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Gas station warning of New Year lay-offs

A gas station operator yesterday warned the 24 percent minimum wage increase will “almost certainly” force the sector to cut staffing levels unless the Government grants a long-awaited margin increase.

‘Breath of fresh air’: 150k cruise arrivals over Xmas

The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday hailed the increase in cruise ship traffic as a “breath of fresh air” for business with close to 150,000 passenger arrivals forecast for Christmas week.

‘I want Schooner Bay progress’, says ex-PM

An ex-prime minister yesterday asserted he wants to see “progress and development” at an Abaco community once held up as sustainable development model following its baffling break with a former management partner.

‘Unenviable balancing act’ confronting The Bahamas

The Bahamas “faces an unenviable balancing act between food security and fiscal discipline”, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) warned yesterday, with global financial developments proving “particularly concerning”.

CCA: Sarkis ‘inflaming anti-Chinese sentiment’

Baha Mar’s main contractor has accused Sarkis Izmirlian of “a nakedly xenophobic attempt to inflame anti-Chinese sentiment” while asserting there is “no evidence” it misused $54m to acquire the then-British Colonial Hilton.

Skills transfer woe still a ‘sad reality’

The Bahamas must change “the sad reality” that key skills and knowledge are not being passed on to local workers by expatriate work permit holders, a prominent contractor argued yesterday.

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CCA: WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BAHAMAS – Contractor reached out for help to son of top govt advisor

Baha Mar's main contractor asked the son of Perry Christie's top policy adviser to intervene when his father proposed changing The Pointe's Heads of Agreement over how many Bahamian construction workers would be employed.

Bank payment charges need ‘legitimate redress’

THE Central Bank yesterday appeared to concede that fees for payment services were too high and “require legitimate redress”, a view shared by 78 per cent of Bahamians.

Pensioners left with 30% in City Markets HQ sale

* Claim trustees ‘not acting in our best interest’ * Trustees retain 27% of $3m sale to AML Foods * And lawyer paid almost one-third of proceeds

City Markets pensioners have been “kept in the dark” over the $3 million sale of the plan’s main asset, with just 30 per cent of the proceeds seemingly left for their benefit.

Insurers ‘not oblivious’ to Bahamas sanctions threat

THE insurance industry “is not oblivious” to the need for the Bahamas to comply with global anti-financial crime standards and avoid sanctions, its chairman said yesterday.

Development Bank fund ‘sinking’: Covers 1/3 of $46m bonds

* Just 28.4% of loans ‘performing’ * Accumulated losses over $60m * Solvency deficiency at $31.31m

THE Bahamas Development Bank’s (BDB) ‘sinking fund’ covered just one-third of its $46 million outstanding bond debt at year-end 2016, with only 28.4 per cent of its loans ‘performing’. The BDB’s 2016 financial statements, tabled in the House of Assembly in Wednesday by the Prime Minister, reveal the parlous state of another state-owned enterprise (SOE) that has racked up more than $60 million in losses for the Bahamian taxpayer during its 43-year existence.

‘No cause for celebration’ over S&P breathing room

* Bahamas ‘still has to climb out of hole’ * But Chamber chief ‘fully expects’ 2018 upgrade * Many Bahamians don’t realise reform ‘gravity’

PRIVATE sector executives yesterday said the Bahamas has “no cause for celebration yet” after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) elected not to further downgrade its sovereign creditworthiness.

Bahamas ‘on probation’: 17-step action plan cure

The Government has detailed a 17-step ‘action plan’ to strengthen the Bahamas’ anti-money laundering regime, with a top regulator describing this nation as “on probation” over increasing weaknesses.

Bahamians urged: Show ‘more ‘outrage’ over financial crimes

BAHAMIANS were yesterday urged to show “more outrage” over financial crime and poor business practices, a prominent cleric arguing that these had become “entrenched in our culture”.

Kosoy, Sterling eye Hurricane Hole deal

David Kosoy’s Sterling Global Financial is in negotiations to acquire Paradise Island’s Hurricane Hole property from Atlantis’s owner, Tribune Business can reveal.

Property Fund ‘gap’ as PwC to vacate Providence House

THE BISX-listed Bahamas Property Fund is preparing for temporary vacancy at its last fully-occupied property, following a $2.206 million third quarter hit caused by a timing adjustment.

Govt tax crackdown exposes ‘desperation’

The Christie administration’s much-trumpeted tax crackdown has exposed its “desperation” over the strained fiscal position, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader yesterday charging: “The Government is broke.”

Govt told: ‘Cut inefficient taxes across the board’

The Government was yesterday urged by a leading governance reformer to reduce “inefficient taxes across the board” so that it could make room for potential Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate increases.

Tax delinquents warned to brace for ‘shock treatment’

Major tax defaulters were yesterday warned to brace for “shock treatment” from the Government’s recently-unveiled tax crackdown, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s (BCCEC) chairman giving his “strong support” to the initiative.

Tax crackdown: Govt hits 6,000 businesses, 5,000 property owners

The Government last night unveiled its promised crackdown on tax defaulters, promising to first pursue the largest, wealthiest delinquents - some 6,000 businesses and 5,000 high-end property owners.

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