Puerto Rico Tourism Co.’s new exec. director taking 3-pronged approach to recovery
January 14, 2021
Carlos Mercado, the newly named head of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co., said the agency has a three-pronged approach to working with the industry as it begins recovering from the COVID-19 business downturn. The official is hitting the ground running, as he had already built a relationship with members of the sector while acting as […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1802 Views
Puerto Rico Treasury opts into $325M federal rental assistance program
January 13, 2021
The Puerto Rico Treasury Department has filed an application to participate in the newly announced Emergency Rental Assistance Program run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that could represent $325 million in aid for the island, this media outlet confirmed. The federal government is making a total of $25 billion available to assist households […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2304 Views
Cidre: ‘Ramping up pharma production requires permanent air hub’
January 12, 2021
Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Cidre will head to Washington, D.C. next month to lobby — along with Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González — for the permanence of Puerto Rico’s status as a hub for foreign air carriers. Extending the two-year waiver that the U.S. Department of Transportation granted the island in April […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2659 Views
SBA, US Treasury open new round of PPP loan funding
January 11, 2021
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the US Department of Treasury, announced that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will re-open this week for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, only community financial institutions will be able to make the initial PPP loans starting today, and a second […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1862 Views
Passenger traffic down 45.2% YoY in Dec. at the LMM Airport
January 8, 2021
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, known as ASUR — and a 60% joint venture partner in Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport — reported a 45.2% drop total passenger traffic at the San Juan hub in December 2020, when compared to the same month in 2019. Traffic at the airport […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1303 Views
Discover Puerto Rico gets $15.8M in CARES Act funds to ‘revive tourism’
January 5, 2021
Destination marketing organization Discover Puerto Rico has received $15.8 million in funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to promote the island as a safe place to visit once the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. Discover Puerto Rico CEO Brad Dean told this media outlet that the funding — which has been granted […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1428 Views
Puerto Rico Senate looking to roll back Tourism Co. consolidation into DDEC
January 5, 2021
The Puerto Rico Senate is looking to halt the consolidation of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. into the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC, in Spanish) umbrella that is currently underway, stating the need for a “dedicated and autonomous entity to serve the interests of the local tourism sector and the world.” Senate Bill […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1215 Views
Puerto Rico opts-in to Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation program
January 4, 2021
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and Labor Secretary Carlos Rivera-Santiago announced the Puerto Rico is opting-in to the new Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation program that will represent an economic impact of some $65 million to the island and could benefit some 60,000 individuals. Th requirements and instructions on how to participate in the program — which is […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1300 Views
Caribbean Produce Exchange delivers 2.7M food boxes in Puerto Rico during pandemic
December 30, 2020
Caribbean Produce Exchange Inc., a Puerto Rican consumer food and fresh food distributor, delivered 2.7 million food boxes through its participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Farmers to Families Food Box Program” since the initiative began in May. More than 9 million people on the island suffering from food insecurity that has escalated during […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2334 Views
Simon Property Group completes $3.4B acquisition of Taubman Centers Inc.
December 30, 2020
Simon Property Group Inc. has completed its acquisition of an 80% ownership interest in the Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership through a deal worth $3.4 billion. Simon owns two shopping centers in Puerto Rico, while Taubman owns one. Under the terms of the transaction, Simon, through its operating partnership, Simon Property Group, L.P., acquired all […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2854 Views
RVI sells Plaza Palma Real in Humacao for $50M
December 24, 2020
Retail Value Inc. closed on the sale of the Plaza Palma Real shopping center in Humacao on Dec. 22, for $50 million prior to closing costs, prorations and other closing adjustments, it announced. The buyer was undisclosed. The net proceeds were used to repay mortgage debt associated with RVI. Last year, the mall marked its […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2743 Views
Univision must sell 3 Puerto Rico TV stations as part of larger deal
December 24, 2020
The Federal Communications Commission gave its go-ahead to the sale of certain subsidiaries of Univision to investors Searchlight and ForgeLight and Grupo Televisa — but the deal is conditioned to the sale of three of Univision’s television stations in Puerto Rico. According to an order issued by the FCC’s Mass Media Bureau, Univision will have […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility4357 Views
Chick-fil-A confirms plans to enter Puerto Rico market with 10-15 restaurants
December 22, 2020
About a month after this media outlet broke the story about Chick-fi-A’s plans to enter the local market, the chicken restaurant confirmed it will open two restaurants in late 2021 or early 2022. The restaurants will be located in the metropolitan area, with the first restaurant likely to be in Bayamón. Each Chick-fil-A restaurant will […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2444 Views
Duke and Duchess of Sussex to fund World Central Kitchen relief center in Puerto Rico
December 21, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — Prince Harry and Megan Markle — will be partnering with World Central Kitchen through their nonprofit Archewell Foundation to fund the construction of four Community Relief Centers throughout the world, including one in Puerto Rico. The couple made the announcement in a statement released Sunday, confirming their nonprofit’s […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1307 Views
2 local nonprofits receive grants from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott
December 21, 2020
The United Way of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Food Bank were two of the 384 nonprofits that will split $4.2 billion in charitable giving from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, co-founder of Amazon and the richest woman in the world. In a post she published late last week, Scott said the economic and health-related losses […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1768 Views
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA