Puerto Rico News Digest For July 13, 2016

200K ZIKA CASES POSSIBLE BY YEAR END

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"The committee created by the Puerto Rico government to confront the Zika
virus reported Monday that more than 200,000 cases of people infected with
the virus could be registered by the end of the year. According to island State
Department Epidemiologist Brenda Rivera, a drastic increase in the pattern of
infection of the virus has been noted in recent weeks. According to the most re-
cent report, an increase of 30 percent in cases have been reported..."

S&P CUTS PRASA DEBT RATING

From Caribbean Business:

"S&P Global Ratings lowered its ratings on Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer
Authority’s (Prasa) series 2008 and 2012 senior-lien revenue bonds two not-
ches to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC-‘. The outlook is negative. At the same time, it low-
ered to ‘D’ from ‘CCC-‘ the rating on Prasa’s obligations that also carry a Co-
mmonwealth of Puerto Rico guarantee, as well as those obligations that are co-
mmonwealth-supported. It removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they
were placed with  negative implications on Aug. 18, 2015..."

TOURISM BOOKINGS UP 6% THIS SUMMER

From News Is My Business:

"The Puerto Rico Tourism Co.’s fourth annual “Summer is Easy” promotion
is outpacing last summer’s bookings, generating a 6 percent rise in participa-
ting partner room night sales in May and a 7 percent rise in June, versus the
same months in 2015, the agency said Monday. Comparatively, bookings thr-
ough “Summer is Easy” partner Expedia are currently 9.7 percent above 2015
bookings. The promotion highlights how travel to Puerto Rico has never been
easier — no passport is required for U.S. citizens, more than 70 direct flights
from the U.S. to Puerto Rico daily — and how many things there are to do on
the island..."

SAMSUNG PAY NOW AVAILABLE IN PR 

From Banking Technology:

"Samsung Pay will support eligible credit cards from Banco Popular, Puerto
Rico’s largest bank, and will be available on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Cla-
ro networks in Puerto Rico. The firm says Samsung Pay is the “only” mobile
wallet that allows users to pay with their compatible Samsung smartphones at
terminals, due to both MST (magnetic secure transmission) and NFC (near fie-
ld communications) technologies.Thomas Ko, vice-president and global co-ge-
neral manager of Samsung Pay at Samsung Electronics, says users can shop in
Puerto Rico right from their phones at retail chains and independent businesses..."