Structural changes in world trade, consumer preference for living on the outskirts of cities and a growing demand for technological equipment to be able to work from home are some of the turns economies will experience in the new reality.
Most companies globally have been focused on understanding the new business environment, which derives from the change in the ways people relate to each other as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
In order to contain the spread of covid-19, the government decided to extend the mandatory home quarantine until May 6.
Initially the authorities had decreed that the mandatory home quarantine would be in place from March 21 to April 20, however, President Nayib Bukele announced that it would be extended for another 15 days.
During the fourth quarter of 2019, Walmart's sales increased year-on-year in all countries in the region, except in Costa Rica, where they fell because of the lower dynamism of local economic activity.
The signs of recovery reported in the Costa Rican economy in the second half of 2019 do not seem to have been enough to boost retail trade, as one of the largest supermarket chains is registering a drop in sales.
The Central Bank estimates that in 2020 economic growth will be 2.5%, which would exceed the 2.3% projected at the end of 2019.
The continuity in the application of public policies aimed at improving the environment for local consumption and investment, allows to foresee a slight rebound in the dynamics of production in 2020, with an estimated annual rate of 2.5%, reported the Central Bank (BCR).
Taking measures to reactivate the productive sectors, make better use of public-private partnerships and boost tourism is part of what the private sector expects from the Panamanian government in the coming year.
Six months before the Cortizo administration takes office, Panama's business sector is asking it to make the decisions the economy needs to be able to continue on the path of development, and above all, not to lose competitiveness both domestically and in relation to its peers in the region, and to be able to continue to attract foreign investment.
In the first nine months of the year, the Volume Index of Economic Activity and the sales indicator of FUSADES reported positive variations, however, they are lower compared to what was recorded in the same period of 2018.
According to the "Economic Situation Report up to November 2019", prepared by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), the Salvadoran economy has experienced a tendency to lose dynamism, in the second quarter of 2019, economic activity grew only 1.98%, which is lower than the 2.71% recorded a year ago.
After the economies of the region grew by 2.6% in 2018 as a whole, the IMF estimates that 2019 would close with a rise of 2.7% and could reach 3.4% by 2020.
The document "World Economic Outlook", prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), states that for Panama the projected growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2019 was reduced from 5% to 4.3%.
After the first semester of 2018 reported a 29% year-on-year fall in the flow of Foreign Direct Investment, in the period from January to June 2019 the increase was 52%.
During the first semester of 2019, El Salvador received $435.9 million in net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which allowed it to surpass by far the historical average of the last ten years, informed the Central Reserve Bank.
Because between 2018 and 2019, the consumer's fixed expense free budget in Costa Rica is estimated to have decreased from 18% to 14% of total revenue, four out of ten buyers made the decision to change brands, and two are considering doing the same.
A study presented by Elfinancierocr.com, explains that women are the most affected by the economic situation of the country, since they said that after subtracting all their fixed costs, they only have 12% of their budget.
Panama and Honduras were the only two Central American countries to report increases in foreign direct investment in 2018 over the previous year, with year-on-year changes of 36% and 3%, respectively.
The growth of investments directed to Panama, which concentrated 51% of the sub-regional total, explained the increase that was reached in 2018 in Central America (9.4%), since except Panama and Honduras, the Central American countries received less Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) than in 2017, explains the report "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019", produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Financial and insurance activities and trade and vehicle repair were the sectors that explained most of the 1.8% year-on-year growth of the country's Gross Domestic Product, reported in the first quarter of 2019.
Compared to the same period last year, the quarterly results show a reduction in the growth rate, as a reflection of a lower dynamism of exports of goods, added to reductions in the expectations of world economic growth and the main trading partners, explains the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador (BCR).
For the international organization, El Salvador's banking sector is well capitalized and is optimistic about the recent progress made in the area of cross-border banking supervision.
In order to further enhance the resilience of the banking sector, the authorities were encouraged to pass the bank resolution law, strengthen the emergency liquidity assistance framework, and ensure full compliance with the risk-based supervisory framework, among others, of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after concluding its last visit to the country.
The sales indicator declined during the first quarter and economic activity lost dynamism up to February, because of the adverse international environment and growing uncertainty.
The Sales Indicator of the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES), reported a negative variation in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2018, going from 16.5 to -7, which is explained by the behavior of the four economic sectors surveyed, reported the Foundation.
During the first four months of the year, family remittances received by the country totaled $1.776 million, 4% more than reported in the same period of 2018.
Family remittances from El Salvador totaled $1.776 million in the first four months of 2019, $66.1 million more than the income received under this concept in the same period of the previous year, informed the Central Reserve Bank.
Construction and mining activities explained part of the 2.5% year-on-year increase in Gross Domestic Product last year.
El Salvador recorded a growth rate in 2018, based on the expansion of consumption and investment, according to the first estimates of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), which implies a growth two tenths higher than that reported in 2017, reported the institution.