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Retailers await ‘busy weekend’

BAHAMIAN retailers yesterday said sales have began to pick-up in the week prior to Christmas, amid anticipation of a “very busy weekend”. “The response to our retail Christmas offer has been outstanding. We are so thankful to our subscribers for their continued support of us, and we are looking forward to closing out the season with a bang,” Aliv’s chief business developer, Gravette Brown, told Tribune Business.

Chamber chief urges holiday crime ‘vigilance’

THE Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive yesterday urged businesses and consumers to be “vigilant” and “take every precaution” to avoid becoming victims of crime this Christmas season. Edison Sumner expressed concern over the “startling” increase in cyber crime and credit card fraud.

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PM: ‘No time to rest on laurels’ over EU

THE Prime Minister yesterday said the Bahamas has “no time to rest on our laurels”, given the European Union’s (EU) concerns over the absence of corporate income taxation. Dr Hubert Minnis told the House of Assembly that the EU’s Code of Conduct group had written to the Government expressing concerns that this nation’s tax system did not comply with its ‘blacklisting’ criteria.

Nassau/PI resorts in New Year sell-out 

MAJOR Nassau/Paradise Island resorts are predicting traditionally strong occupancies over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.

All ‘milestones’ come Aliv for mobile player

The Bahamas’ second mobile operator said yesterday it had met all “milestones and obligations” for cellular coverage and infrastructure roll-out as required by its license, its sales and marketing head arguing it has “the best network in the Caribbean”.

Mortgage Relief: 16%of targeted borrowers qualify

Some 16 per cent of troubled borrowers targeted by the Government’s revised Mortgage Relief Plan have been enrolled in the scheme, a Cabinet Minister yesterday saying it had already been “more successful” than the first version.

Govt targets extra $40-$80m revenue from enforcement

The Government is targeting an extra $40-$80 million in additional revenue over the next six to 12 months as it pursues an enhanced enforcement/compliance strategy, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

NHI manager blasts sector’s ‘false division’

The National Health Insurance (NHI) project manager yesterday asserted that the primary care phase’s roll-out by early 2017 remains “reasonable”, while dismissing the “false division” between public and private health care providers in the Bahamas.

Pinder: Sue for $13m over ‘Bahamas papers’

A former financial services minister yesterday suggested that this nation sue to recover the $13 million in Companies Registry search fees owed by the international journalists’ group responsible for the ‘Bahamas papers leak’.

Correspondent de-risk threatening 25% of Bahamas institutions

The Central Bank’s chief inspector warned yesterday that 25 per cent of its licensees will find it “difficult” to maintain existing correspondent banking relationships, even though the Bahamas has not been exposed to “wholesale vulnerability” yet.

Abaco’s airlift capacity up 9%

Abaco has attracted 47,000 stopover visitors year-to-date, a Ministry of Tourism official says, with the island’s airlift capacity for international arrivals increasing for the third straight year.

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Union to ‘do what it has to do’ over Hilton meltdown

The  hotel union’s president yesterday said that if working conditions at the British Colonial Hilton do not improve soon it will “do what it has to do”, amid an air conditioning breakdown that has persisted for more than a week.

Mortgage Corp still stuck at 40% arrears

The Bahamas Mortgage Corporation’s (BMC) arrears ratio continues to hover around 40 per cent, its chairman said yesterday, despite it adding $49.7 million in new mortgages to its portfolio over the past four years.

Fishermen: Gov't late on storm relief

Bahamian fishermen are hoping the Government will give further thought to their cry for fuel concessions, one representative telling this newspaper: “That would go a long way to helping the industry”.

‘Nothing to celebrate’ on $99m borrowing

The Opposition yesterday argued there was “nothing to celebrate” in the Christie administration’s revelation that it is only borrowing $99 million to fund the 2016-2017 fiscal deficit, its finance spokesman saying it had over-burdened Bahamians with taxes to achieve this.

FNM deputy questions Mortgage Relief ‘sense’

The Christie administration’s revised Mortgage Relief Plan does not make much sense “on the face of it”, according to the Opposition’s finance spokesman, who questioned what return the Government would get for its $20 million ‘investment’.

Web shop gains 'stay' on closure

The only web shop operator to be denied a licence has obtained a stay of the Supreme Court decision that effectively paved the way for its closure two weeks ago.

FNM deputy: Oil’s value in refining

The FNM’s deputy leader yesterday argued that the petroleum industry’s true value lay in refining, and said the Government need not determine whether commercial quantities of oil exist in the Bahamas before putting the issue to a referendum.

PI condo complex beats sale forecast

The owner of the former Ocean Place condominium complex on Paradise Island yesterday said it plans to bring 32 units to market by March 2016, telling Tribune Business initial sales had been “better than anticipated”.

ICTs have ‘key role’ in sustainable development

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have a “critical role” to play in ensuring sustainable development, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) policy director believes.

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