The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority concluded its two-day bond issue Wednesday, selling $650 million in bonds, about 36 percent more than the original $475 million the government was looking to raise.
The Government Development Bank unveiled the Economic Activity Index for the months of January and February, which reflected an increase of 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively in comparison to the same months in 2011.
Javier Rivera-Aquino, who until late last year headed the Agriculture Department has been appointed executive director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company’s Puerto Rican Industry Investment Board, through which he will advocate for greater participation of local companies in government procurement activities, administration officials said Monday.
Labor Department statistics released over the weekend put Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate at 15 percent for the month of February, reflecting a 0.1 percentage point drop in comparison to the prior month’s level and a 1.2 percentage drop decrease from the 16.2 percent rate on record for February 2011.
General Fund net revenue totaled $674 million in February, an increase of $97 million or 16.8 percent, when compared with February 2011.
Gov. Luis Fortuño administration officials took Moody’s Investors Service’s decision to cut the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s credit rating down a notch in stride Wednesday, saying it was “expected” and would not have an impact on the upcoming $475 million bond emission.
The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority announced Thursday it has opened the “Request for Qualifications” process to find a private entity to design, build, finance and maintain the proposed “Nuevo Comienzo” (New Beginning) juvenile social treatment facility in Yauco.
Gov. Luis Fortuño announced Monday the government has granted $103 million in loans through programs run by the Economic Development Bank, under the “Because You Can” initiative that caters to small- and mid-sized businesses and pursues job creation and economic activity.
Construction activity exceeded $3.8 billion in fiscal 2011, which represents a $173.5 million year-over-year increase when compared to the prior 12-month period, Planning Board President Rubén Flores-Marzán said Thursday.
The Treasury Department pumped $731 million into the government’s General Fund last month, or $216 million more than what it collected during January 2011. The 42 percent hike was fueled by income and excise taxes, Treasury Secretary Jesús Méndez said Thursday.
The Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority in partnership with Citi Community Capital, a department of Citigroup’s Municipal Securities Division, has created a $45 million revolving loan fund that will provide capital for the construction of for-sale single- and multifamily-homes for low and moderate income residents of Puerto Rico, government officials announced Thursday.
About 25 percent more Puerto Rico taxpayers will be able to file the short form this year as the 2010 Tax Reform takes full effect, simplifying many reporting processes that previously required the more complicated long form, Treasury Deputy Secretary Blanca Álvarez-Ramírez told News is my Business.
Net General Fund revenue totaled $776 million in December, representing an increase of $210 million when compared to the same month in 2010. The hike was attributed to a surge in motor vehicle excise tax collections, which Treasury Secretary Jesús Méndez said reflected the highest year-over-year percentage growth.
If the results of the first quarter of the federal fiscal year are any indication, 2012 should be good for small and mid-sized business lending activity in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which is already picking up significantly in contrast to last year’s results.
Gov. Luis Fortuño urged Pres. Barack Obama Wednesday to include Puerto Rico in its new national economic plan, stressing that “Puerto Rican jobs are U.S. jobs.”
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