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Insurer: ‘No full blown rate increases’ in 2021
Bahamas First’s top executive yesterday said the general insurer has no plans for “a large, full blown rate increase across the board” in 2021 after more than a year of post-Dorian hikes.
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Banks suffer 37% profitability decline
Bahamian commercial banks saw total private sector loan arrears increase by $76m during the 2020 fourth quarter as the sector’s collective profitability shrunk by 37 percent year-over-year.
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Consumer debt to challenge FINCO
A major mortgage lender has warned it will be increasingly challenged to grow its loan book because COVID-19 has “compounded” the strain for Bahamians already highly leveraged on consumer debt.
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National debt near $10bn at 2020 end
The Bahamas’ national debt was just shy of $10bn at year-end 2020, the Central Bank revealed yesterday, having increased by $1.4bn during the previous 12 months.
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‘We’ll seize Sarkis’ damages if he wins’
Baha Mar’s receivers have threatened to claim any damages awarded to Sarkis Izmirlian if he wins his battle with China Construction America (CCA) so they can repay $1bn to the project’s lender.
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Crystal Cruises Exec: ‘Brighter days’ ahead
A CRYSTAL Cruises executive sees “brighter days” ahead once their ships start coming to The Bahamas in June.
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No ‘worthwhile’ return: Cable in TV shake-up
Cable Bahamas is not earning a “worthwhile” rate of return on its REVTV product, sector regulators have agreed, with subscriber numbers set to further decrease unless its channel line-up is restructured.
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PM hails ‘defining moment’ for handling public finances
The prime minister yesterday hailed “a defining moment” in the government’s management of the public finances after a comprehensive regulatory reform package was debated in Parliament.
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‘Absolutely concerned’ on 45% foreign currency debt
Bahamians should “absolutely be concerned” about foreign currency borrowings rising to almost 45 percent of the near-$10bn national debt, a local economist warned yesterday.
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Financier: Cruise port upgrade not enough for home porting
AN international financier with experience in infrastructure projects believes Nassau needs more than a new cruise port if it is to become a hub for home porting by cruise lines.
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BISX Index off over 100 points in just 11 days
The Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) All-Share Index suffered a more than 100-point drop in 11 days last month - a period coinciding with the failed CIBC FirstCaribbean deal.
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Nassau’s tourist arrivals just 2.7% of 2019’s 1m
Total tourist arrivals to New Providence during the 2020 fourth quarter amounted to just 2.7 percent of the prior year’s 1m visitors to further expose COVID-19’s drastic impact on the sector.
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Rebels head coach McPhee-McCuin tests positive for COVID-19
SHORTLY after the Ole Miss Rebels learned of their seeding in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, the programme announced it would be without its leader after head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin tested positive for COVID-19.
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McCuin and Ole Miss rebels runners-up in the WNIT
A LATE rally fell short and the Ole Miss Rebels concluded the 2021 season as the runners-up in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
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Briland: Cruise tourism ‘disaster waiting to happen’
More than 99.4 percent of existing and potential Harbour Island visitors have made it “crystal clear cruise tourism is a disaster waiting to happen” for the destination, a hotelier warned yesterday.
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Ole Miss Rebels in National Invitational Tourneys
BOTH Ole Miss Rebels basketball programmes feature Bahamians and both will be headed to National Invitational Tournaments in their respective divisions.
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‘Walk and chew gum’ on COVID-19 vaccine
Tourism operators yesterday had a mixed reaction to giving industry workers priority for COVID-19 vaccinations, with some agreeing as others urged caution.
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McLean and Cougars reach 1st Final Four since 1984
He didn’t get to do it as a player, but now Mikhail McLean will get to experience what it’s like to be in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Division One Basketball Final Four.
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‘Naive to think we’ll stay zero tax nation’
A former deputy prime minister yesterday urged the government to “rush to the finish” on developing tax reform options, warning: “It would be naive to think we can continue as a ‘zero tax’ nation.”
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FACE TO FACE: Moya lit a fire in me and others which has never gone out
When I was a youngster attending Temple Christian Primary School, I had an art teacher that sparked an interest and creativity in me that has stuck with me throughout life.