Jamaica’s fiscal deficit is now estimated at 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and the overall public-sector deficit will likely round out the year at 12.75 per cent of GDP, according to information presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Audley Shaw Tuesday.
Jamaica Gleaner: “Freeze on new repo traders”
A temporary freeze on the licensing of securities dealers whose business models are skewed towards trading in repurchase agreement and other short-term liabilities will take effect next Tuesday as part of the financial-sector reform in adherence to International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities for the 27-month standby loan to Jamaica.
Jamaica Observer: “The JDX is an offer we can’t refuse”
The proposed Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) is really “an offer we can’t refuse” in that the Jamaican government requires that the exchange succeed as a condition of Jamaica’s request for a combined U.S. $2.4 billion in IMF and other multilateral assistance.
Jamaica Observer: “Credit freeze unlikely to thaw anytime soon”
AN executive from a leading US investment bank has said that while credit is available in that country, lending terms have become far more stricter and will never return to the relatively lenient standards of the past decade.