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Activist slams Shell LNG deal as ‘regressive step’

A WELL-known environmentalist yesterday said the adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the Bahamas’ main power source is a “huge regressive step”, questioning why the Government was not aggressively pursuing solar energy.

Gov’t to tackle mail boat concerns ‘in earnest’

A CABINET minister yesterday said he has committed to a “sit down” with mail boat operators after Christmas to address “in earnest” industry concerns.

QC tells the web shops: Form own credit union

A prominent QC has called on web shop gaming operators to establish their own credit union, as blasted the Canadian-owned banks’ refusal to accept the sector’s deposits as making “no sense whatsoever”.

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.

Businesses monitor air cargo fall-out

Bahamian businesses are continuing to monitor the fall-out from new and increased Customs fines on the air cargo industry, which has prompted some carriers to threaten to withdraw from this market.

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”.

Bahamas financial services set to feel BREXIT's impact

The UK's decision to leave the European Union (EU) could have a significant impact on the Bahamas' financial services industry, the Chamber of Commerce's chairman urging this nation to be an "interested observer" of what unfolds.

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.

Two-destination Cuba travel 'bit of a stretch'

A 'two-destination' travel arrangement that would see visitors to Cuba also travel to the Bahamas could be a “bit of a stretch”, the FNM's deputy leader believes.

Bahamas must get balanced tourism

The Bahamas must ensure it strikes the right balance between its cruise and stop-over business, the FNM's deputy leader reiterating that it provide a competitive and unique product.

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Three-year recognition is ‘vexing’ trade unions

Union recognition is taking a “vexing” three years to complete, a leading trade unionist says, rather than the desired three months.

LOI made $650m waste plant ‘political football’

The company behind the $650 million waste-to-energy proposal at the centre of last year’s Letter of Intent (LoI) controversy yesterday said it had been treated as “a political football”, which “turned a positive into a negative” and damaged its bid to secure financing.

Bahamasair to unveil new fleet 'within 30 days'

Bahamasair expects to unveil the "change-out" of its Dash-8 dominated aircraft fleet within the next 30 days, a move it hopes will slash maintenance and operational costs.

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Excise Tax snafu stymies start-up's 60 hires plan

A Bahamian-owned tobacco manufacturing start-up said yesterday it would pursue legal action as a “last resort” if it is unable to obtain an Excise Tax exemption on domestic sales, adding that its business model had been thrown “totally out of whack”.

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'Internal brain drain'costs Bahamas $3.5bn

The Bahamas is losing nearly $3.5 billion to the “internal brain drain” caused by low worker productivity, a well-known eye doctor yesterday arguing this was having a greater economic impact than the loss of 61 per cent of tertiary-educated Bahamians to jobs abroad.

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Atlantis owner eyes 'significant' 5-year investment programme

The Atlantis resort’s owner is looking to invest a “significant sum” in a five-year capital expenditure plan for the Paradise Island resort, having pronounced itself “quite excited” to have completed the $1.9 billion refinancing.

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'Seven digit' Atlantisinvestment delayed bygaming reform wait

Atlantis’s top executive yesterday said its planned multi-million dollar, “seven digit” investment in private gaming rooms was being delayed by the wait for casino gaming reforms to be passed.

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Maritime marriage revenues beating forecasts by 20%

Maritime mariages on Bahamian-registered vessels have generated 20 per cent more revenue than projected for 2014 to-date, the Attorney General telling Tribune Business that this nation has been approached by all the major cruise lines over this venture.