05112023 BUSINESS

Illegal construction fight has been ‘a rank failure’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMIAN Contractors Association’s (BCA) president yesterday said builders are asking “why should we follow the law” following the country’s “rank failure to manage the built environment”.

Leonard Sands told Tribune Business that the recent shanty town ruling by Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder had further exposed the double standards and “two sets of laws” that exist in Bahamian society due to the multi-decade neglect by successive administrations over enforcement of the Building Regulations.

While Sir Ian found that only two of 260 unauthorised structures could be demolished, as other owners had not been properly notified of the Supreme Court injunction preventing further construction, the BCA president said

• Contractor chief warns on ‘incredibly dangerous precedent’

• Says shanty town ruling exposes society’s ‘two sets of laws’

• Legitimate contractors ask: ‘Why should we follow the Act?’

his ruling did not address the failure by inhabitants to seek permission to build in the first place.

Branding the failure to properly enforce the Building Regulations Act as “incredibly dangerous”, due to the “precedent that has been set,” Mr Sands told this newspaper that developers and contractors are openly questioning whether they should endure the cost and time associated with doing projects legitimately by obtaining the

necessary permits and paying due inspection fees.

“You’re telling a developer with $100m that they can’t go ahead and start development without the necessary permits, yet you’re allowing almost 300 residents to build and expand without making a single application to any government agency for permits,” he blasted. “What if an illminded developer takes that as precedent and does the same thing?

“We have a number of contractors waiting to be engaged

Claims Bahamas ‘in cahoots’ with SBF are ‘shockingly inappropriate’

• FTX creditor group blasts Ray’s attacks on nation

on millions of dollars of work, but they’re waiting on building permit applications to be approved. Is it fair for them to be waiting? You’re also telling a developer, a builder or contractor through the building permit process that they have to pay for all the inspections. If those residents have not paid for inspections, why are we paying money for the right thing to happen and go through all the bureaucracy?

SEE PAGE B4

Atlantis probe can’t be ‘a fishing expedition’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A TRADE union leader yesterday warned the Government that it must have “a legitimate basis” for its Atlantis labour probe and said: “It cannot be a fishing expedition.”

Obie Ferguson KC, also a labour attorney, spoke out

after the Paradise Island mega resort asserted it had “never pressured” any of its 6,000plus staff to publicly or directly oppose Royal Caribbean’s proposed nearby project. Atlantis responded after it was revealed that the Department of Labour has initiated an investigation into whether its workers feel they are being “intimidated” into opposing the cruise line’s

plans and fear for their jobs if they do not.

However, Keith Bell, minister of labour and Immigration, yesterday told media outside the House of Assembly that the Department had acted after receiving “a number of complaints” from Atlantis workers that they felt pressured, intimidated and under “undue influence”

SEE PAGE B6

FOCOL raise could have beaten $16m

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FOCOL Holdings could have raised “far more” than the $16m received in Monday’s preference share offering, its chairman said yesterday, as it moves into an accelerated “growth mode”.

Sir Franklyn Wilson told Tribune Business that the BISX-listed petroleum products supplier, which is now diversifying and expanding into utilities and renewable energy, decided to “cap” its Series E preference share raise at $16m and return to the Bahamian capital markets at a later

date when further financing may be needed.

Acknowledging that the $16m was itself a 60 percent oversubscription, compared to the original $10m target, he added that FOCOL has

SEE PAGE B4

Bahamas trade deficit up $325m at five-year high

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS’ trade deficit expanded by $314.6m or 10.7 percent during 2022 to hit a fiveyear high of $3.254bn, it was reveled yesterday, as inflation and higher global oil prices caused import costs to soar.

The Bahamas National Statistical Institute, unveiling the annual 2022 foreign trade statistics review, said:

“The balance of trade (total exports minus total imports) continued to result in a deficit. The trade deficit increased by 10.7 percent between 2021 and 2022,

resulting in a negative bal-

ance of $3.3bn.”

While Bahamian exports increased year-over-year by $42.6m or 7.8 percent, growing to $586m from $543.4m in 2021, these figures were not surprisingly dwarfed by imports given that The Bahamas brings in virtually everything it consumes. As a result, imports leapt by $357.1m or 10.3 percent to a new five-year high of $3.84bn as opposed to $3.483bn the year before.

The $3.84bn represents foreign exchange that The Bahamas has to generate through a surplus on its capital account,

• He, Bahamian JPLs ‘not playing nicely in sandbox’

• Call for ‘crossborder protocol’ with Supreme Court

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AN FTX creditor/investor group yesterday leapt to The Bahamas defence by branding claims that the Government was “in cahoots” with Sam Bankman-Fried as “shockingly inappropriate”.

This nation, and the Bahamian provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, appeared to gain some friends in the battle for jurisdictional control of the collapsed crypto currency exchange’s fate as the group called for the creation of a “cross-border protocol” with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to address all further legal and other disputes.

Conceding that Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo of Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, “do not seem to be ‘playing nicely in the sandbox’” with FTX US chief, John Ray, the group said the crypto exchange’s creditors were “paying the price” for the two sides’ battles through legal fees and wasted time that is reducing potential asset recoveries for themselves.

Asserting that the fight between the Bahamian joint provisional liquidators and Mr Ray, who controls 134 FTX entities, is “no longer productive or cost efficient”, the

SIR FRANKLYN WILSON

LEONARD SANDS

BRIAN SIMMS KC JOHN RAY

OBIE FERGUSON KC

$5.74 $5.74 $5.74 $5.71

ANDROS CRIPPLED BY BANKING ACCESS WOE

provided to businesses in the island’s north and central areas.

ANDROS businesses are being crippled by a lack of functioning automated teller machines (ATMs) and access to financial services, with one company withdrawing all available ATM cash in a single day to meet payroll.

Darin Bethel, the North Andros Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business yesterday that the Central Bank must either expand Sand Dollar adoption or ensure more ATMs and other financial services access points sre

“We have a situation where Scotiabank moved off of the island three years ago and they left an ATM machine,” he said. “But the entire island of Andros, from north to the south, doesn’t have any banking facilities. The folks in Central Andros had an RBC but they moved out, too, and didn’t leave an ATM machine, so the folks from central Andros come to north Andros to use the ATM machine.”

Scotiabank fills the North Andros ATM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but after only a

few hours on each day it promptly runs out of cash and becomes useless until it is resupplied. Last month the ATM was down for over three weeks prior to April’s end. South Andros does not have banking access apart from a credit union.

Commercial banks have progressively withdrawn from the Family Islands over the last ten to 15 years, citing the high operating costs and negative returns associated with maintaining a physical branch presence that results in them incurring losses.

Mr Bethel, though, said Andros has seen a vast amount of small and medium-sized businesses

open in the past two years, adding value to the local economy to the point that he is astounded how the commercial banks have failed to capitalise on this.

“A lot of people came back home and opened a lot of small businesses in recent years, and that’s what has the business environment on the upbeat,” he said. “The amount of service stations on the island have grown over the past five years from one to now nine.

Commercial banks need to return to Andros because of the increased economic activity, Mr Bethel said: “When you look at BAMSI (Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute), when most of the people go to the ATM - because they aren’t sure when the ATM is going to be active or inactive - they go and withdraw their entire pay cheque because they just don’t know when they are going to have access to an ATM again.

“Every time when BAMSI’s payroll comes

through, which should be over $70,000 per month, the Scotiabank ATM does not have that kind of money in it. Even if everyone from BAMSI may not withdraw all their money, a high percentage of them do along with other locals, and this puts a strain on other government workers who are also doing the same thing.”

Mr Bethel said the situation creates a security risk for business owners and residents because, with limited access to banking, more persons are deciding to hold cash at their homes or companies. “We really have to find some way to resolve this,” he added.

“One thing Scotiabank may be able to do is if they can add another ATM machine inside the existing building that they have, and maybe put another one somewhere else. This would definitely take the strain off of the existing ATM when it goes down.

“I’m also looking into getting people more informed and conditioned into using more of the

digital currency, the Sand Dollar, so we are looking at ways to try and implement that to also take some of the strain. We also are looking at ways to have more of the businesses have the credit card machines.”

Some utility companies do not accept credit cards on Andros despite the disconnection threat this poses for customers. “The Water and Sewerage Corporation not having a credit card machine was very hard on the seniors. Water & Sewerage is saying cash only but there is no way of getting cash to them,” Mr Bethel said.

Draconian measures are often taken so residents and tourists can get cash on Andros, with some people having to pay pilots $20 to take their client cards to New Providence just to withdraw money from ATMs. Some take the flight themselves and pay up to $300 for the service and ground transportation just to get to an ATM.

Bahamas software developer targets Caribbean expansion

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN software developer yesterday said business is “picking up quite quickly” as it plans to expand its human resources and payroll platform to the wider Caribbean by year-end.

Duran Humes, Plato Alpha’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that 17 Bahamian companies, ranging in size from eight to 900 employees, have signed up to use the Triblock HR human resources and payroll system as they continue to add new features.

“Right now we’re looking at either Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago, and they are a much bigger market

than The Bahamas,” he added of the company’s growth strategy. “They have pretty much the same issues that we have here. So we are going to expand into those countries and take it on from there.”

Despite being just a 10-strong team based in New Providence, Plato Alpha is planning to recruit talent in these Caribbean markets and set up physical offices there to broaden its reach. Plato Alpha, which is Bahamian-owned and operated, said in a statement yesterday that Triblock HR is now taking care of the human resources and payroll needs for more than 2,000 employees.

Doctors Hospital, Commonwealth Building Supplies, Bamboo Shack, Bahamas Air Navigation, the Government, and REV/Cable Bahamas are among some of the companies using Plato Alpha’s product. It allows human resources professionals to centrally manage an employee’s payroll, time tracking, one-on-one performance reviews, company hierarchy, National Insurance contributions and document management.

“We understand that human resources is about people, not paperwork, and we have designed Triblock HR to empower employers and employees,” said Mr Humes. “Our platform simplifies human resources management through an integrated system that keeps track of all relevant data easily and accurately.”

Plato Alpha said Triblock is designed to save human resources professionals time by reducing administrative tasks such as managing employee data, tracking vacation time and processing payroll. It also reduces costs related to human resources functions, including the need for manual data entry, printing and mailing of paper documents, and potential errors or compliance issues.

The software developer added that its platform mitigates compliance risks by ensuring employee data is up-to-date and accurate.

The platform also enhances employee satisfaction by providing self-service options, which improve the employee experience. It also provides valuable analytics on human resource metrics such as employee turnover, absenteeism and performance, which can inform human resources strategies.

“We have included failsafe elements that enable employees to input data themselves, empowering them to fulfill basic human resources and payroll tasks, and eliminating them from the human resource professional’s to-do list,” said Keith Roye II, Plato Alpha’s chief operating officer. “Our comprehensive reports and analytics are invaluable, and equip companies with the relevant data to make informed business decisions.”

“Triblock HR is flexible, intuitive and easy to use. We typically save five hours per week on repetitive human resources tasks by utilising the platform’s automation capabilities,” said CBS’ manager of e-commerce, Brent Burrows. “This enables us to focus on more strategic tasks and spend less time on administrative tasks. Triblock HR is a valuable tool for any business looking to streamline HR processes and improve overall efficiency.”

Mr Humes said Triblock HR is working to fully integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform by the end of 2023, streamlining and automating the human resource and payroll experience. By leveraging AI, the platform will provide greater efficiency and accuracy, resulting in reduced administrative tasks and increased productivity for businesses of all sizes.

In addition to the AI integration, the company plans to launch a mobile app, giving employees more control over their information in a more accessible package. The mobile app will enable employees to access their pay stubs, tax forms and benefits information all in one place.

KEITH ROYE II, PLATO ALPHA COO

DURAN HUMES, PLATO ALPHA CEO

Gov’t ‘working diligently’ on Abaco port concerns

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday reiterated that the Government is reviewing tender documents that will be released to bidders interested in taking over Abaco’s two ports via private-public partnership (PPP) arrangements.

JoBeth Coleby-Davis, minister of housing and transport, said: “Where we are now is just working through the tender document and getting us to a place where we can put it out for persons to put a good proposal together that the Government can consider”

She confirmed that the draft bidding documents have been sent to the Attorney General’s (AGs) Office for legal review, and disclosed that various groups are already showing interest in submitting proposals.

“We’ve produced a tender document, and we’ve sent it over to the Office of the Attorney General. They have responded with some questions and queries on both of the documents because it’s two ports, Marsh Harbour and North Abaco. Once that’s completed, we’ll be putting it forward to go out for bid for persons interested,” Mrs Coleby-Davis said.

“There have been some expressions of interest already. But obviously now we have an actual document that defines what it is the Government would want to see in a proposal. It expands the proposals that may have came forward prior. But we’re working diligently and very hard to get both of those ports up to standard that helps us to pass even our ISPS audits with good standing to make sure our protocols and securities are in place.”

The ISPS stands for International Ship and Port Security (ISPS), which all shipping ports must comply with to receive commercial cargo traffic. Mrs ColebyDavis said the project is moving at a “good pace”, and that her team has visited the North Abaco and spoken with locals in hopes of solving the issue for Abaco residents. She said: “It’s a lot of work. The team has been working well with a few of the various departments that will be affected and connected to the fully-functioning port. And so we should be soon saying some more in the public about where we are, but the process is moving at a good pace. And we are working well with the Attorney General’s Office to bring it to conclusion. “We have had a number of meetings, and we’ve done a

number of visits to the port so that we can get some resolution for the residents. And we’ve had a few Town Hall meetings as well. Our team was on the ground earlier this week.”

The North Abaco Pastors Association (NAPA) held a meeting Monday night seeking to create a petition advocating for the port’s full use. Pastor Marvin Mills, NAPA’s chairman, posed a series of questions to the Government about the status of the North Abaco port and the impending PPP tender.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said the delay was due in part to “economic questions”, and maintained that she is awaiting the outcome of the bidding process to determine how the Government will move forward. She said: “There have been some comments about some residents from one end of Abaco that didn’t think that the [North Abaco] port may have worked in some of the proposals that have been offered. [There were] some questions or queries on whether it was to have the balance with having Marsh Harbour as transshipment, and also having in North Abaco. And so I think it was some economic questions.

“Outside of that there has been some dredging work that was done prior to me taking office. And I think

it was utilised during Hurricane Dorian to get some materials and supplies to residents on that side in North Abaco. And so, the question now is what do we get from putting out to tender… and how those proposals will see it to fruition.”

JOBETH COLEBY-DAVIS

ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION FIGHT HAS BEEN ‘A RANK FAILURE’

“What if contractors, developers and project sponsors take the position they are no longer going to apply for building permits, and will just build on their lot. What if developers, contractors and builders do not pay the necessary inspection fees? Why should they disadvantage themselves if 300 others did not do the same thing? How is it that Bahamian contractors must wait until their clients have obtained permits to build but shanty town residents apparently do not?”

Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, said on Tuesday in the aftermath of Sir Ian’s ruling that the Government now plans to employ the Building

Regulations Act to demolish and remove structures that have been built in violation of this law. The Chief Justice, in his ruling, left the door open to such action by saying he was “comforted” that the Government has “other lawful means” to take the necessary action under the minister of works and utilities’ remit. The Building Regulations Act empowers the responsible minister to mandate that owners demolish illegal structures and, if they fail to do so within 28 days, the Government can then act. This appears to provide the Davis administration with legal means to proceed with demolitions, as Mr Pinder indicated, but Mr Sands argued that the failure of past administrations to

enforce the Act is “incredibly dangerous because the precedent has been set”.

“That’s incredibly dangerous that we don’t enforce the law. It has not been enforced for decades, or it has been enforced selectively,” Mr Sands told Tribune Business. “If you build on your property without a permit they will enforce the law on you, but they don’t seek to enforce it on those who blatantly disregard it.

“This is rank and absolute failure to manage the built environment. This falls squarely on the feet of the Ministry of Works and Building Control. This is total dereliction of duty by the Government of The Bahamas and has to be addressed. I represent

contractors who follow the law, and they are asking me why they should follow the law. It’s that serious. It’s a national matter. I don’t know why they should. It’s a free for all and it’s not fair.

“It seems like there are two laws in our society. One for those that follow the law, and none for those that do not. The Building Regulations Act is clear on the process which must be followed in order to build a structure.” While Sir Ian ruled that shanty town residents had not sufficiently been informed of the injunction’s terms prohibiting further construction and expansion of illegal structures, Mr Sands argued that his judgment did not address the failure to obtain permits

FOCOL raise could have beaten $16m

FROM PAGE B1

“drastically expanded and strengthened” its management team to enable the group to take on more than one new project at the same time.

Sir Franklyn, confirming that a portion of the $16m will finance the five mega watt (MW) solar plant agreement that its subsidiary, Bahamas Solar and Renewables, signed with Grand Bahama Power Company earlier this week, indicated that further deals were in the pipeline and that FOCOL will likely “have more to say” before its financial year ends on September 30, 2023.

Describing the fuel supplier as a “widows and orphans stock”, due to its consistent payment of quarterly dividends to shareholders, he added that it was seeking to balance its growth drive with a conservative capital structure that will not expose it to undue demands from banks and other secured creditors.

“FOCOL corporate group is very much in a growth cycle,” Sir Franklyn said following Monday’s preference share offering, which needed one day rather than the allocated two, to close. “We have drastically expanded the management team at FOCOL, and they have identified a lot of circumstances and opportunities.

That’s the first principle.

“The second principle is that FOCOL is deeply committed to the idea of being conservatively financed. We don’t want to get into any situation where we’re under pressure from any bank or anything of that type. We manage the company in such a way that it remains a widows and orphans stock.

That is to say, from the time we went on the stock market, every quarter we have paid our dividend.

That dividend separates FOCOL from most, if not all, other companies on BISX.”

FOCOL’s latest preference share issue offered investors a 6.25 percent

interest coupon, just 0.25 percentage points higher than the recently-closed $145m Nassau Cruise Port bond offering. The ten-year securities will mature on April 30, 2033. Subscriptions were accepted on a first come, first-served basis, and the minimum investment required to participate was $50,000 with the option to acquire increments of $10,000 thereafter.

The first dividend payment will occur on October 31 this year, and dividends will be paid semi-annually every April and October until April 30, 2033. “We spoke to the capital markets people about $10m,” Sir Franklyn said of discussions with CFAL. “They came back with a number that was drastically higher than $10m. They came back to us and said the market’s appetite is there to go considerably in excess of that.

“They then told us when they reported back that they could have raised considerably in excess of $16m. We decided to cap it at $16m on the basis that

we know there are some more growth things coming. We’ll go back another time. We committed to the capital markets, and those that have that confidence, that we’ll do all we possibly can to justify that confidence over time.”

CFAL, the preference share issue’s placement agent, said FOCOL will use the offering’s proceeds to expand Bahamas Utilities Company, its wholly-owned subsidiary that was formed to facilitate expansion into the energy industry. Sir Franklyn, confirming that some of the raise will be used to finance the Freeport solar deal, reiterated: “FOCOL is in growth mode.

“We have deepened and strengthened the management and there’s a lot of capacity to do a lot of things. For years and years, one of the reasons that the company has been successful in sustaining the dividend is we’ve been very careful about how many things we do at one time.

under the Building Regulations Act in the first place.

“We’re not even talking about, and no one’s even addressing it, how many of these structures have BPL power supply,” the BCA chief added. “In order to have BPL power supply you need to produce an occupancy certificate. It’s impossible to obtain an occupancy certificate if you don’t have approval to build in the first place.”

Sir Ian, in his ruling, said it was “unequivocal” that there had been “massive expansion of these unregulated communities” by some residents. Craig Delancy, the building control officer, alleged that one community on the south side of SC Bootle Highway in Abaco had more than

We don’t stretch ourselves too thin.

“The opportunities are before us, as much as we have deepened and built capacity, which gives us the confidence to do more than one thing at a time. That’s where we are now. The point to say to the capital markets people is the level of expertise within FOCOL is very, very impressive.”

With the BISX-listed petroleum products supplier expanding into utility-scale energy and renewables, Sir Franklyn pledged that there is more to come. “The

tripled in size in a little over two months - going from 39 structures on October 27, 2022, to 131 as at January 5, 2023. This was an increase of 91, with 86 structures visible from the air.

The Farm, near Treasure Cay, had tripled from 40 structures in March 2021 to 120 as at January 21, 2023, while shanty communities in New Providence had also grown. Mr Delancy also found that illegal structures expanded by 41 on the north side of SC Bootle Highway, Marsh Harbour; by 13 in All Saints Way, New Providence; and by 15 and 27 in the New Providence communities of Montgomery Road and Butlers Way.

announcement you heard this week is not the last you will hear from the company. There’s a high probability that before the end of the financial year, which is September 30, we will have more to say.

“From where we sit, what we see, there’s considerable room for investor confidence in the country. We believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and we believe the economy is poised to grow strongly and we will do everything we can to help those prospects.”

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PM to lead-off Cat Island conference

THE PRIME Minister will deliver the keynote address when the Cat Island Business Outlook (CIBO) conference is held in-person for the first time next Thursday.

Philip Davis KC will present “a bold vision for Cat Island”, his constituency, during the event at Fernandez Bay Village in Smith’s Bay. The conference, to be held under the theme ‘Forward, Upward, Onward, Together’, is being held in celebration of The Bahamas’ 50th Independence anniversary.

“We believe that Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay are some of the best-kept secrets of our archipelago, and that it is our national responsibility to support industry in those islands for the betterment of residents and the country at large,” said Joan Albury, TCL Group president and the conference host.

“We have spent time talking to Cat Island residents to find out what are the strengths, challenges and opportunities on Cat Island.

We have secured the participation of stakeholders with a keen interest in these islands, and whose continual investments prove that our smaller Family Islands like Cat Island, San Salvador and Rum Cay have something grand to offer.”

Presentations will also be made by Kenneth Romer, deputy director of tourism and acting director of aviation, at the Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation, plus Bacchus Rolle, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Public Works & Utilities.

Other presenters include Tracey Boucher,

vice-president of engineering, Cable Bahamas Business Solutions; Kimwood Mott, project manager, digital currency implementation, Central Bank of The Bahamas; Nikita Shiel-Rolle, founder and chief executive, Young Marine Explorers & Cat Island Conservation Institute; and a representative from the Lewis Family, part owners, Fernandez Bay Village.

Moderators will be Mark Daniels, associate principal - environmental, BRON Ltd; and K Karlos Mackey, founder, Orange Creek Redevelopment Partnership.

There will be two panel discussions. The tourism and hospitality panel, moderated by Kerry Fountain, executive director, Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board, will feature Yvonne Rolle, owner, Rollezz Beach Villas, and representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Western Air Limited.

A panel on heritage and stakeholder engagement will feature Danson King, owner, Cat Island Experience Tours; Sidney Isaacs, public relations officer, Cat Island Rake N’ Scrape Festival Association; and other Cat Island stakeholders.

Mrs Albury said: “As we look forward to these important discussions, we are excited to showcase new speakers like the Lewis family, new part owners of Fernandez Bay Village. Since we expressed interest in hosting Cat Island Business Outlook at their property, they have been exceptional with accommodating us, which is most impressive considering that they have only recently taken ownership of the property.

“Likewise, I must also recognise Sherrexcia ‘Rexy’ Rolle, vice-president of operations and general

counsel, Western Air, and her team who have gone above and beyond to accommodate us. Both organisations are offering special rates for Cat Island Business Outlook attendees. I must also thank Cable Bahamas Business Solutions for their continued support of the Bahamas Business Outlook series.”

The Cat Island Business Outlook is part of TCL Group’s Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) conference series, which covers economic and social issues relevant to various islands of The Bahamas. Though focused on Cat Island, the conference also covers San Salvador and Rum Cay.

The Cat Island Business Outlook will run from 8.45am to 3.30pm on Thursday, May 18. Attendance in person is $75 or $50 via Zoom. Attendees can register at tclevents.com, and call 322-1000 to inquire about special Cat Island Business Outlook rates with Fernandez Bay Village and Western Air.

PRIME MINISTER DAVIS TRACEY BOUCHER NIKITA SHIEL-ROLLE KENNETH ROMER, PHD

Atlantis probe can’t be ‘a fishing expedition’

to take a particular stance towards the Royal Caribbean project.

“Let me, first of all, confirm that the Department of Labour is conducting an investigation,” Mr Bell said. “And it followed on the department receiving a number of complaints from employees at Atlantis, allegations of undue influence being placed on them in respect to statements made by a senior executive.”

Asked when the complaints were made, Mr Bell said: “The complaints came following statements made by a senior vice-president [with respect to] Royal Caribbean’s investment that’s about to take place, or that we have approved, on Paradise Island. A number of persons made complaints. Therefore, we are looking at them to determine the authenticity of the complaints.”

The minister said workers complained of feeling the weight of “undue influence, pressure (and) intimidated

to take a particular course of action”. He did not provide further details, adding: “We want to ensure that the scales of justice are always balanced. That is the superior bargaining position of the employer weighed against the rights of the employee. We just want to make sure that everything remains harmonious. The employees are treated with basic decency, respect.”

Mr Bell’s reference to a senior vice-president implies that the Department of Labour probe was not sparked by the early April letter to Atlantis staff from Audrey Oswell, the mega resort’s president and managing director. However, the questionnaire said to have been issued to staff refers to Ms Oswell’s remarks.

“Many of you have expressed your support for our speaking out and asked what Atlantis team members can do to make their voices heard. The local economy is driven by tourism and, for the most

part, tourism is driven by the beautiful waters and beaches of The Bahamas and its people,” Ms Oswell wrote in early April.

“As part of the hospitality industry, we need to stand up and protect our livelihood. I encourage you to share your thoughts with your family and friends. Follow the review process as it unfolds and, if you feel strongly, contribute to the public dialogue.” The use of the word “if” suggests that it is not mandatory, or been made a condition of employment, for Atlantis staff to oppose the Royal Beach Club project.

From the outside the Department of Labour’s investigation does appear to be something of a fishing expedition where it is seeking to uncover evidence rather than already possessing it. Department officials were reported to have visited Atlantis on Tuesday to hand out a questionnaire to employees, asking if they were aware of Ms Oswell’s comments; if management

had asked them to advocate against the Royal Caribbean project; and if they felt pressured into doing so.

The questionnaire also asks if Atlantis staff feel they will be disciplined, or terminated, if they do not comply with the resort’s wishes. Mr Ferguson yesterday said it was critical that the Department of Labour “lay out the rationale” for issuing the questionnaire, and avoid any unnecessary investigations that would merely waste time and money for all concerned.

“I find it strange, quite frankly, unless they can establish some grounds for doing it,” the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president said. “If they’re going to do something of that nature, they have to have a reason for doing it. Whose complaining? Somebody must say they are being intimidated, that they are being pressured. Somebody must make a a complaint, and that person must be identified.

“You cannot take something and go to do an investigation at a whim. There has to be a basis for it; a legitimate basis for it. You need to know who is making or laying out the complaint. Other than that, anyone could call and cause an investigation. There must have been somebody or a group that lodged a complaint with the Department of Labour. The Department of Labour has a right to do an investigation, but must make sure there’s a case.

“It cannot be a fishing expedition. It cannot. It would be a waste of resources, it’s a waste of money. Lawyers get involved in these things sometimes, and labour activists get involved. It costs money for no hood reason.” Mr Bell, though, yesterday argued the Department of Labour had sufficient grounds to investigate employee concerns over the fall-out from Ms Oswell’s remarks.

However, the Department of Labour’s probe - and how it is being handled - could send a very negative message to the Bahamian and international business community, as well as existing and potential investors. Some may interpret it as government retaliation for Atlantis opposing the Royal Caribbean project, and an investigation that is being conducted without any proper basis.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) president, told Tribune Business yesterday that he and the union were not aware of any complaints by members, who also work at Atlantis, of the nature described by Mr Bell. However, he conceded that he has been off-island for two weeks at international conferences.

“We’ve not gotten any complaints. We have not gotten anything drawn to our attention,” he said. “I didn’t know that situation had been woken up again. We want the Government to do what it’s got to do. I guess we have to wait and

see what the results of the questionnaire are. If persons are intimidated and fearful for their job, they are probably not going to say anything.

“Something like that coming from the principal of the company, and being said to the employees, may be unduly concerning. That’s probably why the Government is not taking it lightly. I guess it’s going to what it needs to do to get to the bottom of what was said. If something was said against the company, the company will also launch an investigation.”

Atlantis, in its statement, said: “Atlantis has never opposed or pressured our team members to oppose Royal Caribbean’s proposed Paradise Island project. Our sole focus is to ensure that Royal Caribbean’s development undergoes environmental due diligence and that the natural beauty of Paradise Island and the vitality of The Bahamas remain protected.

“Much of the pride our 6,000-plus team members share about working at Atlantis is our long-term commitment to the community, marine life, the environment and our record for doing the right thing, even when it is not the easiest path. While we pride ourselves in keeping our team members informed, we are confident in our team members’ ability to draw their own conclusions and make the right decisions.”

However, several sources yesterday suggested Atlantis had sought to “weaponise” its employees to fight the resort’s battle with Royal Caribbean for it - a situation they branded as “unusual”. Mr Woods, too, said the union’s position was unchanged having previously told Atlantis executives to “go put their own placards on”.

CLAIMS BAHAMAS ‘IN CAHOOTS’ WITH SBF ARE ‘SHOCKINGLY INAPPROPRIATE’

group’s filing with the Delaware Bankruptcy Court also backed the bid by Mr Simms and his colleagues to lift - or otherwise gain relief from - the worldwide asset freeze imposed by the US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings.

Describing themselves as an “ad-hoc group” of FTX creditors and former customers, they argued that the Delaware Bankruptcy Court should pay no attention to Mr Ray’s frequent attempts to trash The Bahamas and its handling of the crypto exchange’s collapse by suggesting the Government, Securities Commission and joint provisional liquidators were in collusion with Mr Bankman-Fried.

“The debtors not so veiled allegation in their complaint against FTX Digital and the joint provisional liquidators - that the Bahamas government was in cahoots with Sam Bankman-Fried and is, therefore, an untrustworthy forum to address FTX-related issues - is shockingly inappropriate and is the type of ‘battling’ this court should not countenance,” the group argued.

“Equally concerning is the apparent willingness of the debtors to violate this court’s recognition order in the FTX Digital Markets Chapter 15 case, and a key standing doctrine in the United States that requires leave of the court to sue a fiduciary appointed by such court.”

The Securities Commission has previously argued it had little choice but to engage with Mr Bankman-Fried, and his close associates, to safeguard some $456m in digital assets from potential hacking and losses because they

were the only ones who possessed the keys to the digital wallets where they are stored. While questions remain over the identities of the 1,500 “Bahamians” who were able to extract a combined $100m from FTX’s platforms, despite the existence of asset freezes in both The Bahamas and US, the “ad-hoc” investor/creditor group backed the joint provisional liquidators’ bid for relief from the Chapter 11 stay. The group, which is different from FTX’s “official committee of unsecured creditors”, which is backing Mr Ray, argued that the Supreme Court in The Bahamas should address all non-US legal issues. “Given the Bahamas court’s relative expertise in Antiguan and/or UK law, it seems an enormous waste of the estates’ resources and this court’s time to become as knowledgeable on these non-US law issues as is the Bahamas court,” they argued.

“While the debtors would very much like to control both these Chapter 11 cases and the provisional liquidation proceedings, they must accept the fact that two sets of insolvency cases must be able to proceed simultaneously in as expeditious a manner as possible. Perhaps one solution is for the Bahamas court to use its expertise to make findings of fact and conclusions of law that would be deemed by this court similar to a magistrate’s recommendations.

“In any event, it is clear that there must be a protocol established in these cases between the Bahamas court and the [Delaware] Bankruptcy court so that future disputes among the parties as to jurisdiction, process and legal authority

in both the Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 stays can be avoided,” the group added.

“Simply punting these issues down the road, as the parties did in the co-operation agreement by reserving all rights and essentially agreeing not to agree, is no longer productive or costefficient. Moreover, as the joint provisional liquidators point out in their motion to dismiss, the co-operation agreement mandates, among other things, that the debtors and the joint provisional liquidators must ‘work together in good faith to determine ownership of assets that are subject to competing claims’.

“A two-court protocol would clearly further the spirit of that provision and the purpose of of the cooperation agreement.” The FTX “ad-hoc” group also agreed with Mr Simms and the PwC duo that multiple issues need to be resolved before FTX can reach the stage of a Chapter 11 reorganisation plan.

The Bahamian trio have consistently argued that key questions yet to be answered are the identities of FTX Digital Markets’ customers, and who was migrated to it from the crypto exchange’s international platform prior to the November 2022 collapse, and whether - and which - assets belong to the company or investors/clients. However, they allege that Mr Ray, who controls 134 FTX entities in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, responded by initiating litigation.

“Despite the co-operation agreement, the debtors and the joint provisional liquidators do not seem to be ‘playing nicely in the sandbox’, and the customers and creditors of the debtors are paying the price both in wasted effort and

estate legal fees,” the FTX creditor group asserted. “There can be no serious objection to creating a twocourt protocol between this court and the Bahamas court so that issues regarding jurisdiction and process do not further hold up both sets of cases.

“As the joint provisional liquidators point out, such protocols are regularly approved in cross-border cases, and some prior protocols have included provisions permitting both courts to hear and concurrently adjudicate key issues in the cases. The fact that the debtors do

not like that FTX Digital Markets became subject to provisional liquidation proceedings in The Bahamas before these Chapter 11 cases were commenced is no reason for refusing to create solutions to address the cross-border nature of these proceedings.

“Other questions regarding the nature, ownership and control of customer deposits, interpretation of the various Terms of Service, substantive consolidation of the debtors (and perhaps non-debtor) entities, and competing claims to assets, to name a few, are going to arise before these

cases are completed, and the estates should not be forced to go to battle each time either the debtors or the joint provisional liquidators assert their fiduciary duties,” the filings added.

“The ad-hoc group strongly suggests that a cross-border protocol be established so that these jurisdictional disputes no longer disrupt both proceedings. A two-court protocol will enable the parties to work together, benefiting all creditors of all the estates and assisting the two courts in their efforts to resolve the cases before them.”

CHATGPT

USER IN CHINA DETAINED FOR CREATING AND SPREADING FAKE NEWS, POLICE SAY

By DAVID HAMILTON AP Business Reporter

CHINESE police said they recently detained a ChatGPT user for allegedly using the AI-powered chatbot to create a fake news story about a nonexistent train crash. It's one of the first enforcement actions under a recently enacted Chinese law regulating AI-generated "deepfakes" — seemingly realistic but fabricated digital images, video or other media.

According to a police report from the northwest Chinese province of Gansu, a man identified only by his surname, Hong, used ChatGPT to create a fake news article about a crash that supposedly led to the deaths of nine construction workers in Gansu. Twentyone accounts on a popular social platform, all owned by a media company based in southern China, spread the fake story within a short period of time.

Like most foreign websites and applications, ChatGPT is technically unavailable in China thanks to the country's "Great

Firewall," which censors the internet for residents. But determined individuals can gain access via commonly available "virtual private network" software that bypasses the firewall. The police report did not describe how Hong managed to use ChatGPT. By the time Gansu security officials realized the article was fake, it had received 15,000 views, according to the report.

Police subsequently raided Hong's residence to collect evidence and then took "criminal coercive measures" against Hong himself. Police use that phrase to describe temporary measures to limit the freedom of a suspect.

The new Chinese deepfake law took effect on Jan.

10. It bans several categories of fake media produced by "deep synthesis technologies" such as machine learning and virtual reality, but offers only vague definitions for many of these forbidden classes.

According to a translation of the law provided by the crowdsourced site China Law Translate, it

IN THE ESTATE of DENIEL ALEX RECKLEY, late of the Southern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demands against the above named Estate are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 1st day of June A.D., 2023, and if required, prove such debts or claims, or in default be excluded from any distribution; after the above date the assets will be distributed having regard only to the proved debts or claims of which the Administrators shall then have had Notice.

And Notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the aforementioned date.

MICHAEL A. DEAN & CO., Attorneys for the Administrators Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas

prohibits deepfakes used in activities that endanger national security, harm the nation's image or societal public interest, or disturb "economic or social order." It specifically prohibits the use of such technologies to produce, publish or transmit fake news.

Bahamas trade deficit up $325m at five-year high

representing monies earned by services exporters such as tourism and financial services, to fund those imports.

Between 2018 and 2022, the

trade deficit peaked at just shy of $3bn in 2018, with imports reaching a pre-2023 high of $3.524bn that year.

“Data on merchandise trade for the year 2022 show that the value of

commodities imported into The Bahamas totaled $3.8bn, resulting in an increase of 10.3 percent between 2021-2022,” the 2022 trade report said.

“The category of ‘food and live animals, which totalled $690.4m accounted for 18 percent of the imports in 2022. This category had an increase of 7.7 percent from 2021 which totalled $690.4m. This was followed by ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ totalling some $686.2m (17.9 percent of all imports) for 2022.

“Other major categories that contributed to imports were the categories of ‘machinery and transport equipment’, which totalled $684.6m representing 17.8 percent of total imports; ‘miscellaneous manufactured articles’, which accounted for 13.6 percent with a total of $520.4m; and ‘manufactured goods’, which totalled $517.3m, also representing 13.5 percent of all imports for 2022.”

As for fuel, the report added: “The specific commodities which contributed mainly to total imports were, ‘diesel’ valued at $313.4m; ‘motor gasoline (unleaded)’ valued at $124.2m; ‘other fuel oils’, valued at $78.8m; and ‘jet fuel’ at $72m. The combined value of these commodities represented 15.3 percent of total imports.

“In 2022, total exports (domestic and re-exports) totaled $585.9m, showing an increase of 7.8 percent from 2021. The major contributor to this was the category of ‘mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials’ ($161.1m) in 2022, which showed an increase of 12.7 percent from 2021’s total of $184.6m.

“Domestic exports ($180m) accounted for 30.7 percent of total exports. The major groups contributing to domestic exports

were the categories of ‘food and live animals’ totalling $106.9m (59.4 percent of total domestic exports), and ‘crude minerals’ totalling $33.1m for 18.4 percent of total domestic exports. The commodities that contributed mainly to domestic exports were ‘spiny lobsters’ valued at $79.2m and ‘blocks and shape moulding and beads expansible polystyrene)’ at $27.5.”

Turning to The Bahamas’ major trading partners, the 2022 report said: “While the US ($3.3bn) maintained its position as The Bahamas’ main trading partner representing 84.9 percent of total imports, there was a fair amount of trade as it relates to imports between The Bahamas and China ($72m) and Spain ($34.2m). Both, however, combined only represented less than 2.8 percent of total Imports.

“In terms of exports the US ($393.2m), France ($27.7m), United Kingdom ($10.2m) and Sweden ($2.2m) were among the top partner countries, representing 67.1 percent, 4.7 percent, 1.8 percent and 0.4 percent of total exports, respectively.”

The Bahamas’ draft National Trade Policy revealed that tourism’s “collapse” at COVID-19’s peak “exposed the fragility” of The Bahamas’ current economic model by producing rare twin goods and services trade deficits worth a combined $1.7bn. It disclosed that the pandemic-induced economic lockdown and border closures virtually wiped out tourism earnings that had produced a $311m total trade surplus just one year before.

This nation’s economic model has traditionally relied on services exports, chiefly tourism and financial services, to generate foreign currency surpluses to cover the multi-billion dollar annual trade deficits incurred on physical goods. While this system worked reasonably well prior to COVID, the resulting $3.2bn plunge in 2020 services exports created huge shortfalls on both the goods and services sides that combined for an overall deficit “higher than in any recent years”.

Asserting that trade will play a pivotal role in

repositioning the Bahamian economy for the postpandemic “new normal”, the National Trade Policy report said: “In the preCOVID period, The Bahamas’ large services trade surplus was roughly sufficient, and increasingly so, to counterbalance the goods trade deficit.

“The strong performance of services, in particular the tourism sector, helped The Bahamas to achieve a combined goods and services trade surplus for the first time in 2019, at $311m. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a collapse in services exports in 2020 to $1.3bn from $4.5bn a year earlier, less than the services imports of $1.4bn in that year.

“The impact of the pandemic was thus a dual goods and services trade deficit with a combined value of $1.7bn, higher than any deficit in recent years and exposing the fragility of the country’s current trade model, which is based on a very narrow export base.”

As an import-dependent country, relying on the outside world for most of what it consumes, the National Trade Policy report said COVID-19 had revealed the vulnerability of a Bahamian economic model that has grown to increasingly rely on tourism - “one of the globally most affected sectors by the pandemic”to finance these purchases via its annual foreign currency earnings.

“Trade has an important role to play in the new normal,” the report added. “But for this to happen, The Bahamas needs a coherent National Trade Policy which aligns with the broader development strategy, and to avoid a piecemeal approach of uncoordinated and sometimes conflicting measures affecting the country’s exports and imports of goods and services.

“Such a trade policy has so far been lacking in the country, which may at least in part explain the longterm declining trend that trade has played for The Bahamas. Up to the mid1990s, trade in goods and services was equivalent to more than 100 percent of GDP, compared to the less than 80 percent in recent years.”

US PRICES STAY HIGH, SHOWING INFLATION PRESSURES PERSIST

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer

CONSUMER prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, a sign that further declines in inflation are likely to be slow and bumpy. Prices increased 0.4% from March to April, the government said Wednesday, up sharply from a 0.1% rise from February to March. Compared with a year earlier, prices climbed 4.9%, down slightly from March's year-over-year increase. It was the smallest annual increase in two years.

Even with price pressures rising in April, the latest data did provide some evidence of cooling inflation. Grocery prices fell for a second straight month. And the cost of many services, including airline fares and hotel rooms, plunged.

Though apartment rents rose in April, they did so more slowly than in previous months. The Federal Reserve's policymakers have been closely watching services prices, and April's figures could lead them to do what they had signaled after their

meeting last week: Pause their rate hikes, after 10 straight increases, while they assess the economic impact the higher borrowing costs have had.

Measured year over year, last month's decline in inflation was much less than in previous months, underscoring that consumer price increases might not fall back to the Fed's 2% target until at least well into next year.

Excluding volatile energy and food costs, so-called core prices rose 0.4% from March to April, the same as from February to March. It was the fifth straight month that they have risen at least 0.4%. Core prices are regarded as a reliable gauge of longer-term inflation trends. Compared with a year ago, core inflation rose 5.5%, just below a yearover-year increase of 5.6% in March.

"This is a story of stillsticky core inflation at an elevated level," said Blerina Uruci, chief U.S. economist for fixed income at T. Rowe Price. "This report puts the Fed on track to keep rates high this year."

For everyday consumer items, Wednesday's inflation report was mixed. Gasoline prices jumped 3% just in April. By contrast,

grocery prices dropped for a second straight month. Used car prices surged 4.4% after nine months of declines.

Airline fares, though, dropped 2.6% in April, and hotel prices plunged 3% after four straight monthly increases.

The Fed is paying particular attention to a measure of services inflation that covers such items as dining out, hotel stays and entertainment and that has remained chronically high for much of the past year. This measure, which excludes energy services

and housing, rose just 0.1% from March to April, the smallest increase since last July.

Consumers and businesses continue to struggle with higher costs, and there are signs that some are responding by reining in their spending.

Donald Minerva, who owns the Scottadito Osteria Toscana, an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, says he has had to raise his prices several times since the pandemic struck to keep pace with rising costs for raw ingredients, all kinds of insurance and higher wages.

Minerva has tried to find ways to save on costs. He has stopped serving lunch during the week and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Even with the reduction in hours, though, his labor costs are about 10% higher than before the pandemic.

With consumers starting to resist higher prices, Minerva said, he's been forced to drop expensive menus for such holidays as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. He introduced a more costly prix fixe menu for New Year's, only to see some customers cancel.

"People are not spending as much money," he said. For New Year's Eve dinner, "we did what we normally did, and we lost the holiday." "Consumers don't have unlimited capacity to keep spending at these price levels," said Thomas Simons, an economist at Jefferies, the investment bank. "That is going to lead to some re-budgeting and lower consumption in the future."

A slowdown in consumer spending, which drives most of the U.S. economy, could help ease inflation in the coming months. At the same time, average paychecks are still rising

rapidly. Though beneficial for workers, that trend likely means that many companies will keep raising prices to offset their higher labor costs.

And some companies are still experiencing strong consumer spending. Delaware North, which runs food and hotel services at resorts, sports stadiums and national parks in the United States and abroad, is still enjoying healthy demand at destination resorts at places like the Grand Canyon.

"They're demonstrating this incredible resilience," said Frank Mendicino, the company's executive vice president. "People are traveling to these bucketlist destinations like the Grand Canyon."

Mendicino acknowledged that the company has raised prices for some of its hotel rooms mostly in response to higher demand, not because of its higher labor costs.

For more than two years, high inflation has been a significant burden for America's consumers, a threat to the economy and a frustrating challenge for the Fed. The central bank has raised its key interest rate by a substantial 5 percentage points since March 2022 to try to drive inflation back down to its 2% target.

NotestotheConsolidatedFinancialStatements(Unaudited)

FortheThree(3)MonthsEnded31March2023 (ExpressedinBahamiandollars) CorrespondingFigures

Where necessary, corresponding figures are adjusted to conform with changes in presentation in the current year. Further, corresponding figures presented in the consolidated statement of financial position and related notes are as of 31 December 2022.

CapitalManagement

The objectives of Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited (the Bank) when managing capital, which comprises total equity on the face of the consolidated statement of financial position, are:

 To comply with the capital requirements set by the Central Bank of The Bahamas (the Central Bank).

 To safeguard the Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern so that it can continue to provide returns for its shareholders and benefits for other stakeholders; and

 To maintain a strong capital base to support the development of its business.

CLEARANCE sale signs are displayed at a retail store in Downers Grove, Ill., Wednesday, April 26, 2023. On Wednesday, the Labor Department reports on U.S. consumer prices for April.

Photo:Nam Y. Huh/AP

FDA panel backs over-the-counter sales of birth control pill

By MATTHEW PERRONE

AP Health Writer

FEDERAL health advisers said Wednesday that a decades-old birth control pill should be sold without a prescription, paving the way for a likely U.S. approval of the first overthe-counter contraceptive medication.

The panel of FDA advisers voted unanimously in favor of drugmaker Perrigo’s request to sell its once-a-day medication on store shelves alongside eye drops and allergy pills. The recommendation came at the close of a two-day meeting focused on whether women could safely and effectively take the pill without professional

supervision. A final FDA decision is expected this summer.

If the agency follows the nonbinding recommendation, Perrigo’s drug, Opill, would become the first contraceptive pill to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The company said sales could begin late this year if OK’d.

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The outside experts said they were mostly confident that women of all ages could use the drug appropriately without seeing a health provider first.

“In the balance between benefit and risk, we’d have a hard time justifying not taking this action,” said Maria Coyle, an Ohio State University pharmacist, who chaired the panel. “The drug is incredibly effective, and I think it will be effective in the over-the-counter realm just as it is in the prescription realm.”

The positive vote came despite numerous criticisms from FDA scientists about how Perrigo studied the drug, including questions about whether study participants were able to understand and follow labeling instructions.

“We have an application with many complicated issues and uncertainties, including questionable reliability,” FDA’s Dr. Pamela Horn told panelists on Tuesday.

But the panel largely set those concerns aside, emphasizing the benefits of providing more effective

birth control — particularly to young people and lowerincome groups — than what’s available over the counter now, like condoms and gels.

Most birth control pills used in the U.S. today contain a combination of progestin and estrogen.

Opill is part of an older class of contraceptives that only contain progestin.

They generally have fewer side effects and health risks but can be less effective if they’re not taken around the same time daily.

FDA’s decision won’t apply to other birth control pills although advocates hope that an approval decision might push other drugmakers to seek overthe-counter sales. Birth control pills are available without a prescription across much of South America, Asia and Africa.

Opill was first approved in the U.S. five decades ago based on data showing it was more than 90% effective in preventing pregnancy when taken daily. Even if the pill is approved for over the counter, it’s unclear how popular

it might be. Opill has not been marketed in the U.S. since 2005.

Some women should not take it, particularly those with breast cancer, because of the risk that it could accelerate tumor growth. Women who have unusual vaginal bleeding are instructed to speak with a doctor before using it, because bleeding could indicate a serious health issue.

But in reading comprehension studies conducted by Perrigo, 68% of women with unexplained bleeding incorrectly answered they could take the drug. And a few women with breast cancer also told researchers they could use Opill.

Panel members said almost all women with a history of breast cancer would be under the care of a cancer specialist, who would advise them not to take hormonal drugs that could make their condition worse.

“I would think any woman who had a breast cancer diagnosis in the past would be highly aware of that, so I don’t think that’s going to be a concern,” said Dr. Deborah Armstrong of Johns Hopkins University. Perrigo said its 880-patient study of the drug showed that women will consistently take the pill daily if it’s made available over-the-counter. But the FDA found several problems in the study, including more than 30% of participants who erroneously reported taking more pills than they were actually supplied. FDA reviewers said the problem called into question the company’s overall conclusions about the drug’s use and effectiveness.

FDA regulators also suggested changes in U.S. demographics since the pill was first tested — including increased obesity and other chronic conditions— could reduce the drug’s effectiveness.

Despite those concerns, Opill has the support of dozens of reproductive rights and medical groups that have long pushed for expanded access to birth control.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that YORLINE ROLLE, of P.O Box N-7060 Butlers Way off Carmichael Road, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 4th day of May 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ORIESHA SHACKELIA CAMPBELL, of Miller Truck Court, Carmichael Road, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 April 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THIS illustration provided by Perrigo in May 2023, depicts proposed packaging for the company’s birth control medication

Opill. Federal health advisers said Wednesday, May 10, 2023, that the decades-old birth control pill should be sold without a prescription, paving the way for a likely U.S. approval of the first over-the-counter contraceptive medication.

Photo:AP

Japan, South Korea partnership funds to go to chips, energy

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Associated Press

TOP business lead-

ers from Japan and South Korea announced Wednesday they will use a fund meant to underscore the two countries’ burgeoning ties to strengthen their cooperation in energy, industry and other sectors.

Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren, and its South Korean counterpart, the Federation of Korean Industry, announced a fund of 200 million yen ($1.5 million) in March. The money comes from an initial installment of 100 million yen ($750,000) from each side to complement efforts initiated by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government to resolve a historical dispute over Japanese brutality during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The two groups selected specific areas of joint projects for the Future Partnership funds, focusing on youth exchanges and industrial cooperation, said Kendanren chair Masakazu Tokura and Federation of Korean Industry acting chair Kim Byongjoon Wednesday at a joint news conference in Tokyo. Areas of focus include semiconductor supply chain resiliency, energy security, maintaining the free and open international order,

and climate change, among others.

“I’m extremely encouraged that the improvement of Japan-South Korea relations are now getting on the right track,” Tokura said. In March, Yoon announced a local fund to compensate South Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. Though Yoon faces criticisms at home that he compromised too much, the fund effectively ended a bitter dispute triggered by the 2018 South Korean court rulings ordering two Japanese companies — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corp. — to compensate the victims. Japan, however, had insisted all compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that normalized relations.

Yoon followed his announcement with a trip to Japan, after which ties have been rapidly improving. Less than two months later, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida responded in kind with a trip to Seoul for a summit with Yoon. The quick thaw underscores their shared sense of urgency over growing military threats from China, North Korea and Russia and the need to strengthen their three-way united front with the United States.

A series of talks in defense, finance and trade have resumed since then

and, Tokura said, the momentum is rising. He said that a free and open global order increasingly important, and economic security and semiconductor supply chain resilience are key.

South Korea’s “excellent companies” like Samsung and SK Hynix and renowned materials and equipment from Japan would go very well together, he said, adding that he hoped Japan and South Korea’s cooperation would take root in East Asia as an example to follow.

Kim said a paradigm shift and creative solutions are needed “to overcome unprecedented global crisis” and that the two business groups will “overcome our common problems and walk toward the future.”

Tokura and Kim will each head an organizing committee for the fund. They said they will set up a panel of academic experts to work with the fund and will have their first meeting in early July in Seoul.

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MASAKAZU TOKURA, right, chairman of Keidanren, and Kim Byung-joon, left, acting chairman of the Korean National Federation of Economic Organizations (ZENKEIREN), shake hands after their press conference on "Japan-Korea Partnership Fund for the Future" Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Tokyo.

Photo:Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Delaware judge refuses to dismiss Facebook shareholder suit over user data privacy breaches

By RANDALL CHASE

AP Business Writer

A DELAWARE judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit alleging that Facebook officers and directors violated both the law and their fiduciary duties in failing for years to protect the privacy of user data.

Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster rejected arguments that the complaint should be dismissed because the plaintiffs did not first demand that Facebook’s board take legal action before filing litigation themselves. Under Delaware law, shareholders must make such a demand or demonstrate that doing

so would be futile because a majority of directors were self-interested, lacked independence or faced a substantial likelihood of liability.

Laster agreed with the plaintiffs that demand would be futile because there is reasonable doubt that a majority of the relevant Facebook board members, many with close personal and business ties to Mark Zuckerberg, would be willing to confront the CEO and founder of the company now known as Meta Platforms Inc., over its privacy failures. Meta has said in filings with securities regulators that it believes the lawsuit is without merit.

In refusing to dismiss the lawsuit, the judge noted that he was required to accept the allegations in the complaint, which he described as “encyclopedic and specific” as true for purposes of ruling on the motion.

“It tells a story of directors who were on notice of the law breaking, and who either affirmatively went along with it or consciously disregarded it,” Laster said. “What we don’t have is a little lawbreaking, what we don’t have is isolated lawbreaking, what we don’t have are immaterial violations. ... This is a case involving alleged wrongdoing on a truly colossal scale.”

The complaint alleges that Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission under which the company agreed to stop collecting personal data on platform users and friends without their consent, and sharing it with the thirdparty applications.

Facebook later sold user data to commercial partners in direct violation of the consent order, and removed disclosures from privacy settings that were required under consent order, the lawsuit alleges. The company’s conduct resulted in significant fines from regulators in Europe

THE FACEBOOK logo is seen on a cell phone, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. A Delaware judge on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, refused to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit alleging that Facebook officers and directors violated both the law and their fiduciary duties in failing for years to protect the privacy of user data.

and culminated in the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. That case involved a British political consulting firm hired by Donald Trump’s 2106 presidential campaign that paid a Facebook app developer for the personal information of tens of millions Facebook users.

The fallout led to Facebook agreeing to pay unprecedented $5 billion penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges

that the company violated the 2012 consent order by deceiving users about their ability to protect their personal information. While allowing the plaintiffs to pursue their claims that Zuckerberg and several others breached their fiduciary duties to the company, Laster dismissed insider trading claims against several defendants, with the exception of Zuckerberg.

Photo:Michael Dwyer/AP

Biden goes after Republicans on debt limit in campaign-style speech

By SEUNG MIN KIM AND JOSH BOAK

Associated Press

PRESIDENT Joe Biden on Wednesday blasted Republican-demanded spending cuts as “devastating,” making his case in a campaign-style speech to voters as lawmakers met in Washington on raising the government’s borrowing limit to avoid a potentially catastrophic U.S. default.

The president is showing an increased willingness to discuss possible budget restraints, yet he insisted anew that any talks on that should occur without the risk of the federal government being unable to pay its bills. As he spoke, negotiators from the White House and Congress met for two hours privately at the Capitol to discuss a path forward.

“America is the strongest economy in the world, but we should be cutting spending and lowering the deficit without a needless crisis,” Biden said Wednesday. His words were a challenge to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who met Tuesday with Biden at the White House, declaring afterward that sharp spending cuts were required for House Republicans to increase the debt limit and stave off the risk of default.

Biden laid into that GOP proposal on Wednesday in Valhalla, New York, saying spending cuts recently passed by the Republican House could hurt schools and the country’s “sacred”

obligations to military veterans.

The faceoff comes as the government is rapidly bumping up against its legal borrowing authority, meaning that it may not be able to pay its bills as early as the start of next month unless lawmakers agree to lift the limit. Negotiations between the White House and Congress are expected to resume Thursday.

Wednesday’s events marked a preview of what the coming 18 months will look like for Biden as he performs his presidential duties while also trying to campaign in the 2024 election. He went to a region represented by first-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district Biden won in 2020. Yet the president was gracious to the congressman, saying that Lawler is “the kind of Republican I was used to dealing with.”

Biden used the trip to trumpet recent economic progress — pointing to the 12.7 million jobs created during his term and a fresh focus on domestic manufacturing — while warning that an unprecedented debt default would threaten millions of jobs and raise the prospect of a recession. Yet GOP lawmakers blame his coronavirus relief spending for the high inflation that has many voters already worrying about the U.S. economy.

Back in Washington, senior White House officials and congressional aides were starting to discuss a path to avert a painful debt

default that could come as soon as June 1. Negotiators are racing to strike a budget deal that could unlock a vote on separate debt ceiling legislation. Biden and Capitol Hill leaders are to meet again on Friday.

But McCarthy has shown few signs that he and other House Republicans were willing to budge from their debt limit proposal, leaving Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to warn the speaker is being “reckless.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who has stepped aside as McCarthy tries to negotiate with the White House, has assured, “America is not going to default.”

McConnell has said that the past several times the debt ceiling has been raised, Congress has attached priorities that were agreed to with the White House, including a deal negotiated between then-President Donald Trump and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“There has to be an agreement between the speaker and the president -- and there will be,” McConnell said.

In his remarks Tuesday, Biden raised the specter of cuts to veterans’ care, an issue that has become particularly sensitive in the back-and-forth rhetoric between the White House and congressional Republicans. When the president suggested during the meeting on Tuesday that the House GOP plan could end up cutting benefits to veterans, McCarthy told reporters that he shot back

that was a “lie.” But Biden disputed that it was a lie, saying that the across-theboard cuts would affect veterans’ care and other vital domestic programs.

The president has countered the GOP plan with his own budget proposal, which could save $800 billion through changes to government programs. Of that sum, Biden said that $200 billion over 10 years would come from expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate on prescription drug prices. He said by contrast that the House Republican bill could jeopardize medical care for U.S. families, while his deficit savings would lower costs.

“Would you rather cut Big Pharma or cut health care for Americans?” Biden asked. “These are real world choices.”

After his speech, Biden told reporters he was still holding out hope for a long term debt limit increase. He said he hadn’t been briefed yet on what lawmakers were discussing on the budget. But when he meets with them on Friday, he said he wants specifics of what spending cuts Republicans hope to make. “What are they going to cut?” he asked.

Biden is also scheduled to spend a week abroad on a trip to Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea later this month. He said postponing his travel is “possible but not likely.” With debt talks showing minimal progress, the White House hopes that Biden’s public outreach — starting in a congressional district that will be key for Democrats seeking to wrest House control back from

Republicans next year — increases pressure on GOP lawmakers who can’t afford politically to alienate moderate voters.

Rep. Lawler, as one of 18 House Republicans hailing from a congressional district won by Biden, is a prime target for the White House. Still, Lawler accepted the invitation from the White House, “maybe to their surprise,” the lawmaker said in an interview Tuesday. He said it was a “little disappointing” that Biden was spending his time traveling to his district rather than negotiating with other leaders in Washington. “He told me he wasn’t here to put any pressure on me,” Lawler told reporters after the president spoke. “Look, I showed up because I believe very strongly that we all have an obligation to work together.”

PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaks on the debt limit during an event at SUNY Westchester Community College, Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Valhalla, N.Y.

Photo:John Minchillo/AP

Disney posts higher secondquarter earnings and revenue thanks to strong theme parks business

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AND BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Business Writers

ONGOING strength at its theme parks and an improving streaming business propelled The Walt Disney Co. to higher profits and revenue in its fiscal second quarter.

But the company lost 4 million streaming subscribers to its Disney+ service and its shares fell 4.5% in after-hours trading.

The entertainment giant, which is in the midst of a " strategic reorganization," has been working on trimming about 7,000 jobs as part of a targeted $5.5 billion cost savings across the company.

Bob Iger, who returned in November to take over the CEO post from Bob Chapek, has been working over the past six months to turn around Disney's streaming business while simultaneously making sure that the financial might coming from its theme parks doesn't waver.

He's also had to contend with trying to protect Disney World's theme park district from a takeover by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney sued DeSantis in late April,

alleging the governor waged a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" after the company opposed a law critics call " Don't Say Gay." Disney's legal filing is the latest salvo in a more than year-old feud between the company and DeSantis.

"We're pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, including the improved financial performance of our streaming business, which reflect the strategic changes we've been making throughout the company to realign Disney for sustained growth and success," Iger said in a statement.

For the three months ended April 1, Disney earned $1.27 billion or 69 cents per share. That compares with $470 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago.

After adjusting for onetime items, Disney earned 93 cents per share, matching analysts' expectations according to a poll by FactSet.

Revenue rose 13% to $21.82 billion. This also met Wall Street's forecast of $21.8 billion. Sales at its parks, experiences and products segment rose 17% in the quarter. Revenue for the segment that includes Disney's movie business climbed 3%.

In Disney's fiscal first quarter, sales at its parks, experiences and products division grew 21%, while revenue for the unit

housing its movie business inched up 1%.

The company lost 4 million subscribers at its Disney+ streaming service, ending the second quarter with 157.8 million paying subscribers. Hulu subscribers were just about flat at 48.2 million. Disney said it plans to combine the two services into one app. The decline was largely due to losses at Disney+ Hotstar, which is the company's streaming service brand in India and some other Southeast Asian countries. Disney's theme parks are widely viewed by industry experts as a critical component of the Burbank, California-based company's business. To that end, Iger has prioritized reconnecting with the Disney theme park die-hards and restoring their faith in the brand. Shortly after Iger's return, changes were rolling out at U.S. parks. And on Monday Disney announced that some big updates are in store for Walt Disney World next year, including the return of Disney dining plans and offering some days that annual passholders and Disney cast members can visit Walt Disney World theme parks without needing a park reservation. Disney's stock fell $4.69, or 4.6%, to $96.45 in afterhours trading.

BEYOND MEAT REVENUE FALLS IN FIRST QUARTER DUE TO WEAK DEMAND, BUT COMPANY CONFIDENT IN TURNAROUND

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

AP Business Writer

BEYOND Meat’s firstquarter revenue fell nearly 16% due to lower demand for its plant-based burgers, sausages and other meats, but the company expressed optimism that new products and a summer marketing campaign will reinvigorate sales.

“I think this is a business that’s turning the corner,” Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said Wednesday during a conference call with investors.

Beyond Meat’s U.S. retail sales fell 35% despite discounting as shoppers weary from inflation turned to cheaper alternatives.

Brown noted that even animal meat producers like Tyson Foods posted losses in the most recent quarter.

The lone bright spot for Beyond Meat was international food-service sales, which nearly doubled over the same period last year.

McDonald’s introduced plant-based McNuggets in Germany in February and a double McPlant burger in the United Kingdom and

Ireland in January. Both products are co-produced with Beyond Meat. El Segundo, California-based Beyond Meat reported revenue of $92.2 million for the JanuaryMarch period. That was slightly higher than the $91.7 million Wall Street

forecast, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

The company narrowed its net loss to $59 million, compared to a net loss of $100.5 million in the same period a year ago. Beyond Meat cut 200 jobs last fall and has been slashing manufacturing costs in an

effort to achieve cash flowpositive operations in the second half of this year. The loss, of 92 cents per share, also beat analysts’ forecast of a $1.01 per-share loss.

Beyond Meat’s shares rose 3% in after-market trading.

BEYOND Meat products are seen in a refrigerated case inside a grocery store in Mount Prospect, Ill., Feb. 19, 2022. Beyond Meat said Wednesday, May 10, 2023, that its first-quarter revenue fell nearly 16% due to lower demand in most markets for its plant-based burgers, sausages and other products.

Brown said Beyond Meat will launch a marketing campaign and promotions with retailers this summer that will counteract criticism that its products are ultra-processed and unhealthy. He noted that the American Heart Association recently named Beyond Steak a hearthealthy food.

Brown said consumers are confused about the ingredients in plant-based meat products and the process for making them.

“Setting the record straight is a key part of bringing consumers back to the category,” he said.

Brown said Beyond Meat will also launch new products this year — including a revamped burger for the frozen aisle — and will experiment with temporarily dropping prices so they are closer to that of animal meat.

Achieving price parity with animal meat has been Beyond Meat’s longtime goal. Brown said the company is getting closer, with its average price per pound down 9% from the first quarter of 2022. But plantbased products are still more expensive. Walmart was advertising Beyond Meat burgers at $7.96 per pound Wednesday; allnatural beef burgers were $6.84 per pound.

“Our goal is not to be a high-priced niche item but to be a major player in the $1.4 trillion global protein market,” Brown said.

The company said it expects full-year revenue of between $375 million and $415 million. That would fall short of the $418 million Beyond Meat made last year. Analysts expect full-year revenue of $390 million.

Photo:Nam Y. Huh/AP

New Mexico constitution focus of legal fight over oil and gas drilling

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN

Associated Press

NEW Mexico and its Democratic governor are being sued over alleged failures to meet constitutional provisions for protecting against oil and gas pollution, a challenge that comes as the nation’s No. 2 oil-producing state rides a wave of record revenue from drilling in one of the most prolific collection of oil fields in the world.

A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday in state district court, marking the first time the state constitution’s pollution-control clause has been the basis of such a legal claim. The 1971 amendment mandates that New Mexico prevent the despoilment of air, water and other natural resources.

The challenge comes as New Mexico rides a wave of record revenue from development in the Permian Basin, currently one of the world’s most productive oil-producing regions. Oil-related revenue collections have surged passed five-year averages to fund a considerable amount of the state’s budget, including education and social programs.

Meanwhile, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration is policing the industry with regulations that target methane and other emissions. The goal is capturing 98% of all natural gas waste by the end of 2026, and drilling permits could be denied if operators fail to meet targets. But the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups say these efforts are not enough and that the state is failing to enforce existing pollution-control measures.

They want oil and gas permitting to be suspended until the state implements “a statutory, regulatory and

enforcement scheme that ensures the protection of New Mexico’s beautiful and healthful environment,” the lawsuit reads.

Lujan Grisham’s office said Wednesday that her administration was proud of its record on the environment.

“Frankly, this is a misguided lawsuit that will only serve to distract the state from conducting additional work on environment and climate solutions and from enforcing the nationally leading regulations this administration fought hard to get on the books,” said Caroline Sweeney, the governor’s spokesperson.

The plaintiffs include the groups Indigenous Lifeways, Pueblo Action Alliance, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and WildEarth Guardians.

The Pueblo Action Alliance is among the Native American groups that have been pushing for the U.S. Interior Department to stop drilling across a wide swath of land beyond the borders of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.

Energy industry organizations have argued that the group is not in good standing with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Efforts to stop oil and gas development in the Chaco area and in southeastern New Mexico have mostly been fought in federal court, with U.S. land management policies being the focus. Recent claims have centered on the Bureau of Land Management and whether the agency has been taking a cumulative look at the potential effects of permitting more wells.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday details the experiences of Navajo families in northwestern New Mexico, reciting many of the complaints that have been leveled previously in the fight over development outside of Chaco.

Concerns about the preservation of lands considered culturally significant by some Navajos and more distant pueblo communities are outlined in the lawsuit.

The groups and individual plaintiffs claim that the gathering of medicinal and ceremonial herbs is at risk from ground disturbance by developers and subsequent erosion. They also say the ability to enjoy their ancestral homelands is being compromised.

In southeastern New Mexico, plaintiffs point to truck traffic and poor air quality from the emissions of trucks, generators, compressors and other equipment running continuously in the oil fields.

New Mexico’s pollutioncontrol clause was adopted after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1971, the same year state lawmakers adopted other environmental protection measures. At the time, the modern environmental movement was taking shape nationally.

While New Mexico’s clause has been on the books for nearly 50 years, lawyers for the plaintiffs say it has never been tested.

Gail Evans, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity and lead counsel on the case, called it a fundamental human right to have clean air, land and water.

“If concern for our environment and public health won’t push New Mexico’s leaders to control the reckless oil and gas industry, we hope legal action will,” she said.

ATTORNEY GAIL EVANS, of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute, speaks about pollution from oil and natural gas development and frustration with state oversight of the industry outside the state First District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Photo:Morgan Lee/AP

Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher after inflation report

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

A MIXED day of trading left Wall Street slightly higher on Wednesday after a report showed inflation is making strides toward easing, even if it remains too high.

The S&P 500 rose 18.47, or 0.4%, to 4,137.64 after swinging between gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 30.48, or 0.1%, to 33,531.33, while the Nasdaq composite rallied 126.89, or 1%, to 12,306.44.

Bond prices climbed after the highly anticipated report said inflation at the consumer level edged down to 4.9% last month, its lowest level in two years.

That was slightly better than economists expected, and other underlying measures of inflation also came in very close to forecasts.

Because of that, Wall Street still sees the door open for the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates alone at its next meeting in June. That would be the first time it hasn't raised rates at a meeting in more than a year, and a pause would offer some breathing room for the economy and financial markets.

"The concern coming in was that it would be hotter than feared," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. "While not exactly an exciting report, I think there was enough good news baked in that it shouldn't impact the Fed or the economic trajectory all that much."

The Fed has jacked up rates at a furious pace in hopes of driving down inflation. But high rates do that by slowing the entire economy and hitting investment prices broadly. They've already sent stock prices tumbling, caused turmoil in the banking system and dragged on the economy enough that many investors expect a recession to hit this year. Following the report, traders upped the probability they see of the Fed holding rates steady in June to nearly 94%, according to data from CME Group.

Stocks that benefit the most from an easing of interest rates led the way on Wall Street, including Big Tech and other high-growth stocks. Amazon's 3.3% rise and Microsoft's 1.7% climb

were the two biggest forces pushing the S&P 500 higher. Of course, other economic reports will arrive before the Fed's next meeting in the middle of June that will sway its decision. One will hit Thursday, showing how inflation fared at the wholesale level last month. In the meantime, inflation still remains way above the Fed's 2% target and continues to squeeze households across the economy, particularly those with the lowest incomes.

On the losing end of Wall Street, Lincoln National fell 3.9% after reporting weaker profit for the latest quarter than expected.

Airbnb dropped 10.9% despite reporting profit that matched analysts' forecasts. It gave financial forecasts for the current quarter that were weaker than some on Wall Street expected.

The majority of companies in the S&P 500 have topped profit forecasts so far this reporting season, which is approaching its final stretch. But they're still on pace to report an overall drop in earnings from a year earlier, which would be the second straight quarter that's happened.

Icahn Enterprises, the partnership run by highprofile activist investor Carl Icahn, sank 15.1% after disclosing federal prosecutors asked for information related to its corporate governance and other matters.

The request from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York came a day after a short-selling research firm, Hindenburg Research, accused Icahn Enterprises of inflating the value of some of its investments.

Icahn called the accusations misleading and self-serving and published a rebuttal Wednesday.

In the bond market, increased hopes for a coming pause from the Fed on rates pushed yields lower.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.43% from 3.52%. It helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans. The twoyear Treasury yield, which moves more on expectations for Fed action, fell to 3.90% from 4.03%.

Besides worries about interest rates and inflation, some corners of the bond market are also swinging

on concerns about the U.S. government inching closer to a possible default on its debt. That's never happened before, and economists warn a default could be catastrophic for the economy and financial markets.

The widespread expectation is that Congress will come to a deal before the June 1 deadline that many on Wall Street have circled, simply because the alternative would be so painful for everyone. But a meeting in the White House on Tuesday between political leaders yielded no breakthrough, and sniping continues between them.

THE NEW York Stock Exchange is seen in New York, Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

Photo:Seth Wenig/AP