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Bahamas shrugs off FTX for perfect ‘40 out of 40’

The Bahamas yesterday shrugged off FTX’s implosion through what the attorney general hailed as the “enormous accomplishment” of a perfect score in the fight against financial crime.

‘Unprecedented’: Hotel staff enjoyed slow season boost ‘unpred

Many hotel staff worked “unprecedented” five-day weeks during the tourism season’s slowest months, a union leader revealed yesterday, as he bids to complete multiple new industrial agreements in early 2023.

Realtor has ‘never seen such high rental rates’

A Bahamian realtor says he has “never seen such high rental rates” as now exist in some of western New Providence’s most upscale communities with demand in this segment now suppressing available-for-sale inventory.

Sarkis loss ‘over $3bn’ if Baha Mar hit targets

Sarkis Izmirlian would so far have “lost more than $3bn” in potential profits alone if the Baha Mar resort from which he was ousted hit his financial projections, an analyst’s report has calculated.

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.

FTX shows Bahamas can’t ‘live or die’ by one investor

Governance reformers are arguing that FTX’s implosion further reinforces that there is “no silver bullet to solve our economic growth issues coming out of Dorian and COVID-19”.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

‘Absolutely imperative’ Baha Mar doesn’t fail

BAHA Mar’s transformation into a sustainable mega-resort is an “absolute imperative” for the Bahamas and its economy, the Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive says.

Gov’t narrows inner city taxation breaks

The Government yesterday appeared to narrow its planned VAT and inner-city ‘tax breaks’, while seeking to deliver on campaign promises of accountability, transparency and good governance.

Govt told: ‘Stop bragging’ about $852m VAT funds

The Opposition’s finance spokesman yesterday urged the Government to “stop bragging” about its $852 million VAT revenues, as this represented monies sucked away from Bahamian consumers and businesses.

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BIFF ‘taken for ride’ over Dingman deal

The Bahamas International Film Festival’s (BIFF) founder yesterday said she was left “embarrassed”, and felt “taken for a ride”, after Jamie Dingman failed to deliver on his promised acquisition of the organisation.

GB Power: Consumers to pay $25m storm cost

Grand Bahama Power Company’s (GBPC) plan to recover its $25 million in Hurricane Matthew restoration costs from consumers was last night blasted as “highly irregular and unfair” by one of the island’s MPs.

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Baha Mar expat staff face October 31 wait

Former foreign employees of Baha Mar have to wait until October 31 to see if they will recover what is owed to them, while their Bahamian counterparts have been reminded of the “take it or leave it” approach.

Ex-minister: Dingman case 'waste of judicial resources'

Trying the $1.1 million damages claim against Jamie Dingman's failed Nassau restaurant empire in New York will be "a waste of judicial resources", a former Cabinet minister is arguing.