Puerto Rico’s self-employed population will be able to apply for unemployment benefits through the Labor Department starting April 28, agency Secretary Briseida Torres said. The benefit will be available for first time for independent contractors through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program created through the CARES Act signed into law Mar. 27, to aid workers whose […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has obligated more than $365 million for permanent and emergency work on 182 projects to repair and upgrade potable water and sewer systems and other water control facilities across Puerto Rico, it announced. More than half of the funds are for permanent work projects. “Our investment in the island’s water […]
Saying the priority at this time should be broader testing for COVID-19 in Puerto Rico, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico urged “a gradual reopening of certain elements of the economy to contain the financial effect on the economy as a whole.” In a letter sent to Gov. Wanda Vázquez, Oversight Board […]
Some 486,000 Puerto Rico residents will begin receiving e-mail notices from the island’s Treasury Department informing them of their eligibility for the $1,200 federal stimulus check, which will be deposited directly into their bank accounts, agency Secretary Francisco Parés said. The deposits materializes as soon as the U.S. Department of the Treasury approves the local […]
The Coronavirus pandemic will cause people to rethink existing values and will impact economic models going forward, a group of local and international experts gathered by Invest Puerto Rico during a virtual webinar concluded. In Puerto Rico, where the economy has been limping along for the better part of the last 12 years, the already […]
A month into the government-mandated island-wide lock-down and curfew to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Permits Management Office (OGPe, in Spanish) has processed 11,100 procedures for 46 products requested through the Single Business Portal. Department of Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Laboy said of that total of approved applications, more than […]
Gov. Wanda Vázquez signed into law a bill presenting several amendments to the Puerto Rico Tax Reform passed last year that will benefit taxpayers, entrepreneurs and seniors. Law 40-2020, grants an additional 3% reduction for taxpayers whose gross income does not exceed $100,000; eliminates the tax on the provision of services rendered to other businesses […]
Puerto Rico U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow and the Elder Justice Task Force announced the launch of an islandwide COVID-19 testing initiative for all residents and employees in Puerto Rico’s long-term care facilities. This multi-agency, multi-sectoral initiative will cover more than 1,000 facilities, 28,000 residents, and 9,000 employees and caregivers during the next three weeks, […]
The U.S. Small Business Administration released a report today confirming that Puerto Rico’s banking partners approved a combined 2,856 loans for a total of $658.5 million under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as of April 16. In total, the loan count for eligible businesses across the U.S. mainland and its territories totaled 1.7 million, representing […]
By Eliván Martínez MercadoCenter for Investigative Journalism President Donald Trump’s administration is steering the response to the coronavirus like a pilot who flies blindfolded. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for 12 years has failed to comply with its obligation to operate a centralized digital platform to share information, as close as possible […]
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $4.5 million grant to the Roosevelt Roads Redevelopment Authority to rehabilitate a building and make other infrastructure improvements on former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads. The EDA grant will support early-stage businesses focused on the visitor economy and is […]
The $1,200 stimulus checks provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that some Puerto Rico residents are already receiving respond to specific circumstances that don’t apply to everybody on the island, Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés said. Furthermore, he said local residents who are eligible for the benefit could begin seeing the […]
The Puerto Rico Education Department has not complied with the requirements laid out by the Federal Emergency Management Agency related to some $322 million awarded after Hurricane María in 2017, earmarked for recovery efforts. A report released last week detailing the findings of an audit commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the […]
The Health Department has been unable to specify how many rapid tests it has conducted nor their results. Mistakes, delays, overpaying, questionable interventions, bureaucracy and deals between officials and suppliers with political ties have characterized the government’s procurement efforts to confront the epidemic. The latter adds to an already difficult situation in which Puerto Rico […]
Responding to suggestions from the Medical Task Force she appointed, Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez announced over the weekend the signing of a new Executive Order establishing an extension to the lockdown and 24/7 curfew through May 3. Executive Order 2020-33 eliminates license plates restrictions and extends the period during the day during which authorized […]
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA