Gov’t to double uniform support
A Cabinet minister yesterday said school uniform assistance provided to vulnerable Bahamian families will increase by 100 percent in the upcoming 2022-2023 Budget year.
Agriculture’s $3M Israeli move targets poultry output doubling
A Cabinet minister yesterday hailed a $3m partnership with an Israeli company as a “red letter day” in The Bahamas drive for greater food security following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ex-finance minister: No fear on $2.3bn roll over
A former minister of state for finance yesterday said he expects the near-$2.3bn in Bahamian dollar debt, which is due for repayment over the next 18 months, to be rolled over without any alarm.
Doctors: $50m COVID test boost set for ease
Doctors Hospital yesterday confirmed it will adjust its COVID testing workforce to “match” the anticipated demand fall-off after generating “north of $50m” in revenues from 1.3m such screenings over the past two years.
COVID entry testing end ‘back on table’
A Cabinet minister yesterday said eliminating The Bahamas’ COVID entry testing requirements will “come back on the table” for discussion this week in the wake of the US decision to eliminate such a mandate.
Subsidies jump despite $31.5m Bahamasair fall
Subsidies to loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) increased by more than $25m during the nine months to end-March 2022 despite an even greater drop in taxpayer support for Bahamasair.
Over 35% of Gov’t local debt comes due in year
More than one-third of the Government’s domestic debt holdings, equivalent to around $2.3bn, is due to mature within the next year as it moves to eliminate “spikes” in principal redemption that place undue strain on its finances.
Taxi drivers to push for 25% fare raise
The Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s (BTCU) president says it is seeking a 25 percent fare hike to ease the burden of higher gas prices and soaring inflation.
Choppy waters
ActivTrades
Downtown Nassau and its cruise port have seen some signs of life during recent months. The berths are full, and the tourists were roaming the streets and supporting the local economy once more.
Gas price crisis wiping out retailers’ profits
Bahamian gas stations say “no business operates” on the unsustainable seven percent gross margins they are enduring amid warnings the sector may have to cut jobs and operating hours to survive.
Bahamas ‘stands out like sore thumb’ over COVID entry testing
Tourism executives are warning The Bahamas “stands out like a sore thumb” over its continued COVID entry testing measures after the US eliminated such restrictions with effect from midnight yesterday.
Stem cell pioneer: Just 3% of claims accepted
Less than 3 percent of $16.5m in creditor claims against a Freeport business, once hailed for pioneering The Bahamas’ entry into the stem cell therapy industry, had been accepted as at end-May 2022.
‘Still among leaders’: But Bahamas’ FDI down 60%
The Bahamas is “still among the leaders” despite a United Nations (UN) agency yesterday revealing that foreign direct investment inflows to this nation declined by 60 percent year-over-year in 2021 to $360m.
Vehicle theft claims ‘out of the ordinary’
A Bahamian insurer says an “out of the ordinary” increase in motor vehicle theft claims was among the principal factors why it missed profit projections for 2021.
Gov’t hails 69% VAT rise: Rate cut works
The Government is hailing its VAT rate cut for producing a 62.8 percent year-over-year increase in revenues to $299m for the three month period that closed at end-March 2022.
