• In the third quarter, unit labour costs unexpectedly declined, providing some relief on the inflation front. Unit labour costs, which measure hourly compensation against productivity, fell by 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Economists had anticipated a gain of 0.7%. Over the 12 months, unit labour costs increased by 1.9%.
• The decline in unit labour costs was influenced by a 3.9% increase in hourly compensation, which was offset by a 4.7% rise in productivity. The productivity increases surpassed expectations, with output rising by 5.9% and hours worked increasing by 1.1%.
• These developments occurred as the Federal Reserve was actively trying to combat inflation by implementing a series of interest rate increases. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that wage gains have decreased significantly over the past 18 months, bringing them closer to the target of 2% inflation over time.
• In other economic news, initial filings for unemployment benefits for the week ending on October 28 reached 217,000, representing a slight increase of 5,000 from the previous week and higher than the estimated 214,000. Continuing claims, which lag by a week, totalled 1.82 million, reflecting an increase of 35,000 and exceeding the estimated 1.81 million.

• One-on-One Limited has recorded a net loss of $37.76Mn for the financial year ending August 30, 2023, versus a net profit of $12.26Mn, last year.
• Revenue for the year slightly declined by 0.1% yoy to $266.58Mn. The performance was influenced by a fourth-quarter revenue dip; the company experienced a decline in revenues from $72.5Mn in 2022 to $44.3Mn in 2023. This drop can primarily be attributed to the dip in non-recurring project revenues, as the company’s strategic emphasis has been increasingly shifted towards building sustainable, recurring business lines. Consequently, the value of projects undertaken during this period was less than 2022.
• Despite revenues being flat year over year the company had growth in the B2G business line, which benefited from increased revenues from existing government contracts.
• Significant increase in expenses targeted at investing in the development and expansion of new products, and selling activities to increase awareness, led to a rise in operating expenses from $171.5Mn in 2022 to $230.4Mn for the comparative period in 2023.
• One’s stock price has declined by 18.7% since the start of the calendar year. The stock closed Wednesday’s trading session at $1.00 and currently trades at a P/B of 7x which is below the Junior Market Others Sector Average of 5.1x.
• One-on-One has made substantial investments over the year in the One Academy for Schools solution, which is expected to generate significant recurring revenues for the business going forward. While the 2023/24 financial year will commence with the company’s engagement in 25 schools for the One Academy, its target is to aggressively onboard a significant number of schools before the end of the financial year. This is a major initiative for the company and is expected to boost the company’s performance and ultimately, increase shareholders’ value.

(Sources: JSE and NCBCM Research)

• ExxonMobil and partners on Stabroek have made a “significant discovery” at the Lancetfish-2 appraisal well, offshore Guyana.
• The Guyana government said this was the fourth find this year and the total, since 2015, of 46. Other finds this year are the Fangtooth SE-1 and Lancetfish-1 on Stabroek, in addition to the Wei-1 discovery in the Corentyne Block.
• Most findings have been at Exxon's prolific Stabroek block, where oil production was inaugurated in 2019. The 6.6 million-acre (26,000-square km) block is expected to generate up to 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas per day by 2027.
• “This newly discovered reservoir will undergo a comprehensive appraisal process, which aligns with the ongoing appraisal activities for other discoveries in the region,” the government of Guyana said.

(Source: Energy Voice)

• After a strong rebound from the pandemic and continued resilience in early 2023, growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to moderate from 4.1% in 2022 to 2.3% this year and remain around this rate in 2024.
• Furthermore, inflation is expected to converge gradually toward central banks’ targets, according to the latest IMF Regional Economic Outlook report for the Western Hemisphere.
• “Latin America has successfully weathered recent global shocks and showed a strong performance in 2022 and early 2023, although growth is softening. The slowdown reflects tighter policies to contain inflation and weakening external environment, including slower growth in trading partners, tighter external financing conditions, and lower commodity prices”, said Rodrigo Valdes, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere department.  
• After reaching 7.8% in 2022, headline inflation in the region (excluding Argentina and Venezuela) is expected to decline to 5% in 2023 and to 3.6% next year, driven by weakening external and domestic demand, easing global supply constraints, and the lagged effects of currency appreciation in some countries.  
• The risks to the outlook appear more balanced compared to April 2023, although they remain tilted to the downside. External risks include lower growth in main trading partners, commodity price volatility, new inflationary shocks, renewed turbulence in global financial markets, and an intensification of geopolitical tensions.
• At the regional level, downside risks relate to a potential for reemergence of inflationary pressures and increased social tensions. Climate-related shocks also pose important challenges over the short and medium term, especially for Central America, Panama, the Dominican Republic subregion, and the Caribbean, including through their impact on outward migration.
• As inflation comes down and growth slows, policymakers will need to calibrate policies carefully. The swift response of the region’s central banks played a key role in controlling inflation and most are well placed to move forward with gradually easing their tight monetary policy stances, although they should remain attentive to risks. 
• “Prudent easing will continue to require a careful balance between placing inflation on a durable downward path while minimizing the risk of a prolonged period of low growth. Key to achieving the right balance is the pace of monetary easing and a proper assessment of the impact of past tightening on inflation, as monetary policy operates with lags. Central bank communication remains instrumental to the success of the disinflation effort”, added Mr. Valdes.

(Source: International Monetary Fund)

• Wall Street's major indices closed higher on Wednesday, led by a 1.6% advance in the Nasdaq. This was driven by the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged, and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggesting a cautious approach to rate hikes.
• Powell expressed the need for careful consideration in raising interest rates and indicated that financial conditions might not be restrictive enough to achieve the desired inflation levels. Investors reacted positively to Powell's less assertive stance on future rate hikes.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.67%, the S&P 500 gained 1.05%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.64%. Among S&P 500 sectors, only energy and consumer staples saw losses, while information technology and communications services were the top gainers.
• Some individual stocks experienced notable movements, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surging nearly 10% due to a positive sales forecast for AI chips. Earnings season showed mixed results, with companies like Estee Lauder, Paycom Software, and Match Group reporting disappointing outlooks, leading to significant declines in their share prices.

(Source: Reuters)

• The Bank of England held interest rates at a 15-year peak on Thursday and said it did not expect to cut them any time soon as it fights to "squeeze out of the system" the highest inflation of the world's big rich economies.
• Despite publishing forecasts which show the British economy skirting close to a recession and flat-lining in the coming years, the BoE held the Bank Rate at 5.25% for the second meeting in a row after 14 back-to-back increases.
• It also reinforced its message that borrowing costs were set to stay high - sending the pound modestly higher against the euro and dollar - even though only about half of the impact of its long run of rate hikes has been felt in the economy so far.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6-3 to keep the benchmark rate on hold, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists.
• "The MPC's latest projections indicate that monetary policy is likely to need to be restrictive for an extended period of time," the BoE said, adding that further tightening would be required if inflationary pressures persisted.
• In September, the British central bank had said rates would need to remain "sufficiently restrictive for sufficiently long."
• Governor Andrew Bailey also tried to hammer home the message that inflation's fall over the past year from its highest since the 1980s, and the weaker economic outlook, should not be seen as a sign that rate cuts might soon be on the table.
• "We will be watching closely to see if further increases in interest rates are needed," he told a press conference. "But even if they are not needed, it is much too early to be thinking about rate cuts."

(Source: Reuters)

• EduFocal Limited (LEARN) has advised that its Board of Directors decided on October 27, 2023, that EduFocal will seek the approval of its shareholders to pursue the subdivision of its share capital and a renounceable rights issue of ordinary shares and that approval will be sought from shareholders at an upcoming Shareholders Meeting of the company.
• The Company further advised that the date, time and location of the upcoming shareholder meeting(s) will be published in short order in keeping with the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, the Companies Act and the requirements of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

(Source: JSE)

• Transactions on the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) platform have generated $1 billion in sales by small farmers.
• Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says tourism loan disbursements through the National Export-Import Bank have also surpassed $1 billion for 2023. 
• Over $2 billion has now been disbursed to small and medium tourism enterprises across Jamaica benefitting four hundred and thirty-nine small companies. He underscored the increased impact of the tourism value chain on Jamaican small businesses as a significant outcome.
• The ALEX platform is a collaborative initiative between the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority which has revolutionised the interaction between hoteliers and farmers. According to the tourism ministry, the platform has considerably boosted small farmers' access to procurement arrangements at hotels and restaurants around Jamaica, consequently improving the local agricultural landscape.

(Source: RJR News)

• Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, on Monday said Caribbean Community (Caricom) nationals should consider investing their savings in the Caricom Development Fund (CDF), rather than leaving it in financial institutions that offer almost no interest.
• Addressing the opening of the two-day AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23) in Barbados, Mottley said that the CDF has become a shareholder of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), of which 11 Caricom nations are also members.
• Mottley said she feels that the CDF is the glue that holds the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, labour, services and finances across the 15-member grouping, together.
• Under the CDF, disadvantaged countries, sectors or regions are entitled to be able to borrow at concessional rates to finance their development. When the CDF began, former Barbados prime minister, the late Owen Arthur, along with other regional leaders, tried to help with its financing. 'But many of our friends globally have not seen the need or urgency to support the region in tangible ways concerning the Caricom Development Fund,' Mottley said.
• 'That is why we said that we needed to turn within the region and to create an opportunity where those persons who have money in savings accounts in the region and are receiving 0.0001 per cent might well recognise that there's an opportunity to get a larger percentage return of interest if they involve themselves in things pertaining to Caricom development.
• The Barbados prime minister said that more importantly, she hopes that with the CDF being a shareholder of Afreximbank, there can be innovative ways to tap into the significant amount of savings and liquidity lying dormant in Caricom. These savings, she said, are 'laying dormant, not receiving proper interest rates and not, therefore, being able to work for itself, particularly in an inflationary environment, such as the one in which we find ourselves today, at the same time, with a development deficit that needs financing'.

(Source: Trinidad Express Newspaper)

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says countries in Latin America and the Caribbean must prioritize reducing debt as they look to improve growth.
• Anna Ivanova, Deputy Division Chief for the Western Hemisphere at the IMF, says while countries reduce debt, they must also formulate strategies to cater for the vulnerable.
• Fiscal policy should focus on rebuilding policy space to ensure fiscal sustainability and boost resilience against future shocks; while protecting key social spending needs. Despite a generally timely withdrawal of the pandemic fiscal support, public debt remains high and is projected to remain above that of peers out to 2028.
• Most countries in the region have plans to strengthen public finances and further reduce debt over the medium term, but this will require significant efforts and discipline. The pace of fiscal consolidation could, however, weigh on the strength of economic activity and the evolution of debt-servicing costs.
• Furthermore, in countries where debt is high, reducing the level of that debt "in the long run will help growth because this lower volatility and lower instability (resulting from debt reduction) will help to generate smoother growth in GDP and therefore will help growth."
• While some countries may look at using debt to finance growth, they must tread carefully, as "there is a balance to strike."
• "If the capacity to pay and the path to repay the debt are credible and supported by a history of credible policymaking, the investors may be willing to lend, but if there's doubt about the ability to pay, then it may be more costly to finance, and that is going to work against the countries that are trying to borrow," she said.

(Sources: RJR News & IMF)