• GWEST reported a net loss of $135Mn (EPS:-0.28) for the year ended March 31, 2019, representing a 54% decline relative to the loss of $88.11Mn (EPS: -$0.55) reported in 2018.
• The increase in loss over the period was primarily driven by 157% and 156% increase in Admin and other operating expenses, respectively.
• GWEST has traded downwards (-14.79%) since the start of the calendar year, closing at $1.21 at the end of yesterday’s trading session. 

 (Source: GWEST Financials)

• The Bahamas’ GDP growth is expected to accelerate from 1.6% last year to 1.8% in 2019, supported by tourism and foreign investment in the construction sector, the IMF said in a review of the country. Growth could be disrupted by a slowdown in the U.S. or higher oil prices, and hurricane vulnerability persists. 
• The IMF said high unemployment rate and rising public debt also pose risks to the forecast; Unemployment was 10.7% in November 2018 and public debt rose to 63.3% of GDP in 2018.
• Government’s fiscal deficit narrowed to 3.4% of GDP in 2018 from 5.5% in 2017and is expected to narrow further to 2.3% in 2019.
• The IMF also “welcomed the decisive steps to consolidate the fiscal position” and the implementation of the fiscal responsibility law.
• Inflation is expected to slow to 1.6% in 2019 from 2.2% in 2018; Consumer prices temporarily accelerated in 2018 after a VAT tax hike to 12% from 7.5%. 
• The report also noted that the banking system is well capitalized, but credit to the private sector contracted in 2018 

(Source: IMF)

• Fitch Solutions have revised down its real GDP growth forecast for Mexico to 1.1% y-o-y in 2019, from 1.7% previously, as mounting trade tensions and sluggish US growth sap industrial and investment activity.
• National oil company Pemex will struggle to reverse production declines despite rising support from the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)
• The service sector will remain the primary engine of growth, but sluggish wage growth will likely weigh on retail sales.

 (Source: Fitch)

• The never-ending dispute between the U.S. and Europe over support to subsidy-reliant aircraft manufacturers Boeing Co. and Airbus SE took another turn when Washington added $4 billion of EU goods that could be targeted as part of the tiff.
• Needless to say, the Europeans have their own list of retaliatory measures ready should the situation get more serious.
• Shares in Airbus dropped as much as 1.4% in Paris this morning, with the company calling the whole thing a lose-lose situation.
• One positive bit of news on the tariff front is that President Donald Trump said measures against Mexico are off the table after the country’s response to immigration flows

 (Source: Bloomberg)

• OPEC reached a deal to extend production cuts until March 2020 on Monday.
• The energy alliance between OPEC and non-OPEC partners, sometimes referred to as OPEC+, has been reducing oil output since 2017.
• The policy is designed to prevent prices from sliding amid soaring production from the U.S. which has become the world’s top producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia. 
• International benchmark Brent crude traded at $64.48 Tuesday afternoon, down around 0.8%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $58.55, almost 1% lower.

 (Source: CNBC News)

• Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) yesterday announced its decision to hold the policy interest rate (the rate offered on overnight balances with BOJ) unchanged at 0.75% p.a., effective June 28, 2019.
• The decision to hold the policy rate unchanged is based on the Bank’s current assessment that monetary conditions are appropriate to support the achievement of the inflation target of 4.0% to 6.0% over the medium term.
• This decision comes on the heels of Jamaica’s inflation rate coming in at 4.8% for May 2019, back into the target range of 4% to 6% after five consecutive months of annual inflation being below target. 
• The BOJ also assesses the risks to projected GDP growth to be balanced compared to being skewed to the downside at the May 2019 assessment. 
• Other macroeconomic indicators continue to be positive. 

 (Source: Bank of Jamaica)

• Economic growth in Jamaica will accelerate in the coming quarters as economic reforms pay dividends and accommodative monetary policy supports credit growth.
• The mining sector will be a key engine of growth as alumina and bauxite facilities ramp up production, supporting forecast for real GDP growth to accelerate to 2.1% in 2019, from 1.9% in 2018.
• Despite improvements, Fitch Solutions expects that structural weakness will limit real GDP growth over the coming decade.

 (Source: Fitch)

• On June 26, 2019, Amazon.com, Inc. announced the creation of 2,000 job openings. These positions will be based in Amazon’s dedicated centers in Costa Rica and will include specialist roles in areas such as customer service, technology, cloud services, finance, and accounting.
• These specialist roles will support Amazon’s customers around the world and provide 24/7 world-class customer service in North and South America, Europe and Asia; in English, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Mandarin.
• The 2,000 new jobs include virtual (work-from-home) positions to increases opportunities for those who live outside the Greater Metropolitan Area, President Alvarado said.
• Costa Rica’s President, Carlos Alvarado, said he, along with the private sector, “continues working to reactivate the economy.”

 (Source: The Costa Rica Star)

• Barbados will run wide current account deficits over the coming years as machinery and food imports outweigh service exports, principally from tourism.
• Fitch expects stable foreign direct investment inflows and support from multilateral lenders to provide stability to support Barbados' external account.
• Fitch Solutions forecasts that Barbados will maintain a significant current account deficit of 3.4% of GDP in 2019 and 3.5% of GDP in 2020, following a deficit of 3.5% in 2018.

 (Source: Fitch)

• In conversations with other leaders ahead of his sit down with the U.S. president on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan, Xi spared no opportunity to paint the U.S. as the bad guy in China’s spiraling trade conflict, while avoiding the provocative step of naming Trump personally.
• Xi took a not-so-subtle swipe at Trump’s policy slogan, "America first." Warning against "bullying practices," Xi said that “any attempt to put one’s own interests first and undermine others’ will not win any popularity.”
• Xi then used remarks on the digital economy to call for a "fair and equitable market environment" and the "completeness and vitality of global supply chains."
• It comes as Trump singles out Chinese tech giant Huawei, arguing its connections to the government mean it could allow Beijing to spy through its equipment, and urging countries to avoid the company while developing 5G networks.
• Xi stated that he is opposed to protectionism as well as any "external” influence on the two countries’ relationship.

 (Source: Bloomberg)