Wednesday, June 5-11, 2019 - // no. 006
Puerto Rico and the Caribbean
www.theweeklyjournal.com
GOV’T SEEKS MORE URBAN TRAIN RIDERS P6 PROMOTING THE SALE OF ABANDONED PROPERTIES P10 INCREASE ON PAYDAY LOANS P15
ECONOMIC INDICATORS SHOW
ROBUST GROWTH FOR FY 2019 Will likely surpass official forecast of 4 percent growth
F Rosario Fajardo
:PÚBLICA, A NEW CULTURAL EXPERIENCE IN SANTURCE P20
rfajardo@wjournalpr.com
RosarioWJournal
iscal year 2019 ends next month and according to various economic indicators, Puerto Rico’s gross national product (GNP) will likely exceed the official forecast of a 4 percent growth, as per the Certified Fiscal Plan that was recently approved by the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB). The current fiscal year, FY 2019, ends on June 30. Based on an analysis by THE WEEKLY JOURNAL,
these indicators—the Economic Activity Index and Treasury Department collections—show that Puerto Rico’s economy, saddled with more than $70 billion in public debt and $50 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, and still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Maria in 2017, is improving at a quicker pace than the FOMB expected. Recent figures from the Economic Development Bank’s Economic Activity Index (EAI) showed that “for the period July to April of fiscal year 2019, the growth was of 7.1 percent more with respect to the GO TO PAGE 4