07062016 business

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016

business@tribunemedia.net

Central Bank gives Govt ‘an uppercut’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank of the Bahamas yesterday delivered “an uppercut” to the Government’s fiscal projections, urging it to rein in spending amid a $266 million deficit for the first 10 months of the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

The regulator, in its report on May’s economic developments, revealed that the deficit to endApril 2016 had increased by almost $37 million or 16.1 per cent year-over-year, as spending outpaced the VAT-led revenue increase.

The Central Bank’s report

Regulator urges Gov’t to rein in spending And releases data calling into question fiscal forecasts Deficit $116.1m above year-end target 2 months out ‘Almost impossible’ to hit $150m year-end goal

JOHN ROLLE

said the $235.1 million, or 14.6 per cent, increase in total spending had exceeded the $198.2 million or 14.3 per cent rise in revenues, raising questions over whether the Government can control its expenditure.

The release of the Central Bank data could not have come at a worse time for the Christie administration and the Bahamas at large, given that Moody’s is assessing whether to further downgrade this nation’s creditworthiness - possibly to so-called ‘junk’ status.

The numbers indicate that the Government will again See PG B3

QC: Bahamas requires Tourism ‘softness’ exposed ‘investors, not invaders’ with 7% room revenue fall

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE QC responsible for winning numerous legal battles on behalf of environmental activists yesterday said the Government and developers had repeatedly “failed to learn their lessons”, adding that the Bahamas wanted “investors, not invaders”.

Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, said all the actions he had been involved with concerned “due process”, and the Government’s failure to follow its own statutory and legal permitting/approvals processes for investment projects.

Citing the Abaco Club’s proposed 44-slip marina for Little Harbour as one such project, Mr Smith said last week’s Town Meeting on the development was little more than “a last minute attempt to put a pacifier in local residents’ mouths.

He argued that the meeting did not satisfy the requirement for proper consultation, which previous court rulings have established as a legal right.

And, while emphasising that none of the organisations he had represented were opposed to sustainable development, Mr Smith

Govt ‘fails to learn lessons’ on Judicial Reviews Criticises Abaco Club town meeting’s ‘pacifier’ Says minister missed point over job concerns implied that a Cabinet Minister had ‘missed the point’ over his concerns that the spate of Judicial Review-type actions was impeding job opportunities for Bahamians.

Responding directly to Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, Mr Smith urged the Government to focus on developing the Bahamas as a ‘green economy’, something he suggested would create “opportunities galore” for local jobs - and far more than the current development model.

“The fight behind every Judicial Review we have launched is the failure to observe due process, natural justice and consultation, as the law requires,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business.

“The Judicial Reviews are all See PG B4

Moody’s to make Govt ‘come clean’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net MOODY’S downgrade threat will force the Government “to come clean”, the DNA’s leader said yesterday, and be more accountable and transparent than it has been with the Bahamian people on the nation’s fiscal crisis.

Branville McCartney told Tribune Business that the credit rating agency would not fall for “the waffle” typically employed by Prime Minister Perry Christie in assessing whether a downgrade of this nation’s creditworthiness - possibly to ‘junk’ status- is justified.

He emphasised that the Government’s economic growth and fiscal policies were “on trial” as a result of Moody’s warning that a downgrade might come by August, and warned it was going to be “very, very difficult” for the Bahamas to escape such action.

“Whatever they told Moody’s will have to be contrary to what they told the Bahamian people,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business.

“They told the Bahamian people this economy was rebounding, in essence. They told the Bahamian people there are investments going on in this country that will put the Bahamian people back to work. They told the Bahamian people that when VAT was introduced, the debt will be reduced, and we will be looking good

Bran: More accountable now than with Bahamians Warns Gov’t ‘cannot waffle their way out’ Says growth, fiscal policies now ‘on trial’ on the international stage financially.”

Arguing that little to any See PG B4

$4.15 $4.20 $4.06

$4.21

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM “softness” resulted in a 7 per cent yearover-year decline in peak winter room revenues for Nassau’s major hotels, with both occupancies and pricing coming under pressure.

The weaker performance by the Bahamas’ leading industry added to the economic gloom enveloping the country in the wake of Moody’s downgrade threat, with the Central Bank branding the sector’s performance as “relatively weak”.

The regulator, basing its analysis on data supplied by the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) from New Providence’s major hotels, said: “Total room revenues declined by an estimated 7 per cent during the first four months of 2016, relative to the corresponding period a year earlier, reflecting a 1.4 percentage point reduction in the average occupancy rate to 75.6 per cent, along with a 5.8 per cent ($16.83) decrease in the average

Peak winter season ‘relatively weak’ VAT revenues hit $551m after just 10 months Mortgage ‘sell-off’ aids bank credit indicators daily room rate (ADR) to $270.91” The Central Bank added that “modest gains” in airlift and hotel capacity should drive “some signs of improvement” in tourism later this year, but that will be too late for the peak winter period, which occurs over the four months to end-April.

Elsewhere, the Central Bank said $550.8 million in gross Value-Added Tax (VAT) collections had driven a $201.1 million, or 16.4 per cent, improvement in Government revenues to $1.424 billion for the 10 months to end-April 2016.

See PG B4

Ex-Chamber chief ‘100% certain’ of credit downgrade D’Aguilar: ‘High school grad’ could have forecast this Bahamas ‘doing same and expecting new results’ Calls for Economic Council to ‘burst bubble’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Chamber of Commerce president yesterday said he was “100 per cent certain” the Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating will be downgraded by Moody’s, due to its failure to enact fundamental reforms.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, Superwash’s president, told Tribune Business that a “high school graduate” could have predicted this country was heading for downgrade territory, given that it persisted in “doing the same thing and expected different results”.

“I’m not surprised at all,” he said of Moody’s decision on Friday to DIONISIO place the Bahamas D’AGUILAR on a two-month downgrade review.

“The Government keeps on doing the same old thing and expecting different results.

“You still have a tough economy that is not growing, you’re not putting the VAT money on the debt, which we all knew would happen.

“I don’t know what bubble they’re [the Government] living in, but they’re not growing the economy. Unemployment and debt are at record levels; of course we’re heading for a downgrade. A high school graduate could have told them that. I’m 100 per cent certain we’ll be downgraded.”

A further downgrade by Moody’s of two notches or more could cost the Bahamas its investment grade rating, pushing this nation into so-called ‘junk’ status.

The New York-based rating agency said its action was due to both the Bahamas’ unexpected economic contraction over the past two years, and the further deterioration in the Government’s fiscal position.

It appears to have been sparked by Prime Minister Perry Christie’s affirmation of official Department of Statistics data showing that the Bahamian economy contracted by 1.7 per cent in 2015, following a 0.5 per cent See PG B5

PAGE 2, Wednesday, July 6, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Simple battery can pay large dividends WE have batteries all around us – in laptops, cars and cell phones – and we do not think much about them… until they go dead.

However, when it comes to making a green Bahamas and a sustainable future for our children, batteries are playing an increasingly central role. Why? With the right battery technology, we may one day eliminate the need for harmful fossil fuels. Right now, in fact, people are getting a taste of that, using batteries and green energy to slice huge portions off their electric bills, while maintaining power during Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) blackouts. Today, we will talk about how batteries work and how you can benefit the most from them.

Batteries have advanced quite a bit since their infancy in the 1740s. If you consider where batteries were just 40 years ago, Motorola’s first mobile telephones had a battery life of only about 20 minutes. That

was no problem because the telephone was so heavy that the caller’s arm would give out long before the battery did.

Now, using devices small enough to fit into our pockets, we can surf the web, watch videos, listen to music, and talk for hours before we need to charge the battery. For larger applications, such as solar systems for your home or business, battery technology has been advancing and prices have been dropping just as rapidly.

How does a battery work? Instead of examining all the physics and chemistry, I want you to imagine a party. The party is at an apartment with two rooms, and right now everyone is in just one room. However, the partygoers are not all average people. A lot of them are big, sweaty dudes. Everyone is crammed into one tight space, it is hot, and it is starting to smell. People want to go into the other room, but the trouble is,

they cannot get there.

You see, every battery has two compartments (one is connected to the positive terminal, and the other to the negative terminal). One of these compartments has a lot of extra electrons (our sweaty partygoers), and they really want to get into the other compartment to bring balance to the force, but the compartments are separated, so they cannot.

That is where you come in. You want to power something, such as some lights in your home, and these are connected to your battery. You flip the switch, and this connects an electric circuit tied to the two separate compartments in your battery. Suddenly, there is a way for the extra electrons to move to the other compartment and balance out. It would be like adding a hall that connects the two rooms in our party. Now a bunch of the big, sweaty dudes can get out of the stuffed, hot room and into the other one. The

electrons just have to run through your lights first and give you power, and they are happy to do it.

If you leave the lights on, over time there will be fewer and fewer extra electrons in the first compartment.

When all the extra electrons have run the circuit and moved to the second compartment, the battery is ‘dead’ and your lights will go out.

If you ever want to use the battery again, it has to be recharged. All that does is reverse the process, so the extra electrons all get sent back to where they were originally, and the battery is ready to power your home again. It would be like bringing everyone’s favourite fried chicken snack to the first room – suddenly all the partygoers go right back to where they started.

That’s the basics of how a battery works. How does that affect you? Simple. If you can recharge the battery for free, you have your own power for free. Often,

people will do this with solar systems or wind turbines. You do not need to pay the electricity company to supply all your power if you can use renewable sources to generate part or all of it for free. Assuming you pay $200 per month on the electric bill now, with the rising price of electricity such a system could easily save you over $102,750 in 20 years.

Of course, your batteries will probably not last 20 years. Typical lead-acid or AGM batteries need to be replaced every three to five years, and lithium batteries can easily last eight to 15 years or more. So imagine, when the time comes to replace your batteries in three to five years, how much better the technology will be.

Let alone eight to 15 years.

If you want to figure out how batteries can benefit you now, or if you want to get a better hold of renewable energy, talk with your local energy efficient products expert. Take the first

Joshua Key SUPERGREEN SOLUTIONS

step towards making a better Bahamas and a sustainable future, and find out what you can do.

• NB: Joshua Key is general manager for SuperGreen Solutions Bahamas, located on Wulff Road next to FYP. SuperGreen Solutions is one of the premier advisors, suppliers and installers of domestic and commercial energy efficient solutions, making it a ‘one stop, energy efficient solution shop’.

Sunryse for Major as vice-president SUNRYSE Information Management has appointed Gershan A. Major to the position of vice-president of business development with effect from June 6.

Mr Major will lead Sunryse’s market expansion projects, and oversee its sales and marketing strategy. He brings more than 20 years of executive management experience in several industries,including financial services, international business and telecommunications to this new appointment.

Mr Major began his career in the financial services industry, rising to the position of head of risk management and lending at a local bank.

He later served as managing director of Caleb Enterprises, where he executed the expansion strategy for the Mail Boxes Etc franchise responsible for 14 Englishspeaking Caribbean countries under license – from Bermuda to Suriname.

Most recently, Mr Major served as vice-pesident of corporate sales, directory publications and business develop-

ment at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC).

“When expanding our team, we looked for someone who could further strengthen our position in the market. Gershan is a local leader in the sales and marketing industry, and we are pleased to welcome him to the Sunryse team,” said Chris Sawyer, president and chief executive at Sunryse Information Management.

“We believe his ability to implement tactical sales strategies and manage complex negotiations will be extremely valuable as we continue to grow our business in the Bahamas and in the region.”

Formed in 2000, Sunryse Information Management (formerly Sunryse Shredding) was the first company in the Bahamas to offer mobile shredding services.

As a full records management firm, the company now securely stores, catalogues and images data for clients in the banking, insurance, medical and financial serGERSHAN A. MAJOR, new vice-president of business development at Sunryse Information Management. vices industries.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 6, 2016, PAGE 3

Sands appointed as pension fund chair VETERAN hotelier, Robert Sands, has been named as chairman of the Board of trustees for the industry’s $140 million management pension fund.

Mr Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, replaced former chairman, J. Barrie Farrington, who had held the post for seven years.

The Bahamas Hotel and Restaurants Employers’ Association (BHEA) said Mr Sands’ appointment had taken effect from April 1, 2016.

The Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pen-

sion Fund was formed in 1980 to secure retirement benefits for managerial employees in the hotel and allied industries.

Thirty-five employers participate in a trust covering 4,000 active hotel executives, managers and supervisors in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. Some 900 pensioners and beneficiaries are recipients of monthly benefits.

Mr Sands has served as the general manager of hotels in Nassau and the Caribbean. In 1993, he received the Cacique ‘Hotelier of the Year’ Award for

his contributions to the development of tourism in the Bahamas. And in 1997, he was awarded the Bahamas Silver Jubilee Medal for Tourism.

Mr Sands also serves as president of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHEA). He was a president of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) for six years, and in subsequent years served as chairman and director of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board.

Mr Sands served the Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pension Fund as a

ROBERT Sands named chairman of the Board of trustees for the Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pension Fund

trustee since 1988, and also serves as a trustee of the Bahamas Hotel and Allied Industries Pension Trust.

Other trustees of the Management Fund include Peter F Maguire, Ernest

G Cambridge, Barbara V Hanna-Cox, Carlton D Russell, Angela CulmerHinsey, Francis ‘Ted’ Adderley, Earle R Bethell and Vaughn Roberts. Michael C Reckley serves as a trustee

and secretary to the Board.

The Board also announced the appointment of Karen B Carey, senior vice-president at Atlantis, to serve as a trustee of the Fund.

Bahamas takes STEP forward on marketing

PICTURED from L to R: Ivan Hooper (chief executive, The Winterbotham Trust Company); Hope Strachan (minister of financial services); Tanya McCartney (chief executive and executive director, Bahamas Financial Services Board); and Latonia Symonette-Tinker (consultant, Ministry of Financial Services).

Central Bank gives Govt ‘an uppercut’ From pg B1 probably miss its projections and targets, something unlikely to create a positive impression with the rating agency, which has already warned that the weakening fiscal projections and rising debt are key factors that have prompted its latest review.

And the Central Bank, in ‘diplomatic speak’ that is consistent with the institution’s protocols, effectively called for the Government to restrain spending if it was to achieve true fiscal consolidation.

Using coded language, it said: “Fiscal sector developments will continue to be driven by VAT-led structural improvement in revenues.

“However, efforts to control expenditure growth will also remain central to consolidation prospects.”

The figures also directly challenge several Government projections, particularly Prime Minister Perry Christie’s pronouncement in the 2016-2017 Budget communication that the GFS deficit for the recentlyended 2015-2016 fiscal year will come in at $150 million.

The Central Bank numbers suggest the contrary - that the deficit is actually increasing, not narrowing as the Government is forecasting. They also imply that the deficit is moving further away from target, since at end-April it was $116.1 million away from the year-end forecast with just two months to go.

And the numbers also seem to contradict suggestions by Michael Halkitis, minister of state for finance, that the traditional surge in revenues during the fiscal year’s second half would produce a small surplus, enabling the Government to hit its full-year targets.

Responding to concerns expressed in February’s mid-year Budget debate, Mr Halkitis said revenues would receive a major onetime boost from the March/ April payment of Business Licence fees, plus commercial motor vehicle licensing and real property taxes.

The fiscal year’s second half also coincides with the typical peak in Bahamian economic activity that results from the winter tourism season, and the Central Bank numbers show revenue collections did peak in March and April 2016.

However, the surge has not been enough to reverse the general deficit trend, even though the two months produced almost $400 million in revenues for the Government.

It was able to generate a $13 million surplus for April, as total revenues hit $197.9 million, a figure likely aided by Business Licence fees, which were due to be paid at March’s end.

The month was also the period when all VAT filers - monthly and quarterly were due to pay, too.

Yet March’s revenues, even though they were slightly higher at $199.8 million, were insufficient to offset $207.3 million in recurrent spending, the deficit for the month hitting $26.9 million.

The one area of ‘caution’ in assessing the Central Bank’s figures is that they do not specifically state whether they refer to the GFS deficit measurement, which would enable likefor-like comparisons with the Government’s figures.

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, has not returned Tribune Business’s calls seeking clarification on the issue.

However, the Central Bank’s report makes no mention of debt principal repayments in its calculations. These are ‘stripped out’ from GFS deficit calculations, and their absence indicates the regulator is indeed referring to this measurement.

K P Turnquest, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, told Tribune Business that the Central Bank’s report showed the Government’s optimism of a second-half revenue surge “has not been realised”.

“This has got to be an uppercut to the Government’s plans,” he said. “I’m sure they had intended to roll out [a picture] that they were collecting revenues on the back end, and it’s just not happening.”

Mr Turnquest argued that based on the Central Bank’s numbers, it would be “almost impossible” for the Government to hit its $150 million full-year fiscal deficit projection.

He projected that the deficit figure for 2015-2016 would come in somewhere between $250-$300 million, which would still represent an improvement on the previous year’s $381 million worth of ‘red ink’.

BRANVILLE MCCARTNEY While the Bahamas appears to be moving in the right direction to eliminate its deficit, progress has been painfully slow, and much less rapid than then Government has forecast.

A case in point was the 2014-2015 fiscal year, where the Government initially said it had beaten its $286 million target with a $198 million deficit, only for that to subsequently be revised upwards one year later to $381 million.

Mr Turnquest said the Central Bank’s data pointed to the Bahamian economy’s continued struggles, and added of the Government’s projections: “I wouldn’t say they were misleading, but they were very optimistic about collection efficiencies in the second half.”

Describing spending as “the other part of the equation” on fiscal expenditure, the FNM finance spokesman argued that there was still too much discretionary spending on projects that generated little to no return for the Bahamian people.

Turning to the Central Bank’s spending concerns, Mr Turnquest added that as the immediate past financial secretary, its governor, Mr Rolle, had “intimate knowledge” of what was required to alter the fiscal course.

He added that the Central Bank governor was likely “sending a message back that there needs to be a tightening up of things”.

Branville McCartney, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader, told Tribune Business that the May report showed the Government and Central Bank “are not of one accord”.

“That’s cause for concern,” he told this newspaper. “Where are we as a country? My belief is that the Central Bank will have it more accurately than the Government, which over and repeatedly has not been transparent and truthful with the Bahamian people.”

THE Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) used the recent Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Global Congress in Amsterdam to market this jurisdiction’s “value proposition” and ability to adapt to client needs.

Every delegate attending the June 30–July 1 conference received a prepared supplement focusing on how the Bahamas has adapted over the years to meet client needs and standards of international best practice in the trust sector.

The supplement highlighted the Bahamas’ value proposition, its diverse product menu, and included perspectives from two international advisers, Steve Cantor and Rose Chamberlayne, as to why the Bahamas is so highly rated as a trust jurisdiction by US and UK advisors.

The Ministry of Financial Services was also a silver sponsor of the Congress.

More than 43 speakers from 16 countries participated at the event, which hosted over 300 delegates from 40 coun-

tries.

Bahamian attorney, Heather Thompson, a consultant at Higgs & Johnson, presented in a session which examined how advisers should respond to clients from countries in crisis, and how best to hold family assets in the face of political instability and economic meltdown.

Tanya McCartney, BFSB”s chief executive and executive director, said: “Based on interaction with conference organisers and delegates, the Bahamas remains a jurisdiction of choice for trust and estate planning.

“We must, however, continue to work on raising the profile of the Bahamas by differentiating ourselves from other international financial centres.

“It is imperative that we take deliberate steps to counter the mobilisation of bias against offshore financial centres such as the Bahamas to ensure our viability for the long-term” The STEP Congress provided an opportunity to ex-

plore current issues facing the financial services sector, network and exchange ideas.

The conference examined whether all countries are ready for the automatic exchange of information, and what practical steps practitioners can take to effectively implement and comply with the requirements of global transparency.

HARBOUR BAY

SHOPPING

PLAZA

SPACE for

RENT 357-3414

Project:

Request for Proposals and Qualifications Hotel Renovations

CORAL TOWERS ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS dck Bahamas Inc. is hereby soliciting contractors interested in providing qualifications and proposals for renovation work for the above referenced project.

Project Description

the project consists of refurbishing and renovations to Guestrooms and corridors, ocean tower, Lagoon tower, and coral towers Main Lobby. the Guestroom work includes demolition, millwork, electrical, HVAc, paint and tile. the Lobby will be refinished with new materials. this is a phased project and will be turned over to the owner progressively. All locations will be worked on at the same time.

Proposal Request

this project may require that the contractor provide a Performance and Payment Bond or Surety Letter of credit for the value of the work. the owner and construction Manager reserves the right to accept a proposal that is in the best interest of the owner. the Atlantis is a World class Facility and has expectations of the highest quality of work.

Interested parties should send an email to the address noted

SMOAtlantisBahamasRenovation@dckww.com

by July 15, 2016.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Moody’s to make Govt ‘come clean’ From pg B1 of this list had been fulfilled, Mr McCartney added: “They initially said the monies from VAT, when they were trying to sell it to the Bahamian people, were needed to reduce our debt.

“A year after VAT was introduced, they said the money will go into the Consolidated Fund, which means taking that money and using it any way they wish, not for what they agreed to.”

The Government, in setting out its strategy for combating any downgrade, said on Monday that 77 cents out of every $1 in new revenue collected since 2013 had been applied to debt servicing.

This, though, both illustrates the size of the debt problem, and raises questions about whether the VAT monies are being applied to the national debt or used to finance new social and spending programmes.

The Christie administration has also pointed to the Bahamas’ favourable maturity profile, with debt issue redemptions spread out over the medium and long-term, and the fact that the majority of its debt - 76 per cent - is denominated in Bahamian currency and held locally, But Moody’s decision to place the Bahamas on review for a possible sovereign rating downgrade was sparked by the revelation of Department of Statistics

QC: Bahamas requires ‘investors, not invaders’ From pg B1 about process. We have yet to have a Judicial Review on the merits of environmental issues, and that will be the next stage after the FNM and PLP governments finally learn their lessons to respect the locals.

“That is the mantra of all these environmental nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) currently: Respect the locals. The Family Islands are not colonies of Nassau. They deserve respect. The Family Islands want investors, not invaders,” he added.

“If the Government and investors learn that lesson,

there will be no more Judicial Reviews on the failure of the consultation process.

This is a very simple formula that even a child can understand.

“If Save the Bays, reEarth, Responsible Development for Abaco and Bimini Blue Coalition were vexatious and oppressive litigants, we wouldn’t continue to have the success we have had in these Judicial Reviews.”

Mr Smith’s latest Judicial Review is on behalf of Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA), which is challenging the Abaco Club’s Little Harbour pro-

Tourism ‘softness’ exposed with 7% room revenue fall From pg B1 “Reflecting almost full fiscal year collections, VAT receipts stood at $550.8 million relative to the $143.9 million recorded over the four months of receipts in the comparative period last year, on a base which still excluded real estate and insurance transactions,” the Central Bank said.

“Concurrently, a reduction on several tariff rates to rebalance indirect taxes towards the VAT contributed to declines in levies on international trade (mainly import duties and Excise taxes) by $41.6 million (8.7 per cent) to $435.2 million.

“In addition, receipts from ‘other’ miscellaneous taxes contracted by $93.2 million (22.3 per cent) to $325.3 million, due pre-

dominantly to the shift from Stamp to VAT on real property transfers, as well as notable reductions in ‘unclassified’ taxes. The more than halving in tourism-related taxes to $22.2 million also reflected the compositional shift from the room occupancy tax to VAT, while gaming taxes also declined by $3.2 million (13.1 per cent) to $21.7 million.”

Adding all this up, it appears that the net revenue increase produced by VAT may be around $350-$400 million.

“Receipts from business and professional fees decreased by $31.0 million (21.2 per cent) to $114.9 million, amid some timingrelated delays in collections. Meanwhile, non-tax

Certified General Accountants Association of The Bahamas NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) Certified General Accountants Association of The Bahamas is in dissolution. (b) In accordance with Section 226 of the Companies Act 1992 the dissolution of the said company commenced on the 2nd day of February, 2015 on the passing of a resolution by the Directors and members of the company. (c) The Liquidator of the said company is Errol Haines, of P. O. Box N-4911, Nassau, Bahamas.

Errol Haines Liquidator

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF MIDERD II HOLDINGS LIMITED Notice is hereby given that pursuant to Part IX, Section 138(4) liquidation of the above company commenced on the 04 day of July, 2016. Octagon Management Limited of Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, Nassau, The Bahamas has been appointed Liquidator of the Company. ____________________________________ Octagon Management Limited Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

data showing that the country had experienced two successive years of contraction and recession, and not positive growth as all had projected.

It also expressed concern at the continued rise, albeit at a slower rate, of the $6.6 billion national debt despite the arrival of VAT. “The Minister of State for Finance [Michael Halkitis] is going to have to explain to these international agencies why they have not been accountable and transparent with the Bahamian people in the management of the financial affairs of this country,” Mr McCartney said.

“I think they’ve been put in a position where, in order to save us from a downgrade, they’re going to have to speak to the international community and, by them doing that, they’ve been placed in a situation

where they have to be accountable, more so than what they’ve done with the Bahamian people.

“The only thing that the PLP can say is they must tell the truth as to where we are as a country,” the DNA leader added.

“They cannot waffle their way out, as they did with the presentation of this Budget. They cannot do as the Prime Minister does every time he goes to Parliament, and waffles and says things are going to be dead good.”

The Government will have to convince Moody’s that everything it is promising to deliver, by way of policy initiatives and reforms, will come good and both revive the Bahamas’ GDP growth rate and drive fiscal consolidation that meets its targets.

Increased pressure for results will likely be applied to Baha Mar’s receivers,

who appear to be closing on an agreement to resume the stalled $3.5 billion project’s construction, plus the selection of a preferred bidder, but are not quite there yet.

While it has embarked on energy and labour reform initiatives, and addressing the Bahamian economy’s other structural challenges, these remain a long way from delivering the promised improvements.

And many of the new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects touted by the Christie administration, such as Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) Ocean Cay development, and the Children’s Bay/William’s Cay project in the Exumas, have yet to reach ‘shovel in the ground’ status.

“The Government is going to have to come clean with where we are with regards to our finances, our

fiscal dilemma in this country,” Mr McCartney told Tribune Business.

“We can’t employ any more waffle. It’s closing in on them at the end of the day. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have all this information, all that the Government said they are going to do, and what they’ve not done, over the last four years.

“What a shame. It’s very scary. I was at a meeting this morning with a couple of business people, and one or two foreigners, and they were rubbing their heads: How could this country get to the stage it’s at when there’s so many possibilities?” Mr McCartney added.

“They were businessmen wanting to do business here, and they were asking how a country this substantial, and with so much potential, came to this stage.”

posal on the basis that both developer and the Government have failed to properly consult with local residents.

Central and local government subsequently organised last Monday’s town meeting in Cherokee Sound in what appeared to be a direct response to RDA’s challenge, so that south Abaco residents could be briefed on the project and ask questions of the developers.

Notes of the meeting, taken by RDA representatives, strongly suggest that the June 27 meeting was held in a bid to counter the Judicial Review, and show that true ‘public consultation’ had taken place.

Referring to a previous September 25 town meeting, “which the developer thought was the public con-

sultation it was supposed to have”, the notes said the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission and Department of Physical Planning “subsequently determined it to be a nonconforming meeting for their guidelines.

“That resulted in the meeting tonight in order to satisfy their criteria of what constituted an efficient public consultation. So the September 2015 meeting, while informative and interesting by all accounts..., was not considered an official public hearing.”

Quoting an Abaco Club executive, the RDA notes said “BEST at last established the proper procedures they wanted [the developer] to follow for the consultation portion of the

process” - a development that occurred right at the time the Judicial Review was launched.

Mr Smith yesterday argued that the June 27 meeting still did not meet the public consultation requirements, branding it as a “knee-jerk reaction” to RDA and “childish last minute attempt to put a pacifier in local residents’ mouths.”

Mr Rolle, though, in an interview with Tribune Business on Tuesday, called on environmental activists to be “more balanced and responsible”, expressing concern that they were impeding legitimate developers promising to create much-needed jobs for young Bahamians who might otherwise turn to crime.

He argued that the Abaco Club project’s economic benefits seemed to outweigh any environmental impact, and that a majority of attendees at last week’s meeting seemed to be in favour of the development.

Mr Rolle also pointed out that the Abaco Club’s plans for a waste ‘pump out’ facility at its marina would improve the Little Harbour environment, which was suffering from “alarming” levels of human waste pollution that had turned swimming into a health hazard.

Mr Smith, though, said that if the developer could show its plans would help the environment, “then I and my clients say: More power to them’.”

revenues were relatively stable at $158.1 million,” the Central Bank added.

On the spending front, it added that the $318.3 million or 23.2 per cent increase in the Government’s fixed cost outlays were driven by the switch of numerous items, including subsidies to the public corporations, from the capital account.

And the $245.7 million, or 40.3 per cent expansion, in transfer payments to $855.9 million was boosted by the $30 million ‘bridging loan’ granted to Bahamasair for the purchase of its new fleet.

“Given growth in debt obligations, interest payments expanded by $31.8 million (15.9 per cent) to $231.3 million, with the bulk of the rise related to domestic currency obligations ($26.8 million),” the Central Bank said.

“Meanwhile, outlays for goods and services grew by $54 million (23.5 per cent) to $283.5 million, while wages and salaries payments increased by $18.6 million (3.5 per cent) to $553 million.”

The Central Bank said the “sell-off” of delinquent mortgage loans led to a “significant” improvement in the commercial banking sector’s credit arrears position in May. Total loan arrears fell by $22.9 million or 2 per cent to $1.131 billion, their lowest level for some time, dropping this sum to the equivalent of 19 per cent of total credit outstanding.

“Non-performing loans (more than 90 days past due) declined by $30.1 million (3.5 per cent) to $843.4 million, resulting in the attendant ratio of total loans decreasing by 39 basis points to 14.2 per cent,” the

Central Bank said.

“In contrast, the shorter term arrears of 31-90 days rose by $7.2 million (2.6 per cent) to $287.2 million, with the corresponding ratio to total loans higher by 16 basis points to 4.8 per cent.”

It added: “A breakdown by category showed that total mortgage arrears fell by $23.2 million (3.6 per cent) to $614 million, with the non-performing segment down by $27.3 million (5.7 per cent) to $455 million, while shorter term delinquencies were up by $4.1 million (2.7 per cent) to $159 million.

“Comparatively, consumer loan arrears were nearly stable at $276.3 million, with a $5.3 million (6.6 per cent) gain in shortterm arrears to $86 million, eclipsing the $5.1 million (2.6 per cent) reduction in non-accrual loans to $190.3 million.

“In addition, the commercial component steadied at $240.3 million, as the $2.2 million (1.1 per cent) increase in the non-performing category negated an identical decline in the short-term segment.”

CALL 502-2394 TO ADVERTISE TODAY!

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DIANE CHARLOT of #58 Victoria Gardens, P.O.Box CR-56717, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 29th day of June, 2016 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NELMA ESPINOSA RUBIO of #65 Esher Court, Mayfield Park(East), Freeport, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 6th day of July, 2016 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

WHERE HIT MUSIC LIVES W W W .

1 0 0 J A M Z

. C O M

@100JAMZ242

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 6, 2016, PAGE 5

Ex-Chamber chief ‘100% certain’ of credit downgrade From pg B1 shrink in 2014.

This contrasted sharply with previous positive growth estimates by both the Government, itself and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), prompting Moody’s to determine that the Bahamas is “unlikely” to hit its 1.5 per cent GDP growth potential in the short-term.

Apart from its shock at the revised negative growth numbers, Moody’s ‘review’ also appears to have been stimulated by concerns that the Christie administration’s consolidation plan has yet to arrest the growth in the $6.6 billion national

debt and related ratios.

It pointed out that “debt accumulation” has continued to increase, with the Government’s direct debtto-GDP ratio growing by five percentage points in two years to hit 65.2 per cent at the June 30 end to the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

And Moody’s also appears concerned that the Christie administration consistently fails to hit its Budget projections, and the adequacy and effectiveness of its policy responses to the Bahamas’ problems.

Mr D’Aguilar yesterday agreed with the latter concern, telling Tribune Business: “We are doing nothing to change the way we

are running our country, and get the same results.

“The economy has not grown for years, and the debt keeps going up. We don’t have a plan on how we’re going to get our people back to work, we don’t have a plan to grow the economy, and are not making it easier to do business by piling on all these regulations. We’ve not dealt with the banking industry, which is still not lending any money. What do we expect?”

Mr D’Aguilar suggested that the Government adopt a US policy by appointing a Council of Economic Advisors, featuring private sector leaders and academics, who would provide it with ‘real world’ ideas for growing the Bahamian economy beyond those supplied by the public service.

Prime Minister Perry Christie has previously suggested he would create such a body, but has never done so, and Mr D’Aguilar yesterday suggested it might help pop “the bubble” he said too many ministers were living in.

“They don’t have the intellectual bandwidth to solve these problems,” he argued. “This is why they need people on the outside to help them. They’re doing it the same old way, and power is going off and the economy is not growing.”

Much will now depend on what happens when both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) visit the Bahamas this month to conduct their annual economic and fiscal assessments, and meet with key Government and private sector officials.

The key will be for the Christie administration to convince both rating agencies that its economic growth and fiscal policies are up to the task, and will deliver the results promised to both them and the Bahamian people.

The loss of ‘investment grade’ status would be highly damaging for the Bahamas and its economy, as it signals to the international capital markets that this nation’s creditworthiness is slipping. As a result, the Government will have to pay more for current and future debt issues, raising its debt servicing (interest) costs, and sucking money away from essential public and security services.

A downgrade to ‘junk’ could also deter investors assessing the Bahamas as a place to invest, as it raises

questions about the Government’s economic management.

Top of Moody’s ‘priority list’ is to determine whether the Bahamas’ mediumterm economic growth prospects will improve. The Government is projecting a modest GDP expansion of 0.7 per cent in the upcoming 2016-2017 fiscal year, followed by a slightly more robust 1.6 per cent in 20172018.

The second area it will focus on is how likely the Christie administration is to “stabilise its deteriorating debt metrics and restore fiscal strength”, and it will also “assess the Government’s policy credibility and effectiveness in response to the ongoing macroeconomic and fiscal challenges”.

Chipotle executive turns himself in to face drug charges NEW YORK (AP) — THE Chipotle executive leading the chain's efforts to rebound after an E. coli outbreak that has sent sales plunging turned himself in Tuesday to face cocainepossession charges, his lawyer said.

Mark Crumpacker, one of the Mexican food chain's top executives, heads marketing as its chief creative and development officer.

Since the outbreak last year, Chipotle has been trying incentives, coupons and other plans to win customers back.

New York Police Department Sgt. Lee Jones said Crumpacker, 53, was arrested at 9 a.m. Tuesday on seven counts of possession of a controlled substance. Crumpacker's at-

torney, Gerald Lefcourt, said Crumpacker was not in New York over the weekend and turned himself in on Tuesday morning.

He was released on $4,500 cash bail and his next court date is Sept. 8, Lefcourt said. Crumpacker did not respond to a message left on his cellphone.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said late Thursday it placed Crumpacker on leave following a New York Daily News report that he was among 18 customers of a cocaine ring named in an indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

According to the indictment, Crumpacker bought cocaine on multiple dates between Jan. 29 and May 14. During that time, Chipotle was trying to manage

the fallout from the E. coli outbreak that had come to light this past fall, as well as other subsequent food scares.

One of the alleged cocaine purchases came on the same day Chipotle temporarily closed a store in Massachusetts amid concerns that some employees had norovirus.

Crumpacker was given a pay package worth $4.3 million last year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Chipotle saw sales at established locations drop 30 percent in the first quarter of the year. The efforts to rebound have included coupons for free burritos, a summertime loyalty program, and plans to introduce chorizo as a topping

THE SIGN over a Chipotle Mexican Grill in Brandon, Fla. The Chipotle marketing executive leading the chain’s efforts to rebound after an E. coli outbreak was arrested yesterday, on multiple counts of cocaine possession. (AP Photo)

in restaurants nationally.

The company said Crumpacker's responsibilities have been assigned to

other senior managers.

"We made this decision in order to remain focused on the operation

of our business, and to allow Mark to focus on these personal matters," Chipotle said in its statement.

Berlin aims to lure British startups fearful over Brexit BERLIN (AP) — When Cornelia Yzer woke to the news that Britain had voted to leave the European Union her initial reaction was disappointed. As an anglophile she was saddened by the thought of Britain leaving the club.

Then Berlin's economy minister reached for the phone and got busy luring companies from Britain to the Germany capital.

"The decision (to leave the EU), which I regret, was taken by Britain," Yzer told The Associated Press.

"So there can't be any surprise that those who see themselves firmly anchored inside the European Union — and that's the case for Germany and its capital Berlin — now want to make sure that they're a home for businesses that say 'we need to be in.'"

Yzer (pronounced EEser) isn't the only official on the continent hoping for a bonanza from Britain's exit, informally known as Brexit.

Cities such as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam have already been jostling to tempt banks away from London, Europe's biggest financial hub, with the promise of protecting their much-cherished access to the other 27 EU markets.

Berlin stands little chance of competing for a piece of the lucrative banking pie. But Yzer believes multinational companies — from airlines to pharma firms — will see the advantage of basing their European headquarters in the capital of the EU's biggest economy.

Its image as a relaxed and relatively affordable city may also convince tech companies, particularly startups, to relocate. Berlin is already home to online retailer Zalando, languagelearning service babble and audio sharing platform SoundCloud. Last year, Berlin startups attracted more investment than those in based in London.

"We have always advertised Berlin to London's startup scene," said Yzer, who now plans to open an office in London that will talk up the city's advantages over its British rival and assist companies in relocating.

"Call it an economic embassy for Berlin," she said.

One of the key benefits that Berlin's business ambassadors will tout is access to the EU's single market that ensures the free movement of labor and capital.

This was one of the main reasons British businesses wanted to remain in the EU, even as voters saw in it the cause of mass immigration.

"The prevailing feeling here in Berlin is that with the Brexit, London has more or less taken itself out of the race," said Lukas Kampfmann, co-founder of Factory Berlin, a company that rents space to tech firms.

London and the EU are likely to spend years haggling over trade tariffs and labor permits, creating uncertainty for U.K. companies wanting to do business on the other side of the channel.

"Once a Brexit has been done it's not going to get easier for London-based companies to do business in the world but probably harder," said Kampfmann.

Still, convincing companies to move to the continent may not be so easy.

Paris, where officials announced over the weekend that they were rolling out the red carpet to British banks, is hampered by France's high labor costs and taxes. The country also has a reputation for being slow and difficult to reform to keep up with global economic shifts.

Those who know Berlin have likewise questioned whether it can match the cosmopolitan and dynamic air of London. The city's new airport is years behind schedule, English isn't universally spoken and bureaucracy can be cumbersome.

"Why is London attracting startups? It has to do that the framework, the rules are flexible enough that a small company can come in and can create something without a lot of red tape," said Artur Fischer, the co-CEO of the Berlin Stock Exchange.

"Over the medium and long term I can see that Berlin will benefit," he said.

"But there is no reason why companies should leave tomorrow and desperately look for another place to be. London is still London and it's still functioning

very, very well."

Even those who believe in Berlin are keen to avoid any impression of Schadenfreude.

"I can tell you that everyone here in Berlin would have preferred for the UK to stay within the EU because we believe that the European Union would have been stronger with Great Britain," said Kampfmann. "But if that is the vote then obviously we will have to accept that as well and try and make the best out of it."

PEOPLE of the game developing company Wooga sit at their desks at the office in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo)

PAGE 6, Wednesday, July 6, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Stocks skid, bond yields hit record lows on British worries NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped Tuesday as investors grew fearful over the health of the British financial system.

Looking for safety, they flocked to Treasury notes and pushed the yields on long-term government bonds to all-time lows. Energy companies took the biggest losses as oil prices tumbled.

Investors were jolted after three U.K. financial firms stopped trading in their commercial property funds because large numbers of investors were trying to liquidate their holdings.

Stocks mostly fell, although investors bought shares of companies seen as safe plays, like household goods makers and utilities.

Bond yields plunged, with the 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields reaching record-low levels as demand for Treasuries rose and prices jumped.

It was an abrupt end to a big four-day rally for stocks, and a reminder that the effects of Britain's vote to leave the European Union has left markets deeply unsettled. Answers may be very slow in coming.

"We've seen a tremen-

TRADERS ANDREW SILVERMAN, left, and Mark Muller work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, yesterday. U.S. stocks are falling Tuesday morning as investors worry about the British financial system. (AP Photo) dous rally pretty much every night in longer-term bonds" since the vote, said Tom di Galoma, managing director at Seaport Global Holdings. "There's just so many unanswered questions both from the legal standpoint, a diplomatic standpoint, an economic standpoint."

The Dow Jones industrial

average fell 108.75 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,840.62.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 14.40 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,088.55.

The Nasdaq composite lost 39.67 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,822.90. U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Independence Day holiday.

Stocks took a steep twoday plunge last month af-

ter Britain voted to leave the European Union. Over the last four days they recovered almost all of the ground they lost after the vote.

On Tuesday the trouble began when Aviva Investors, Standard Life and M&G Investments stopped trading in their commercial property funds. The firms

said they were protecting other investors who wished to remain in their respective funds. The Bank of England said it eased bank rules to allow them to lend up to 150 billion pounds ($200 billion) to households and businesses.

The pound fell to $1.3032 from $1.3259 on Tuesday, its weakest in 31 years.

The yield on the 10-year note dropped to 1.38 percent in late trading, down from 1.45 percent late Friday. It went as low as 1.36 percent during the day, according to Tradeweb. The yield on the 30-year note fell to 2.16 percent. It was 2.24 percent Friday.

According to Tradeweb, the yield on the 10-year and 30-year Treasury notes are both at all-time lows.

They've tumbled this year as worries about the global economy, the U.S. Federal Reserve and now Britain have investors craving safety.

Other traditionally steady investments also did well.

Gold rose $19.70, or 1.5 percent, to $1,358.70 an ounce.

Silver gained 32 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $19.91 an ounce. Copper lost 3 cents to $2.18 a pound. Gold is at its highest price in more

than two years and silver is the highest it's been since August 2014.

Benchmark U.S. crude sank $2.39, or 4.9 percent, to close at $46.60 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $2.14, or 4.3 percent, to close at $47.96 a barrel in London. That pulled energy companies lower. Halliburton shed $2.03, or 4.5 percent, to $43.53 and ConocoPhillips gave up $1.81, or 4.2 percent, to $41.70. Schlumberger retreated $1.89, or 2.4 percent, to $77.63.

Lower bond yields translate to lower interest rates on many kinds of loans such as mortgages, and that hurts bank profits. Citigroup lost $1.39, or 3.3 percent, to $40.78 and Goldman Sachs fell $3.80, or 2.6 percent, to $144.45.

Chemical and mining companies also took large losses. But the types of stocks that are generally considered the safest all traded higher. Those included household goods companies. Clorox added $2.08, or 1.5 percent, to $139.24 and Coca-Cola added 31 cents to $45.43.

Also rising were phone and utility companies.

Conservative Party starts choosing leader as pound sinks LONDON (AP) — The race to succeed Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron intensified Tuesday as Britain grappled with growing signs of economic strain resulting from the country's vote to leave the European Union.

With the British currency plunging to its lowest point in three decades, Home Secretary Theresa May scored a substantial victory in the first round of voting to determine who will follow Cameron as party leader and prime minister.

She garnered just over half the votes cast, with 165 Conservative Party members of Parliament backing her. Her strong showing does not guarantee she will eventually reside at 10 Downing Street, however, as lawmakers will narrow the field to two candidates

and then put the matter to a vote before the entire party membership.

That means more twists and turns are likely in the vital leadership race. The victor, to be announced Sept. 9, will be charged with becoming prime minister and leading what are expected to be tense negotiations to extricate Britain from the 28-nation EU bloc.

May, who backed remaining in the EU during the hard-fought campaign, said she was pleased by the result in the leadership vote and very grateful to her colleagues.

"There is a big job before us: To unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone," said May, who now says the

peoples' desire to leave the EU must be respected.

She faces two challengers in Thursday's second round, which will determine which candidates go forward: Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom and Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

Former Defense Secretary Liam Fox was eliminated from the race after finishing last, and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb withdrew and backed May after finishing fourth.

The ramifications of leaving the EU's vast single market of 500 million consumers are roiling financial markets. The British pound was down sharply Tuesday, as were shares in U.K. real estate companies, amid concerns that the exit from the EU will hurt property prices in Britain.

Amid the upheaval, Bank

of England Gov. Mark Carney projected a sense of calm Tuesday as he relaxed capital requirements for banks to free up money for loans for homes and businesses.

"The bank can be expected to take whatever action is needed to promote monetary and financial stability, and as a consequence, support the real economy," Carney said. "These efforts mean we can all look ahead, not over our shoulders."

The Bank of England has cited commercial real estate as one of the risks to the British economy. The sector had taken in capital from overseas and had become "stretched," the bank said.

Financial groups Aviva Investors, Standard Life and M&G Investments stopped trading Tuesday in commercial property funds

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 5 JULY 2016

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,960.85 | CHG -3.03 | %CHG -0.15 | YTD 136.90 | YTD% 7.51 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 3.62 17.43 9.09 3.50 4.70 0.18 8.34 8.35 6.10 10.60 15.50 2.57 1.60 5.80 8.50 11.00 7.90 6.90 12.25 11.00

52WK LOW 2.21 17.43 9.09 3.00 4.70 0.12 5.67 7.25 5.50 6.85 14.49 2.25 1.27 5.51 6.00 9.85 6.01 5.25 11.75 10.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol ICD Utilities J. S. Johnson Premier Real Estate

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE

LAST CLOSE 3.62 15.85 9.09 3.50 5.22 0.12 6.56 8.35 5.84 10.60 14.49 2.57 1.41 5.80 8.50 10.96 7.82 6.36 11.93 10.00

CLOSE 3.62 15.85 9.09 3.50 5.22 0.12 6.56 8.35 5.84 10.50 14.49 2.62 1.41 5.80 8.50 10.96 7.90 6.36 11.93 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.10 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.00

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 17 (Series A) + Fidelity Bank Note 18 (Series E) + Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-3Y BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330

113.87 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

114.19 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.31 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00 100.00

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

113.70 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME 115

14

6,215

6,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.304 1.351 1.086 0.220 -1.134 0.000 0.185 0.551 0.508 0.541 0.528 0.094 0.166 0.510 0.612 0.960 0.650 0.703 0.756 0.000

DIV$ 0.090 1.000 0.000 0.160 0.000 0.000 0.187 0.260 0.200 0.360 0.610 0.060 0.040 0.240 0.275 0.000 0.280 0.120 0.640 0.000

P/E 11.9 11.7 8.4 15.9 N/M N/M 35.5 15.2 11.5 19.4 27.4 27.9 8.5 11.4 13.9 11.4 12.2 9.0 15.8 0.0

YIELD 2.49% 6.31% 0.00% 4.57% 0.00% 0.00% 2.85% 3.11% 3.42% 3.43% 4.21% 2.29% 2.84% 4.14% 3.24% 0.00% 3.54% 1.89% 5.36% 0.00%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST 7.00% 6.00% Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2017 31-May-2018 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2017 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 1.97 3.82 1.91 160.64 138.35 1.43 1.64 1.54 1.05 6.67 8.16 5.81 10.66 10.12

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.38 1.52 1.46 1.03 6.11 6.93 5.55 10.37 8.65

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Bah Int'l Investment Fund Principal Protected TIGRS, Series 5 Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund

NAV 1.97 3.83 1.91 164.74 133.64 1.43 1.64 1.54 1.05 6.67 8.01 5.81 10.66 8.65

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.35% 4.06% 1.43% 6.57% 0.70% 3.23% 1.67% 5.13% 0.66% -3.41% 1.56% 3.85% 0.69% 8.09% 1.11% 5.27% 2.03% 0.72% -0.14% 9.15% -1.87% 15.62% 0.83% 4.82% 70.00% 2.80% -6.29% -13.65%

NAV Date 30-Apr-2016 30-Apr-2016 29-Apr-2016 31-Mar-2015 30-Sep-2015 31-May-2016 31-May-2016 31-May-2016 31-May-2016 29-Feb-2016 29-Feb-2016 29-Feb-2016 29-Feb-2016 29-Feb-2016

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

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BRITISH ruling Conservative Party Member of Parliament, Andrea Leadsom, launches her campaign in London, yesterday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on June 24, after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum.

(AP Photo) following a rapid increase in investors trying to liquidate their holdings. They said they stopped trading to protect other investors who wished to remain in their respective funds.

The funds buy commercial property and offer shares to investors. Some of those investors now appear worried that companies might opt to leave London to move operations to mainland Europe to retain access to the lucrative EU market. That would leave

empty office space and weigh down on commercial real estate values in Britain's capital.

"The dominos are starting to fall in the U.K. commercial property market, as yet another fund locks its doors on the back of outflows precipitated by the Brexit vote," Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said after the move by Aviva. "It's probably only a matter of time before we see other funds follow suit."

PUBLIC NOTICE INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, VENEESHA DELEVEAUX of Spice Street, Pinewood Gardens, mother of GABRIELLA VASHANIQUE DORSETT intend to change my child’s name to REYNESHA GABRIELLA DELEVEAUX. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P. O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than Thirty (30)days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, DESAREE MONIQUE KIRBY of Feather Lane, Yamacraw Shores, P.O. Box CB-1179, New Providence, Bahamas intend to change my name to DESIREE MONIQUE SMITH. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P. O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than Thirty (30)days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that WILDHJIM TILME of St. Cecilia, P.O.Box N8440, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of June, 2016 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DR. JULIAN A. STEWART of Carefree Apts., West Bay St.,P.O.Box N10273, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of June, 2016 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, July 6, 2016

THE TRIBUNE

Cuba warns of energy problems, cuts some work hours HAVANA (AP) — Cubans face tough times in the energy sector in the coming months, official media warned Tuesday amid orders from authorities to implement power-saving measures and some staterun entities reducing hours of operation.

Tourism Ministry official Yamila Rombaut said fuel allotments for the agency's vehicles had been cut in half.

"The outlook is tight," Rombaut told The Associated Press. "These will be difficult months."

Speaking to members of parliament, Marino Murillo, Cuba's vice president

in charge of economic matters, said Monday that the country's financial situation has been hurt by falling prices for nickel, a key export; missed production targets in the sugar industry; and problems in other unspecified sectors.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma reported that Murillo said the energy problems will require strict savings and efficient use of energy and fuels.

The goal of the measures is to "avoid blackouts for the population and hits to basic services," Granma quoted him as saying.

Some Cubans who work for the government are now

AN OIL well pump operates in Boca de Jaruco, Cuba. Officials are warning of tough times with authorities ordering energy-saving measures and some state entities reducing hours of operation.

(AP Photo) being told to go home early to save energy.

A senior official at the Center for Marti Studies, part of the Culture Ministry, said the workday now ends at 12:30 p.m. and employees must turn off air conditioning units by 11:30 a.m. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and agreed to talk about it only on condition of anonymity, said the policy took effect July 1 and will be in place through the end of August, spanning the two hottest

months of the year when power consumption typically spikes.

The official said each government entity is making its own decisions about how best to save energy.

Phone calls by the AP to other ministries to ask about their hours of operation revealed that a shortened workday is not in place across all government entities.

Bank and currency exchange house workers said their vehicle fuel allotments had been cut and they are

using air conditioning just three hours during the eight-hour workday. Some government workplaces have suspended bus service for employees and reassigned drivers to other tasks.

There have been rampant rumors and concerns about belt-tightening recently among Cubans, fed by sporadic power outages and a lack of official information before Murillo's comments.

Carmen Gomez, a 75-year-old resident, said her 10 de Octubre neigh-

borhood was hit by two blackouts Monday night and early Tuesday lasting about an hour each.

"In the middle of this unbearable heat!" Gomez said.

Outages have awakened memories of the "Special Period" of the 1990s, when the Soviet Union's collapse gutted the Cuban economy and resulted in hours-long blackouts and widespread shortages — although there is no sign the island is on the verge of that kind of extreme austerity now.

About half of Cuba's energy needs are covered by oil it receives on preferential terms from South American ally Venezuela, a little under 100,000 barrels a day.

Jorge Pinon, an energy analyst at the University of Texas, said maritime traffic data suggest there has been no reduction in those shipments despite Venezuela's deepening economic and political crisis.

But, he said, in the last five years Cuba has seen energy consumption rise 30 percent in the non-state sector as nearly a half million people began running or working for restaurants, cafeterias and other private small businesses opened under economic reforms.

Generating capacity, meanwhile, has remained about the same, he said.

Investors rush to sell out of UK commercial property LONDON (AP) — The British pound dropped sharply to a new 31-year low on Tuesday amid concerns that the country's decision to leave the European Union might cause a steep slide in U.K. commercial real estate values and hurt the wider economy.

Markets were jittery after three financial firms stopped trading in their respective U.K. commercial property funds following a rapid increase in investors trying to sell their holdings.

The funds buy commercial property and offer shares to investors.

Some of those investors

now appear worried that companies might opt to leave London to move operations to mainland Europe to retain access to the EU market. That would vacate office space and weigh down on real estate values in Britain's capital.

Aviva Investors, Standard Life and M&G Investments said they froze the funds to protect other investors who wished to remain in the funds.

"Redemptions have now reached a point where M&G believes it can best protect the interests of the funds' shareholders by seeking a temporary suspension in trading," the company

said of the 4.4 billion pound ($5.8 billion) fund.

The moves come even as the Bank of England moved to reassure markets it would avoid a repeat of the 200708 financial crisis, freeing up more money for loans to business and households.

Drawing another line under another dramatic day, a group of senior bank leaders — including the chairmen of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC — met with Treasury chief George Osborne and promised to keep money flowing into the system.

"We have a clear plan.

We're putting measures in place," Carney said. "And

it's working."

In a time of political upheaval, Carney offered the counterpoint of confidence and control, announcing changes to the amount of rainy-day funds banks have to hold. That, he hopes, will help the banks lend as much as 150 billion pounds ($199 billion) more, supporting the economy during the uncertainty surrounding the exit from the single EU market of some 500 million.

Carney, however, was direct in explaining that some of the risks to the economy predicted before the referendum had in fact begun to crystalize.

A WOODEN carving of the Bank of England logo is seen on a desk during a news conference by Bank of England governor Mark Carney at the Bank of England in London, Britain yesterday. Carney says some of the risks predicted to the economy before the referendum on leaving the European Union have begun to crystalize, but that the institution will act to support jobs and growth. (AP Photo)