Electricity rate hike ‘blow’ to GB revival
The Free National Movement (FNM) last night branded approval of Grand Bahama Power Company’s base rate increase as “counter productive” for making it more difficult to attract investment.
Landscaping chair hits out over rogue entrants
Established landscaping companies are increasingly having to clean-up behind rogue new market entrants who have emerged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was argued yesterday.
Supply chain woe ‘highly challenging’ for brewery
Commonwealth Brewery’s top executive yesterday said supply chain woes had made trade “highly challenging” for some of its imported brands with such issues set to persist in 2022.
Bad weather cancels as many cruise calls as COVID’s Omicron
Nassau Cruise Port’s top executive yesterday said it has lost more vessel calls to bad weather than the COVID Omicron variant with berth bookings “very solid” for the remainder of 2022.
Dorian rebuild in question for 98% on tax break loss
Some 98 percent of business and home owners in Dorian-devastated Abaco say reinstating 10 percent VAT on construction services will “significantly influence” whether they rebuild or not.
Dive operator hopes cancellations don’t exceed 15% mark
A Bimini dive operator is hoping COVID-related cancellations do not exceed the current 15 percent level with “40 percent of more” of annual business generated in the first three calendar months.
Cheap money era is now likely over
ActivTrades
LOOKING ahead to 2022, two narratives will be hard to avoid. One is the ongoing energy crisis, which saw oil, gas and coal prices skyrocketing over the last few months. And if inflation, which to a large degree is linked to the energy crisis, proves to be a more permanent problem than previously thought, the tightening of monetary policies by some of the world’s main central banks has also taken centre stage.
Sir Sol’s equivalent a must for Lucayan
The Grand Lucayan must be acquired by a Sir Sol Kerzner equivalent to ensure long-term success, a hotelier said yesterday, arguing: “Business model is more important than cheque book size.”
Water Corp yet to accept $320k for Treasure Cay sewage repair
The Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) has yet to accept the $320,000 raised by Treasure Cay residents to rebuild the area’s sewerage system lift station that was destroyed by Dorian.
Sale frustration leaves Treasure Cay ‘in limbo’
Uncertainty over Treasure Cay’s post-Dorian recovery and future ownership is dampening its economic prospects and resulting in “endless” streams of revenue being left untapped.
Omicron ‘pushes back’ pre-COVID for tourism
Tourism’s hoped-for return to 2019 business volumes this year has been “pushed back” several months by Omicron with Internet searches for The Bahamas now “half” of pre-COVID levels.
‘Entire economy shuts when ATMs go down’
Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce’s president yesterday urged the Government to stiffen “the backbone” of Bahamian-owned banks, adding: “When the ATMs go down the entire economy shuts.”
Abaco eyes Economic Council after tiring of Nassau’s ‘diktats’
Abaco’s private sector is seeking to create an Economic Development Council for the island, it was revealed yesterday, after becoming tired of being “dictated” to by Nassau.
Exchange controls to be ‘less of hindrance’
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday pledged to make exchange control restrictions “less and less of a hindrance” to Bahamian investors and companies seeking capital.
Pre-COVID output ‘not good enough’
The Central Bank’s governor yesterday warned that returning to pre-COVID economic output “is not enough” as he reaffirmed forecasts that GDP will expand by 8 percent in 2022.
