• Despite President Donald Trump upped the pressure and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer confirming the U.S. would increase duties on Chinese imports 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Beijing will still send trade negotiators to Washington this week.
• The delegation will be led by Vice Premier Liu He, a sign that China remains serious about finding a compromise.
• Markets are a little calmer this morning in the wake of confirmation that the talks are going ahead. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that rumors and tweets are not favorable for finding a satisfactory resolution to the stand-off. 

(Source: Bloomberg)

• The hiatus is over and Brexit is back on the agenda. 
• Talks betweenPrime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party are set to come to a head today as the leaders meet to sign off on a deal that will allow a way forward for the long-stalled process.
• Should the negotiations fail, the U.K. could face another referendum or a snap election.
• Adding some extra jeopardy to the mix for Mayis the chance that she could soon be facing a leadership challenge from inside her own party. 

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Fitch Solutions expect broad, orthodox policy continuity in Jamaica over the coming years.
• IMF-backed reforms, including fiscal consolidation, inflation targeting, and a more liberalized exchange rate regime, will likely outlive the September conclusion of the current Stand-By Arrangement. 
• However, security concerns will persist and public opposition will likely limit further spending cuts, restraining the pace of consolidation efforts.

 (Source: Fitch Solutions)

• Approximately $750Mn has, to date, been disbursed to 35 small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs), under the National Export-Import (EXIM) Bank’s revolving loan scheme.
• The businesses were selected from 51 completed applications totalling $941.1Mn that the Bank received up to November 2018, Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has said.
• He was making his 2019/20 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on April 30.

(Source: JIS)

• Barbados remains in recession, with the economy contracting by an estimated 0.2 percent in the first quarter. This was primarily due to weakness in the non-trading sector, particularly construction.
• And while economic growth is predicted to be no more than 0.25 per cent this year, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes says he believes the island can achieve the “spurt in growth” it needs.
• He also announced that a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be in Barbados next week to check the progress of the economic reforms, as Government prepares to receive another US$49 million from the Fund.

 (Source: NationNews)

• The GDP per capita rose by 5.9% at year-end 2018, standing at US$7,917, according to data from Dominican Republic’s Central Bank.
• It’s the highest increase in the last seven years, in line with the Dominican economy’s growth in that period, which is more moderate, although constant.
• The growth of the economy at the end of last year was 6.9%, according to the most recent data from the World Bank.

(Source: Dominica Today)

• The U.S. jobs report Friday in Washington should show a temporary boost to hiring for the 2020 Census, while Bloomberg Economics sees promise in the Federal Reserve’s bet that economic weakness is temporary, analysis shows.
• The median expectation from economists is for an increase of 190,000 positions in April, with average hourly earnings gaining 3.3% from a year earlier.
• Unemployment is expected to remain unchanged from March at 3.8% when the data is published at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. 

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Consumer prices in the euro area rose 1.7% in April, the strongest since November, with core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel prices, jumping to 1.2%.
• Both readings beat economists’ estimates, and coupled with other recent more-positive-than-expected economic data for the region can be seen as good news for European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who was resisting adding more stimulus. 
• Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said in a speech ahead of today’s numbers that “much suggests that the economy is only experiencing a temporary weak phase and will pick up speed again after its soft patch.”

 (Source: Bloomberg)

• Newly appointed World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Axel van Trostenburg, says Jamaica’s macroeconomic achievements, to date, have been “extremely impressive”.
• “I don’t know any country that has achieved, over a sustained period of time, the fiscal adjustments and reforms as Jamaica has done, and produced a most spectacular reduction of its debt level that reached almost 150%, to fall, this year, below 100%,” he said.
• He was speaking at a media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Tuesday April 30, to announce an additional US$140Mn World Bank loan provision for Jamaica.
• The funds will bolster the Government’s efforts to strengthen Jamaica’s resilience risks associated with natural disasters, as well as support human capital development and enhance the social safety net for the society’s most vulnerable citizens.

 (Source: JIS)

• For the three months ended March 31, 2019, Mayberry Investments Limited reported a net loss of $196.7Mn (EPS: -$0.13) which represents a significant fall off (-182%) from the $239.4Mn (EPS: $0.20) reported a year prior.
• The deterioration in performance is partly attributable to an increase in operating expenses (+25%) as well as net trading losses of $47.9Mn relative to net trading gains reported in 2018 of $209.9Mn. Fees and commission income also declined by 50.4% to $104.8Mn relative to the $211.4Mn recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.
• The stock has fallen 4.06% since the start of the calendar year and closed at $8.75 yesterday. It currently trades at a P/B of 0.57x earnings which is below the Main Market Financial sector average of 1.73x.

 (Source: Mayberry Financials)