03182021 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021

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Don’t make taxation reform ‘money grab’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government was yesterday warned not to permit its latest tax reform initiative evolve into a pure “money grab” that simply finances unrestrained public sector expansion.

Both Robert Myers and Gowon Bowe, who each headed the private sector’s Coalition for Responsible Taxation in the lead-up to VAT’s 2015 implementation, told Tribune Business that the reform focus should be much wider after a Cabinet minister confirmed

• Govt moves for new study on ‘rates and types’ • But ‘irresponsible’ not to tackle public sector size • Bahamas ‘must walk and chew gum at same time’

ROBERT MYERS

GOWON BOWE

KWASI THOMPSON

another study on taxes has been set in motion.

Mr Myers, who now heads the Organisation for Responsible Governance

(ORG), warned that it would be “irresponsible” not to consider what he described as The Bahamas’ core problem - an ever-growing size

of government that is outstripping the ability of the private sector and taxpayers

SEE PAGE 6

‘Great game changer’ for SME fund raising

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

PLANS to modernise capital-raising by small businesses were yesterday branded “a great game changer” for Bahamian entrepreneurs that is “four to five years overdue”.

Mark A Turnquest, a well-known small business consultant, told Tribune Business that the Securities Commission’s Securities Industry (Business Capital) Rules 2021, which are due for release by end-April and aim to make crowdfunding less bureaucratic and costly, will provide a major boost for innovative ventures that are perceived as too high risk by traditional lenders such as banks.

“This is a great game changer when it comes to small business financing

• Regulator to unveil crowdfunding rules • Move branded ‘four to five years overdue’ • Awaiting ministerial, Law Reform sign-off

MARK A TURNQUEST

CHRISTINA ROLLE

options. It’s so limited in scope,” he said. “I’ve been an advocate for that for the past four to five years.

There’s a significant amount of regulations and time lags, especially for technology businesses and those that are high potential but high risk.

“This is four to five years

overdue. It’s a game changer when it comes to raising a higher amount of money where you have a high-risk enterprise that has great potential, but the risk of failure outweighs the potential in the short-term. That keeps a lot of financial institutions away from investing

Insurer: ‘No full blown rate increases’ in 2021

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS First’s top executive yesterday said the general insurer has no plans for “a large, full blown rate increase across the board” in 2021 after more than a year of post-Dorian hikes.

Patrick Ward, the BISXlisted property and casualty underwriter’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business that will specific risks might attract a premium increase this year it was not implementing a widespread hike across its entire portfolio following the

PATRICK WARD rises of the past 18 months.

“We introduced a series of rate increases on our property business since Dorian,” he explained. “We believe we have accomplished a significant amount of the

SEE PAGE 9

Govt to recapitalise BDB in $20m outlay

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government will inject more than $20m to recapitalise the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) in the upcoming 2021-2022 fiscal year as part of efforts to boost small business financing.

Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, addressing the Senate during the mid-year budget debate, said that a reoriented BDB will look at multiple forms of financing and different

industries to help the Bahamian economy revive from COVID-19’s devastation.

“The BDB has been rebranded, restructured and rejuvenated with new staff, a new comprehensive strategic plan and a renewed focus on development financing,” the minister said optimistically. “The new BDB is focused on planning, providing greater transparency, measuring impact and delivering results......

“To this end, the Ministry of Finance is committing

SEE PAGE 9

in high-risk entities. The perception of risk is too high, and profitability is uncertain, so they become risk averse.”

Mr Turnquest added that in COVID-19’s aftermath it was “of the utmost importance” that The Bahamas “capture the creative risk of entrepreneurs that come up with great ideas” given that traditional lending patterns and sources of capital have “gone out the window”.

Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, said the Securities Industry (Business Capital) Rules 2021 will be completed and

SEE PAGE 7

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Crowdfund ‘nursery’ targets $800m gap for start-up funding

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN financial services provider yesterday said its companies “nursery” will help fill a potential “$800m a year” financing gap when it launches in three months’ time.

D’Arcy Rahming Jr, MDollaz Technology’s chief executive, told Tribune Business its ArawakX equity crowdfunding platform was anticipating final approval from the Securities Commission as early as this week having already received a conditional goahead from the capital markets regulator.

Speaking on the same day it was revealed that the Securities Commission is readying to release its crowdfunding rules (see other article on Page 1B), Mr Rahming Jr said ArawakX’s marketplace and clearing facility licence will help ensure that the promise offered by Bahamian entrepreneurs “doesn’t die on the vine” for lack of financing.

Mr Rahming Jr, who is the platform’s chief technology officer, described ArawakX’s creation as a four-five year “labour of love” that has seen his family “bet the farm” via a $2m-plus investment in a technology-based platform that aims to marry start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses with likeminded equity investors in a structured, regulated marketplace.

Aiming to be the first-ofits-kind to launch in The Bahamas, he added that it will also act as a clearing house and registry for the sale of equity interests in such ventures, with investors provided with a record proving their ownership.

Confirming that ArawakX will follow the Securities

D’ARCY RAHMING JR Commission’s new crowdfunding rules, Mr Rahming Jr said he and his colleagues had pressed ahead and obtained the “conditional licence” that was the best fit for what they plan to do.

He added that the marketplace and clearing facility, which is in the final stages of testing to “shake out the bugs”, will give Bahamian entrepreneurs and start-ups access to a much broader investor and capital pool.

While such ventures are presently limited to selling shares to a maximum of 40 investors, who are also friends and family, Mr Rahming Jr said the only limits imposed by ArawakX (and the Securities Commission rules) will be a $5m upper limit on the amount any start-up can raise.

To protect both sides, there will also be restrictions on the size of any equity stake held by one investor to protect a startup against so-called hostile takeovers. There will also be safeguards for investors as minority owners, since they will be able to appoint board directors while the companies themselves will also have to comply with financial reporting requirements - albeit ones that are less stringent than for BISXlisted companies.

“It’s so needed,” Mr Rahming Jr said of ArawakX. “There are so many great

SEE PAGE 8

PAGE 2, Thursday, March 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BTVI unveils new hospitality course THE Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) yesterday announced it will start offering a Hospitality Certificate, approved by City and Guilds, from summer 2021.

The pilot initiative will offer introductory courses in hospitality, hospitality management, tourism marketing and strategic tourism marketing. Each course will be delivered through the virtual learning platform for up to 48-guided learning hours for four weeks. Digital badges are attached to the certificates.

The programme’s development took place over six months, with BTVI’s dean of student affairs, Racquel Bethel, serving as

BTVI’s dean of student services, Raquel Bethel. the instructional design lead.

She and her team worked with the City and Guilds assured consultant, stationed in Trinidad.

“It was a very arduous process which required a

comprehensive assessment of BTVI quality standards.

I commend president [Dr Robert] Robertson for insisting that BTVI accelerated the programme’s development to assist with the up-skilling of hospitality workers that may have been laid-off or furloughed due to the COVID-19 closures,” said Ms Bethel.

“The programme also targets small boutique hotel and Airbnb owners, who could also benefit from training during the slow periods caused by the global pandemic.”

The courses meet the City and Guilds’ assured benchmark standards, which included, but were not limited to, health and safety; academic resources;

teaching/learning assessments; management systems; recruitment; and support services.

The City and Guilds report said BTVI has a “well-established quality management system, which has allowed for the incorporation of the assured programme to model best practice”. It confirmed that this is evidenced by the institution’s “continuous improvement in strategies, policies, procedures and practices within the organisation”.

Ms Bethel pointed to the tourism marketing certificate, which provides an overview of the role marketing and promotion play in the hospitality industry’s development. It outlines

the marketing fundamentals required in the planning and promotion of an event or destination.

“Since the COVID-19 closure, many new entrepreneurs have emerged. We want to provide the emerging entrepreneurs with the tools to market businesses and their wares for themselves. Meanwhile, a lot of people are out of work. The programme will allow them to up-skill and retool at home. Through the virtual platform, BTVI can expand its reach to include Family Islanders as well,” said Ms Bethel.

Dr Robertson praised Ms Bethel for what he branded “stellar representation” of the institution in bringing the City and

Guilds’ offerings to BTVI. “It was no doubt a gruelling process, which required lots of research and personhours. We’re very pleased with the work put in by Dean Bethel, and in an area fundamental to The Bahamas – tourism,” said Dr Robertson.

“These short, powerpacked courses address the skills gaps within our community. The fact that we live in a digital revolution in a global economy, to assist with the sustainability of the tourism industry, BTVI is doing its part to assist those who are furloughed, in between jobs or eventually looking to enter the industry, to improve on or learn new skill sets.”

GB POWER’S SMART HOME SHOWCASES COST SAVINGS GRAND Bahama Power Company has unveiled a demonstration “smart home” to show consumers how technology can help cut reduce consumption and lower energy costs.

“We have applied our considerable expertise in energy conservation design and application to developing the new smart home, and we’re excited to welcome the public,” said

CLEOPATRA RUSSELL

Nikita Mullings, GB Power’s chief operating officer.

“Centrally located in the Regent Centre in Freeport, the full-sized demonstration home provides a real life example of intelligent energy use in a comfortable home environment.

We invite Grand Bahama families to schedule a walkthrough to learn how they can see smart energy at work in a real life setting,

and apply that learning in their own homes.”

Heading up the smart home initiative is Cleopatra Russell, GB Power’s communications manager.

“Being able to see, touch and feel helps us to better understand and absorb new information. While located inside of a building, the GB Power smart home was built to mimic all aspects of a standalone home structure, so it’s relatable to our residential customers,” she said.

“We’ll show the impacts of various appliances and other equipment

on a meter in real time, providing visitors with information they can apply to make impactful changes in energy use at home.

Our team is committed to helping customers better understand and manage their energy usage, and the smart home is the first of three major initiatives we will launch this year to support that goal.”

Located at No 14 Regent Centre, the smart home will be open to the public for guided tours by appointment starting on March 22, 2021. To schedule a tour, consumers can

AIRBNB AIMS TO SPEEDUP TOURISM RETURN AIRBNB has teamed with The Bahamas to promote what it describes as “responsible travel” to this nation in a bid to speed-up tourism’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of this alliance, the vacation rental platform has also partnered with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) to launch a campaign leveraging Airbnb’s media platforms to market The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries to millions of its users.

The campaign rollout includes a series of e-mail newsletters, a landing page, and advertisements on social media showcasing Airbnb listings in The

Bahamas, as well as the existing protocols for safe travel during this time.

The promotional landing page for this partnership will be unique to others worldwide. It will integrate multiple CTO member countries, promote homes in each destination, and links to each country’s website. Airbnb has also pledged to share data with the CTO, including travel trends, to facilitate informed marketing decisions during this recovery period.

“In The Bahamas we have always prided ourselves on offering accommodations that best suit every type of traveller, including stunning Airbnb

visit www.gb-power.com/ smarthome.

“We are well aware of the continued threat of COVID-19 to our communities,” added Ms Mullings.

“All protocols designed to protect our employees and visitors to the smart home will be in place including mandatory mask-wearing, hand sanitising upon entry and physical distancing.

We look forward to welcoming you.”

Only customers with a scheduled tour appointment will be allowed, and a maximum of five visitors will be permitted at a time.

properties right on the beach,” said Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general.

“After establishing streamlined health and safety protocols in 2020, we also now pride ourselves on ensuring that our destination is safe for visitors and locals alike as we continue to navigate and adapt to the ever-changing world of travel today. From all of us in The Bahamas, we cannot wait to welcome you to our shores.”

“With the Caribbean continuing to re-open, we’re helping to usher in the safe return of travel to this wonderful region by shining a light on the many places to see and things to do,” said Carlos Munoz, Airbnb policy manager for Central America and the Caribbean. “We’re also excited to promote the important economic impact driven by hosting on Airbnb.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 3

GB EYEING MULTI-MILLION BOOST FROM TWO PROJECTS

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday hailed two multi-million dollar investment projects as providing a much-needed boost for Grand Bahama’s Dorian and COVID-19 ravaged economy.

Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, told the Senate during the mid-year budget debate that the Western Atlantic School of Medicine will invest $33m in the first phase development of its East Sunrise campus with construction work having just begun.

And he also confirmed Tribune Business’ exclusive revelations about the Weller Development project by revealing that the US-based developer plans to invest $100m in a mixed-use resort project at Discovery Bay. “I am pleased to announce that construction has commenced on the state-of-the-art Western Atlantic School of Medicine on East Sunrise in Freeport, Grand Bahama,” Mr Thompson said. “The project, which should see the completion of its first phase by year-end will consist of a 26,000 square foot building occupying some ten acres of land with a projected enrollment of some 200 students by 2022.

“This translates into some

KWASI THOMPSON 100 full-time construction jobs for the first phase to the tune of some $33m of investment into the Grand Bahama economy. Additionally, the second phase of this investment is slated to begin in January 2022, and to be completed in December 2022 to the tune of some $15m.”

Tribune Business understands that the Western Atlantic school has secured its property lease, and all necessary approvals from the government and Grand Bahama Port Authority. Mr Thompson said the secondphase will involve another 100 jobs, including 75 construction jobs and an extra 24,000 square feet of facilities. Enrollment will reach 500 students.

“Both phases will see the construction of state-ofthe-art medical education and medical tourism facilities,” Mr Thompson added.

“Western Medical is also committed to providing internship and scholarships to qualifying Bahamian students, and have also committed to working with

the Ministry of Tourism to put together a medical tourism portfolio and marketing strategy for Grand Bahama.”

Elsewhere, Mr Thompson - without naming the developer - turned to the Weller Development investment at Discovery Bay which is “in the process” of being approved by the government. “The company intends to develop a mixeduse resort consisting of a 25-key boutique hotel and restaurant; 30 residential estate lots; 12 townhouses; 12 bungalows; a beachfront rental pavilion; a 30-slip marina (to be situated in the existing canal system), and a back of house facility. It is estimated that this investment at the end of all its phases will exceed $100m,” he added.

Grand Bahama businesses yesterday reacted positively to Mr Thompson’s confirmation of the Discovery Bay project. James Rolle, general manager of Dolly Madison, told Tribune Business he would “really need to see some things happening on the ground”.

“Anything that comes to the surface now, I take it within the context of an election promise,” he added. “After four years you wait to have all of these things springing up out of the ground. Even though it is wishful thinking, I hope it does happen.

“I just hope this $100m

will go to persons on the ground, because I want to know where the money is going. It will probably still end up in the pockets of a few, but there are always crumbs that fall off of the table.

“I really need to see things happening on the ground, where my people actually leave home in the morning and go to work and, at the end of the day, take a pay cheque home.

That’s the bottom line.”

Brent Collins, Power Equipment’s chief executive, said: “This sounds awesome. Anything is welcomed, but I will believe it when I see it. I heard about this briefly, but I didn’t read too much into it, but anything along those lines will be awesome for The Bahamas in general.”

Mr Collins said he does not want smaller businessmen like himself to be crowded out by larger companies who typically receive all the investment dollars spent. “I’m out here.

I’m selling a lot of generators, but something along the lines of Discovery Bay, a lot of times the people who get awarded the contract get them because they knew someone who knew someone,” he added.

“But I’m hoping to get something out of that. The $100m only speaks about the project, but what about the workers and companies that will benefit from that $100m? How

will they benefit?”

Weller Development, which is presently spearheading a 235-acre waterfront redevelopment project in Baltimore, is negotiating the acquisition of the 30-acre tract owned

by Marriott as the cornerstone for its project.

Tribune Business, though, was told that this investment could be just the first stage in a much bigger vision that could potentially see Weller Development fill the vacuum created by Hutchison Whampoa, and its Grand Bahama Development Company (Devco) affiliate, when it comes to real estate-based ventures that could regenerate Freeport’s and, by extension, Grand Bahama’s wider economy.

Several meetings are understood to have been held with the prime minister and the government, with Dr Hubert Minnis pledging that his administration will “do whatever it can” to help bring Weller Development’s vision and ambitions to life given that Freeport desperately needs an economic “game changer” with several cruise line-led projects stalled due to COVID-19.

This newspaper was told that Rupert Hayward, grandson of the late Sir Jack Hayward, is pushing the project from the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) side, with Fred Smith QC, the Callenders

& Co attorney and partner, representing Weller Development. Erica Paine, of Graham, Thompson & Co, is acting for Marriott, with Robert Adams understood to be looking after the GBPA’s legal interests.

Elsewhere, Mr Thompson said Clean Marine Group’s facility for processing “a large volume of waste” generated by ships visiting The Bahamas will launch during April’s firsthalf from within the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

The company received matching $3.6m funding from the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) “Blue Tech Challenge” Award in 2019 to aid its creation, and Mr Thompson said: “I am advised that this will be followed by a second announcement in relatively short order of their completing on a further $10m of investment from a world-renowned sustainable ocean fund for the development of phase two.

“This investment and development has just been approved by the Bahamas Investment Authority and the National Economic Council, and will see the commencement of their developing a new site in basin three of Freeport Harbour in the second half of this year that will be capable of serving even the largest crude carriers and other tankers that visit Freeport.”

TAXI DRIVERS: PLATE CHANGE IS ONLY ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas TaxiCab Union president last night said the government has only addressed “the tip of the iceberg” for his members in confirming that the colour of self-drive vehicle plates will change.

Wesley Ferguson told

Tribune Business: “This is not exciting news because it was a simple situation that was festering.... for almost seven years, so that’s not a big deal. What we really want to do is get those things that they promised us on the march.”

The taxi drivers had held two protests earlier this year to urge the government to make good on

their promise to grant taxi drivers new plates, as well as distinguish their plate colours from those of selfdrive vehicles.

Dion Foulkes, minister for labour, local government and transport, told the Senate that the Minnis Cabinet has given a directive to the Road Traffic Department to alter the colour of self-drive vehicle plates.

These will be changed to a white colour, and away from the yellow they currently use, which is presently the same colour as taxi plates.

The change in taxi plate colours was due to take place last May, but was put on hold due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Mr Ferguson, though, added: “They need to render taxi drivers some assistance right now; those who have lost plates and who lost homes, and all of that other stuff and still can’t come back to work,

even if the economy starts to pick back up”.

Agreeing that the plate colour issue has now been rectified, Mr Ferguson said: “We were also wrangling with these green plates that are out here, or these private charter plates.

They are supposed to be on passenger buses, but they are allowing them to operate as if they’re taxis in a colour system along with the livery cars.

“So all of that is cutting into the taxi drivers’ revenues, but I guess they have

to deal with one thing at a time. So we will see what happens.” Taxi drivers were told last year that the moratorium on taxi plates was lifted, and the government would have begun to issue new taxi plates to drivers who did not have one last May. This initiative was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government has not indicated when it will begin the process of issuing new taxi plates.

COMPLETE SAND DOLLAR INTEGRATION NOW CLOSER

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS will soon be able to transact in Sand Dollars with persons holding bank accounts and digital wallets at other financial services providers, a Cabinet minister said yesterday.

Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, told the Senate during yesterday’s mid-year budget debate that “the Central Bank has also worked to achieve the interoperability of all proprietary mobile apps within the Sand Dollar infrastructure.

“This means that

businesses and individuals will be able to send and receive funds with any other digital wallets once the transaction is in Sand Dollars,” he added. “The Central Bank has imposed a timeline to achieve crossplatform interoperability by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

“Imminently, the Central Bank will also complete the integration of the digital infrastructure with the commercial banking system. This will establish a link between wallets and deposit accounts. Those with access to online banking will be able to wire funds to their Sand Dollar wallets and, when desired, to send

funds from their wallets to their deposit accounts.

“The direct integration of the Sand Dollar to the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems is expected to be concluded by the end of the first quarter of 2021.”

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, said the regulator was “making progress” towards full banking and payments system integration with the Bahamian digital currency. “We are making certain that the system can communicate through the ACH system,” he added.

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 4, Thursday, March 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

BTC HARDENS NETWORK WITH ‘CONTAINER’ SOLUTION THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has deployed containerised “Central Offices” to several Family Islands and cays as it bids to harden its infrastructure post-Hurricane Dorian.

The carrier, in a statement, said its use of these offices was among the lessons learned from the category five storm as it seeks to enhance network resilience and redundancy.

The Central Offices, commonly known as exchanges, house switching equipment for residential and business customers’ telephone lines, and will minimise the reliance on commercial power. The Central Offices in McLean’s Town, Grand Bahama; Marsh Harbour and Cooper’s Town on Abaco; Ragged Island and Sweeting’s Cay have been the beneficiaries of this new technology.

André Foster, BTC’s chief executive, said: “Our first ‘why’ as a business is our commitment to keeping people, businesses and communities connected.

We continue to invest in innovative technologies and solutions that enable us to meet and exceed the demands of our customers.

“We are indeed proud of this enhancement to our network, which is a great example of the Central Office of the future and also serves to protect the environment. This is just one of the many ways that we are working to evolve our

MARSH Harbour Containerised Central Office.

COMPLETE SAND DOLLAR INTEGRATION NOW CLOSER FROM PAGE THREE

MCLEANS Town Containerised Central Office. entire business.”

The containerised solutions are fuelled with solar power and an internal back-up generator.

The use of commercial power is deemed an alternate source of electricity.

The first deployment was in McLean’s Town, and that unit has operated

completely off-grid with solar power since May 2020.

The units are outfitted with retractable solar panels on top of the containers, and can retract inward to protect themselves during severe weather such as hurricanes. These are all remotely-manned solutions.

As BTC continues to

upgrade its Central Offices nationwide, it will replace traditional “brick and mortar” locations with next generation self-sustaining solutions as a part of the company’s technology road map.

BTC is also modernising its network across thousands of homes, and has

completed its fibre-to-thehome upgrades in Grand Bahama, Exuma and surrounding cays, and several areas of New Providence.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

“That is work that we are actively in the midst of, and we are nearing the completion point. So between this month and going into April we have set the deadline for the completion of that work. As a matter of fact we are working on trying to get that done by the end of March, so we won’t be far off from that timeline.”

The Sand Dollar, which will accelerate and deepen the move to digital and electronic payments, should also help to fill the vacuum created in many Family Island economies and communities by the withdrawal of commercial bank branches.

Mr Rolle said: “If somebody wants to put money on a mobile or digital wallet, similar to the way they would make transfers using their banking facilities for other purposes, the mobile wallet would just be another address to which they could transfer funds.

“This will help the people in the Family Islands, because it will go in two directions. The big part of the work that we’re doing is really so that the Sand Dollar infrastructure can send money into bank accounts.

“So if somebody has more money in a digital wallet than they intend to use, they will be able to go through the process of sending it to a bank account to be identified, similar to the way you would wire funds from bank to bank.

You will be sending a wire through the system and we will be using the messaging standard that the ACH adopts for people to send funds.”

TEMPLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL

ENTRANCE EXAMINATION 2021-2022 Temple Christian High School will hold its Entrance Examination on Saturday, March 20, 2021 at the school on Shirley Street from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon for students wishing to enter grades 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Application forms are available at the High School Office. The application fee is twentyfive dollars ($25). Application forms should be completed and returned to the school by Friday, March 19, 2021.

For further information, please call telephone number: 394-4481/394-4484.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 5

REALTOR ADDS THREE NEW SALES AGENTS A MAJOR realtor has expanded its Bahamas-wide workforce by adding three sales agents in key markets.

Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty said it has expanded its sales team via Colleen Carey, who will be based in Harbour Island; Scott Ferguson in Treasure Cay, Abaco; and Candis Lakin, who will be located in Nassau.

“We’ve seen an increase in activity in all markets since travel restrictions began to lift in January,” said Lana Rademaker, Damianos Sotheby’s chief brokerage officer. “Eleuthera, including Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, has been a particularly active market over the past six months with a strong demand for turnkey beachfront homes and oceanfront estates.

“We are also very encouraged by the surge of interest in Abaco properties, which will contribute to the ongoing rebuilding efforts post-Hurricane Dorian.”

Formerly a co-owner of Studio Ohana in Nassau, Ms Carey has returned to The Bahamas after spending some time in the US. “The Harbour Island market is

a unique one, even among other luxury markets,” Ms Rademaker said.

“It’s an intimate, sophisticated community where discretion and curating long-term relationships are highly valued. Colleen’s natural ability to make deep connections with those around her, and her knack for instantly making them

NOTICE MS. VERNICA BUTLER DAUGHTER OF THE LATE MRS. KAREN BUTLER-WILLIAMS

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PLEASE CONTACT NASSAU FLIGHT SERVICES LTD. AT

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feel comfortable, make her an excellent fit for this tightknit community. “ Mr Ferguson, also a native Bahamian, has been a long-standing member of the Abaco business community for decades through participation in a variety of industries including retail, passenger marine transport and

construction/development.

“Scott has an extensive personal and professional network, and is well-respected as a businessman throughout The Bahamas,” Ms Rademaker said. “He sincerely enjoys being involved in his community, and is extremely focused on helping businesses rebuild and thrive

throughout Abaco.”

Ms Lakin has spent the past ten years as an executive assistant for Damianos Sotheby’s owner and chief executive, George Damianos, and top producer, Nick Damianos.

“Candis’ daily interaction with some of our company’s most high-net-worth clients over the years has offered her a unique perspective on our business and the relationships we’ve spent decades nurturing,” Ms Rademaker said.

“Her insight into this unique segment of our client base, and her extensive understanding of their needs, means she’ll hit the ground running as a sales agent. We’re extremely supportive of this new career path she’s chosen.”

PAGE 6, Thursday, March 18, 2021

Don’t make taxation reform ‘money grab’ FROM PAGE ONE

to support it.

Suggesting that The Bahamas will “have to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time”, Mr Bowe said efforts to halt growth in total government expenditure - which is projected to hit the $3bn mark this fiscal year and exceed it within three - will have to be done in “parallel” to any tax reform.

He argued this would ensure the latter initiative does not become “a money grab” by the government, a term that was also used by Mr Myers, with Mr Bowe revealing he “understands calls to right the ship”.

Both men spoke out after Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, disclosed in his Senate mid-year budget contribution that the government had late last year begun the process of initiating

THE TRIBUNE further tax reform studies amid concerns the present system is not suitable to cope with “the past two years of economic trauma”.

Describing tax reform as being among the “most controversial and the most difficult” issues to tackle, Mr Thompson cited a 2020 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) that showed The Bahamas’ tax revenues are the lowest in the English-speaking Caribbean when compared to the economy’s size.

At 17.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), The Bahamas’ tax revenues were shown to be lower

than those of St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, which stood at 20 percent, 24.2 percent and 27.8 percent respectively.

Some observers might argue this shows The Bahamas’ tax revenues are too low when measured against the economy’s size, and that the OECD study shows there is significant scope to increase them. Mr Thompson, though, gave no indication that the government is thinking in this direction, although he argued that the findings showed efficiency in tax administration is key.

“With such a relatively low taxation system there is no doubt we must effectively manage every dollar we collect, and we must collect every dollar that is owed. It also means we must achieve greater revenue sufficiency to protect the country from severe economic shocks and ensure fiscal resilience,” he told the Senate.

“We will not make rash, politically expedient decisions when it comes to taxes and government revenue,” Mr Thompson pledged. A new assessment of our current tax policies and administration is required. Since late last year, the government has been in discussions with our multilateral partners to conduct an updated review and assessment of our tax regime.”

The “multilateral partners” were not identified, but the minister was likely referring to the likes of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the latter’s regional affiliate, CARTAC. Affirming that the government has been paving the way for another taxation study in the wake of both COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian, Mr Thompson added: “While we have conducted studies in the past, they are time sensitive and must be grounded in present and anticipated future realities. The past two years of economic trauma require a reimagining of the future.

“A new assessment is critical now more than ever before. Such a study will not only aid in reviewing flaws and weaknesses in the administration of our tax system, but it will also review our tax rates, policies and types of tax.

At the conclusion of this exercise the public will be engaged on the way forward.”

Tax reform, and whether the current consumptionbased system is fit for purpose, has become a much-debated topic in recent weeks as the political parties prepare for their respective general election campaigns.

Philip Davis, the opposition leader, ignited it when he suggested a PLP administration would initiate research to determine if The Bahamas’ current tax structure remains viable and appropriate following the devastation inflicted

by COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.

What Mr Thompson announced yesterday appears to mirror what Mr Davis has in mind, and the PLP followed this up by pledging to

cut the VAT rate to ten percent - from the present 12 percent - if elected to office for what would effectively be a one-year experiment to see if it stimulated the economy while producing no appreciable decrease in government revenues.

The Bahamas’ VAT and import duty-dependent tax system is widely viewed as regressive, because it is not linked to a taxpayer’s ability to pay and lower income citizens spend proportionately more of their income on taxes compared to their wealthier counterparts.

The perceived need for greater equity and fairness, as well as international pressures on the financial services industry, have prompted growing calls in recent years for The Bahamas to at least look closely at implementing a personal and/or corporate income tax as well as other more progressive levies.

Mr Myers yesterday voiced concern over Mr Thompson’s remark that suggested the Bahamian public will only have input into the reform process once the study is completed. Calling on the government to “learn from the mistakes” of its predecessors, he warned: “It’s not prudent to ram things down the public’s throat.

“Why should you not engage the public in the study? There would be better buy-in. If you have the private sector, civil society and individual industries involved from the get-go you’ll avoid any unnecessary shocks. Don’t treat the public like they’re not part of the process.”

Mr Myers reiterated his belief that “the core problem” for The Bahamas’ strained public finances is the everincreasing size of government as a proportion of GDP (the economy’s size), as the lack of growth in the latter over the past decade has made it increasingly difficult for taxpayers to support the public sector.

Total government spending (the combined recurrent and capital expenditure) is projected to remain at around $3bn over the next four years, and Mr Myers said a “narrow focus” to any reform efforts that fails to encompass a “broad discussion” on this issue “will not be well received”.

Suggesting that the government would “be treading on thin ice” if it concentrates solely on tax reform, he added: “If you are going to have an educated and responsible discussion on tax reform, it has to include public sector reform. Any other discussion is around something completely unacceptable.

“How can you have a discussion around tax reform when the core problem is the size and cost of government relative to our economy? It’s just irresponsible; anything less is irresponsible. Yes, there are intrinsic problems with the tax types, but the core problem is the size of government relative to the economy.

“If you’re going to ignore that you do not have the

public’s interest at heart; you only have the public sector’s interests at heart. That is going to cause a collapse.”

The last Christie administration came under fire for using the extra VAT revenues to increase the size of government, rather than narrow/ eliminate the annual fiscal deficit and pay down the national debt, instead adding $2.4bn to the latter.

Mr Myers warned that leaving any tax reform study to the government and public sector to complete, before the private sector and public are brought in, was akin to “the fox guarding the hen house” given the failure to rein in expenditure over the past two decades.

“A tax reform discussion that happens without public sector reform being a significant part of the discussion is just a farce, and another attempt at a public sector money grab to pay for their irresponsible actions,” he told Tribune Business.

Mr Bowe, for his part, warned the government against trying to reinvent the wheel by pointing to the numerous taxation studies carried out in recent years.

In particular, he pointed to Deloitte & Touche report from 2018 that examined many of the issues raised by Mr Thompson in his Senate address yesterday.

Cautioning against “studies for the sake of studies” that turn into “a never-ending promise”, the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief also voiced concern about “mixed messages we need to clarify”.

In particular, he pointed to Mr Thompson’s recent assertions that the government has ruled out implementing an income tax, questioning whether this meant the subject will be off-limits in any reform study.

“Politicians have said in the public arena there will be no income tax, but now you’re saying you will do a tax study,” Mr Bowe said. “We have to be careful about mixed messaging. If you are saying no income tax, are you tying one hand behind the back of the multilateral agencies? You have to let empirical evidence guide your path.”

Reaffirming his believe that equity (ability to pay); economic competitiveness; and providing the government with sufficient revenues were the three principles that should underpin tax policy, Mr Bowe said any reform discussion needed to be “elevated” above the political fray as election season approaches.

As to the calls for public spending reform to accompany the tax variety, he added: “I understand the calls to right the ship, but we’re going to have to do it in mid-flight. It’s not going to be possible to do this, do that. It’s going to have to be done in parallel. Our call should be for a parallel run, not just a money grab....

“My view is we have to learn to walk and chew gum at the same time. If you look at a private sector company running a deficit, you cannot focus on one side of the ledger only.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 7

‘Great game changer’ for SME fund raising FROM PAGE ONE released by the end of April.

She added: “There are certain requirements that are mandated by the Act. Anyone who wants to go to the public to raise capital, they must meet those requirements. We’ve drafted the rules and they are currently with the Law Reform (Commission) for sign off.

“Once they’ve been signed off by Law Reform, we will send it to the minister for his non-objection. So we’re within weeks away. By the end of April this should be all wrapped up.”

Ms Rolle explained: “What these business capital rules will do is they will relax those requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises, so that it can be easier for them to go to the public to raise capital.

“Now they will be able to do that via a crowd fund platform, or via a broker

in certain circumstances.

SMEs will be able to raise up to $5m in the public via a relaxed set of rules. The requirements for audited financial statements will no longer be there for up to $5m for SMEs.” The release of the rules was foreshadowed by Kwasi Thompson, minister of state for finance, during his Senate mid-year Budget contribution. He added that the initiative will “modernise the rules for small businesses to raise capital.

These rules make the process of raising crowd funding less costly and less bureaucratic for small businesses”.

He added: “Under the terms of these new proposed rules, businesses will be able to raise up to $5m via crowdfunding without having to file a prospectus with the [Securities] Commission. The shares created under this framework will be transferable and can be traded on the secondary

market, such as BISX (the Bahamas International Securities Exchange).

“For too long, small businesses that wanted to offer shares in their company to raise capital had their hands tied by the bureaucracy.

Not any more. With crowd sourcing provisions and other modifications to the regulatory regime, the ability for the small business to raise capital and sell shares will no longer be limited to the proverbial ‘big boys’ in the corporate world.

“We are bringing the capital markets within the reach of the Bahamian entrepreneur and small businesses. The new rules will provide protections as well for small businesses.

For example, there will be limitations on the number of shares that an individual outside investor may hold, thus protecting the small business owner from hostile takeovers.”

Small businesses

MELINDA GATES SAYS PHILANTHROPY, GOVERNMENT WORK BEST UNITED NEW YORK Associated Press PHILANTHROPY is in a unique position to speed global change, but government action is necessary to implement it, Melinda Gates, pictured, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said Wednesday.

“Philanthropy can often take risks,” said Gates, speaking at the Bloomberg Equality Summit. “They can try innovations that sometimes work and sometimes fail. They can look for new solutions. They can help us collect the data. But ultimately, it’s always up to government to scale up these innovations to create a change.”

Gates, whose foundation has donated more than $2bn to fight the spread of COVID-19, said the development of the coronavirus vaccines is a prime example

of how philanthropy and government policies can work together.

“Ultimately, it’s billions of dollars from the government that will pull that through and purchase it for Americans and people in low-income countries,” she said. “It’s always up to government, but I think philanthropy or private sector and civil society can always help lead the way.”

Though her foundation has donated billions toward reforms for education and the environment, Gates said government has the power

to make permanent change.

She said she found discussing those issues with the Trump administration “incredibly frustrating”, but appreciates the shift in policy from the Biden administration.

“I am very happy to see a new administration who’s not only taking the threat (of climate change) seriously, but also taking very bold and concrete actions,” she said. “That’s what we should expect as Americans.”

Gates also said she hopes that the Biden administration will establish an innovation fund dedicated to child care.

“We have a caregiving crisis and yet there are great ideas out there,” she said.

“Those kinds of ideas need to be funded and come forward so that we can come up with new innovations in society when it comes to women and how much they’ve backslid in the pandemic.”

reacted positively to the move. Avery Anderson, owner/operator of the Royal Group of Companies, said: “I think it’d be a great idea.

If it is for equity that would be a great idea for the business owner, and the people investing because they’ll be able to get additional income from their funds. So I think it’s a great idea. And I think it’d be a great thing to the small business community in The Bahamas.”

Philip Darville, SolveIT

Bahamas’ managing director, added: “I think once they put the regulatory framework in place to allow for crowd funding, you won’t need it to be done through BISX. You can raise capital privately.

“But without a prospectus, how can investors gauge their level of risk?

If all of the contingencies are accounted for I think it’s an excellent opportunity to take The Bahamas global to allow for more

international participation.”

BISX had previously been exploring creating its own crowdfunding platform to bring companies and investors together. Keith Davies, its chief executive, yesterday welcomed the imminent release of the rules, and said: “It allows us to finally solidify the thinking and planning that has gone into creating the environment for crowd funding. We’ll see where that leads us.”

PAGE 8, Thursday, March 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Crowdfund ‘nursery’ targets $800m gap for start-up funding FROM PAGE ONE ideas that die on the vine because people cannot get funding. We’re trying to help the entrepreneurs. They go out, hire great talent, and the country will be better off. This is a tool of growth for business people who are going out and creating value.

“Since COVID-19 especially, businesses have been repositioning themselves and restructuring. Everybody needs financing. It’s the number one problem of the day; always has and always will.”

Acknowledging that “a lot of different numbers have been thrown out there” when it comes to measuring the gap between small business and start-up financing needs, and the amount of capital available, Mr Rahming Jr added: “I think it’s closer to what the Bahamas Development Bank said, $800m a year. That’s how bad the need really is.

“We have a lot of really talented people here. They just need structure around them to monetise what they are doing. This is what our expertise is. We’ve bet the farm on it and I believe we can. You’ll see a lot more innovation as a result of this, and a lot more people

staying in The Bahamas. If you can build a dream business in this country, why would you leave?

“We want companies to evolve into big companies.

That’s the gap we’re filling.

We want to be a nursery for companies. The demand is there, and is really, really high. There’s a whole generation of people that cannot afford $50,000 placements and are looking to find other opportunities to invest in.

We’ll do a pre-launch with some of the companies, and there are some pretty sexy ones.”

Mr Rahming Jr said eight persons are currently employed by Arawak X, with that number set to increase to 20 before it launches. He added that his father, D’Arcy Rahming senior, former chief operating officer at the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX), had “invested his whole future; everything he has ever earned in here. For us this is more; it’s my father’s life work”.

Mr Rahming snr chairs MDollaz Technology. Other directors include ex-Securities Commission chief, Hillary Deveaux; Open Systems Technology chief executive, Peter Bridgewater; and Doug Kryzan, a US

technology entrepreneur, who is vice-chairman.

Crowdfunding involves financing a project or business venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via an Internet-based electronic platform such as ArawakX. It pools money from friends, family and investors.

Bahamian entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises are especially familiar with this, as it is typically the mechanism they have employed to raise startup and expansion capital.

Crowdfunders take equity stakes in the businesses they finance, appointing directors to the Board to safeguard their interests, rather than offering debt financing.

Besides crowdfunders earning a higher return on their investment, via dividends and share price appreciation if the business prospers, this financing method also enables startups and entrepreneurs to avoid having to take on a heavy debt financing burden than can often cause their idea to fail.

Mr Rahming Jr said ArawakX had suspended the education campaign it launched in 2019 after becoming overwhelmed by the level of interest. He

added that, to-date, more than 254 companies and 469 investors have expressed written interest in equity crowdfunding to it.

He added that the platform’s launch, and structured market and rules it offers, will bring “more professionalism” to the start-up and entrepreneur market. Mr Rahming Jr described the initial financing round as “just getting them over the hump”, with the expectation being that successful ventures will come back for more financing rounds that will make them “10 times’ bigger”.

“We are in contact with our regulators who are being very thorough. A

marketplace and clearing facility license is one of the most difficult licenses to get. This has been a labour of love; a very expensive and lengthy process,” said Mr Rahming Jr in a statement.

“We know that thousands of people will be impacted positively by our ArawakX platform. We have full operational capabilities with world-class technology providers and world class Bahamians running it. I’m so happy that we as a jurisdiction are taking the Fintech revolution by storm.

“In the past, young, talented Bahamians, like myself, would have had to leave The Bahamas

for places like New York, Chicago, London or San Francisco to do anything innovative. Our initial hires are all Bahamians. We expect to hire over 200 more Bahamians,” he added.

“If our listed companies meet their funding targets, thousands of new high paying jobs will be created by those companies.

Although we anticipate in later phases we will be expanding in the Caribbean, in this first phase we intend to find Bahamian companies capital up to $5m. Also, we will be providing Bahamian investors with opportunities to participate, starting as low as $25.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 9

Insurer: ‘No full blown Govt to recapitalise rate increases’ in 2021 BDB in $20m outlay FROM PAGE ONE

increases we were looking at. There may be some individual actions taken on certain risks, but I don’t anticipate a large, full-blown rate increase across the board.

“There will be individual risks that attract increases, but that’s because of underwriting considerations.

Starting at the back end of 2019, and going into 2020, there were some locations that had increases. But we’re not trying to achieve a significant increase in rates, a full blown increase in rates, this year.”

Mr Ward spoke after Bahamas First unveiled its financial results for the 2020 full-year and fourth quarter.

The property and casualty insurer enjoyed a positive $7.681m bottom line swing due to the absence of any major hurricanes last year, with 2019 comparatives hammered by the claims payouts sparked by the devastation Dorian inflicted on Grand Bahama and Abaco.

Bahamas First transformed a $2.376m net loss for 2019 into a $5.306m profit for the 12 months to end-December 2020, as it shrugged off a $2.881m net loss on the value of its investments portfolio due to share price declines stemming from COVID-19’s economic impact.

However, 2020’s final quarter dented Bahamas First’s full-year performance as the insurer recorded a net loss for that period of $1.536m. Alison Treco, the company’s chair, told shareholders: “Ongoing retention of business will be a challenge, and during the fourth there was a decrease in gross written premiums of five percent over the same

quarter of the prior year.

“Whilst our claims’ experience for the first three quarters of the year was trending positively, during the fourth quarter we experienced a 47 percent increase in overall claims compared to prior period. This was due to several fire claims in The Bahamas and an increase in health claims in Cayman.

“We noted an uptick in the use of general health services after restrictions were lifted in Cayman, due to the positive response to the pandemic. As a result, our net underwriting income for the quarter was down by 13 percent,” Ms Treco added.

“The fourth quarter saw a further decline in the unrealised loss on investment of $0.5m compared to a gain of $1.6m in the prior year, accounting for a swing in quarter on quarter of $2.1m. The prior quarter’s loss was partially offset by an increase in other income of $1.2m due to a loss on building revaluation recognised in 2019.”

Mr Ward told Tribune Business that the fourth quarter claims experience and loss was “nothing out of the ordinary” in terms of its extent when measured on a full-year basis, but was unusual “in the sense that it occurred in one quarter”.

He added that Ms Treco’s comments on business retention were “a reflection of where we’re at economically”, with COVID-19’s economic devastation for businesses and workers impacting their ability to afford homeowners and auto insurance.

However, he added that the economic outlook was “more promising than it was” based on what Bahamas First had seen during

early 2021. “I think that right now there is a more optimistic outlook than would be the case if things had not started opening up,” Mr Ward said.

“To what extent two months represents a trend is open to question. We won’t necessarily take the first two months of the year as a continuing trend, but so far the outlook is more promising than it could have been.”

Ms Treco told shareholders of 2020’s performance: “We managed to maintain relatively stable gross written premiums for the year in spite of the current economic environment. The markets in Abaco and Grand Bahama are slowly recovering following Hurricane Dorian, and The Bahamas’ operations have benefitted from premiums generated from engineering activity in the rebuilding process.

“As expected, there was a significant increase in net underwriting income from $21m in 2019 to $33m in 2020 due to the absence of a catastrophe in 2020. Investment income negatively impacted results due to an unrealised loss of $2.9m recorded for the year, which was offset to some extent by an increase of $1m in other income.

“Expenses increased marginally by two percent.

During the year the group implemented a new software that is designed to bring it to a new level of online interaction with its customers, brokers and agents. As expected, we incurred additional costs related to this implementation. We also incurred costs related to COVID-19, as we continue to implement best practices to keep our staff and customers safe.”

FROM PAGE ONE

more than $20m in financing in the 2021-2022 fiscal year to recapitalise the BDB and increase funding opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses in The Bahamas.”

Equity and bridge financing, together with syndicated loans, are some of the financing options that will be explored by the BDB, according to Mr Thompson. He added that it will focus on supporting small farmers involved in “all-natural broiler production”; the commercial animal sector; honey exports; climate resilient housing; and Cascarilla production.

Elsewhere, Mr Thompson said the revived partnership with Tyler Technologies, which has continued work initiated under the former Christie administration, had

“added over $9bn” worth of real estate to the property tax roll following its island wide assessment of New Providence.

“The real property tax system in The Bahamas has long been a source of revenue leakage for the government. Mountains of tax arrears have been accumulating, in part because our systems were antiquated,” he said.

“The real property tax system has been plagued with bad data issues as its database has been populated with inconsistent and poor property descriptions, poor ownership records and other missing and outdated records.

“To date, the implementation of the new real property tax system with technology partner, Tyler Technologies, has resulted in the employment of 45 Bahamians. The new platform

has been updated with over 13,000 assessments, adding over $9bn in tax property value to the tax roll,” Mr Thompson continued.

“Our database now has consistent property descriptions which will result in less errors in billings. Based on the work to date on this project, real property tax revenue is estimated to increase by $14m to $22m.”

Elsewhere, Mr Thompson said the categories of businesses eligible for a provisional business licence, which would be awarded in 48 hours, have been expanded to include “low risk businesses” such as clothing stores; beauty stores; furniture stores; bookstores; florists; car washes; small construction businesses; farming and fishing businesses; printing shops; retail and wholesale companies; and home-based businesses.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

PAGE 10, Thursday, March 18, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

MAKE A PLAN TO GET YOUR MONEY RESOLUTION BACK ON TRACK

By LAUREN SCHWAHN Associated Press WE’RE three months into 2021. Let’s check on those financial New Year’s resolutions. (Remember those?)

Quite possibly, they’ve already gone awry.

Maybe you planned to build a $1,000 emergency fund, but the balance is still zero. Or perhaps you swore off takeout, yet you’re scraping the last bite of chow mein from a paper container as you read this.

Don’t beat yourself up.

You don’t have to give up on your goal because of a setback.

“There’s nothing magical about New Year’s, and you don’t have to wait until 2022 to try again,” says Amy Hubble, a certified financial planner and founder

A COUPLE walks through a park at sunset in Kansas City, Mo. For many Americans, 2021 didn’t start off as swimmingly as expected, and neither did their financial New Year’s resolutions. But the year is far from over. It’s not too late to get those goals back on track after a slip-up.

Photo: Charlie Riedel/AP of Radix Financial LLC in Oklahoma City.

Here’s how to salvage your money resolution.

FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG Step back and examine why you couldn’t stick to your resolution in the first

place. Possible culprits: the goal was vague, too ambitious or lacked a plan. For example, say your resolution was to save money. That didn’t address how much to save, how to save it and so on. A more effective resolution might have been to put

$100 from each paycheck into a savings account.

Hubble recommends using the “SMART” goals framework to set resolutions. That stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely, she says. Was your goal missing any of these elements? If so, there’s a good chance you can salvage it by restarting with this approach.

But sometimes resolutions are beyond rescuing.

If your financial situation has changed since you set it — say you lost your job or unexpectedly faced a major home repair — it’s perfectly acceptable to tweak it or walk away.

“Financial planning is a process, not an event,” says Trent Porter, a certified financial planner, life coach and founder of

Priority Financial Partners in Durango, Colorado.

“Life’s going to change, and your goals and how you get there are going to need to adapt.”

KNOW YOUR REASON Ready to give your resolution another go? Ask yourself why you’ve chosen this goal and what exactly you hope to accomplish.

“Maybe it’s less stress on your marriage or partnership, maybe it’s the ability to go on vacation once the world opens up again, and maybe it’s the ability to retire one year earlier,” Hubble says.

Having a personal reason in mind can inspire you to see it through.

TAKE SMALLER STEPS If you know your “why” but struggle with how to work toward the resolution, try making “little plans within the big plan,” Hubble says. Think about what you can do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to make reaching your 2021 goal more manageable.

For instance, if your financial resolution is to pay off $10,000 in credit card debt, calculate how much you need to pay each month to meet that goal, Hubble says.

Then, focus on that smaller chunk.

SEEK AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER Find someone to discuss your resolution with. A spouse, roommate, friend or co-worker can shepherd and encourage you. Consulting a partner you share finances with is especially important.

“If their goals aren’t in alignment or they’re not supportive of what you’re trying to achieve, it’s going

to make it a lot more difficult,” Porter says.

Turning to an expert, like a financial planner, is also an option. If you have a complicated financial situation or resolution, they can help you craft a customized plan.

AUTOMATE YOUR RESOLUTION Automating the work allows you to make strides even if you lose momentum or are prone to forgetfulness. You can set up recurring bill payments, transfer money between bank accounts or track spending with an app, for example.

If you need to pay $200 toward a credit card bill every month, have that payment automatically taken out on payday before you have a chance to overspend, Hubble says. “Make it where it’s almost harder to not pay that bill.”

CHECK YOUR STATUS Don’t get too comfortable. Schedule quick check-ins with yourself or your supporter to monitor your progress. Once a month should suffice for most resolutions.

At each check-in, add up how much you’ve saved or spent so far and compare that with where you expected to be at this point.

Note any roadblocks. Then you can decide whether to carry on or refine your technique.

Success won’t happen overnight.

You’ve got roughly nine months left this year to hit your resolution goal. Leave the rough start behind and put your new plan in motion.

LEGAL NOTICE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

Safra Quantitative Global Fund Ltd. Voluntary Liquidation

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 as follows:a)

Safra Quantitative Global Fund Ltd. is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act, 2000.

b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on 16th March 2021 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Israel Borba whose address is Lyford Financial Centre, Building 2, Western Road, P.O. Box CB-10988, Lyford Cay, New Providence, Nassau, Bahamas.

Israel Borba Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

THMO INVESTMENT LTD (the “Company”)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of THMO INVESTMENT LTD has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the Dissolution was the 31st day of December, Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator LEGAL NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

ACA Investment Ltd (the “Company”)

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of ACA Investment Ltd has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the Dissolution was the 31st day of December, 2020.

Luciane Ribeiro Moreno Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 11

Fed expects to keep its key rate near zero through 2023 WASHINGTON Associated Press THE Federal Reserve foresees the economy accelerating quickly this year yet still expects to keep its benchmark interest rate pinned near zero through 2023, despite concerns in financial markets about potentially higher inflation.

With its brightening outlook, the Fed yesterday significantly upgraded its forecasts for growth and inflation. It now expects the economy to expand 6.5% this year, up sharply from its previous projection in December of 4.2%. And the Fed raised its forecast for inflation by the end of this year from 1.8% to 2.4% after years of chronically low price increases.

The Fed also said it would continue its monthly purchases of $120bn in bonds, which are intended to keep longer-term borrowing costs low.

On Wall Street, investors registered their approval of the Fed’s low-rate message, sending stock indexes higher. And the closely watched yield on the tenyear Treasury note, which has surged in recent weeks on inflation concerns, declined slightly.

Still, the Fed’s upgraded forecasts raised questions about what would cause it eventually to raise its key short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans. As the economy strengthens, the policymakers think the unemployment rate will drop faster than they thought in December: They foresee unemployment falling from its current 6.2% to 4.5% by year’s end and to 3.9%, near a healthy level, at the end of 2022.

That suggests that the central bank will be close

to meeting its goals by 2023, when it expects inflation to exceed its 2% target level and for unemployment to be at 3.5%, which is where it was before the pandemic struck. Yet it still doesn’t project a rate hike then.

At a news conference after the Fed’s latest policy meeting, Chair Jerome Powell stressed that the central bank wants to see substantial improvement in the job market and economy and won’t reverse its lowrate policies based solely on forecasts. Last year, the Fed altered its policy framework to make clear that it would eventually raise rates only after annual inflation had exceeded its 2% target “for some time” — and not just when higher inflation appeared likely.

Yesterday, Powell appeared intent on emphasising that shift.

“We’re going to wait to see actual data,” he said.

“And I think it will take people time to adjust to that new practice. And the only way we can really build the credibility of that is by doing it.”

Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Tufts University, said: “The message here is that the Fed is not concerned about inflation right now. The trend around the world is toward lower inflation. Since that is the case, the Fed is saying, why worry about it? This low inflation trend is the Fed’s friend.”

There were signs, though, that at least some Fed officials are edging closer to reining in the central bank’s ultra-low-rate policies. The central bank indicated that four of the 18 policymakers now expect a rate hike in 2022, up from just one in December. And seven predict a hike in 2023, up from five in December. The Fed doesn’t name which officials

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, ROWLAND ROLFIE LOBOSKY of Freeport, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas formerly named ROLAND ROLFIE LOBOSKEY, aka ROLAND ROLFIE LOBOASKY, aka ROWLAND ROLFIE LOBOSKY aka ROLAND LOBOSKY and ROLAND ROLFIE SMITH intend to change my name to ROWLAND ROLFIE LOBOSKY. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, SHANKOYON FARRINGTON, of Faith Gardens, P.O.Box SP61828 Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to SHANKAYON FARRINGTON If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that Aaliyha Simor Marjie Humes of Doubloon Drive, South Bahamia, Grand Bahama, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 11th day of March, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JAMES ALEXANDER GEORGE, of #4 Woods Drive, Albany, P.O. Box CB-11901 New Providence , The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 11th day of March 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

CHAIRMAN of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. The Fed survey released yesterday said that reports on consumer spending and auto sales were mixed last month, while overall manufacturing showed moderate gains despite supply-side constraints. The report, known as the beige book, is based on surveys conducted by the Fed’s 12 regional banks. make which projections.

At the same time, Powell downplayed the notion that Fed officials can accurately project their policies well past this year.

“The state of the economy in two or three years is highly uncertain,” he said, “and I wouldn’t want to focus too much on the exact timing of a potential rate increase that far

into the future.”

The Fed chair also credited the government’s emergency spending, including substantial relief packages approved by both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with preventing an even worse downturn from shuttered small businesses and workers losing jobs permanently.

Still, the Fed doesn’t

expect the unemployment rate to return to its prepandemic level of 3.5% until late 2023.

“The faster the better,” Powell said, “but realistically, given the numbers, it’s going to take some time.”

At the moment, Powell faces a delicate balancing act: The economy is clearly improving. But if the chairman is perceived to be too optimistic, investors might assume the Fed will reverse its low-rate policies prematurely. That could send bond yields rising and weaken the economy as borrowing becomes costlier for companies and households.

Yet if Powell sounds worried that the job market is recovering only slowly, it might spark concerns that the Fed won’t be watchful enough about inflation pressures. That perception, too, could send bond yields rising as investors anticipate rising inflation.

Yesterday, the chairman downplayed the prospect that inflation could eventually surge out of control.

“There was a time when inflation went up, it would stay up,” he said at the news conference. “And that time is not now. That hasn’t been the case for some decades.”

This week’s Fed policy meeting came as the economy’s outlook has improved significantly since it last met in late January. Job gains accelerated in February, sales at retail stores jumped after $600 relief checks were distributed at the start of the year and Biden signed his economic relief package into law. Average daily COVID infections have also dropped precipitously. And vaccinations have accelerated, raising hopes that Americans will increasingly travel, shop, eat out and spend freely after a year of virus-induced restraint.

As a consequence, economists have been upgrading their outlooks, with many predicting that the economy will expand as much as 7% for all of 2021. That would be the fastest annual growth since 1984. The brighter outlook has sent the yield on the ten-year Treasury note climbing as investors have dumped bonds, which are typically safe-haven investments during downturns.

Still, the job market has a long way to go to a full recovery. With unemployment at 6.2%, the economy still has 9.5 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic struck a year ago.

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MICHAEL PIERRE of Prince Charles Drive, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 11th day of March, 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that FREDLIN VICTOR, of Sandilands Village, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of March 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

WEDNESDAY, 17 MARCH 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

1911.08

-26.96

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

-1.39 -181.38

-8.67

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.80 33.05 2.00 2.90 2.10 6.00 6.90 3.60 6.15 4.26 6.16 12.00 2.75 6.85 10.88 8.44 14.60 4.25 9.00 16.00

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 0.67 1.62 1.50 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.27 2.80 5.00 9.75 2.10 4.90 9.50 7.70 13.00 3.43 8.15 14.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

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

LAST CLOSE 4.76 32.12 1.62 2.90 1.59 6.00 6.40 3.56 4.75 2.80 5.50 10.20 2.88 6.84 10.64 8.40 13.95 3.43 8.35 15.50

CLOSE 4.80 32.12 1.62 2.90 1.59 6.00 6.40 3.56 4.50 2.80 5.50 9.75 2.85 6.84 10.70 8.40 13.95 3.43 8.35 15.50

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGR1200371 BSBGR1321391 BSBGR1322498

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.04 100.00 100.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.04 100.00 100.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 97.72 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 93.92 100.00 100.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BSBGR FX BSBGR1200371 BGRS FX BSBGR1321391 BGRS FX BSBGR1322498

CHANGE 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.25) 0.00 0.00 (0.45) (0.03) 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 3,000

1,200 450 2,000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 20.1 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 17.3 -8.1 32.1 15.2 12.2 13.5 27.9 14.6 16.6 11.5 17.1 16.9 8.9 24.6

YIELD 3.54% 3.92% 1.23% 1.03% 0.00% 0.00% 4.06% 0.00% 0.00% 4.29% 4.00% 7.38% 15.23% 0.88% 3.07% 2.86% 3.87% 3.50% 2.40% 3.94%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 5.22% 5.29% 5.65%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 15-Dec-2037 15-Oct-2039 15-Oct-2049

MATURITY

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.85 1.78 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 10.20 13.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.66 1.79 1.75 1.05 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Financial Conservative Fund Leno Financial Aggressive Fund Leno Financial Balanced Fund Leno Financial Global 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 Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.40 4.44 2.15 201.90 184.85 1.68 1.79 1.76 1.05 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 10.20 13.79

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.38% 4.56% 0.04% 1.37% 0.20% 2.56% 3.47% 3.47% 10.86% 10.86% 0.20% 0.65% -0.37% -2.43% 0.16% 0.20% -0.66% -14.82% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A 8.60% 8.60% 11.90% 11.90%

NAV Date

31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 29-Jan-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 31-Jan-2021 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, March 18, 2021, PAGE 13

WALL STREET CLOSES HIGHER AFTER FED SAYS WILL KEEP RATES LOW Associated Press

STOCKS closed higher yesterday, reversing an early slide after the Federal Reserve reassured Wall Street that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through 2023.

The central bank’s renewed commitment to leaving rates at rock bottom lows comes even as its latest economic forecast calls for growth of 6.5% this year and for inflation to climb above 2% for the first time in years. Wall Street has been anxious about the potential for higher inflation to drive up bond yields further and has been looking for signs

that the central bank shares its concerns.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks during a news conference appeared to do the trick. Major stock indexes had been down for most of the day, led by another wave of selling in technology companies as bond yields rose, driving the closely watched ten-year Treasury yield up to 1.68% at one point, the highest level since January 2020.

After Powell spoke stocks gradually pivoted higher and bond yields fell. The turnaround nudged the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to all-time highs and pulled the tech-heavy Nasdaq out of the red.

“He reassured the market that the Fed is going to the extent possible be patient about even talking about raising rates,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All Star Charts.

The S&P 500 rose 11.41 points, or 0.3%, to 3,974.12, recovering from a 0.7% slide. The benchmark index has now notched an all-time high 14 times this year. The Dow gained 189.42 points, or 0.6%, to 33,015.37. The Nasdaq, which had been down 1.5%, rose 53.64 points, or 0.4%, to 13,525.20.

Banks, industrial stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending helped lift the market. Those gains outweighed a pullback in

health care, utilities and other sectors.

Smaller company stocks, the market’s standout gainers so far this year, also had good day. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 16.87 points, or 0.7%, to 2,336.39.

Treasury yields mostly fell, reversing an earlier move higher. The yield on the ten-year US Treasury note, which has surged in recent weeks on inflation concerns, rose to 1.64%, the highest level since February 2020. It hit 1.62% late on Tuesday.

Higher yields put downward pressure on stocks generally, in part because they can steer away dollars

that had been headed for the stock market and into bonds instead. That makes investors less willing to pay as high prices for stocks.

Investors are betting big that the economic malaise will dissipate as spring arrives and more Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The $1,400 stimulus checks the Biden administration began sending to individuals last weekend are also helping.

But faster economic activity could also translate into some degree of inflation.

The Fed policymakers now forecast that the national unemployment rate will drop faster than they did in December: They foresee

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 62° F/17° C

TAMPA

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Mostly sunny and pleasant

Clear

Mostly sunny and nice

Partly sunny with a stray t‑storm

Partly sunny and pleasant

An afternoon shower possible

High: 82°

Low: 71°

High: 82° Low: 69°

High: 81° Low: 67°

High: 79° Low: 66°

High: 80° Low: 67°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

84° F

70° F

86°-73° F

90°-69° F

83°-67° F

82°-66° F

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

ABACO

S

N

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

10‑20 knots

S

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 73° F/23° C

8‑16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 73° F/23° C

E S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

W

uV inDex toDay

FRIDAY

W

N

| Go to AccuWeather.com

TONIGHT

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 65° F/18° C

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

MIAMI

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 73° F/23° C

7‑14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 81° F/27° C Low .................................................... 67° F/19° C Normal high ....................................... 79° F/26° C Normal low ........................................ 65° F/18° C Last year’s high ................................. 82° F/28° C Last year’s low ................................... 68° F/20° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 2.01” Normal year to date ..................................... 3.77”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 82° F/28° C Low: 71° F/22° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 72° F/22° C

N

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 72° F/22° C

N

S

E

W

8‑16 knots

S

7‑14 knots

ANDROS

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

11:50 a.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.1 ‑‑‑‑‑

5:59 a.m.

5:59 p.m.

0.3 0.2

Friday

12:19 a.m.

12:32 p.m.

2.5 2.0

6:43 a.m.

6:39 p.m.

0.4 0.3

Saturday

1:05 a.m.

1:19 p.m.

2.4 1.9

7:34 a.m.

7:26 p.m.

0.6 0.4

Sunday

1:58 a.m.

2:15 p.m.

2.3 1.8

8:31 a.m.

8:21 p.m.

0.7 0.5

Monday

2:56 a.m.

3:17 p.m.

2.3 1.8

9:32 a.m.

9:23 p.m.

0.7 0.5

Tuesday

3:57 a.m.

4:20 p.m.

2.4 1.9

10:32 a.m. 0.6 10:26 p.m. 0.4

Wednesday 4:55 a.m.

5:18 p.m.

2.6 2.1

11:27 a.m. 0.4 11:25 p.m. 0.2

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

7:16 a.m.

7:20 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

10:25 a.m. none

First

Full

Last

New

Mar. 21

Mar. 28

Apr. 4

Apr. 11

CAT ISLAND

E

W

unemployment falling from its current 6.2% to 4.5% by year’s end and to 3.9%, near a healthy level, at the end of 2022.

That suggests that the central bank will be close to meeting its goals by 2023, when it expects inflation to exceed its 2% target and for unemployment to be at 3.5%. Yet it still doesn’t project a rate hike then.

At least some Fed officials appear to be closer to tightening up the central bank’s ultra-low-rate policies. Four of the 18 policymakers now expect a rate hike in 2022, up from just one in December. And seven predict a hike in 2023, up from five in December.

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

N

High: 81° F/27° C Low: 71° F/22° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 80° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

7‑14 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 80° F/27° C Low: 73° F/23° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 79° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

L

High: 79° F/26° C Low: 73° F/23° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 82° F/28° C Low: 75° F/24° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

8‑16 knots

8‑16 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday: Today: Friday:

WINDS S at 8‑16 Knots SSW at 10‑20 Knots SE at 8‑16 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots S at 8‑16 Knots S at 10‑20 Knots SW at 8‑16 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SSE at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots S at 7‑14 Knots

WAVES 3‑5 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑6 Feet 3‑5 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 3‑5 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑6 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet 4‑8 Feet 3‑6 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 1‑3 Feet

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 76° F 76° F 76° F 77° F 77° F 77° F 78° F 78° F 78° F 78° F 81° F 82° F 77° F 77° F 79° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 77° F 78° F 76° F 76° F 78° F 78° F 78° F 78° F