The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Puerto Rico’s manufacturing sector decreased slightly to 58.8 in July. However, numbers released by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics show that a reading above the threshold level of 50 suggests an expansion in the manufacturing sector with respect to the previous month. The new orders and employment sub-indexes […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the appointment of José G. Baquero as the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator for disaster recovery operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Baquero will permanently lead disaster recovery coordination and collaboration between the federal interagency and the government of Puerto Rico, the private sector and voluntary, faith-based […]
PenFed Credit Union announced the opening of its new financial center at Plaza Del Caribe Mall in Ponce, after a $1.9 million investment. The new 4,500-square-foot financial center creates 11 jobs in the Ponce community and provides “tens of thousands of residents in south-central Puerto Rico access to some of the best checking, savings, certificate and loan […]
The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority announced it has received approval to receive up to $163 million for 28 capital improvement projects through a loan agreement with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the Infrastructure Financing Authority’s State Revolving Fund (SRF). The projects include improvements for sanitary infrastructure in the municipalities of […]
Gov. Wanda Vázquez has signed Senate Bill 1649 to amend the Puerto Rico Government Accounting Act to allow the use of electronic documents in the billing, processing and payment of a government obligation. This measure is consistent with the approval and implementation of the laws on the evolution of new information technologies and telecommunications, which […]
The new Hard Rock Café under construction in Ponce is slated to open in November, inside the Aloft Hotel — which will debut as the second to fly the flag owned by Marriott in Puerto Rico and entailed a $15 million investment. The 125,000 square-foot property will feature 152 guestrooms, 15,000 square feet of convention […]
Puerto Rico’s Economic Activity Index for May and June 2020, which reached levels of 109.7 and 108.8, respectively, reflect month-on-month reductions of 3.5% and 0.8% and decreases of 10.2% and 10.8% when compared with the same months of the previous year. The separate monthly reports published by the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank are the […]
Puerto Rico-based business intelligence firm Abexus Analytics has developed and made freely available the Abexus Mobility Insights tool, which tracks cellphone data using Google Mobility’s database and could help the government establish public policy related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tool follows how island residents move across all 78 towns and has already produced multiple […]
Institutional fraud takes a $2.4 billion bite out of Puerto Rico’s economy, representing at least 3.5% of gross revenue, according to the “Portrait of Fraud in Puerto Rico 2020” study revealed by the Puerto Rico Society of CPAs. “The term occupational fraud can be defined as those acts committed by employees with the objective of […]
Puerto Rico’s agricultural industry is preparing to receive more than $2.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience of Puerto Rico, or COR3, to continue recovery after Hurricane María. The sector lost 40% of its infrastructure following the 2017 storm. Among the obligations is $1.4 million to repair the […]
The University of Puerto Rico will distribute a total of $40.5 million in technological equipment and financial incentives to professors, students and administrative staff as part of its plan to improve the online educational experience and support the university community during the COVID-19 pandemic. UPR President Jorge Haddock said the aid will be granted through […]
A $12-million expansion plan is underway for Ron del Barrilito, to increase production and exports, said Eduardo Bacardí, sales and marketing director for producer Edmundo B. Fernández Inc. The investment will help increase production volume by 400%, he said. “This expansion phase takes us to a higher level by increasing our production, storage, and aging […]
The iconic InterContinental Hotel in Isla Verde — whose moniker has stretched across its façade since the early 2000s — will be rebranded later this year, or early in 2021, as it shifts to new management through a transaction between owner Service Properties Trust and Sonesta International Hotels. The sprawling beachfront hotel, which has been […]
The Puerto Rico Retailers Association (known as ACDET, in Spanish) launched an educational campaign to create awareness among businesses and consumers calling for living “in a more serious and responsible way in our new reality of COVID-19.” The campaign was designed to urge Puerto Rico residents to not let their guards down, and for businesses […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $547,705 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Autonomous Municipality of Caguas, the federal agency’s Secretary Wilbur Ross announced. The funding will capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) that will provide “critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by […]
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