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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.
‘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”.
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.
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.
AML chief: ‘Size of pie yet to be seen’
* Uncertainties over Xmas spending * Hopes December ‘uptick’ will persist * All retailers see October/November fall-off
BISX-listed AML Foods has warned that “the size of the pie” remains unknown when it comes to Bahamian consumer spending this Christmas. Gavin Watchorn, the group’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that while it was “very confident” of gaining its due share, the extent of holiday expenditure was difficult to predict given continued economic uncertainty and fragile confidence.
DPM: Bahamas must ‘prove’ itself to S&P
* ‘Not at all’ upset nation still ‘junk’ * Blames former Govt’s failure to deliver * Nation has 12-24 months to execute
The Government must “prove” it can deliver on its fiscal and economic turnaround strategy, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted yesterday, after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) kept the Bahamas at ‘junk’ status. K P Turnquest told Tribune Business he was “not at all” disappointed at the outcome of S&P’s annual review of the Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness, despite having previously expressed optimism that the Government could make the case to be upgraded to ‘investment grade’ status.
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 ‘must reengineer economy faster than ever’
* QC: 2018 will ‘set economy for 20 years’ * Warns reform pace may be bewildering * Warns of tax, exchange control ‘recalibrating’
THE Bahamas faces having to “substantially reengineer its economy at a much faster pace than ever before” to escape global ‘blacklists’, a prominent QC warned yesterday. Brian Moree QC, senior partner at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, told Tribune Business that this nation’s response to the European Union/OECD initiatives in 2018 “will determine the future of the economy” for possibly the next 20 years.
Bahamas faces major tax, exchange control shake-up
The Bahamas may have to completely overhaul its corporate and taxation structure to escape European Union/OECD ‘blacklisting’ threats, the Attorney General revealed yesterday.
CIBC FirstCaribbean explores US listing
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s parent yesterday confirmed its subsidiary is exploring a US stock exchange listing, a move likely to stoke speculation of a Canadian bank withdrawal from the region.
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.
Income-type tax ‘likely inevitable’, warns ex-minister
A FORMER financial services minister believes it is “probably inevitable” that the Bahamas will have to introduce some form of low-rate income tax, warning: “We’re not in the clear yet.”
Corporate redress regime upheld with $33m verdict
The Supreme Court has prevented the Bahamas being perceived as “a parochial, quirky jurisdiction” for international business through its recent ruling on a $33 million insolvency dispute, a former attorney general said yesterday.
OECD attacks like ‘unofficial blacklisting’ of the Bahamas
A former finance minister says the recent OECD-inspired media onslaught against the Bahamas is akin to an “unofficial blacklisting” of its financial services industry, describing the situation as “a new form of international colonialism”.
800 job applications for new mobile player
Cable Bahamas had received around 800 applications for jobs with the nation's second mobile provider by end-last week, it was revealed yesterday, and is confident the new operator can beat its financial targets.
Mortgage finance 'biggest hurdle' to housing recovery
Mortgage financing access remains "the biggest hurdle" to reviving the domestic real estate market, causing up to three deals for the same property to fall through.
Chamber chief says 'space for third mobile operator'
The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce's chief executive believes "there is space for another mobile player", and is urging the Government to issue a third licence come 2019.
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