• Jamaica's hospitality sector is facing an uneven recovery following Hurricane Melissa, with some resorts already welcoming back guests while others in harder-hit regions face lengthy reopening timelines. Properties in the Montego Bay area were hit much harder by the hurricane's October 28, 2025, landfall than those in Ocho Rios and Negril.
• "Jamaica is a large and diverse island, and each region has experienced the storm differently," said Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International, which has eight resorts across the island. Five of the group's resorts in Negril and Ocho Rios will reopen on December 6: the Sandals Dunn's River, Sandals Ocho Rios, Sandals Royal Plantation, Sandals Negril and Beaches Negril. Sandals said that some of those resorts could theoretically open sooner. Stewart said the Ocho Rios properties were "largely unaffected by the most severe impacts", but that the company set the December date "to offer a period of rest and recovery for our local team members in Jamaica."
• That isn't the case for the company's properties in Montego Bay and White House. The Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean and Sandals South Coast resorts are not set to reopen until May 30, 2026. Likewise, Hyatt's Inclusive Collection has suspended operations and new bookings at its eight Montego Bay-area properties through January. Salamander Collection's Half Moon resort, also in Montego Bay, aims to reopen on December 15, citing impacts to local infrastructure as a factor in its timeline.
• In support of the islandwide recovery effort, Jamaica's Ministry of Tourism has activated a Hurricane Melissa Recovery Task Force, with Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett setting a December 15 target date for Jamaica's tourism industry to be fully operational.
• Among those appointed to serve on the task force is Sandals' Stewart, who emphasised that returning visitors will play a key role in Jamaica's comeback. "Tourism is a vital part of Jamaica's national recovery, and guests can feel confident that the best way to support the region is by visiting and returning to the island they love," Stewart said.
• The late-October timing of Hurricane Melissa adds to the island's challenges, as many closures are expected to stretch over the crucial holiday season. "That's peak season, and they're losing out on it," said Michael Cummings, CBRE's (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis’) managing director for valuation and advisory services. "It's going to be a while before Jamaica recovers." Furthermore, Cummings added that immediate humanitarian needs will continue to take precedence over resort operations.

(Sources: Travel Weekly)

• In a press release on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on November 6, 2025, General Accident Insurance Company (Jamaica) Limited (GENAC), through its parent company, Musson (Jamaica) Limited (Musson), has purchased 100% of Beacon Insurance Company Limited (Beacon) effective October 31, 2025. Beacon will subsequently become a subsidiary of General Accident, subject to additional regulatory approvals.
• Beacon specialises in general insurance, underwriting for both individual and institutional clients, and offers a broad product range comprised of Property, Motor, Accident and Casualty, Marine Cargo and Hull, Bonds, and Engineering insurance. It is the fourth largest general insurer in Trinidad and Tobago by gross written premiums, trailing Guardian General Insurance Limited, Trinidad & Tobago Insurance Limited (TATIL), and Colonial Fire & General Insurance Limited (COLFIRE). The company has a regional presence through its Barbados, Grenada and Saint Lucia offices, and agency operations located in Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
• The acquisition is set to greatly expand General Accident’s presence in Trinidad and Barbados and allow it to enter new markets in Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. General Accident’s gross written premiums are now projected to be in excess of J$32Bn annually, up from J$23Bn in FY2024.
• That said, Beacon is set to continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of General Accident, and the combined company intends to maintain both the Beacon and General Accident brands in Trinidad and Barbados.
• Additionally, Beacon will continue to be managed by its existing executive team led by Chief Executive Officer Christopher Woodhams. Mr Woodhams will report directly to Sharon Donaldson, Group Chief Executive Officer of General Accident, and oversee Beacon and General Accident’s combined business in Trinidad.
• General Accident Chairman PB Scott said, “We have long admired Beacon as an outstanding, well-managed insurance company. We are privileged to now have the opportunity to work with its talented leadership team, combine Beacon with our own business and create a powerful platform across the Caribbean. I’m excited about our ability to join forces with [the] Beacon team to better serve our people and our clients at both General Accident and Beacon.”
• With Hurricane Melissa posing short-term headwinds for General Accident and other local insurance companies, owing to likely higher insurance claims, the potential geographical diversification and growth provided by the Beacon acquisition could be accretive for long-term investors. However, this will depend on the realisation of post-merger synergies, effective integration and management, and the financial structure of the deal.
• At market close on Thursday, GENAC’s price was J$5.56, down 10.03% since the start of the year. At its current price, the company trades at a P/E of 9.11x, which is below the Main Market Financial Sector average of 11.51x.

(Source: JSE, NCBCM Research)

• Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has reaffirmed the Issuer/Sovereign Credit Ratings assigned to the Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL or the Country) at CariBBB- (Foreign and Local Currency Ratings) on the regional rating scale for several rated debt issues of the country.
• These ratings indicate that the level of creditworthiness of this obligor, adjudged in relation to other obligors in the Caribbean, is adequate.
• CariCRIS has also maintained a stable outlook given that the country’s is expected to see modest real GDP growth over the next three years and its Debt-to-GDP, currently above 70%, is not expected to increase significantly. Alongside GDP growth, planned surpluses should help reduce indebtedness to 60% by 2035. Financial system metrics remain strong, and international reserves have improved from 2.9 months of import cover in 2022 to 4.4 months in 2024 due to recovering tourism earnings.
• The ratings are driven by monetary and exchange rate stability due to a quasi-currency board arrangement, a sound financial sector characterised by high but declining NPL ratios and wide economic activity, albeit dependent on tourism.
• The rating strengths are tempered by the projected debt-to-GDP ratio, which is expected to remain above 60%, necessitating fiscal consolidation and sustained GDP growth. It also considered high unemployment, particularly among youth, and rising crime, which can lead to political upheaval and disrupt fiscal and investment planning..
• Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to an improvement in the Ratings and/or Outlook include debt-to-GDP below 65%, a balanced budget, and sustained 5% annual GDP growth. Conversely, a fiscal deficit above 15% of GDP or debt-to-GDP exceeding 90% alongside weaker debt servicing capacity could, individually or collectively, lead to a lower rating and/or Outlook.

(Source: CariCris)

• Chevron and Petronas have secured offshore exploration rights to Blocks 9 and 10 off the coast of Suriname, signalling growing international confidence in the country's upstream potential and its emergence as a Caribbean energy frontier. The agreements bring leading global operators into the Suriname Guyana basin and pave the way for accelerated exploration and investment, particularly as state-owned energy company Staatsolie prepares to launch a licensing round for additional offshore acreage later this month.
• Under the agreements, Block 9 will be operated by Petronas Suriname E&P B.V. (30%), with Chevron (20%), QatarEnergy (20%) and Paradise Oil Company (POC) (30%) as partners. Block 10 is led by Chevron (30%), alongside Petronas (30%), QatarEnergy (30%) and POC (10%). The initial three-year exploration phase will focus on 3D seismic surveys and subsurface mapping ahead of potential drilling.
• The awards reinforce Suriname's ongoing strategy to develop its offshore sector. Building on previous deals, such as the June 2025 PSC signed with Petronas for Block66, which includes plans for two exploration wells, the country is attracting top-tier international operators to its basins. By positioning Blocks 9 and 10 near proven deepwater discoveries and onshore producing fields in the Suriname Guyana basin, Suriname strengthens the likelihood of commercial success while reducing perception risk for other investors.
• The deals underscore the Caribbean margin as a growing hotspot for upstream investment. Neighbouring Guyana's offshore success has already drawn global attention, and Suriname's new agreements reinforce investor confidence in the region.

• The signing of Blocks 9 and 10 represents more than exploration activity, which signals investor confidence in Suriname's regulatory framework, strategic vision and growing role in the global energy market. With additional licensing opportunities imminent, Suriname is poised to attract further international investment and solidify its standing for the fifth successive year of expansion in the non-oil economy at the half-year, following the contraction in 2020.

(Sources: Energy Capital Power)

• S.-based employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, marking the biggest reduction for the month in more than 20 years, a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday, as industries adopt AI-driven changes and intensify cost cuts.
• Tech firms led the job cuts in the private sector, followed by retailers and the services sector, the global outplacement company said.
• Cost-cutting was the top reason for the layoffs in October, followed by artificial intelligence, while "DOGE Impact" was the leading reason for job cuts in 2025.
• The layoffs in October surged 175% from a year ago to 153,074. From the start of the year to October end, employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts, a 65% rise from 664,839 in the same time period last year.
• So far this year, job cuts are at the highest level since 2020 when 2,304,755 cuts were announced through October.
• "Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
• Not only did individual companies announce large layoffs in October, but a higher number of companies announced job cut plans, Challenger said, tracking nearly 450 individual job cut plans in October compared to under 400 in September.
• Any economic data from private sources will be on investors' radar as official data continues to be absent with the U.S. government now entering its longest-ever shutdown.

(Source: Reuters)

• British companies' expectations for employment in the year fell last month for the first time in nearly five years, while expectations for future inflation touched the highest level since late 2023, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday.
• The readings underlined the trade-offs faced by the central bank as it weighs further cuts to interest rates, faced with growing signs of a cooling labour market coupled with the highest rate of inflation among Group of Seven economies.
• The BoE kept borrowing costs on hold on Thursday, but a narrow vote and signs that Governor Andrew Bailey might soon join those seeking a rate cut increase the chances of a December move after the government's budget later this month.
• The BoE's Decision Maker Panel showed expected employment growth for companies during the three months to October slipped to -0.1% from zero in September, marking the first negative reading since November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expectations for wage growth ticked higher to 3.7% in the three months to October, the highest reading for five months.
• While companies' expectations for their own price increases in the year ahead were steady, they predicted consumer price inflation of 3% in the year head, the highest reading since December 2023.

(Source: Reuters)

• Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) posted a 48.7% increase in shareholder profits to $555.03Mn for Q3 2025. The growth was primarily driven by an expansion in total gaming income, which outpaced direct operating expenses.
• Total gaming income grew by 9% to $13.96Bn, supported by an 18.6% rise in income from fixed-odd wagering games and a 3.6% increase in revenue from non-fixed-odd wagering games, horse racing, and pin codes.
• Direct costs grew marginally slower, up 8.1% to J$10.79Bn. Consequently, gross profits improved by 11.7% to $3.16Bn and gross margins widened from 34.3% to 37.0%, indicating the company is better managing input costs as it grows its revenues.
• The growth in gross profits also outpaced operating expenses (+4.3%), resulting in a 32.8% improvement in operating profit relative to Q3 2024. Of note, selling, general, and administrative expenses declined by 8.7% due to the company’s ongoing cost optimisation strategies. Consequently, operating margins ended the quarter at 11.5% from 8.9%. Lastly, finance costs (+13.13% to $0.22Bn) grew more slowly than operating profits, which also supported higher shareholder profits and a widening of net margins, from 2.9% to 4.0%.
• SVL’s Q3 performance helped to offset a 41.56% slip in Q1 20251. As a result, 9M 2025 earnings are up 9.1% to $1.85Bn. Q1’s earnings decline was largely driven by a disproportionate spike in operating expenses despite higher revenues.
• Looking ahead, SVL could face significant operating pressures due to the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which ravaged the Western Section of the island. In 2024, Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Rafael had a notable one-off impact on third and fourth-quarter revenues, with the company estimating a $1.00Bn loss in gross ticket sales due to damage sustained by retail networks in Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, and Westmoreland. Due to the wider scale of damage relative to Beryl, along with the projected longer downtime of electricity and lottery terminals in the affected parishes, SVL could face losses in excess of the $1.00Bn this time around.
• The company, however, noted that it has, to date, restored 60% of its lottery terminals after Hurricane Melissa forced a temporary shutdown of its operations and that the remaining capital from its recently concluded $5Bn debt issuance has placed it in a much better position to withstand the disruption.
• At the market close on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, SVL’s stock price was J$17.59, down 28.9% since the start of the year. At this price, SVL trades at a P/E of 23.8x, which is above 13.05 for the Main Market average.

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¹Q1’s earnings decline was largely driven by a disproportionate spike in operating expenses despite higher revenues.

• Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on November 4, 2025, noted that last week's Hurricane Melissa caused US$6Bn to US$7Bn in damage to homes and key infrastructure, roughly equivalent to 28% to 32% of last year's gross domestic product (GDP). Holness noted the estimate was conservative, based on damages assessed so far, and short-term economic output could decline by 8% to 13%.
• He also announced that donations to the Government of Jamaica's Hurricane Melissa Relief Fund have exceeded US$1Mn (J$170Mn), an improvement on the US$728,000 and J$38Mn reached on November 2nd, according to Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr Dana Morris Dixon. The government noted that all funds collected will be directed toward emergency relief, housing reconstruction, healthcare support, and long-term economic recovery.
• Outside of this, under an MP-driven support programme, J$10Mn will be allocated to each constituency in the parishes most severely affected by the hurricane, including St Elizabeth, Hanover, St James, Westmoreland, Manchester, and Trelawny. Constituencies in St Ann and Clarendon will receive J$5Mn each, while all other constituencies across the island will receive J$3Mn.
• In terms of recovery efforts, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported that 206,000 of its 550,000 customers have had their power restored. The Government has also tasked JPS with examining the feasibility of relocating sections of its electricity grid underground as it undertakes restoration work in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. The National Water Commission (NWC) has also restored access to 65% of its customer base and is aiming to restore access to 80% before the end of the week.
• In addition, the prime minister revealed that the National Housing Trust (NHT) has activated a comprehensive support package for its contributors and mortgage holders affected by Hurricane Melissa. This includes a six-month moratorium on mortgage payments for persons in the worst-affected parishes; a special home improvement loan of up to J$3.5Mn at an interest rate of 2%; and a special grant of up to $500,000 to contributors whose homes, or those of their immediate family members, were damaged by the hurricane.
• While the full extent of Hurricane Melissa's impact is still being assessed, authorities say the road to recovery will be long, but the nation's resilience and unity will guide the rebuilding process.

(Sources: JIS and Reuters)

• The United States is providing US$24Mn in emergency assistance for Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas and Cuba after the countries were hit by Hurricane Melissa last week, the State Department said.
• The department deployed teams to help with the emergency response and assess humanitarian needs after the Category 5 hurricane sowed widespread devastation, cut off communities and killed at least 50 people across the Caribbean. The Trump administration has now authorised $12Mn assistance for Jamaica, $8.5Mn for Haiti and $500,000 for the Bahamas, the State Department stated.
• Another $3Mn was authorised for Cuba and is being distributed with the help of the Catholic Church, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a declaration of humanitarian need for the country and said Washington would seek to deliver aid directly to the country's people.
• President Donald Trump has taken a hard line toward the communist-run island. His administration said it would enforce a ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba while supporting an economic embargo of the country. The State Department is working with the church to ensure it can get access to U.S.-funded supplies to distribute to the people of Cuba, the official said. The Cuban government has not requested assistance from Washington, the official added.
• Hurricane Melissa is the largest natural disaster to hit the region since President Donald Trump's administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development earlier this year. Disaster response is now managed by the State Department, which has sent Disaster Assistance Response Teams to several countries to coordinate the aid response and deployed specialist Urban Search and Rescue teams to Jamaica.

(Source: Reuters)

• Guyana’s economy continues a trajectory of strong, broad-based economic growth, underpinned by sustained expansion in the oil and gas sector, alongside robust performance across the non-oil economy. At the end of the first half of the year, it is estimated that Guyana’s overall economy grew by 7.5%, and the non-oil economy by an estimated 13.8%, representing the fifth successive year of expansion in the non-oil economy at the half-year, following the contraction in 2020.
• Based on the developments in the first half of the year, real GDP growth for 2025 has been revised upward to 15.2% overall from 10.6%, and 13.9% for non-oil real GDP, up from 13.8%
• The agriculture, fishing and forestry sector grew by an estimated 9% in the first half of the year. This was driven by growth in other crops, rice growing, livestock, forestry and sugar. Under the extractive industries, the mining and quarrying sector is estimated to have grown by 5.9% in the first half of the year due to increased output across all subsectors, including bauxite, gold, other mining, and oil and gas.
• The manufacturing sector is estimated to have grown by 26.8% in the first half, driven by growth across all subcategories, with the sector now projected to grow by 14.9% this year.
• Meanwhile, the services sector is estimated to have expanded by 6.6% in the first half of the year, primarily supported by growth in wholesale and retail trade and repairs, administrative and support services, financial and insurance activities, professional, scientific and technical services, information and communication, while the overall 2025 growth target for services is now 8.6%. Additionally, the construction sector is estimated to have grown by 29.9% in the first half of 2025, supported by the government’s expanded public sector investment programme, along with robust private sector investments across several sectors. With this, the sector is now expected to grow by 26.2% in 2025.
• The 2025 Mid-Year Report confirms that this Government, led by President Ali, is committed to sustaining high growth, while maintaining fiscal discipline and safeguarding Guyana’s long-term stability, with aggressive efforts to implement its ambitious policies and programmes.

(Sources: Department of Public Information, Guyana and Caribbean News Global)