01032017 business

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2017

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Broker admits ‘improper use’ of $4m client monies

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Christina Rolle

A Bahamian broker/ dealer has admitted to using almost $4 million in client monies without permission to fund its own operating costs and business development initiatives, with regulators now moving to finally shut it down.

The Securities Commission, in legal papers obtained by Tribune Business, is alleging that apart from “the improper use of its clients’ funds”, Tillerman Securities has also been un-

BOB unveils $30m New Year ‘bail out’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net Bank of the Bahamas has unveiled the second phase of its recapitalisation plan by launching a $30 million convertible bond issue, producing more scepticism from its weary minority shareholders.

The BISX-listed institution, in newspaper advertisements placed late last week, said it would be selling the Convertible Capital Bonds in three $10 million tranches, with the first placed on New Year’s Eve. Capital markets sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business that the bonds’ pricing, issue timing and lack of timely disclosure by the Bank of the Bahamas all suggested that the Government was likely to take up the entire $30 million.

The bonds carry a 3.125 per cent interest coupon, which is a full percentage point below the new 4.25 per cent Bahamian Prime rate.

The low yield/return on the bonds fails to sufficiently compensate investors for the risk they are taking in investing in Bank of the Bahamas debt securities, given that the institution has racked up almost $120 million in total losses over the past three years.

The 3.125 per cent rate is fixed, and the bonds “perpetual”, meaning that the investor compensation will not change over the lifetime of the bonds, although they could be converted to equity in Bank of the Bahamas at some stage.

Market feels bonds set for 100% Govt subscription Questions where Govt will find financing Complaints over lack of timely disclosure ‘mockery’ Capital market analysts, meanwhile, were also surprised that the first $10 million tranche was to be placed on New Year’s Eve, which was a Saturday - and not on a weekday, which is the norm for most issues.

The Bank of the Bahamas bonds are also being issued through private placement to “accredited investors only”, although their identity is not defined in the scant information made available to the market.

The private placement document, containing all necessary financial information for investors to make a decision, “will be distributed by invitation only” - adding to the secrecy surrounding the issue.

The timing of the last two tranches’ placement, on January 30 and February 28, 2017, respectively, only adds to the impression that the Government will pick up the entire $30 million issue.

The month-end placements appear timed to coincide with when it has gained its monthly Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenues, which See pg b5

able to meet the minimum $300,000 regulatory capital requirement for two years.

Detailing numerous serious breaches by the Bahamian-owned broker/dealer, the Securities Commission added that Tillerman was also “insolvent”, with assets exceeding liabilities following several years of sustained losses.

Christina Rolle, the Commission’s executive director, in a November 7, 2016, affidavit filed with the Supreme Court, set out an 18-month saga that concluded with Tillerman’s alleged failure See pg b6

Tillerman used funds to pay bills, develop new model And for $30k unsecured loan to director Craig Butler In breach of regulatory capital for 2 years Regulator: Firm ‘insolvent’ after consistent losses’

Bahamas urged: ‘Stay the course’ on fiscal consolidation targets

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas must decide whether it believes in the Government’s fiscal consolidation plan and “stay the course”, the Chamber’s chairman warning against the ‘junk’ downgrade becoming a “political football”.

Comparing the country’s fiscal position to that of a cruise liner attempting to go in reverse for the first time in almost 50 years, Gowon Bowe told politicians from all parties: “This is no time for idle talk”.

He urged them not to use Standard & Poor’s (S&P) recent action to “sell pipe dreams” to the Bahamian people, instead calling on all parties to put forward specific policy recommendations for changing the country’s economic and fiscal course during the upcoming election campaigns.

And rather than blame See pg b4

Nation like cruise ship trying to turn after 50 years Chamber chief: Give S&P cause to raise rating Politicians warned: ‘No time for idle talk’

Gowon Bowe

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Broker’s ‘honest belief’ no consent needed from clients

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A Bahamian-owned broker/dealer’s directors “held the honest belief” that it was permitted to borrow almost $4 million in client assets without permission, then use them as it saw fit.

Tillerman Securities is alleging that its ‘standard client agreement’ with customers enabled it to do this, and that its principals’ use of client monies without consent was “not the actions of thieves or embezzlers”.

The broker/dealer, based on One George Street in the heart of downtown Nassau, acknowledged that the decisions of its directors, chiefly Hans Christian Saunders, the managing director, Anthony Dupuch and attorney Craig F. Butler, may have been “unwise” but did not

Tillerman directors ‘unwise, but not criminals’ $1m in client funds used to develop online trader Claim regulator ‘snuffing out’ business too early amount to criminal conduct.

The assertions are contained in Tillerman Securities’ submissions to the Supreme Court, as the broker/dealer attempts to fight-off efforts by the Securities Commission to wind-up its business via the appointment of a provisional See pg b5

Chamber chief urges ‘thorough analysis’ on $1m residency change

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Government “must make sure it’s done a comprehensive analysis” of all potential repercussions from doubling the ‘fast track’ permanent residency threshold to $1 million, the Chamber of Commerce’s chairman has urged.

Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business that the private sector needed to know, and understand, how the Christie administration had “come to the conclusion” that it needed to double the existing $500,000 real estate investment threshold.

Pointing out that numerous factors, not just tax earnings on the initial property purchase, needed

Govt must show ‘how it’s come to this conclusion’ Bowe acknowledges ‘major concern’ for realtors to be considered, Mr Bowe acknowledged the potentially negative ramifications for realtors, developers, contractors and the wider economy from the Government’s proposed policy change.

“The aspect we’re principally concerned with is what analysis has been done to get to that conclusion,” See pg b4

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THE TRIBUNE

Airport manager in travel peak forecast

Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) forecast that yesterday was its busiest forthe 2016-2017 holiday season, with more than 14,100 persons projected to move through its terminals.

Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), LPIA’s manager, is estimating that some 85,000 passengers arrived and departed LPIA between midDecember and January 2, 2017.

“We’re expecting to end the season on the trend of high passenger volumes, particularly on the day after New Year’s, which is tradi-

tionally the busiest day of the holiday period,” said Jan Knowles, NAD’s vicepresident of marketing and communications.

International arrivals, inclusive of inbound passengers from the US, were projected to peak at just over 5,000yesterday, with US departures projected at 4,800.

Travellers heading to the US and other international destinations were urged to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure, and to take advantage of options to make processing more efficient.

“Online check-in, mobile

check-in via the Electronic Boarding Pass (EBP) system and Automated Passport Control (APC) kiosks for US-bound passengers are all tools travellers can use to help significantly reduce wait, times especially during peak periods,” Ms Knowles said.

“Once you arrive in sufficient time, there are lots of dining and shopping options beyond the security check points. Additional time also allows you to relax, use our free-WIFI to catch up on e-mails and enjoy our airport amenities before your scheduled flight.”

Spanish Wells is ‘new discovery’, says realtor

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A realtor is describing Spanish Wells as “a new discovery”, with property values rising and increased interest in Airbnb accommodations.

Adell Farquharson told Tribune Business that

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“Spanish Wells is what I call a new discovery,” she said. “For a long time Spanish Wells was a dry island; they didn’t have alcohol.

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“Now the property value there has gone up, as has the interest in rentals via Airbnb. There are a lot more people looking to rent their homes out to guests there.”

Ms Farquharson added that Harbour Island’s real estate market has been strong. “The real estate market in Harbour Island is hot,” she said.

“We are a little bubble here. When the rest of the world and the economy was in a slump, a lot of people took that opportunity to invest in Harbor Island. The market just shot up.”

She continued: “We have an active market. It’s a different type of market because properties start at around $1 million. It’s high end, it’s a luxury market, but at the same time the people who come to Harbour Island have to love Harbour Island and Eleuthera with a different kind of love.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, PAGE 3

‘Three years’ grace urged for $1m residency change

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Government has been urged to give the real estate market a ‘three-year grace period’ to adjust to the new $1 million permanent residency ‘fast track’ threshold, a realtor saying it was “amazing” that no one in the industry seemed to have been consulted on the move.

Mario Carey, chief executive of Better Homes and Gardens MCR Bahamas, told Tribune Business: “There are many projects that base their model on that $500,000, and the market absorption has been soft, so to jump to $ 1 million is a challenge.

Realtor ‘amazed’ no one from industry consulted Believes Trump’s election positive for Bahamas Market prices recover 20-30% since recession “Maybe it’s something the Government can look at and say that maybe in the next three years we are going to phase in this $1 million, so that developers planning their projects, and

people with ideas on the drawing board, can start adjusting their product.”

Mr Carey added: “What happens is a lot of times governments make decision without consultation with anybody. I haven’t found anyone in the industry that they spoke with; nobody, no advice from any real estate professional, which I find to be amazing.”

Hope Strachan, minister of financial services, last month announced that the Government planned to ‘increase’ the investment threshold for accelerated permanent residency consideration from $500,000 to $1 million.

She told a Higgs & Johnson seminar that Cabinet had given permission to

double the threshold, saying: “This threshold is no longer achieving the intended objective, which is to attract high net worth individuals to our country and to support the real estate market in a tangible way, while maintaining the integrity and profile of the Bahamas as a premier financial centre.”

Developers and realtors, though, are especially concerned with both the potential change and how it is implemented, given the importance of the second home market to their industries and the wider Bahamian economy.

Mr Carey told Tribune Business that the real estate sector has been trying to improve since the 2008-

2009 recession, estimating that price points during that period dropped as much as 40-50 per cent.

“We’re down maybe 2030 per cent now. We have seen some correction in price,” he said. “That means that demand has been picking up. It is still a buyer’s market because there is still a lot of inventory.

“The fact is that the banks are eager to lend but it’s still hard for many people to qualify,” added Mr Carey.

“Within my circle in the luxury market, people are very positive that Donald Trump, as the new president, will have a very strong impact on the real estate market because people, when they pay lower taxes,

can have more disposable income.

“People like real estate.

Any government has to be careful with the policies that they put in place and not increase the cost of transactions. We know that every property that sells in the Bahamas creates a minimum of three full-time jobs.

Real estate can become the first, if not the second, pillar of our economy if handled correctly. It needs to include everyone, Bahamians and not just foreigners.”

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Better Homes & Gardens (BHG) Real Estate opens in Harbour Island on December 29. Pictured L to R: Franchise holder and broker, Mario Carey; minister of state for investments, Khaalis Rolle; BHG MCR’s Harbour Island agent,Adell Farquharson; and RBC vice-president of business development for the northern Caribbean, Robert Pantry. Photo/June Collie, MCR Group

Bahamian realtor a ‘brand unto himself’ A Cabinet minister has described realtor Mario Carey as “a brand unto himself,” after he expanded his business and Better Homes & Gardens franchise to Harbour Island December 29.

Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, said the journey to North Eleuthera recalled the 10 years he spent with Bahamas Ferries before being elected to the House of Assembly and joining the Cabinet.

“We are excited to be in Harbour Island today,” Mr Carey said. “This is just the first Family Island office in our strategy to serve the entire Bahamas. We hope to have our office in Bimini open by the end of January, and we plan to have offices in five Family Islands by the end of 2017.”

Mr Carey, who became the first international franchisee for Better Homes & Gardens earlier this year, said there were encouraging signs that real estate market activity was continuimng to strengthen following the recession in 2008-2009.

“The pulse of the real estate market is beginning to beat more strongly,” he said. “The recession of 2008 hit everyone hard, but what we are experiencing now are encouraging signs of a gradual recovery.

“It is starting with luxury properties, as high net worth individuals have access to more disposable income for second homes and properties they want rather than need. The recovery at the lower end of the market is still slow, but we believe as banks make more lending available, that will begin

to pick up, too.”

RBC Royal Bank of Canada co-sponsored Mr Carey’s official opening.

Several RBC executives from private banking and business development flew to Harbour Island for the event that included food, live music and a fire dancer at a casual outdoor Harbour Island spot called Beyond the Reef.

The Harbour Island office is staffed by island specialist Adell Farquharson, who said business was already brisk and she had appointments lined up.

“It’s great,” said Ms Farquharson. “The island is packed, there is not another golf cart available until January 5, and people who love it here are showing real interest in buying.”

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PAGE 4 ,Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Chamber chief urges ‘thorough analysis’ on $1m residency change From pg B1 Mr Bowe said of the Government’s plans to increase the investment threshold to $1 million.

“How have we reached that point? There are a couple of things we have to focus on. The Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) have expressed concern that there are a significant number of properties in the $500,000 to $1 million range, which are a major part of the inventory they sell.

“This could be a major concern for these elements if it’s upped to $1 million, [particularly those projects and developments that are

in the pipeline.”

Tribune Business reported last week that the Government wants to increase the minimum investment threshold for the accelerated consideration of permanent residency from $500,000 to $1 million on March 1, 2017.

Both realtors and developers, especially those with ongoing projects pitched at that market in the $500,000-$1 million price range, are arguing that this deadline gives all parties too little time to adjust.

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sizeable chunk of the ‘permanent residency’ market, which currently accounts for about 50 per cent of the Bahamas’ real estate business.

The development and real estate industries fear it may slow their sectors, and professions such as construction, just at the time when the Bahamas needs every investment dollar it can get following Standard & Poor’s (S&P) move to downgrade this nation’s creditworthiness to ‘junk’ status.

Mr Bowe said the “key factors” that the private sector wanted to understand was the evidence justifying the Government’s decision to increase the ‘fast track’ investment threshold to $1 million.

“Is it looking at the contribution to the economy, the contribution to employment and spending, the ini-

tial purchase and ongoing tax contribution of these properties?” he asked.

“If we are going to look at revisiting the permanent residency threshold, then we need to make sure we have done a comprehensive analysis of what the basis is.”

Mr Bowe said second home residents typically spent money in the Bahamian economy, hired gardeners and housekeepers, paid taxes and generated numerous “auxiliary benefits” that were felt by locals.

“While the purchase of the property is one factor, what are all the other elements,” he asked. “Let us make sure we’re doing a comprehensive analysis as opposed to moving the dollar threshold up.

“It may sound great in the early stages, paying a higher price for land purchases, but will it be a deterrent [to

Bahamas urged: ‘Stay the course’ on fiscal consolidation targets From pg B1 S&P’s downgrade as unwarranted, Mr Bowe said the Bahamas needed to put “its best foot forward” and show why it ought to regain ‘investment grade’ status “in the shortest possible time”.

The Chamber chairman told Tribune Business that the Bahamas’ current fiscal predicament, with a near-$7 billion national debt, annual deficits still around $300 million and debt-to-GDP ratio of 76 per cent, did not occur overnight.

“Our debt and deficit accumulation are like a cruise ship that has been moving forward since independence,” Mr Bowe told this newspaper.

“The Government’s fiscal consolidation plan has thrown the thrusters into reverse, and while we’re still building debt, the debt and deficit’s progress has slowed, and at some point in time it will stop.

“When it comes to a stop, and at what point in time it goes into reverse, is the

question.”

Mr Bowe said that in S&P’s eyes,the Government “has to demonstrate it has reined in spending, achieved fiscal consolidation and, ultimately, a fiscal surplus”.

He emphasised, though, that the Bahamas needed to “stay the course” with its fiscal consolidation plan, and not be deterred or thrown off course by events such as the pre-Christmas downgrade to ‘junk’ status.

Likening the S&P move to “an outsider questioning whether the plan will be brought to fruition”, Mr Bowe explained: “We as a country have to determine, as citizens, that if we believe in this plan we don’t react to the rating agencies and stay the course.”

While Moody’s decision to maintain the Bahamas’ ‘investment grade’ rating, and S&P’s ‘stable’ outlook on the Bahamian economy, were positives, Mr Bowe said this nation needed to focus on better presenting and ‘selling’ itself to the international credit rating agencies when they visited Nassau.

“When we go through these type of rating assessments, it’s really how the country presents its case,

THE TRIBUNE

investment]?”

Mr Bowe said the Government needed to adopt a similar analytical approach to the one taken in addressing the weaknesses with its tax/revenue system, identifying where the leakages and low collection ratios were occurring.

He also warned the Government not to “put the cart before the horse”, and instead ensure the permanent residency threshold change was part of the more comprehensive land reforms envisaged by the National Development Plan (NDP).

“If this is a cog in the wheel, that’s fine, but it cannot be separate and apart from the National Development Plan,” Mr Bowe added.

With the Bahamian segment relatively flat, the second home sector has been one that realtors have been able to rely on to generate

sales momentum over the past few years.

With 80 per cent of real estate sales inventory priced below $1 million, they fear that any change - especially one that might be perceived negatively by foreign buyers - could drive a significant chunk of the market to other jurisdictions.

And a ‘drying up’ of such buyers would produce wider ‘ripple effects’ in the Bahamian economy, reducing work for the construction industry and a variety of other trades whose business is tied to the real estate and second home markets.

Markets and investors are always undermined by uncertainty, and the Government’s constant tinkering with the tax code and real estate market – as in this case – frequently impact economic activity responsible for generating its tax revenues.

and it has to do with empirical data,” he added.

“We have relied on anecdotes and oral communications, and while these are positive means, this has to be supported by the quality of empirical data.

“We have to demonstrate where spending is contained, where revenue has been enhanced; where we’ve had success with VAT, real property tax, and where empirical evidence says this is what has been collected,” Mr Bowe added.

“The rating agencies are used to 21st century financial reporting, and statistics supplied in a very short period of time. We don’t get the benefit of the doubt.

“We really have to work harder at presenting our best foot. Some of this is perception, some of this is reality. We ought ultimately not to criticise and denigrate the rating agencies.

We really have to control our own fate, present our own position, and support it with evidence to show what we’ve achieved.”

The absence of statistical data, and hard numbers, is a common feature of much Bahamian financial and economic reporting, making it difficult for this nation to plan and show the rating agencies it is achieving what has been promised.

“We have to ensure we don’t give S&P an option to leave us at this rating, and demonstrate why we ought to be elevated in the short-

est possible time,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business.

“We have to make sure we have a plan we buy into, make sure it’s as strong as it can be, and make sure we’re part of the solution, not just Monday morning quarterbacking.”

He called on the Opposition parties, in particular, not to exploit S&P’s ‘junk’ downgrade for political gain, and instead propose specific, detailed policy solutions for extracting the Bahamas from its economic and fiscal problems.

“This is becoming a football of the politicians,” Mr Bowe said of the downgrade. “What I would say to the political directorate, meaning all those vying for the Government, is that this is not a time for idle talk. It needs to be followed with an action plan as to what they would do differently.”

He warned the political parties against pushing policies that were deliberately vague, and had “no credibility”.

“These are specific issues, and be honest and candid as to how you would address them over a period of time,” Mr Bowe told the parties. “Anyone promising to solve this in six months will be selling pipe dreams.

“While everyone may be looking for silver bullets, our focus should be on the long-term; how we do this over 25 years, and not necessarily short-term initiatives.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, PAGE 5

Broker’s ‘honest belief’ no consent needed from clients From pg B1 liquidator.

The matter is due to be heard by the Supreme Court on January 23, 2017, with Tillerman also seeking a stay of the Securities Commission’s decision to render its registration “ineffective” - meaning that it is no longer able to operate.

The capital markets regulator, following an 18-month saga, is alleging that it is “in the public interest” for Tillerman to be wound-up because of its “improper use” of client monies (see other article on Page 1B).

The Securities Commission is also claiming that the broker/dealer is “insolvent” due to consistent loss-making, and has failed to both reimburse its clients and remedy its regulatory capital deficiencies, despite being given every opportunity to do so.

However, in its defence, Tillerman said it now found itself “in very peculiar and complex circumstances” as a result of its problems and the Securities Commission’s subsequent regulatory response.

“In 2013, Tillerman’s original business model of being a licensed broker/dealer of securities began to falter. The directors agreed to

change the business model to that of an online discount brokerage,” Tillerman’s written submissions admitted.

“Tillerman’s directors held the honest belief that Tillerman’s standard client agreement allowed for borrowing client assets, so Tillerman began borrowing from its clients’ assets in order to meet operating costs and pay for the development of the new software that Tillerman needed.”

Tillerman’s argument appears to be based on the ‘margin accounts’ that broker/dealers throughout the world typically maintain on behalf of their clients.

These facilities see broker/ dealers make loans to their clients, which are typically secured by securities (stocks, bonds) that are pledged as collateral by the latter.

Tillerman, though, is arguing that its ‘standard client agreement’ as it relates to ‘margin accounts’ enabled it to use assets pledged as security as it saw fit.

“The securities or other instruments (securities) in my margin account may be carried as general loans, and may be pledged, hypothecated or otherwise used

by Tillerman in a financing transaction,” the client

BOB unveils $30m New Year ‘bail out’ From pg B1 now have to be paid 21 days from the previous month’s end.

“The pricing on the security is at a level where the market will not participate,” one capital markets source told Tribune Business, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It’s a very unattractively priced security in the market, understanding where Bank of the Bahamas is, and the timing of the offering.

By implication, the Government has no intention of anyone else subscribing.

“This is a last-minute issue to meet the Central Bank’s

requirements in terms of capital, and they have to find some way of raising the $10 million.”

Should the Government take up the entire private placement, it will have pumped a further $70 million into Bank of the Bahamas, once the recent $40 million rights issue is taken into consideration.

The latter placement was funded by converting $40 million worth of deposits the Government held with Bank of the Bahamas into equity, and a similar operation is likely with these three bond tranches.

The capital markets source, though, complained

agreement’s section 30, titled ‘Maintenance of Collateral’, reads.

Most executives in the Bahamian financial services industry, though, are likely to regard Tillerman’s “honest belief” claim as extraordinary, and something that to-date has been unheard of.

Broker/dealers, in particular, are holding client assets such as securities and cash on trust, meaning that at all times they have a fiduciary duty/responsibility to look after them and act in the client’s best interests.

Documents attached to the Securities Commission’s legal filings allege that Tillerman used client monies without consent to finance its transition to an online discount broker, via the development of a trading platform called Reign Trader.

“Tillerman developed an online trading platform, called Reign Trader, at a cost of approximately $1 million.

Tillerman estimates that clients’ monies provided 90 per cent of the funding for this development,” the Commission’s executive director, Christina Rolle, wrote in a December 11, 2015, letter to the broker/dealer.

She added that the clients were unaware that their assets had been used for this purpose, and to “conduct trades” on the Reign Trader platform for purposes of ‘beta testing’ it. These trades had “not necessarily” re-

ceived client instruction and approval.

“Since going live, the online trading platform, Reign Trader, has attracted 35,000 new client accounts to Tillerman, 700 of which are currently funded and actively trading,” Ms Rolle added.

Mr Saunders, in an October 25, 2015, letter to the Securities Commission touted Reign Trader as an “incredible avenue” that would enable Tillerman to break into the Chinese retail market segment that is trading securities via their mobile phones.

However, acknowledging the broker/dealer’s regulatory violations, Mr Saunders attempted to argue that sincere motives lay behind the breaches.

“While this is a very difficult chapter that we find ourselves in, we are hopeful that our story will not end as yet another Bahamian tragedy,” Mr Saunders wrote in response to the Securities Commission’s inspection findings.

“We believe that we are on the verge of becoming just the opposite. We believe that we have developed a very unique model that could be a truly inspirational Bahamian success story.”

However, in the same letter, he confessed: “While we acknowledge the inadequacies of our behaviour that have brought about this current circumstance, we

believe that the finding of the recent inspection should have concluded the following.

“Our activities have been aimed entirely at financing the growth and development of the firm. We did not set out to arrive at the place, and the experience has caused us nothing but anguish...... It has been incredibly challenging to find ways to stay in this industry in an honorable and progressive fashion.”

Tillerman, in its November 10, 2016, written submissions to the Supreme Court, said 13 clients - accounting for 70 per cent of its business - had agreed to provide ‘retroactive consents’ for its use of their assets.

This was part of a wider agreement designed to convert the shortfall in client assets into a loan to Tillerman, with the debt then moved off the broker/dealer’s books into a new company, and secured by $6.1 million in Bahamas-based real estate assets.

The clients, according to Tillerman, were to be repaid with revenues derived from the Reign Trader platform, but this was “being damaged severely with each day that passes” because the broker/ dealer is unable to operate as a result of its registration being withdrawn by the Securities Commission.

Arguing that Reign Trader’s promise was now in dan-

ger of being “snuffed out” by the regulator’s winding-up petition, Tillerman alleged that the Securities Commission was acting prematurely by not waiting for the ‘retroactive client consent’ deal to take effect.

In calling on the Supreme Court to give it more time to finalise this agreement, and ‘stay’ the Securities Commission’s wind-up bid, Tillerman argued: “Although the decision to borrow client assets may have been wrong, it was made in good faith at the time.

“No attempt was ever made to disguise or cover up the borrowings; they were reported to the Securities Commission.”

While admitting that Tillerman is “insolvent at present”, the broker/dealer and its principals argued that client assets were not in danger, and that there were no ‘public interest’ grounds for appointing a provisional liquidator.

“Whatever view the court may take of Tillerman’s borrowing of client assets, these are not the actions of thieves or embezzlers,” Tillerman argued.

“Criminals do not compile an inventory of the goods they have stolen and then provide it to the police with regular updates. The directors may have made choices that were unwise, but they were not criminal.”

that Bank of the Bahamas had failed - as a publicly listed and traded company - to provide sufficient notice of the bond offering, given that it was a material development.

“As a public company, there really ought to be some notice,” they told Tribune Business. “This is being run as a non-public company, with the Government treating it as our bank and doing what they want.

“It’s a major material event for the company, and notice should have been given a few days before.

You have this responsibility as a public company to disclose information, and why should they not have to meet the same regulations. It just makes a mockery of the whole situation.”

The convertible bond is-

sue had long been flagged, having been mentioned at Bank of the Bahamas’ annual general meeting (AGM) last year, and also referenced in Standard & Poor’s (S&P) recent downgrade report.

No date, though, had been set for it.

Minority shareholders, ground down by the massive reduction in their investment’s value, said the latest $30 million issue represented a continuing taxpayer bail-out of the troubled commercial bank.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, a shareholder and the FNM’s candidate for Montagu, told Tribune Business: “The Government can say whatever they want, but they’re bailing out the bank.

“The Government, over a period of time, has put $150 million into that bank. It

continues, and will probably continue indefinitely.”

Apart from the injection of $100 million worth of ‘government paper’ in October 2014 to shore up Bank of the Bahamas’ balance sheet, Mr D’Aguilar said the ‘bail out’ had started before that when the Treasury and National Insurance Board (NIB) increased their combined equity stake from 51 per cent to 65 per cent.

“It pales in comparison to BEC, and is falling under the radar because not everyone needs it, but it’s costing the Bahamian taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“It’s no wonder we got downgraded. It’s sucking up hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and the Government should bring

this whole sorry episode to an end by getting out of the banking business and selling it.

“It obviously has some value, but it’s becoming less and less. If you look at the balance sheet, it’s becoming smaller and smaller.”

Mike Lightbourn, president of Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty, questioned where the Government was finding the money for the Bank of the Bahamas bonds from, given its obvious cash flow difficulties.

“I just don’t see where they’re getting all this money, as there’s a complete shortage everywhere else,” he told Tribune Business.

“They’re just going deeper into the hole. I don’t understand it. What can I say?

It’s just getting worse and worse.”

PAGE 6 ,Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Broker admits ‘improper use’ of $4m client monies From pg B1 to both reimburse its clients and remedy its regulatory capital deficiency.

Alerted in mid-2015 by Tillerman’s external auditors, Baker Tilly Gomez, Ms Rolle said the Securities Commission conducted an 18-day ‘inspection for cause’ of Tillerman’s accounts on September 1, 2015, to determine its operational status and financial soundness.

“During the said inspection, it was discovered that Tillerman had used clients’ funds without clients’ knowledge or consent to, among other things, fund the operations of Tillerman; fund uncollateralised loans to Tillerman’s clients, including an uncollateralised loan to a Tillerman Securities director; invest in a fund which owns real property at Albany; and invest in an online trading platform,” Ms Rolle alleged.

“It was further noted that Tillerman had made at least 20 transactions transferring funds from its clients’ ac-

counts, far in excess of what was required to satisfy any financial obligations the clients may have owed to Tillerman.

“The amount of clients’ assets used was estimated to be in the amount of approximately $3.8 million, which was taken from the clients’ accounts and transferred to Tillerman’s operating account at Royal Bank of Canada, without the clients’ knowledge or consent.”

Documents attached to Ms Rolle’s affidavit reveal that the Tillerman director who received the unsecured loan of client monies was attorney Craig Franklin Milo Butler. The $30,000 loan was repaid in full in November 2015, just months after the Securities Commission’s inspection findings.

Mr Butler was described in Ms Rolle’s affidavit as one of three principals/directors, together with managing director, Hans Christian Saunders, and Anthony Dupuch, who were responsible for Tillerman’s decision-making and daily op-

erations.

“The inspection also revealed that Tillerman was not maintaining its statutorily required regulatory capital pursuant to regulation 42 of the Securities Industry Regulations, which further jeopardised its clients’ assets,” Ms Rolle alleged of the Commission’s findings.

“Tillerman’s regulatory capital deficiency was further aggravated by the use of clients’ assets because to-date there is insufficient capital available with which to reduce the amount owed

by Tillerman to its clients.”

After Tillerman failed to resolve its various breaches of the Securities Industry Regulations to the Commission’s satisfaction, the regulator decided on October 31, 2016, to pursue the broker/dealer’s winding-up through the Supreme Court.

Ms Rolle argued that the appointment of a provisional liquidator, under the Supreme Court’s supervision, was the best way to protect the remaining $8 million in client assets still held by Tillerman.

The broker/dealer is currently not operational, its licence and registration having “become ineffective” on September 1, 2016, with the Securities Commission not renewing it or its licence.

“Tillerman is, in the view of the Commission, insolvent having been an operation making a loss for the last few years,” Ms Rolle alleged, adding that the Securities Commission had prevented it from taking on any new business since October 2015.

“Also, Tillerman’s statutory regulatory capital has not been met since 2014 and remains deficient to-date.

Unless there is an injection of capital from the shareholders, Tillerman’s continued operations are therefore reliant on the use of its clients’ assets - a position that causes the Commission grave concern, because Tillerman’s clients’ assets have been jeopardised by [their] improper use.”

Ms Rolle alleged that because they used client funds without permission, and the persistent minimum regulatory capital deficiency, the Securities Commission had determined that Tillerman’s principals and directors were “not fit and proper persons” to operate in the securities industry.

Arguing that Tillerman’s continued operation would be “detrimental to the public interest”, Ms Rolle added: “It is a paramount duty of the Commission to protect the welfare of investors and/or clients, as well as to maintain the integrity of the Bahamas’ securities and investment markets.....

“Tillerman is not a fit and

proper entity to be registered because of this impermissible business practice of creating involuntary overdrafts in its clients’ accounts for the benefit of its shareholders and/or directors, and there is a need for a thorough inquiry into the affairs of this registrant, which only a liquidator can do.”

Tribune Business previously revealed how Justice Indra Charles had ‘frozen’ Tillerman’s entire business via a Preservation Order, until the Securities Commission’s winding-up petition can be heard by the Supreme Court on January 23, 2017.

Ms Rolle’s affidavit discloses how the alarm over Tillerman’s practices was first raised by its external auditor, James Gomez of the Baker Tilly Gomez accounting firm, in a July 1, 2015, letter to the Securities Commission.

He warned that apart from the regulatory capital deficiency, Tillerman was also breaching section 84 of the Securities Industry Regulations, which prevents “the improper use of clients’ funds or securities” without authorisation.

Mr Gomez said this breach had also been disclosed in Baker Tilly Gomez’s audit report on Tillerman for the prior year’s financials, 2013, raising questions as to why the Securities Commission waited for at least a year to take action.

The 2014 audit report, as well as flagging the regulatory breaches, raised the ‘going concern’ issue for Tillerman following a $708,294 net loss for the year to end-December.

“As of that date, the company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by $1.054 million, resulting in an accumulated deficit of $1.858 million and a negative net equity of $716,020,” Baker Tilly Gomez noted.

After its conclusions were supported by the Securities Commission’s own inspection, the regulator imposed a ban on Tillerman taking on any new business, and demanded that it reimburse its clients for the monies taken.

This ultimately resulted in a November 10, 2015, meeting between the Securities Commission and Tillerman’s principals, Messrs Saunders and Dupuch.

“During the said meeting, Messrs Saunders and Dupuch confirmed and admitted that they had used clients’ funds without knowledge or consent of the clients to cover Tillerman’s operating costs,” Ms Rolle alleged.

“Mr Saunders and Mr Dupuch further confirmed that all of the directors of

NOTICE A. INTERNATIONAL GROUP LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, A. INTERNATIONAL GROUP LTD. is in dissolution as of December 29th, 2016.

THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES (WINDING UP AMENDMENT) ACT, 2011 AND THE COMPANIES ACT, CH. 308 NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY WINDING UP TRIPACK INVESTMENTS LIMITED (In Voluntary Liquidation) Registration No. 18972B TAKE NOTICE that the above-named Company was put into liquidation on the 28th day of December 2016 by a resolution passed at a meeting of the Directors of the Company held on 28th day of December, 2016.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE THAT Maria Ferere of FT Consultants Ltd, One Montague Place, East Bay St., Nassau, Bahamas (email:mferere@ftconsultants.net) has been appointed Liquidator of the Company.

FURTHER NOTICE is hereby given that the Creditors of the abovenamed Company are required, on or before the 3rd day of February, 2017 to send their names and addresses, with particulars of their debts or claims, to the Liquidator of the Company.

Dated this 3rd day of January, A.D., 2017 Maria Ferere Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Tillerman had knowledge of the actions taken by Tillerman in using client’s funds without the clients’ knowledge or consent.”

The Securities Commission held another meeting with the Tillerman duo on December 11, 2015, and set February 12, 2016, as the deadline for the Bahamian-owned broker/dealer to reimburse all clients. Once that was completed, it was to wind down its operations and surrender its registration.

Ms Rolle said the regulator also began “settlement talks” with Tillerman over its regulatory breaches, but these ultimately proved unsuccessful, despite a constant dialogue between the two sides.

She alleged that rather than reimburse its clients, Tillerman “continued to propose other solutions”, ranging from the sale of its business to “obtaining retroactive written consents” from certain clients to cover the improper use of their assets.

The Securities Commission then hired another accounting firm, Kikivarakis & Company, to conduct a forensic audit of Tillerman’s business on February 9, 2016.

This found that the client monies improperly used totalled $3.9 million, and that an account in the name of ‘Raleigh Butler and Craig Butler’, which was overdrawn by $65,422, had been regularised through the sale of securities.

Ms Rolle’s affidavit revealed that the Securities Commission also had misgivings over the ‘retroactive client consents’, which were key to the solution being proposed by Tillerman to address the missing client funds.

This involved converting the missing monies into a ‘loan’ to Tillerman by these ‘consenting clients’, with the debt secured by real estate assets owned by the broker/dealer’s principals and shareholders. This would also move the liability off the broker/dealer’s balance sheet (see other article on Page 1B).

The ‘consenting clients’ were to be represented

by WFG Services, an entity that would act as their agent. The clients’ interests were to be further secured by the representation of the Higgs & Johnson law firm, and its attorneys, Dr Earl Cash and Portia Nicholson.

Ms Rolle, though, alleged that Tillerman continually failed to satisfy the Securities Commission’s concerns over the client money misuse and regulatory capital shortfalls.

And the broker/dealer, and all those advising it,

failed to submit and complete everything necessary to close the ‘retroactive client consent’ transaction, including obtaining Central Bank and Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA).

The Securities Commission also noted that many of the entities involved in the transaction had close links to some of Tillerman’s principals, and those advising them. Ms Rolle, for example, alleged that WFG Services appeared to have been incorporated by Anthony Dupuch.

Mr Dupuch was also a director of Bluewood Management, WFG Services’ registered agent, and of the corporate entities serving as directors for the ‘consenting clients’. Bryan Glinton, the Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien attorney and partner representing Tillerman, was also a director of one of Bluewood’s corporate directors.

Ms Rolle also alleged that the ‘retroactive consents’ were subject to several conditions that the Securities Commission had to fulfill, particularly it allowing Tillerman to continue to operate and resume normal operations, taking on new clients.

They were also contingent on the regulator advising of the sanctions it intended to impose on the broker/dealer, and it approving new officers and directors for Tillerman.

Ms Rolle said these were all conditions the Securities Commission “would be unable and unwilling to confirm before the client consents and related transactions were absolutely finalised”.

She added that the ‘sanctions’ issue “cannot be pre-determined” as it was subject to the Securities Commission’s disciplinary processes - effectively blocking both the ‘retroactive client consent’ deal and Tillerman’s plans to address its regulatory capital deficiency.

The Securities Commission, seemingly out of patience, and deciding that Tillerman was out of time, on October 24, 2016, gave the broker/dealer seven days to submit a plan for its orderly winding-up. When no response was forthcoming, the regulator moved to the present legal action.

Mr Butler could not be reached for comment over the New Year’s weekend.

Roy Sweeting, the Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien attorney and partner, who is representing Tillerman and its principals, said he would speak to his clients to see if they wished to comment.

No response was received, by phone or e-mail, before press time.

NOTICE CLANTON COVE INVESTMENTS LIMITED In Voluntary Liquidation Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, CLANTON COVE INVESTMENTS LIMITED is in dissolution as of December 29th, 2016.

International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Withfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Withfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

NOTICE LINVEST HOLDING LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

NOTICE RED BICYCLE VENTURES LTD. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, LINVEST HOLDING LTD. is in dissolution as of December 29th, 2016.

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, RED BICYCLE VENTURES LTD. is in dissolution as of December 29th, 2016.

KARL KOHLBRENNER situated at Vicolo Cademallo 13, 6517 Arberdo (Suisse) is the Liquidator.

International Liquidator Services Inc. situated at 3rd Floor Withfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

LIQUIDATOR ______________________

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, PAGE 7

Puerto Rico's new gov promises immediate push for statehood SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s new governor was sworn in Monday, promising an immediate push for statehood in a territory facing a deep economic crisis.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello, 37, proposed several measures aimed at alleviating the crisis shortly after he was sworn in at midnight.

Among them is a proposal to hold a referendum that would ask voters whether they prefer statehood or independence. Many have argued that Puerto Rico’s political status has contributed to its decade-long crisis that has prompted more than 200,000 people to flee to the U.S. mainland in recent years.

“The United States cannot pretend to be a model of democracy for the world while it discriminates against 3.5 million of its citizens in Puerto Rico, depriving them of their right to political, social and economic equality under the U.S. flag,” Rossello said in his inaugural speech, delivered in Spanish. “There is no way to overcome Puerto Rico’s crisis given its colonial condition.”

Pro-statehood supporters await the arrival of Puerto Rico’s new governor at the seaside Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico, yesterday. Ricardo Rossello was sworn in Monday as the U.S. territory prepares for what many believe will be new austerity measures and a renewed push for statehood to haul the island out of a deep economic crisis. (AP Photo) The crowd rose to its feet and cheered as Rossello announced that he would fly to Washington, D.C., Monday to back a bill to admit Puerto Rico as the 51st state.

He also said he would soon hold elections to choose two senators and five representatives to Congress and send them to Washington to demand statehood, a strategy used

by Tennessee to join the union in the 18th century. The U.S. government has final say on whether Puerto Rico can become a state.

Rossello said he also aims to boost public-private partnerships and use that revenue to save a retirement system that faces a $40 billion deficit and is expected to collapse in less than a year.

He pledged to work closely

with a federal control board that U.S. Congress created last year to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances, and he has said he supports negotiations with creditors to help restructure a public debt of nearly $70 billion.

“Puerto Rico’s recovery begins today,” said Rossello, a scientist with no political experience and the son of a former governor who also sought statehood for Puerto Rico.

Rossello announced that he has already signed six executive orders, including one to promote bilingual education, another to provide female government employees with the same pay as their male counterparts, and a third ordering agencies to reduce their budgets and contracts for professional services by 10 percent.

He also seeks to privatize

services such as the generation of energy, establish an office to oversee and distribute federal funds to cut down on corruption, and to create financial incentives for doctors to boost the number of dwindling specialists.

Thousands of supporters cheered as they clutched umbrellas to protect themselves from a searing sun.

“This is a historic moment for Puerto Rico,” said 50-year-old Jose Davila as he waved a large flag from Rossello’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party.

“He’s the hope of our island, he’s the hope for statehood, he’s the hope for a people that have suffered.”

Puerto Ricans have been hit with dozens of new taxes in the past four years and increases in utility bills as former Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla aimed

to generate more revenue for a government he said was running out of money.

Despite those and other measures, the island’s government has defaulted on millions of dollars’ worth of bond payments and declared a state of emergency at several agencies.

The federal control board has requested a revised fiscal plan that has to be approved by end of January, saying that the one Garcia submitted last year was in part unrealistic and relied too heavily on federal funds. Garcia had refused to submit a revised plan to include austerity measures.

Rossello has said he would request an extension of that deadline as well as an extension of a moratorium that expires in February and currently protects Puerto Rico from lawsuits filed by angered creditors.

Democrats extol health care law in bid to derail GOP repeal WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior House Democrats on Monday extolled the benefits of President Barack Obama’s health care law in hopes of derailing Republican plans to gut the statute and over time replace it.

In a conference call with reporters, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the GOP will begin its “assault” on the health care law when the 115th Congress convenes Tuesday. She said abolishing the law, known as the Affordable Care Act, as Republicans have promised will mean that people will pay more for their health insurance while getting much less than they do now. Undoing the law also will undermine Medicaid and Medicare, she said.

Currently Republicans plan to vote quickly on repealing the health care law and delay the effective date to give them time to craft a replacement. Pelosi blasted that strategy as “an act of cowardice.” She urged people to “take a second look” at how the health care law has improved their lives.

Minority Whip Steny

Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said he believes that many people who voted for Presidentelect Donald Trump want the health care law preserved even though Trump made repeal of the statute a central part of his campaign.

“I think a lot of people are going to be looking at this and saying, ‘Gee, I really didn’t mean that,’” Hoyer said.

Republicans have opposed Obama’s law since Democrats steered the law through Congress in 2010.

The GOP has tried numerous times to repeal the law but failed due to internal divisions and Obama’s veto power. But with the GOP in control of the House and Senate and Donald Trump set to become president in a few weeks, doing away with “Obamacare” is in sight for Republicans.

GOP lawmakers are expected to spend the next several months working on legislation to cancel broad swaths of the law that the party’s voter base staunchly opposes. Most likely to go are the law’s mandate

NOTICE

IN THE ESTATE OF THOMAS J. CARLSON, (a.k.a. THOMAS JAMES CARLSON), late and domiciled of 646 Pawley Road, Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina one of the United States of America, deceased NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against or interest in the above Estate should send same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before 16th January, 2017 after which date the Personal Representative will proceed to distribute the assets of the Estate having regard only to the claims, demands or interests of which he shall then have had notice AND NOTICE is hereby given that all persons indebted to the above Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before 16th January, 2017.

FREDERIK F. GOTTLIEB & CO.

Attorneys for the Executrix P.O. Box AB-20405 Royal Harbour Village #2 Bay Street, Marsh Harbour, Abaco, The Bahamas

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JULIE AUGUSTIN of Hanna

Hill, Eight Mile Rock, 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 twentyeight days from the 3rd day of January, 2017 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

that people buy health insurance or face hefty IRS fines, and its expansion of Medicaid coverage to more lower-earning Americans.

But several elements of the repeal likely wouldn’t go into effect for two to four years.

Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Republicans are “blind to the success” of the health care law. Repealing the law is rooted in politics, he said, and will hurt middle class Americans.

“Repealing the Affordable Care Act is not logical; it’s simply ideological,” Pallone said.

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 29 DECEMBER 2016

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,937.81 | CHG 0.01 | %CHG 0.00 | YTD 113.86 | YTD% 6.24 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.25 17.43 9.09 3.55 4.70 0.12 8.22 8.50 6.10 10.60 15.50 2.72 1.60 5.82 9.30 11.00 9.00 6.90 12.25 11.00

52WK LOW 2.50 17.43 8.19 3.50 1.77 0.12 5.50 8.05 5.50 7.72 11.91 2.18 1.31 5.60 6.70 8.56 6.12 6.35 11.81 10.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

900.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 106.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 105.50 100.00 100.00 105.00 100.00 100.00 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 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

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS FAM FBB FIN FCL ICD JSJ PRE CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

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

SYMBOL FBB17 FBB18 FBB22

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 BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0103 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

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

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

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.01 3.91 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.46 1.67 1.56 1.10 6.94 8.65 5.92 9.94 11.15 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.41 1.61 1.52 1.03 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.52 1.77 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.49 13.23 2.19 1.60 5.82 9.30 10.95 8.74 6.75 11.93 10.00 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 LAST SALE 100.00 100.00 100.00 108.73 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 4.06 15.85 9.09 3.52 1.77 0.12 5.60 8.50 5.83 10.49 13.23 2.20 1.60 5.82 9.30 10.95 8.74 6.75 11.93 10.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.11 100.00 100.00 100.00 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

CLOSE 100.00 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00

109.08 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.35 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 0.00 0.00

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 Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund

VOLUME

2,500 14,525

VOLUME

NAV 2.01 3.90 1.93 169.70 140.34 1.46 1.66 1.56 1.07 6.94 8.65 5.92 9.59 11.15 9.57

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 13.4 11.7 8.4 16.0 N/M N/M 30.3 15.4 11.5 19.4 25.1 23.4 9.6 11.4 15.2 11.4 13.4 9.6 15.8 0.0

YIELD 2.22% 6.31% 0.00% 4.55% 0.00% 0.00% 3.34% 3.06% 3.43% 3.43% 4.61% 2.73% 2.50% 4.12% 2.96% 0.00% 3.20% 1.78% 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% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

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 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 3.11% 4.17% 3.28% 4.34% 2.07% 2.93% 4.73% 5.64% 5.70% 7.66% 3.56% 3.91% 2.22% 2.79% 2.80% 3.18% 2.99% 2.26% 4.05% 8.28% 5.93% 13.53% 2.73% 4.73% 3.97% -3.53% 2.96% 4.33% -4.26% -6.22%

NAV Date 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Sep-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 30-Nov-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-2016 31-Jul-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

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

PAGE 8 ,Tuesday, January 3, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN AT RANFURLY

T

he Ranfurly Homes for Children has been a safe haven for thousands of Bahamian children since 1956. The Home provides a safe, structured environment for children who have been orphaned, abused, neglected or abandoned.

YOU can make a difference in the lives of the children at Ranfurly. With your support children can have nutritious food, warm beds and a safe environment where they can discover the joy of being children. For years the children living and learning at Ranfurly have made great social and academic strides.

Their further development requires additional support in the form of a Transitional Home, planned for construction on the Ranfurly property.

This residence will cater to teenagers and young adults who are beyond school age, but need accommodation while they find work and gain independence from the Home.

We look forward to your continued support in this worthwhile endeavour.

MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES Individuals, Families & Corporate Sponsors Children Helping Children - $5 (Individual children from ages 6 - 18) Individuals Helping Children - $50 (Individual adults 18 years and over) Families Helping Children - $100

CIRCLE of FRIENDS Silver: $1,500 - $2,499 Gold: $2,500 - $4,999 Platinum: $5,000 plus

OPPORTUNITIES • • • •

Invitations to Ranfurly events Assist with fundraising events Involvement with special activities Adults are eligible to join the Board after three months • Stay in touch with Ranfurly through website and newsletters

BENEFITS

• Personal fulfillment in knowing you are impacting lives • Ranfurly children’s appreciation and positive response • Continued support provides stability and constant care

For more information visit: www.ranfurlyhome.org Please “Like” us on Facebook Ranfurly Home for Children, Mackey Street P.O. Box 1413 Nassau, Bahamas 242-393-3115

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, PAGE 9

b o dy an d m in d

Young Marine Explorers examine health of the environment following Hurricane Matthew

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer jgibson@tribunemedia.net AN international grant awarded to the Young Marine Explorers (YME) will help the organisation expand its reach through a study that aims to explore the damage dealt to marine life and resources after the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.

YME is a Bahamian marine conservation organisation based in New Providence that promotes health for all through a healthy environment. The organisation is working with Coastal Ecology Lab at the University of Miami to document the impacts of Hurricane Matthew on coastal and marine resources.

The Waitt Foundation, an international organisation with the mission to protect and restore ocean health, is funding a six-month project, where YME students will study the impact that Hurricane Matthew has had on the shorelines and coral reefs of New Providence.

According to a press statement by the organisation, the project sets the foundation for future studies in Exuma, Grand Bahama and North Andros – the islands that experienced the

greatest of impact from the storm.

During the project, YME teams will look at the loss of natural capital – for example, fish populations, spiny lobster, and mangroves that protect the coasts – from hurricane waves and winds to determine what the potential long-term changes might be to mangroves, beaches and coral reefs.

The initiative will have four components. First, YME will work with students to document hurricane impacts in their neighbourhoods, and encourage students to share their hurricane experiences across islands.

Students will work with mentors to carry out coastal assessments in key locations around the country to document coastal erosion, loss of vegetation, flooding and destruction of homes and buildings. Students will also learn about water quality and land-based sources of pollution to coastal water.

Then they will learn about mapping hurricane impacts along the coast and in the water.

YME founder and CEO Nikita Shiel-Rolle said the storm’s passing prompted her to take the youth programme in a new direction.

“This hurricane has

changed everything. We will be talking about the before and after of this storm for decades to come. This storm will change not only how we live on the island, but will increase our need to understand what changes have occurred just off our shores,” she said.

“This will be the first study of its kind in the Bahamas to actively engage high school students in applied conservation science that will document the natural resource cost of a major storm event.”

The YME has been offering marine conservation programmes for the past 10 years but has redesigned this year’s curriculum to enable students to work alongside conservation biologist Mrs Shiel-Rolle and coastal ecology professor Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey.

Mrs Shiel-Rolle said the shift in the programme’s curriculum is a necessary one.

“I believe as Bahamians we need to be proactive if we are to ensure that we are prepared for future natural disasters, which could also have major effects on our coastal and marine environments. I am very happy that YME has the ability to mobilise and engage so many youth in a research project

that will positively influence our response to hurricanes in the future.”

The project will lay the foundation for a long-term monitoring programme managed by YME. The data collected by YME members will “produce valuable information that can be used by both governmental and non-governmental agencies.”

The YME curriculum engages students in marine leadership education classes hosted after school and on Saturdays.

Members of the YME will be starting a new project to study the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

• For more information about YME, visit www.ymebahamas.org.

Five smart steps to preserving brain health (BPT) - Everyone knows aerobic exercise gets the heart pumping and lifting weights keeps muscles strong. But when it comes to keeping the brain healthy, most people are unsure what to do.

As you age, brain health and maintaining memory functions becomes a top concern. Turns out, these issues may begin sooner than you think.

“We tend to think about memory decline as an older person’s issue, but that’s not the case at all,” said Dr Aimee Gould Shunney, a licenced naturopathic doctor specialising in women’s health and family medicine.

“There was a study published in 2012 in the British Medical Journal that examined cognitive function in people age 45 to 70. The researchers did not expect it, but they found evidence of cognitive decline in the 45-year-old participants as well as the older participants.”

She notes there are two basic pathological processes that cause degeneration of the brain: oxidative stress and inflammation. Basical-

the most important measures we can take,” she says. “DHA is the dominant omega-3 in the brain.

Just like we need to make sure babies have enough DHA to grow their brain, we need to make sure older people get enough DHA to keep their brains healthy.”

She suggests Omega Memory by Nordic Naturals. It’s a DHA-dominant omega-3 formula that also includes other brain healthy ingredients: curcumin, phosphatidylcholine and huperzine A.

Regular sleep Support brain health engaging in challenging exercises. ly, the standard American diet and lifestyle contribute to those processes. So who is this really an issue for?

Men and women of all ages.

No matter your age, you can take charge of your brain health by following these five smart steps from Dr Shunney:

Healthy eating “A

Mediterranean-type

diet that focuses on whole foods, good fats and foods high in antioxidants is a great place to start,” said Dr Shunney.

She encourages her patients to focus on getting omega-3 fats from fish and monounsaturated fats from olives, olive oil, nuts and seeds. She also recommends increasing fruits (especially berries) and beans (they’re packed with anti-

oxidants). What’s more, research shows a little cocoa, coffee and red wine can act as antioxidants and are beneficial in low to moderate amounts.

Supplements In addition to a quality multivitamin, Dr Shunney recommends an omega-3 supplement.

“Getting enough omega-3s is one of

Poor sleep is a risk factor for cognitive decline.

“Studies show both sleep deprivation and sleeping too much impact cognitive performance,” Dr Shunney said. “A good goal is to go to bed around the same time each night, sleep for seven to eight hours, and get up around the same time every morning.”

Thinking activities “I recommend anything

that keeps your mind working,” said Dr Shunney.

“Activities that require things to be arranged or puzzles that have to be put together. Crossword puzzles, word games and board games are all great.”

She also notes some activities to avoid: “It’s important to limit certain activities. The constant scanning of social media and newsfeeds eliminates creativity and keeps us on edge. Limit the time you spend doing that and instead do things that cause you to explore and think and put ideas together on your own.”

Socialise “Social isolation has been linked with cognitive decline,” said Dr. Shunney.

“In one study, people who were lonely experienced cognitive decline at a 20 per cent faster rate than people who were not lonely.”

Make time to take a foreign language class, join a Toastmaster’s Club, take a watercolour class – anything that connects you regularly to other people.

Bring a healthy dose of sick-etiquette to work (BPT) - Being considerate of others when you’re sick is one of the first steps to good sick etiquette.

For example, you may think you’re going to score points for showing up at work despite feeling under the weather. However, if you were to run this by an etiquette expert like Diane Gottsman, she would probably tell you the reverse is true.

“A recent survey found that half of Americans feel anxious about getting sick when others cough around them,” Gottsman says. “So when you cough, your co-workers are likely going to be thinking of themselves and may not sympathise with you.”

That’s why Gottsman says the best thing you can do is steer clear of the office. If working remotely isn’t an option, it is best to take a sick day.

“When you’re sick, it’s so important to take precautions to keep your germs from infecting others, which should always include staying home from work or other activities until symptoms have subsided,” said Ms Gottsman. “I understand that sometimes life seems too busy to get sick or a workplace may not offer enough paid time off. So staying

home and putting work on the back burner until you’re well is not an option for everyone. Still, productivity will decline when you are sick and you may prolong your illness by overexerting yourself.”

With that, Ms Gottsman said the name of the game is keeping those germs to yourself. Don’t be afraid to be demonstrative about that so you send a clear signal that you care and you don’t want to infect anyone – it will put your friends and colleagues at ease.

Here are Ms Gottsman’s sick etiquette tips: • Telecommute: If it is physically possible for you to complete a day’s work at home, that is probably the second most ideal solution to taking a sick day. If that’s not a typical arrangement at your place of employment, though, frame it as being beneficial to your boss and your fellow employees. For example: “I understand we have this important deadline coming up, which is why I would prefer not to spread this bug to others.

What if I worked on the project from my home office today instead of coming in? If you sent me the call-in information, I could still join the conference call later.

Of course, if you need anything at all, I’m just a phone call or email away.”

• Touch no one: If a friend moves in for a hug or a handshake, kindly warn them that you are recovering from a cold and would prefer to “play it safe” before extending your hand or leaning in for a hug.

• Keep a sickness arsenal: Keep your desk well stocked to help you treat your symptoms and keep common areas germ-free.

For your kit, consider items like tissues, disinfecting wipes and hand sanitiser, as well as relief for sick symptoms, like pain relievers and a cough syrup like Robitussin.

• Avoid shared surfaces: Cold viruses can survive several hours on surfaces, transferring easily to your colleagues. Germs can be hard to contain and avoid, but you can do your part by wiping down shared areas like a table or chair with a disinfecting wipe when you are finished using them.

• Cover your mouth wisely: Coughs and sneezes give germs and viruses a nice little vehicle

to get around and infect others nearby. When you must cough or sneeze, use a tissue or cough into your arm or elbow - never your hand, because the hands help spread the germs around. When using a tissue, promptly dispose of it and sanitise your hands.

• Minimise coughing: When people hear someone cough in a crowded space, 26 per cent feel annoyed, and 46 per cent feel anxious about getting sick themselves, according to a recent online survey conducted by the Harris Poll. Keeping the

medicine cabinet stocked with a powerful cough reliever is one effective way to suppress your cough. One product Ms Gottsman recommends is Robitussin 12 Hour Cough Relief, because the long-lasting formula gets you through the whole work day by providing soothing relief from the hacking coughing.

It’s not always possible or practical to stay home for several days when you come down with a cold, but practicing good sick etiquette can help keep viruses from spreading to those around you.

PAGE 10 ,Tuesday, January 3, 2017

THE TRIBUNE

New year, healthier mouth Make 2017 the year to improve your dental health!

Many are writing their 2017 New Year’s resolutions list; at the top, you may have losing weight or implementing a plan to save money. But while listing your New Year’s resolutions this time around, consider adding to that list keeping your mouth healthy.

Practicing and maintaining good oral health will keep you looking and feeling good for a lifetime. There are a few strategies that can go a long way in starting your journey for a healthier smile in 2017.

Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake is always a plus. Eating well is important for not only your overall health but your dental health as well. Crunchy fruits and vegetables are good for your teeth because they help disturb plaque on your teeth and act as a way to cleanse the mouth. The action of eating crunchy fruits and vegetables increases your saliva production, rinsing away bacteria and food particles.

Another tip for a healthier mouth in 2017 is to quit smoking.

There are many dangers associated with smoking such as cancer,

Dr Tamika Ferguson lung disease and heart disease.

Some of the negative consequences in the mouth include: increased risk of gum disease, tooth discolouration, dulled sense of taste and smell, cavities and lung and oral cancer.

If you are a smoker, at the top of your resolutions list should be a plan to quit smoking, not only your mouth but your entire body will thank you!

One of the main strategies always stressed is your oral hygiene habits.

Make 2017 the year you achieve that perfect, healthy smile First, you will need the proper tool to brush with; this is a soft bristled toothbrush. People tend to purchase a medium or hard toothbrush thinking these are

more effective but in reality, they do more harm than good. A medium or hard toothbrush, depending on your brushing technique, can help to remove enamel from

your teeth, exposing dentin, and causing tooth sensitivity.

So once you have the right toothbrush, you want to brush for at least two minutes twice daily and floss at least once a day. It is also important to remember to brush your tongue to guarantee fresh breath.

The number one tip for a healthy and beautiful smile is to visit your dentist. It is recommended you see your dentist at least twice a year to prevent any dental health problems.

By being a regular dental attender your dentist can correct any problem before it starts to cause discomfort or requires more extensive treatment. Further, if you are not pleased/confident in your smile, talk to your dentist to explore your options on how to get your dream smile. If you do not have a dentist, then begin 2017 by finding a dentist that is the perfect fit for you.

For this new year, focus on treating your mouth right: eat more fruits and vegetables, keep up with your oral care regimen, quit smoking and become a regular dental attender – your teeth will love you for it!

Health Professions Council brings the year to a close The appointed members of the Health Professions Council (HPC) brought their working year to a celebratory close with their final meeting followed by dinner at Sapodilla Restaurant.

The group convened in August to continue the work of this statutory body whose mission is “to govern the professional conduct of certain health professionals and to protect the welfare and interest of these professionals as well as the public who makes use of their services.”

The HPC was established by the Health Professions Act in 1998 and became operational on May 1, 2000.

The HPC is presently responsible for the following health professions: acupuncture therapy, audiology and speech language pathology, chiropody and podiatry, chiropractic, clinical psychology, dietetics and nutrition, emergency services technology, medical laboratory technology,

HPC members standing back row, l-r: Dr Charles Diggiss, chairman; Cheryl Simms, treasurer; Dr Kenneth Kemp, deputy chairman; Dr Richard Knowles; Verna Marshall, office manager.

Sitting: Dr Patti Symonette; Pam Burnside; Bernadette Ellis, registrar; Bonnie Culmer; Dr Patti Symonette.

occupational therapy, optometry and opticianary, physiotherapy and respiratory therapy, and radiography.

Reappointed Chairman Dr Charles Diggiss stated at the first meeting: “I am honoured to continue with the important work of this council. Since its inception, the HPC has demonstrated its commitment to carry out its mandate. We wish to ensure that professionals are held to the highest standards so that the public is adequately protected, especially in light of the stated imminent introduction of National Health Insurance (NHI).

“We are also very excited about the positive developments of our plan that we began over the last year for greater oversight of training institutions offering allied health programmes. Additionally, as the Act also makes ‘provisions for the inclusion of other health professionals whenever necessary at a later date’, we have produced a listing

of thirty additional professions for consideration, and we look forward to receiving needed assistance from persons in these fields.”

HPC Registrar Bernadette Ellis, who has held the position since December, 2001, added: “We invite the allied health professionals, members of the public who utilise their services, and particularly students contemplating entering the health care professions, to assist us by becoming compliant on a timely basis, visiting our website, and contacting us should they have any queries or need relevant information.”

• The HPC is located in the Jonathan Forbes Building on Delancey Street, opposite Ministry of Health.

They can be contacted at PO Box N-7528, by phone at 326-7740 or 326-0566 or fax at 326-0537, e-mail at hpa1998_chmn@yahoo. com or through their website, facebook or Linkedin pages.

This grain salad might be the key to healthier eating in 2017 The Culinary Insti t u te of America

If you’re anything like the rest of us, you might tend to needlessly overcomplicate your life. You plan an elaborate dinner for a Wednesday night. You schedule a meeting across town at rush hour. With all of the small, daily challenges we face, when it comes to healthy eating, the key to success is making life as uncomplicated as possible, so that choosing the right foods is a piece of. fruit.

You have likely seen pictures with refrigerators stacked full of organized containers and healthy weeknight meals ready to throw in a slow cooker. It’s a great idea that is probably not in the cards for most of us, but it does serve as inspiration to make one or two small changes that can drastically improve the quality of our lives and our lunches.

Grain salads, like this recipe for Farro with Roasted Winter Vegetables, might be the key to healthier eating in the new year. If you’re stuck in a lunch rut — ordering in to the office every day, eating a peanut butter sandwich, or skipping it altogether — grain salads are an easy way to mix it up. Made with nutritious and hearty whole grains like wheat berries, barley, and quinoa, grain salads are packed full of protein, fiber, and vitamins. When you combine grains with your favorite fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and nuts; and top them with flavorful vinaigrettes, herbs, and spices, you can eat a different salad every day, with just a small amount of effort.

At the beginning of the week, cook a big batch of grains to cool and refrigerate. Each day, add your favorite salad veggies or leftovers to make a satisfying lunch that changes every

day of the week. In minutes, you could have a salad of wheat berries, roasted Brussels sprouts, dried cherries, and chopped pecans. And the next day, wheat berries with grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette. Remember, grain salads aren’t just for stuffing your lunch box. Mix your cooked grains with almond butter, a splash of honey, chopped apples, and cinnamon for breakfast-on-the-go.

Or use a leftover salad to stuff bell peppers, cabbage, or halved acorn squash for a hearty dinner. How’s that for meal prep?

Keep in mind that some farro sold in the United States is processed to remove some or all of its tough outer bran for ease of cooking. Labeled as “semipearled” or “pearled,” this farro is stripped of its coveted whole grain status, as well as much of its nutrients. Whole grain farro requires a little bit of extra time to prepare; you’ll want to soak it overnight before cooking it, to ensure the perfect chewy texture.

FARRO WITH ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES Start to finish: 2 hours, 5 minutes (Active: 35 minutes. Inactive: 1 hour, 30 minutes) Servings: 5 Roasted Squash 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 3/4 cups (about 8 ounces) diced butternut squash 1 3/4 cups (about 8 ounces) diced acorn squash Farro Bowl 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons minced onion 2 cups uncooked farro 4 cups water 1 tablespoon oil 2 cups chopped cabbage

Farro with winter vegetables (Phil Mansfield/The Culinary Institute of America via AP) 1/2 cup chopped parsley Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, toss the butternut squash and acorn squash with the olive oil.

Transfer the squash to a foil-lined baking sheet and place in the oven.

Roast until the squash is cooked and brown around the edges, about 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion has softened and is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the farro and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Add the water and bring

the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cover the pan and simmer until the farro is cooked and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

While the farro is cooking, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Cook the cabbage until it is softened and browning around the edges, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the cabbage to a large bowl and mix it with the cooked farro and vegetables. Stir in the parsley.

Serve hot, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

• This article was provided to The Associated Press

by The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

WHERE HIT MUSIC LIVES W W W .

1 0 0 J A M Z

. C O M

@100JAMZ242

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, PAGE 11

Michelle Obama’s fashion influence rivaled Jackie Kennedy’s NEW YORK (AP) — The morning after Michelle Obama’s big speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, in which she argued passionately for a second term for her husband, designer Tracy Reese’s phone was ringing. And ringing.

Mrs Obama’s powerfully delivered speech had attracted much attention — but these phone calls were about her dress. A shimmering sleeveless sheath in rose and silvery gray, it was pretty universally considered a fashion slam dunk. And customers wanted it.

There was only one problem, Reese recalls: “We didn’t have inventory — we had made that dress custom.” And so the label went into production. “And people waited,” Reese says. “You know, so many people admire Mrs Obama and they want to dress like her. We sold quite a few of those dresses.” She estimates the number at over 2,000.

Reese, who hails from Detroit, is one of the first lady’s favored designers — Mrs Obama has been photographed in her clothes some 20 to 30 times. But unlike some past first ladies who favoured one or two big-name designers, Mrs Obama has spread her fashion choices among a huge stable of them — often promoting lesserknown names, and taking care to promote American designers at such high-profile events as inaugurations, conventions and state dinners.

Which is why so many designers and industry watchers will miss her when she steps away from her post after eight fashion-conscious years, and why they consider her one of the most influential first ladies in fashion, perhaps even more so than Jacqueline Kennedy, because of her broad appeal.

“Michelle Obama embraced everyone,” says Andre Leon Talley, a fashion editor at Vogue magazine. “She embraced black designers, Asian designers, Eu-

Michelle Obama wearing Tracy Reese

A design by Jason Wu for the Inaugural Ball in 2013.

The FLOTUS in custom Atelier Versace

ropean designers. ... She was very democratic in her choice of clothes.”

And that includes wearing fashion that ordinary women could potentially afford — like cardigans from the retailer J Crew.

“She’s made an effort to wear accessible fashion,” Reese says.

“I think Jackie (Kennedy) was a great role model but she wore a lot of couture, and things that most Americans could not afford.” Mrs Obama, she says, has worn both high-end and moderately priced fashion.

Reese, who is African-American, is particularly proud that one of her designs — a black dress printed with bright red flowers — is on display at the National Museum of African American

History and Culture. The first lady wore it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Mrs Obama set the stage for her broad-based fashion choices with her first inauguration. Previous first ladies had often gone with established luxury designers like Oscar de la Renta. Mrs. Obama wore a two-piece lemongrass-hued ensemble by Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo for day, and a one-shouldered white gown

by New York-based, TaiwaneseCanadian designer Jason Wu at night.

For her husband’s second inauguration, she wore a sleek coat and dress by American designer Thom Browne, known for his eclectic talents, and in the evening

Jason Wu again.

“It was an honour to have the opportunity to dress Mrs Obama,” Browne said in an email message.

“She is such a stylish individual because of her confidence and intelligence.”

For Browne, Toledo, Reese and others, it was never clear until the moment Mrs Obama actually appeared whether she would be wearing their designs.

“We would get calls periodically from her team,” says Reese. “But we never knew exactly what things were for and when she would be wearing them. And I think that that’s just necessary, because you don’t know when plans will change.”

However it unfolded, it certainly could change a designer’s

career. “We’ve been brought to the attention of millions more people than we ever would have reached,” Reese says.

David Yermack, a professor of corporate finance at New York University, studied the financial impact of Mrs Obama’s fashion choices in her first year as first lady. He says he found an immediate spike in stock prices of companies whose apparel she wore (he only examined publicly traded companies).

“There was a very strong and immediate reaction in the stock prices of the design firms and also the retailers,” Yermack says. For major appearances, this could run into the tens of millions of dollars: “That’s happened many times with her.”

And the public, Yermack says, remembers what Mrs Obama wears.

“Do you remember what Pat Nixon or Laura Bush wore? She has the ability to hold the interest of the consumer in a way that almost no one else does. I’ve looked far and wide — Kate Middleton, Carla Bruni. Nobody begins to approach Mrs Obama on this.”

Yermack thinks what’s different about Mrs Obama is that first ladies “have traditionally tried to be nondescript in the way they dressed — they didn’t want to overshadow their spouses ... or be seen as spending a lot on clothing.

But she had no inhibitions in that sense.

“She really had an impact on how professional women dressed, and how you could have fun with fashion, in a way that you couldn’t imagine Rosalynn Carter or Barbara Bush ever doing,” he says.

“It’s a very short list of first ladies who are going to leave that kind of legacy.”

• Leanne Italie in New York contributed to this report.

Five tips to bring organisation to your post-holiday chaos (BPT) - You have plenty of goals for 2017. Maybe you want to find a new job or be promoted at your current employer. Perhaps you want to lose weight, kick a bad habit, or learn a new instrument, skill or language.

And if you’re feeling daring, maybe this is the year you finally surf, skydive or ski.

There are plenty of exciting things you can do this year, but you can’t tackle any of these lofty goals until you figure out a way to organise your day-to-day life.

As daunting as that task may seem, even the smallest organisational changes can have a big impact, so start applying the five tips below and you’ll be on the airplane, surfboard or skis before you know it.

•

Start

small. Rome

wasn’t built in a day and you won’t conquer your organisational problems in one either. In fact, trying to tackle all your organizational problems at once will make the task seem more daunting and dissuade you from doing important work.

Instead, start with a manageable task, be it cleaning a room, setting a budget or establishing a workout routine, then work from there.

Thinking back to these early victories will give you the motivation you need to tackle those more difficult issues.

• Prioritise your news feed. You visit Facebook to connect with others and stay up to date about the world around you. So instituting a little time-saving organisation will make your time on Facebook even more mean-

ingful. Visit your news feed preferences to prioritise the people and things you care about most with the ‘See First’ option. Facebook will then make sure you see any posts from them first. You can also choose to unfollow people or pages you don’t want to hear from right now, and they’ll never know you did so. It’s an easy way to bring some order to your digital life.

• Dedicate 15 minutes a day to organisation. Maybe it’s 15 minutes before you go to bed or it’s a quick break from another task, but you’ll be surprised how even these few minutes can support your overall organisation goals. Sort the mail, clean a room or start the first in a series of sessions to see what’s in the back of your cupboards. These

sessions will help you keep organised and accomplish tasks you would have never thought of otherwise.

• Shop smart. Sometimes wandering around a store can be fun, but if you’re looking to bring a little order to your shopping, start by liking your favourite publications and stores on Facebook. This way you’ll get the news from the sources you value most and

you’ll never miss an event or sale because it slipped past you.

• Use only one calendar.

You’ve heard advice before that you’ll be more organised if you put things on your calendar. So you do, on all them, and the result is you’re more lost than ever.

Cataloging information on a calendar is great so long as the calendar isn’t one of many. Consolidate your

calendars to one master document and you’ll never have to worry about writing that important date in the wrong place. Improving your organisational skills is a great habit to start in 2017, and there’s no time like the present.

Let these five tips be your starting place and introduce the world to a new, more organised you in the weeks and months ahead.

Bahamian students travel to UN with aim of improving women’s rights at home From pg B12 Curry and Mrs Bethel-Sears, among others. They received printed copies of the Convention in order to study it and fully understand what they would be taking part in. Additionally, they received information from the Department of Statistics and the Crisis Centre in order to better understand how the Convention affects the lives of their fellow citizens. The students are also taking a look at some of the laws of the Bahamas in relation to women’s issues, particularly domestic violence.

Mrs Bethel-Sears is heading to Geneva, Switzerland, in February, 2017 for the first three-week session since her election to the committee. The CEDAW Committee, established in 1982, is a body comprised on 23 experts on women’s issues from around the world.

Their mandate is to watch over the progress for women made in the various countries that are parties to the Convention. The Bahamas signed on in 1993.

Mrs Bethel-Sears said she is elated to have two UB students coming to observe the proceedings.

Professor Curry initiated an in-house drive that has led to the acquisition of the funds for the young ladies to make the trip for

at least one week. They are now working towards raising enough funds to attend the entire threeweek session. Contributions can be made to UB’s School of Social Sciences.

Ms Duncanson, a senior pursuing a Bachelor’s in Law and Criminal Justice, suggested that police officers be exposed to more social development courses to assist them in dealing with women as they go about the course of their duties. She feels that from the Police Training College to refresher courses for all officers, more education in social development and sensitivity would assist in creating an even more effective arm in the justice system. Ms Duncanson is also studying public administration and sees areas for the laws to be improved to assist female victims of domestic violence even more.

Ms Basden, currently in the final year of her Associate’s degree programme in Law and Criminal Justice, believes that “respect plays a big role” in decreasing the rate of discrimination and violence against women in the Bahamas. In order for women and girls to receive more respect, it means that the men and boys must be just as involved in the process. If girls and boys are taught to have more respect for each other during their formative years, she be-

lieves there is a greater likelihood that they would become better citizens, and hence help to create a more peaceful society.

Both young women expressed disappointment, but not surprise in the outcome of the recent gender equality referendum. Social media provided widespread opinion that the referendum may not be entirely successful before it actually happened, they said, but the resounding “no” across the board was nevertheless a letdown.

They said there were opportunities to provide more equality for Bahamian women, and this exactly what the country signed on to do.

The Bahamas submitted its last report to the UN body in 2012. Its new report, which is now due, will have to include the results of the referendum.

The students will use the tools they are learning in the social sciences to help them create ways of educating their peers and empowering them for positive change.

“A lot of Bahamians think that (discrimination and violence against women) is not a big concern here,” said Ms Duncanson. She said that oftentimes her peers equate these kinds of issues with war-torn countries and the like. However, she pointed out that there were 444 rape cases from 2006 to 2010, and during

Chair of UB’s School of Social Sciences Christopher Curry (far right) with his daughter (front right) and students Kyla Basden and Andrea Duncanson, along with her younger sister. that same period, 1,151 juvenile females became the victim of unlawful sexual intercourse and molestation.

Ms Basden calls her CEDAW opportunity “an amazing bridge” between an international body and the young people of the Bahamas allowing her to relay the “aims and benefits of the Convention to a generation which we have a voice in”.

They prepared a presentation

which was held at UB’s Performing Arts Theatre. Students responded so positively that the ladies are considering forming a club when they return from their travels, knowing now that the more young people are involved from various communities throughout the country, the greater the likelihood that more citizens will become sensitive to pertinent issues that affect women and their well-being.

SECTION D

TuesDAY, January 3, 2017

Designer D’Lethea Nairn gets

‘pursenal’

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

I

f you have been on any local social media sites recently, chances are you have seen photos of fun and uniquely Bahamian handbags pop up on your pages; colourful clutches that say things like “Regatta Time”, or have a pineapple or flamingo design.

These are all the work of D’Lethea Nairn, who started her home-based design company “Pursenal ParaDiyse” last July.

D’Lethea told Tribune Woman that she has always been a creative individual who enjoys getting her hands dirty with DIY projects, so it was only a matter of time before she started her own business.

The time to make her vision of entrepreneurship a reality came when she had the misfortune of losing her day job. But that setback did not stop D’Lethea from keeping a positive attitude and focusing on her next move.

“It turned into something so beautiful in the end. I was motivated to turn something that was an idea into a business. I always wanted to learn how to sew and decided to try something that may be easier than clothes.

That’s when the idea of a purse came to mind. I wanted to make sure I added Bahamian flare to the idea in an innovative way, so that’s where the idea of painting

Custom handbags to celebrate the Bahamas

the purses came about,” she said.

Growing up, D’Lethea’s mother sewed clothes for every occasion – a process that was to inspire her daughter years later.

D’Lethea said her love for sewing blossomed over the years, and offered her the opportunity to express her creativity and fulfill her passion for art and fashion.

“I feel like it was time for me to come into my own career wise. I wanted to invest in myself and my dreams,

“I have the benefit of expressing my creativity and allowing others to enjoy something that I took the time to ‘pursenally’ create. My goal is definitely expansion for my brand. I’m all about innovation and keeping my customers intrigued.”

so I decided to take the leap of faith and turn a hobby into my profession. I like the fact that I have something to call my own and be able to create a product that expresses the beauty of my country,” she said.

D’Lethea’s purses boast designs ranging from the national coat of arms to Bahamian policemen in their traditional uniforms, as well as a map of the islands, conch shells and more.

“I have the benefit of expressing my creativity and allowing others to enjoy something that I took the time to ‘pursenally’ create.

My goal is definitely expansion for my brand. I’m all about innovation and keeping my customers intrigued.

I see the company in local boutiques or a boutique of my own maybe in the future. I also hope to soon have an international customer base,” she said.

Aside from the fact that it is a source of income, D’Lethea said creating Bahamian-made products brings forth opportunities for her to be an ambassador for her country. She believes it allows her to be an influence on other Bahamians to expand their horizons when it comes to creating culturally inspired products.

D’Lethea Nairn expresses her love for the Bahamas with her designs for Pursenal ParaDiyse

Bahamian students travel to UN with aim of improving women’s rights at home

By Felicity Ingraham Two University of the Bahamas (UB) students are prepared to have their lives transformed during a special trip next year, when they will step into the halls of the United Nations and come face to face with the inner workings of an international committee designed to improve the lives of women worldwide.

Andrea Duncanson, 25 and Kyla Basden, 18, were selected to understudy Marion Bethel-Sears,

who was elected as a committee member of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Chair of UB’s School of Social Sciences Christopher Curry made the decision to provide these two students with the opportunity due to their passion for social justice and women’s rights which they displayed during his class. Both ladies eagerly responded positively to the opportunity and have since been exposed to the tenets of the

CEDAW Convention.

The Ministry of Social Services and Community Development moved immediately into action, providing the two students with opportunities to meet with their experts in order to prepare them to be ambassadors in their own right to their age group for the causes of Bahamian women and girls.

Ms Duncanson and Ms Basden were briefed by Director of Gender and Family Affairs Gaynel See pg b11

GIVE IT ONE HUNDRED AND TEA PERCENT.

Next stop – the United Nations. UB students Kyla Basden (left) and Andrea Duncanson prepare for their trip to Switzerland.