• Executive Director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Dr. Carey Wallace has underscored the importance of developing Jamaica’s tourism industry as a means of creating wealth, providing jobs, and improving the quality of life for Jamaicans.
• Drawing parallels to Guyana’s newfound oil wealth, which he said has boosted the country’s economy and quality of life for its citizens, Dr Wallace emphasised that Jamaica’s true riches lie in its natural beauty and the warmth of its people.
• He highlighted similar to how Guyana has found oil that can give its people a good quality of life, Tourism can provide benefits to Jamaica.
• With its pristine white sand beaches, enchanting cascading waterfalls, and delectable gastronomy, Jamaica boasts a wealth of natural assets that have long captivated the hearts of tourists from around the world. These assets are not only vital for the nation’s economic prosperity but also a source of immense national pride.

(Source: JIS News)

• “Тhе rеgіоn’ѕ 25% bу 2025 аgеndа, оr mоrе ѕіmрlу put, thе rеgіоn’ѕ рlаn tо dесrеаѕе thе fооd іmроrt bіll bу 25% bу thе уеаr 2025 іѕ а рlаn іn асtіоn,” Веlіzеаn Міlаgrо Маtuѕ, САRІСОМ’ѕ Dерutу Рrоgrаmme Маnаgеr fоr Аgrісulturаl & Аgrо-Іnduѕtrіаl Dеvеlорmеnt, ѕаіd іn thе 17th Саrіbbеаn Wееk оf Аgrісulturе mеѕѕаgе. Маtuѕ wаѕ thе Веlіzе Міnіѕtrу оf Аgrісulturе, Fооd ѕесurіtу, аnd Еntеrрrіѕе’ѕ Роlісу Аnаlуѕt bеfоrе tаkіng оn thе САRІСОМ роѕt.
• Маtuѕ ѕаіd thе роlіtісаl wіll іs ѕtrоng аѕ thе Саrіbbеаn Соmmunіtу’ѕ (САRІСОМ) mеmbеr ѕtаtеѕ аrе “іmрlеmеntіng роlісіеѕ аnd рrоgrаmmeѕ gеаrеd tоwаrdѕ сrеаtіng аn еnаblіng еnvіrоnmеnt whеrе рrоduсеrѕ frоm thе mісrо tо thе lаrgе саn bесоmе mоrе ѕuѕtаіnаblе, rеѕіlіеnt, іnnоvаtіvе, аnd соmреtіtіvе whіlе ѕесurіng thе аvаіlаbіlіtу аnd ассеѕѕіbіlіtу оf hеаlthу, nutrіtіоuѕ fооdѕ fоr аll”.
• Furthermore, the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, at a separate press conference at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in Costa Rica, said that his country and its fellow Caribbean nations are making steady progress towards achieving their proposed objective to reduce their multi-million-dollar food import bill by 25% by 2025.
• ‘This task will require effort, commitment, policy coordination and access to capital to topple the barriers that are impeding access to new technologies and to allow us to achieve resilient and sustainable food production. We are making continuous progress in that direction”, said Ali.
• Ali also stressed the role of IICA’s technical cooperation in building food security in Guyana and other Caribbean nations, remarking that, “IICA assists with technical resources, significant financial contributions and science and technology to assist agriculture in the region and create resilience and sustainability.”
• Thus, he said that the Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development of the Inter-American System has an important responsibility to be the bridge that assists the region to close existing gaps between countries in terms of access to technologies for agriculture, resources and human capacities.

(Source: Caricom Today & Breaking Belize News)

• Mexico on Wednesday, October 13, 2023, issued a decree to grant tax breaks for companies that relocate operations to Mexico, targeting major export industries such as car-making and semiconductors, a move that won cautious praise from economists.
• The incentives are designed to attract companies that want to shift their offshore operations closer to their customers, called nearshoring, in the wake of supply chain disruptions in Asia during the COVID pandemic.
• Deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio said in a post on X the incentives would apply to 10 sectors of the economy, including the manufacture of batteries, engines, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, medical instruments and agribusiness.
• Though welcomed, the measures failed to dispel concerns the government is obstructing investment by failing to provide essential infrastructure for companies, especially because of its nationalist energy policies favouring fossil fuels.
• Overall, Mexico could lure annual foreign direct investment flows of between $55Bn to $60Bn if it takes better advantage of nearshoring, up from $36Bn in 2022 according to economists. The new incentives include accelerated investment deductions of 89%-56% in 2023 and 2024; and additional deductions of 25% during three years for worker training, Yorio said.

(Source: Reuters)

• The minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting highlighted the central bank's close monitoring of the data, making that day's consumer prices report even more important.
• Participants stressed the need to see more data indicating a decrease in inflation pressures during the September confab of the Federal Open Market Committee - the Fed's rate-setting body. The Bureau of Labour Statistics consumer prices report was expected to show abating inflation pressures in September, if only marginally.
• Headline CPI was seen rising by 0.3% on the month, down from 0.6% in August, which would have taken the annual rate to 3.6%. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, was expected to have also risen by 0.3% in September. On an annual basis, that would have left core CPI at 4.1%, its lowest level in two years. This would have been welcome news for the U.S. central bank, but the path to lower inflation and a return to the 2% target looked trickier from there.
• The threat of higher energy prices following the outbreak of a war between Israel and Palestinian militants was all too real, even if the immediate market reaction was relatively muted. Oil rose by as much as 4% at one point on Monday but returned to levels it was at before Hamas militants crossed the Israeli border on Saturday. Natural gas prices in Europe and the U.S. were both holding near multi-month highs, as there was already evidence that supply could be affected after the Israeli energy ministry instructed Chevron to shut down production at its Tamar facility.
• Policymakers around the globe were likely to signal they would look through any short-term boost to inflation if the conflict were to escalate, but the path back to 2% could still take longer than previously thought.
• At that time, equities in Europe were broadly higher, futures in the U.S. were pointing to a positive open, while the dollar was flat after a six-day streak of daily losses.

(Source: Reuters)

• There is no pressing need for the Bank of Japan to alter its yield control settings as it has room left for manoeuvre before the 10-year bond yield hits its ceiling, a central bank board member said on Thursday, brushing aside market speculation.
• Pursuing a reflationary strategy to boost growth and break free of decades of debilitating deflation, the BOJ operates a yield curve control (YCC) policy, with a -0.1% target for short-term interest rates and 0% for the 10-year bond yield.
• In July, the central bank tweaked those settings by allowing the 10-year yield cap to move flexibly within upper/lower limits of 1% but, with inflation exceeding its target for more than a year, market speculation is rife that the BOJ could make further adjustments to its tolerance band.
• Asahi Noguchi, a BOJ board member known for his reflationary stance, poured cold water over such speculation, in comments at a news conference in Niigata, north of Tokyo, where he had delivered a speech to business leaders. Policymakers must focus on improving wage growth to pave the way for sustainable inflation before tweaking easing policy, he said.
• "We still need to guide policy with mainly downside risks in mind," Noguchi said, citing for example that the Chinese economy may face the risks of deflation and low growth that Japan has suffered for decades. "There's still a distance to achieve sustainable inflation," Noguchi said.
• Japan's wage trends, which have been largely flat over the past three decades since the asset bubble burst, are closely watched by global financial markets as the BOJ has emphasised that sustainable pay hikes are a prerequisite for dismantling its massive monetary stimulus.

(Source: Reuters)

• FosRich is expanding its reach by offering solar equipment and transformer repairs in Guyana.
• Speaking at the JSE Guyana Capital Markets Conference hosted by the Jamaica Stock Exchange last week, Managing Director Cecil Foster said FosRich will be interfacing with the Government to build solar farms.
• FosRich Company Limited went public as a trader in electrical lighting products six years ago but has since diversified into PVC pipe manufacturing, solar equipment distribution, as well as transformer repairs and manufacturing through its subsidiary Blue Emerald.
• In the transformer repair market, its main client is the power utility company Jamaica Public Service (JPS)
• Speaking of the market opportunity, Mr. Foster highlighted that the Caribbean has another 60,000 transformers awaiting repair.  He further highlighted that in Guyana, there are seven light and power companies, which also need the service.
• The move to Guyana is part of the company’s strategy of expanding into other territories which will drive revenues and ultimately increase shareholders’ value.

(Source: RJR News)

• GraceKennedy has unveiled its inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance, ESG report, marking a significant step forward in its sustainability journey.
• The report outlines the company's longstanding commitment to responsible business practices and offers a first glimpse into the ESG goals and targets that will steer GK towards achieving its 2030 vision. The company’s 2030 strategic objectives are to earn 70% of its revenues and profits outside of Jamaica; list on an international stock exchange; grow its food business in major markets across the USA, Canada, and the UK; and expand the footprint of its financial services business in the Caribbean.
• The report provides a detailed account of GK's ESG journey, outlining the process through which the Company established its ESG goals.
• The report highlighted that ESG is not just about doing the right thing, it also helps identify opportunities which will make the business more robust and sustainable for the future.

(Source: GraceKennedy)

• Barbados is hoping to execute a "debt-for-climate" swap early next year to secure savings of around $300 million over 15 years to fund clean water supplies, the island state's finance minister, Ryan Straughn, told Reuters on Tuesday, October 10.
• The government is working with the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Investment Bank on credit guarantees, Straughn said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco.
• At their simplest, debt-for-nature swaps see a country's debt bought up by a bank or specialist investor and replaced with cheaper loans, usually with a development finance "credit guarantee" or "risk insurance" helping bring the cost down. The savings are meant to fund conservation - or a climate-related purpose, in Barbados' latest planned deal.
• The savings from the island's mooted "debt-for-climate" swap will be used to upgrade a water treatment plant to help better manage water resources and improve food security, Straughn said.
• Notably, in September 2022, Barbados carried out a "debt-for-nature" swap, which saw $150 million of international bonds swapped for cheaper debt, generating $50 million for marine conservation.
• Barbados's previous debt-for-nature swap funnelled money towards protecting and rehabilitating the surrounding Caribbean Sea. A debt-for-climate swap would be an almost completely new concept, though, and one that other climate change-vulnerable countries are likely to want to explore.
• For Barbados, images of crystal clear waters lapping palm-fringed beaches are crucial for the key tourism sector, which accounts for over 40% of the nation's GDP and roughly 40% of jobs.

(Source: Reuters)

• Daily ship crossings on the Panama Canal, one of the world's main maritime trade routes, will be reduced to 31 from 32 to soften the impact of a severe drought that is expected to last until next year, the authorities managing the canal said.
• The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in recent months has imposed various passage restrictions to conserve water, including cutting vessel draft and daily passage authorizations, which are normally 36 per day.
• ACP said that due to the ongoing water crisis, it "finds it necessary to implement additional changes," with the new rules implemented from November 1. The daily crossings will see nine ships pass through the Neopanamax lock and 22 through the Panamax lock, the ACP said, while transit reservation quotas will be adjusted to a maximum of 30 per day.
• To avoid delays and ship backlogs, the ACP will also offer a new schedule for the Neopanamax locks and the Panamax locks, part of efforts to allow customers to adjust their itineraries and reduce waiting times for vessels that do not have a daily transit schedule.
• Experts have warned of possible disruptions to maritime trade in the face of what is shaping up to be an even drier period next year. They argue that a possible early start to Panama's dry season and above-average temperatures could increase evaporation and lead to near-record-low water levels in April.
• The restrictions have generated long queues of waiting vessels, although the canal administration said that levels were normal. The effects have led the canal to estimate a reduction in revenues of up to $200 million by 2024.

(Source: Reuters)

• The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for wholesale prices rose more than expected in September, indicating inflation pressures. PPI for finished goods increased by 0.5%, exceeding the estimated 0.3% rise.
• Core PPI (excluding food and energy) increased by 0.3%, surpassing the forecasted 0.2%. Inflation was driven by a 0.9% surge in final demand for goods, notably gasoline prices up by 5.4% and food prices by 0.9%.
• On a year-over-year basis, the headline PPI increased by 2.2%, the largest move since April. This data raises concerns about persistent inflation and potential impacts on interest rates. Federal Reserve closely monitors PPI data for policy decisions, aiming for 2% annual inflation.

(Source: CNBC)