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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.

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.

‘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.

Union chief: ‘No way’ would I breach law and Bar regulations

A trade union leader yesterday said there was “no way” he would have agreed to an illegal ‘contingency fee’ in taking on Sandals Royal Bahamian all the way to the Privy Council.

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.

Liquidator targeting Govt’s $720k oil fee

Some $720,000 in oil exploration license fees that were paid to the Bahamas Government are being targeted by a Cayman-based liquidator, who has written to two Cabinet ministers seeking their assistance in recovering the funds.

Landfill chief: ‘Don’t read anything’ into our CEO transition

Renew Bahamas’ principal shareholder yesterday said “nothing can be read” into his stepping down as the New Providence landfill manager’s chief executive, as concerns persist over its financial health.

De-risk 'client migration' to benefit larger banks

Correspondent bank 'de-risking' could drive another wave of Bahamian financial services consolidation by sparking "client migration" to larger institutions, a former finance minister has warned.

Govt sought BPL fix in 12-months

The Government wanted Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) manager to guarantee its facilities would match the operational standards of comparable energy utilities within a year of taking over, Tribune Business can reveal.

Air cargo pull-out threat result of ‘ill thought-out policy’

The threat of a Bahamas boycott by Florida-based air cargo operators was yesterday branded as “the unintended consequences of ill-thought out policy” by the Opposition’s deputy leader. K P Turnquest warned that as an import-dependent economy, reliant on international transportation links, the Bahamian economy could only suffer if freight companies reduced or eliminated services to this nation.

Price control proposal like ‘Gestapo tactics’

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce (BCCEC) warned yesterday that any Government move to force businesses to reduce prices in line with import duty cuts would be akin to “economic dictatorship” and “Gestapo tactics”.

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Bran: 'Very dodgy' to interfere with business pricing

The Government will be "in very dodgy territory" should it seek to interfere with how Bahamian businesses price their goods and services, the DNA leader has warned.

Broker severs ties with ex-investor over $1m ‘misuse’

A Bahamian broker/dealer yesterday said it had severed all ties with a former shareholder after he allegedly misappropriated $1 million that was intended to be an equity investment in the firm.

PHA exceeds bond target with $26-$27m

The Public Hospitals Authority's (PHA) $25 million bond issue closed slightly oversubscribed, its financial advisers estimating that between $26-$27 million has been raised from investors.

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Gov’t ‘ill-prepared’ on Bill amendments

An FNM MP yesterday slammed the Government’s failure to provide the Opposition with the 12 amendments to the Petroleum Bill before yesterday’s debate, saying: “It’s ridiculous the Government was so ill-prepared”.

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VAT guidance notes undermine core financial sector policy

The Government’s “inconsistent” Value-Added Tax (VAT) positions are threatening to undermine core financial services policy objectives, a top QC warned yesterday, threatening a loss of competitiveness and high-value business.

Cable slams ‘ill-timed’ INternet, TV price caps

Cable Bahamas warned regulators that their decision to impose price caps on its pay-TV and Internet services would be “ill-timed, intrusive and disproportionate”, arguing that these controls were unnecessary due to emerging competition.

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Bimini Bay facing homeowners revolt

The Bimini Bay Resort is facing a homeowners revolt in the Supreme Court, with multiple purchasers voicing concerns over how their properties and multi-million dollar maintenance fee sums are being managed.

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RoyalFidelity's fund with 'different angle'

RoyalFidelity is planning to launch an “alternative” US$ fund this summer that aims to minimise market volatility risk, a move coinciding with the maturing of another product forecast to generate 50 per cent investor returns.

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AML chair: City Markets deal 'kept changing'

AML Foods chairman yesterday said its efforts to acquire City Markets' remaining business fell apart because the latter's principal, Mark Finlayson, "kept changing the terms of the deal" on a daily basis, and had nothing to do with the BISX-listed food retail group refusing to take on the chain's staff.