Henry Allen, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank.
Across emerging markets, 14 of a Reuters sample of 18 central banks in developing economies held rate-setting meetings in December. Turkey delivered an eye-catching 250 bps cut, while Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and the Philippines lowered rates by 25 bps each.
