Things certainly change quickly in today’s world. One month ago, we published the last Quarterly Bulletin, which looked back at main developments in the region and provided an economic outlook for 2016. Given that the United States Federal Reserve had just increased its benchmark interest rates for the first time in almost a decade, we also explored how a gradual increase in US … [Read more...] about Caribbean Economic Outlook of 2016 – On Wrong Track Already?
De-Risking and Correspondent Banking – A Caribbean Example
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Author, Hagainativ Not too long ago, news started to emerge that Jamaican banks would sever relations with cambios as they created problems with their international correspondent banks. (To transfer money abroad, banks need partner banks in that country, these are called correspondent banks.) This is a severe problem as in today’s modern, … [Read more...] about De-Risking and Correspondent Banking – A Caribbean Example
Jamaica Issues US$2 billion in Global Bonds
by Juan Pedro Schmid It was a long time in the making (and keeping the rumor mills spinning) but today Jamaica finally issued the long awaited bond to finance a Petrocaribe buyback. They issued two bonds, US$1.35 with a rate of 6.75% maturing in 2028 and US$650 million at 7.875% maturing in 2045. As such, this issuance will provide funds to finance the Petrocaribe debt buyback … [Read more...] about Jamaica Issues US$2 billion in Global Bonds
Caribbean Economic Outlook 2015: Seeing Stars
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Egres73 What will 2015 bring to the Caribbean? A famous economist once said that ‘the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable’. While I tend to agree that my discipline does not have too much luck lately with forecasting (the recent world economic recession is a good example of a crisis that was … [Read more...] about Caribbean Economic Outlook 2015: Seeing Stars
The Fear Factor a Back-Of-The-Envelope Calculation on the Economic Risk of an Ebola Scare in The Caribbean
This brief presents simulations of an Ebola scare in the Caribbean, including three highly tourism-dependent economies, The Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica. On the basis of the experience of Mexico in 2009 with swine flu, we simulate a short but sharp drop in tourist arrivals resulting from tourists' worries about Ebola. The Caribbean is special in that tourism contributes … [Read more...] about The Fear Factor a Back-Of-The-Envelope Calculation on the Economic Risk of an Ebola Scare in The Caribbean