Q3/19: A Long Hot Summer

Economic highlights of Q3-2019 economic indices for Puerto Rico
Who could imagine Puerto Rico was to witness the resignation of then Governor Ricardo Roselló in August 2019!! Daily protests disrupted sales in shopping centers and on-location retail and other businesses in Old San Juan. A consumer shocked by political corruption became more thrifty conscious. Despite some meager increases in construction jobs, that sector remains in recession. Manufacturing, though geared to export markets, has remained flat and observant of a global slowdown and impacted by the as yet unresolved US-China trade war. The exit of yet another foreign bank – Santander Bank (Spanish owned) – could see the end of bank consolidations in the Island. Will PR start focus on feasible public debt renegotiations under the leadership of the Promesa Board? Will the new Governor choose a path of economic growth? Will President Trump continue to withhold badly needed federal disaster monies? Still, what lies ahead may not be short of drama.