U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. Consequently, the labour market ended the year on a solid footing, reinforcing views that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged this month.
The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday, January 10, 2025, also showed a decline last month in the number of people who have permanently lost their jobs and a shortening in the median duration of unemployment.
The upbeat report supported the U.S. central bank's cautious stance toward further monetary policy easing this year amid mounting fears that pledges by President-elect Donald Trump to impose or massively raise tariffs on imports and deport millions of undocumented immigrants could stoke inflation.
Those worries were evident in Minutes of the Fed's Dec. 17-18 policy meeting published on Wednesday, which noted "most participants remarked that ... the Committee could take a careful approach in considering" further cuts.
Given these factors, financial markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range at its Jan. 28-29 meeting, CME's FedWatch tool showed. The central bank has lowered its policy rate by 100 basis points since launching its easing cycle in September. Furthermore, economists do not expect rate cuts in the first half of this year.
Last month, the Fed projected only two quarter-point rate cuts this year compared to the four it had forecasted in September, acknowledging the economy's endurance and still-elevated inflation. The policy rate was hiked by 5.25 percentage points in 2022 and 2023.
Ten European Union (EU) countries have called for the 27-nation bloc to ban imports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as Europe debates fresh sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
The EU is preparing its 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia's economy ahead of the third anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The 10 countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Finland, want Europe to go further in targeting Russia's fuel exports to cut the revenues flowing to Moscow. "As an end goal, it is necessary to ban the import of Russian gas and LNG at the earliest date possible," the countries said in a joint paper, which was also signed by Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
"An alternative to the full ban could be to gradually reduce the use of Russian gas and LNG as has also already been set out in the RePowerEU Roadmap," the document said, referring to the EU's existing aim to end its use of Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
The EU has already sanctioned seaborne oil imports from Russia but, so far, has not banned gas imports from Moscow because some EU countries continue to rely on them. The countries said Russian LNG tankers should also be banned from docking inside the EU.
Europe's gas imports from former top supplier Russia have plunged since 2022, and the bloc has hiked imports of U.S. LNG and expanded its use of renewable energy to help fill the gap. Russian gas imports dropped further this month when a contract bringing Russian fuel to Europe via Ukraine expired. Notwithstanding, Slovakia has vowed to try to resume that deal.
Sygnus Credit Investments Limited (SCI) has advised on the Basis of Allotment of its JMD and USD Perpetual Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares.
The Invitation closed on Monday December 30, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. and was oversubscribed in all classes. The company received approval to upsize both classes of shares.
Consequently, all applicants of both Class H & I Preference Shares will be allotted 100% of the amount applied for.
Class H shares were oversubscribed by 42.69% or 5,123,000 shares and was upsized to 17,123,000. Similarly, Class I shares were oversubscribed by 10.25% or 205,080 shares and was upsized to 2,205,080. Overall, the dollar value of shares allotted amounted to J$1.71Bn and US$22.05Mn respectively.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is reporting growth in the marine fish production sector. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, said marine fish production from April to September 2024 was 3,758,900 kilogrammes.
“Our marine fish production would have seen a 51% increase in terms of production… which again we believe is due to better data collection, improved fishing techniques, and increased numbers of registered fisherfolk. Aquaculture production, on the other hand, was 174 metric tonnes, with over 713 acres of ponds being in production,” Mr. Green said.
The Minister was speaking at a press conference held recently at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices. Mr. Green also highlighted the positive impact of the fish sanctuaries on the sector.
The National Fisheries Authority is responsible for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of the Jamaica fisheries resources in a manner that ensures optimum social and economic benefits to Jamaica.
The Bank of Mexico could increase the size of cuts to its benchmark interest rate in future meetings as inflation eases in Latin America's second-largest economy, minutes from the central bank's December monetary policy meeting showed on Thursday, January 9, 2025.
Banxico, as the Mexican central bank is known, lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 10.00% in a unanimous decision by its five-member governing board last month.
"In view of the progress on disinflation, larger downward adjustments could be considered in some meetings, albeit maintaining a restrictive stance," the minutes said. A breakdown of all the board members' positions showed several of them supporting the discussion of larger rate cuts.
Banxico began a rate-cutting cycle last March amid easing inflation, ultimately delivering five 25bos cuts and bringing the benchmark rate down from the record 11.25% reached in 2023.
At the December meeting, one of the five members pointed to "the undeniable progress in disinflation" as supporting their view that "it is necessary to increase the magnitude of rate cuts in some of the upcoming monetary policy decisions." Another member noted "the importance of communicating that larger adjustments of larger magnitude could be implemented at the next policy meetings."
The minutes showed that while two members called for caution in December, the board highlighted inflation's downward trajectory, even while upwardly revising its year-end inflation forecasts for 2025 at the meeting.
Mexico's annual headline inflation rate fell more than expected in December, reaching 4.21%, official data published earlier on Thursday showed. Banxico targets inflation at 3%, plus or minus one percentage point.
Bahamas Prime Minister, Philip Davis, recently announced the reduction of value-added taxes (VAT) on all food items to 5% from 10% starting on April 1st. He added that with the reduction, the government aims to bring the economy to a stable and secure footing.
PM Davis added that the VAT reductions would provide major relief to the consumers in financial terms. The reduction is set to be levied on all food items in stores, including fresh fruits and vegetables, lunch snacks, baby food and frozen foods. However, it would not apply to prepared foods in the deli.
PM Davis added that the rate reduction will also apply to the importation of all food items and the date of April 1st will allow merchants and food stores to make the adjustments.
Discussing the Bahamas economy from three years ago, Prime Minister Philip Davis said, “it was in shambles, and the finances were in freefall while the hospitals, schools and communities were in deep crisis”. He also emphasised the government’s efforts in pulling the nation back from the fiscal brink.
Furthermore, Philip Davis cited the high cost of living as one of the most stubborn problems of the country and explained that VAT is not the cause of the high price of food but for the ones having the tightest disposable income, reduction of VAT by 50% will surely make a huge difference.
He further reiterated his administration’s commitment to working towards lower the cost of energy, improve the energy infrastructure and provide affordable housing and healthcare.
The union representing 45,000 dock workers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and their employers on Wednesday said they reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting further strikes that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.S. economy.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group, in a joint statement, called the agreement a "win-win." The deal includes a resolution in automation, the thorniest issue on the table.
"This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernising East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong," the groups said.
The National Retail Federation, which represents major customers like Walmart, and Target, said the agreement should bring certainty back to ocean shipping by reducing the risk of disruptions at East and Gulf Coast ports that handle more than half of U.S. container imports.
"The agreement will also pave the way for much-needed modernisation efforts, which are essential for future growth at these ports and the overall resiliency of our nation's supply chain," said Jonathan Gold, NRF's vice president of supply chain and customs policy.
Rachel Reeves is facing her first major test since becoming Britain's finance minister after a jump in the government's borrowing costs this week and a deepening of the pound's losses on Thursday, potentially forcing her to cut future spending.
With investors worrying about high borrowing and a stagnating economy, the Treasury said there was no need for intervention to calm markets, having vowed late on Wednesday to maintain "an iron grip" on the public finances.
Britain's new government launched its plan for more investment in public services and infrastructure to boost economic growth just days before Trump's November 5 election victory, pushing up borrowing costs globally. That shift in markets has made investors more worried about the combination of high borrowing in Britain planned by Reeves and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the impact of their higher taxes for business on an economy that is now stagnating.
Analysts at Citi said British bonds were being hit by worries about the extent of the government's borrowing plans, which could keep pressure on inflation and prevent the BoE from cutting interest rates quickly to help the economy. Britain is due to issue nearly 300Bn pounds ($368Bn) of government bonds over the coming financial year.
Some analysts said Britain's departure from the European Union had made it more exposed to swings in financial markets. "Brexit UK is vulnerable as a less core asset in global investor portfolios," Krishna Guha and Marco Casiraghi at Evercore ISI, a consultancy, said in a report. Others said the rise in market interest rates would make it easier for the BoE to cut borrowing costs, potentially easing the pressure on gilt yields and the government's coffers.
Jamaica’s Net International Reserves (NIR) stood at US$5,583.67Mn at the end of December 2024, 3.2% higher than in November 2024, according to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). The improvement in the NIR reflects a 2.9% (or US$157.36Mn) increase in total foreign assets, along with a 26.6% decline (or US$17.80Mn) in Foreign Liabilities.
The rise in foreign assets was due to growth in Special Drawings Rights to US$249.21Mn from US$1.43Mn. However, this was slightly tempered by a decline in Securities by 0.6% (or US$12.76Mn), Currency and Deposits (-2.3% or US$77.40Mn) and IMF Reserve Position balance (-0.7% or US$26.71K).
There were no interventions by the BOJ in the foreign exchange market for December, in contrast to November when there were three interventions totalling US$130Mn.
Compared to December 2023, the NIR increased by 17.3% (or $825.44Mn), up from $4,758.24Mn (23.9 weeks of imports).
Jamaica’s December 2024 NIR remains relatively high and equates to 29.4 weeks of goods & services imports (28.5 weeks at the end of December 2024). At this level, the NIR is more than double the international benchmark of 12 weeks of imports.
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.
