Puerto Rico’s healthcare sector ‘most exposed’ to coronavirus crisis
April 23, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2006 Views
Gov’t permits office processes 11K+ online applications during lock-down
April 22, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1572 Views
Vázquez signs law to reduce tax rate for some Puerto Rico residents
April 20, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1835 Views
Puerto Rico U.S. Attorney’s office, Elder Justice Task Force launch COVID-19 testing
April 20, 2020
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, […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1593 Views
SBA confirms Puerto Rico lenders approved 2,856 loans totaling $659M
April 17, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1846 Views
Federal gov’t faces COVID-19 crisis blindly; Lacks risk monitoring system that would include pandemics
April 17, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1779 Views
U.S. Dept. of Commerce invests $4.5M in former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station
April 16, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility3656 Views
Treasury: Eligible Puerto Rico residents to get CARES Act check in late April
April 16, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble5 Comments
visibility3449 Views
Report: Education Dept. ‘lacks capacity’ to manage $322M in FEMA funding
April 14, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble1 Comment
visibility1691 Views
No man’s land: Buying tests and supplies for the COVID-19 emergency in Puerto Rico
April 14, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2133 Views
Puerto Rico governor extends lockdown to May 3, tweaks conditions
April 13, 2020
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 […]
chat_bubble1 Comment
visibility1901 Views
Vázquez urges U.S. Congress to include Puerto Rico in COVID-19 stimulus package
April 10, 2020
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to include and treat Puerto Rico equal to U.S. mainland jurisdictions in the stimulus package currently being drafted in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. The letter outlined several government priorities to be able to continue responding to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1724 Views
Puerto Rico Health Dept. unveils COVID-19 digital dashboard
April 10, 2020
Seeking to add “greater visibility and access” to detailed information on the behavior of COVID-19 on the island, the Puerto Rico Health Secretary Lorenzo González, unveiled the agency’s digital dashboard that presents the official figures and behavior of the virus on the island. This tool promotes the development of the capacities needed to increase the […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility2512 Views
U.S. Dept. of Commerce awards $1.1M grant to University of Puerto Rico
April 10, 2020
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.1 million grant to the University of Puerto Rico to hire three Disaster Recovery Coordinators to execute disaster recovery efforts throughout the entire Commonwealth. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, will be matched with […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1720 Views
Gov’t earmarks $8M to refund Puerto Rico co’s for COVID-19 expenses
April 9, 2020
Given with the challenge that employers in Puerto Rico are facing due to the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce is earmarking $8 million in federal funds to reimburse up to 160 employers for certain expenses. Economic Development Secretary Manuel A. Laboy Rivera said the funding will […]
chat_bubble0 Comment
visibility1459 Views
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA