By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
SUPER Value’s owner yesterday said it has suffered just one price hike from the US-China trade war with local businesses warning there is no room to relax despite the rivals’ 90-day tariff ‘pause’.
Rupert Roberts told Tribune
Business that soap has so far been the only product hit by Donald Trump’s imposition of 145 percent tariffs on all imports from China with the 13-store supermarket chain’s suppliers “strangely quiet”
on the fall-out and prospect of any further price increases.
“We’ve only had one price increase through the US pertaining to China. That’s soap,” he told this newspaper. “Everything else we bring in directly from China. We don’t go through the US. The US tariffs on China are not affecting us. We bring in container loads, and buy and bring it direct from China, not through the US.
“The pallet loads, products where we cannot bring in container loads in from China, they are likely to be affected by the US-China tariffs. Strangely, all suppliers are quiet and not talking
‘Everyone praying this home run’ on Grand Lucayan sale
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A FORMER tourism minister yesterday asserted “everyone is praying this is a home run” ahead of tomorrow’s Heads of Agreement signing for the Government’s third attempt to exit the Grand Lucayan. Dionisio D’Aguilar, who was in the Minnis Cabinet that agreed the ill-fated Royal Caribbean/ITM Group deal that was ultimately scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic, told Tribune Business that “the
devil is in the details” while voicing concerns about the Grand Lucayan buyer’s seeming lack of development experience outside mainland US. Suggesting that an investment “at least north of $200m” is needed to revive a resort long regarded as Freeport’s ‘anchor’ property, he added that it is vital to understand Concord Wilshire’s “vision” and targeted timeline for when construction will be completed and the project fully operational.
about price increases. I suppose they’re sitting and hoping like we are that it’s not going to happen or nothing too big to affect the cost of living or increasing it. It’s normal; nothing to report. We’re just hoping for the best.”
The US and China earlier this week agreed to a 90-day ‘pause’ in their trade and tit-for-tat tariff battle for global economic supremacy. Under the agreement, US tariffs, which as a border tax on Chinese goods, will be lowered from 145 percent to 30 percent, while China’s retaliatory tariffs on US imports will be lowered from 125 percent to 10 percent for
the next three months until early August 2025.
There had been fears that The Bahamas, as a highly vulnerable, small, open and import-dependent economy, would suffer a significant inflation and cost of living increase as a result of Mr Trumps tariff policy and the Chinese retaliation given its reliance on other countries for virtually all it consumes. Tourism demand for The Bahamas was also expected
Attorneys voice concern over critical land reforms
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEYS are voicing concerns over key aspects of the Government’s proposed land reforms including how the transition to registered land is handled and the ability to handle adjudication decisions.
Gilbert Thompson, an attorney at Meridian Law Chambers, told Tribune Business yesterday that the Land Adjudication Bill had “set off alarm bells” for him because it makes no provision for aggrieved Bahamians to appeal to the London-based Privy Council, the highest court in the Bahamian judicial system.
The legislation, as drafted, only seems to make provision for appeals
to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal if there is a dispute over how ownership of a particular land parcel is determined under the Bill;s provisions. Mr Thompson also expressed concerns that the Bill’s section 28 “narrows the scope” on which persons can appeal to “points of law” or the failure to follow legally-established procedure.
This, he explained, eliminates factual errors as a ground upon which
Court rejects tax auction bar; property already sold
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN company’s bid to prevent the Government from auctioning off its property to recover tax arrears has been rejected because a sale had already been agreed prior to a previous injunction.
Earl Miller and Miller Enterprise Ltd had sought to have the injunction reinstated in a March 24, 2025, application that also requested the Supreme Court’s permission to proceed with a Judicial Review challenge to the Department of Inland Revenue’s bid to seize and auction off the property where Ron’s Brakes & Muffler Centre was based at Tonique Williams Highway/ Bozine Hill.
However, Justice Carla CardStubbs, in a May 8, 2025, ruling dismissed both the Judicial Review and application for a fresh injunction after finding that the property had already been auctioned off by the Department of Inland Revenue prior to Miller Enterprise obtaining an initial stay to block the sale on February 19, 2025.
land adjudication decisions can be challenged. “It set off alarm bells right away because we’ve had decisions from the Court of Appeal that have had to be corrected by the Privy Council,” Mr Thompson told this newspaper. “How could you not have the Privy Council involved, the highest court in the land?
“That’s definitely a very important point to bring to the Bahamian people’s attention so as not to take away their rights to a full
Miller Enterprise, which was represented by former House of Assembly speaker Halson Moultrie, had raced to the Supreme Court in a bid to block the sale of its property to recover tax arrears just six days prior to obtaining that injunction. The verdict did not disclose the amount of unpaid real property tax, but the Department of Inland Revenue succeeded in getting the first injunction dismissed on March 20.
This prompted Mr Miller and Miller Enterprise to seek a fresh injunction, and permission to launch Judicial Review proceedings, four days later. They alleged that the tax authorities’ decision to sell their property was “irregular, an affront to natural justice and unconstitutional” as they had “shown every intention to meet their tax obligations despite unresolved disputes on” the unpaid tax owed.
They further claimed that the Department of Inland Revenue “did not act in good faith” and “abused the process and procedures as set out in the Real Property Tax Act” by exercising the power of sale. Asserting
hearing.” The Land Adjudication Bill, if passed into law by Parliament in its current form, provides an adjudicator - who must be an attorney with at least seven years’ conveyancing experience - and two other persons with the authority to form an adjudication tribunal. This tribunal will then assess and determine claims to land ownership in a particular area designated by the responsible minister. Once these claims are adjudicated, they will be entered into a Land Registry whose creation is backed by statute law, as opposed to the present system of lodging and recording conveyancing deeds in the registry of records at the Registrar General’s Department. Mr Thompson, though, argued against limiting the grounds of appeal over an adjudication tribunal’s decision to just “points of law” and procedural errors. He argued that determining the true and correct owners of a particular land parcel is too
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter
housing shortage and attract more skilled workers. Molly McIntosh, the resort’s owner, said that - equipped with both a kitchen and laundry facility - the fiveunit building also acts as a storage facility. The staff premises has been under construction for eight to nine months, and
nine months. It’s on the Bluff House property but it is not attached to another building. It’s a building on its own, and it has a kitchen facility for the staff,” Ms McIntosh said. “It has laundry that we use for both the staff
WILSON
DONALD TRUMP
DIONISIO D’AGUILAR MICHAEL SCOTT KC
Exuma residents question $260m Aman’s timeline
By FAY SIMMONS
EXUMA residents yesterday said the anticipated economic impact from a $260m, 500-job Aman branded resort is welcome but questioned when it will be felt.
Kayla Lightbourne, office manager at Exuma Water Sports, said the project for Williams Cay and Children’s Bay Cay has been in the making for more than nine years. She voiced hope that construction will begin soon, and that it will not take as long as the proposed Sandals Beaches development to commence.
“With Williams Cay being so far away from the mainland, I think it’s going to be quite an interesting project to see. Hopefully it won’t take as long as Beaches is with being built, but we already hope it goes well,” said Ms Lightbourne. “It’s nice to know that they’re actually doing
something with the island. They’ve been wanting to do something over on Children’s Bay and Williams Cay for years.”
Ms Lightbourne said Exuma Water Sports currently conducts tours on Williams Cay, which may have to be suspended during construction, and local Barraterre businesses may benefit from the development if developers choose to use their services.
“We actually do a hike on Williams Cey. We have permission to do that. We tell everyone about the golf course being built, what the owner has done, how much the islands cost. It is part of our tour, giving a speech. We’ve had guests come back for five years and we’re still giving the same speech, so we’re good to see her doing it. And it’ll be great to see all the work going on,” said Ms Lightbourne.
“Obviously, it’s going to be like a five-star thing. So, depending on if they need our services, or if we can offer services they would
like, then hopefully it’s going to do amazing for us.”
Aman Group, in a statement, revealed that its first Bahamas property, Amancaya, will be developed across two Exuma cays. It will feature a 36-pavilion Aman hotel and limited collection of fully-serviced Aman Residences, plus a marina, beach club and spa.
While the two cays were not identified, they are almost certainly Children’s Bay Cay and Williams Cay, situated near Barraterre off north Great Exuma. This is because Aman named Dona Bertarelli, the Swiss investor and philanthropist, who signed a Heads of Agreement with the Government for a resort development in that same location in January 2016, as its partner in the project.
Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minster of tourism, investments and aviation, who is also Exuma’s MP, said in a statement that the Amancaya project will create 300 permanent, full-time jobs once
Commission chief targets Bahamas ports potential
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business
THE Bahamas Trade Commission’s chairman yesterday reiterated this nation’s deep-sea ports have the potential to serve as a Caribbean shipping hub but more work is needed to create new routes.
Senator Barry Griffin told Tribune Business that discussions with Lord Marland, chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, revealed that the latter’s organisation is “very bullish” on working with The Bahamas and the Davis administration is receptive to this.
“We had lots of meaningful conversation about the various opportunities that The Bahamas can take advantage of, and so he and his organisation are very bullish on the capacity and the capability that exists here,” Mr Griffin said.
“Those are things that this administration has been pushing for, so we are happy that he came to The Bahamas. We are happy to hear his and his organisation’s views on the capability of The Bahamas and we share those.
“I think that The Bahamas has one of the best deep-sea ports in the western hemisphere in its capacity. So, there’s much more that we can do in positioning our ports here in The Bahamas to be an attraction point for goods coming from Africa, the
Caribbean, Latin America. And onward shipping to North America, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and so we look forward to discussing more over the coming weeks and months to build that capacity.”
Mr Griffin said the Commission has been working to strengthen trade relations with regional Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica and Trinidad, and establish The Bahamas as a transhipment point for their goods. He explained that although individual Caribbean countries do not have a large purchasing capacity, by trading together in bulk they can generate savings.
“In terms of buying, the region has a competitive disadvantage in the fact that all of our nations are very small and so, alone, we don’t have a large buying capacity. The idea is to work with our CARICOM and Caribbean partners so that we can all begin trading in bulk,” Mr Griffin said.
“For example, we can all buy dry goods from India, have it shipped to The Bahamas and then trans-shipped to the rest of the region. That way, we all can benefit on cost savings due to buying in a large amount and then shipping together. These are things that we’re exploring with our regional counterparts to see how we can best work together to achieve that.”
Mr Griffin said a lot of the work the Commission is undertaking is creating new shipping lanes, and determining whether routes
should be implemented first or if they should be determined as the demand for goods to specific locations increase.
“The reality is that those shipping lanes don’t currently exist. What we’re doing now is essentially creating these new shipping lanes. Direct flights between Caribbean countries right now are very limited, and we need to work on that connectivity because then goods can come as air cargo. Also, direct shipping routes between Caribbean countries are virtually nonexistent, and so we need to work on those shipping routes,” said Mr Griffin.
“That is a major part of it right now, and it’s sort of the chicken and egg question: Creating the route first, and then the goods will come, or do the goods need to come first so that the private sector can create the route.
“That’s what we’re exploring now; how to create those routes, but to ensure that they are profitable for the businesses that will be engaged creating those routes. It’s complex work and difficult but we’re committed to it.”
operations begin plus 200 construction posts.
“This $260m project reflects strong investor confidence in The Bahamas as a jurisdiction for highquality, strategically aligned development,” the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation said.
“Spanning two private cays, Amancaya brings one of the world’s most respected luxury hospitality brands to The Bahamas. The project is expected to create over 500 jobs - 200 during construction and 300 permanent positions - while supporting local entrepreneurs, expanding training opportunities and driving long-term economic activity in Exuma.”
Mr Cooper added:
“Aman’s entry into The Bahamas reflects the strength of our tourism sector as a premier luxury destination and the growing demand for eco-friendly sustainable development. Aman’s ultraluxury lifestyle brand is a good fit for Exuma, and we look forward to the
ground-breaking of this investment that will deliver meaningful, measurable long-term impact.” Aman said its Exuma cays resort is currently under construction with the involvement of Squircle Capital, and will be its third property in the Caribbean. Aman currently owns, brands and operates 35 hotels, resorts, branded residences and private clubs in more than 20 destinations, 15 of which are within or close to UNESCO Heritage Sites.
The Amancaya’s full-time and construction job numbers match those detailed in an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the project that emerged in 2023 for “a luxury hotel and residential community located” on Children’s Bay Cay and Williams Cay.
Children’s Bay Cay was to feature 30 guest villas, containing a total 42 room keys via having one or two bedrooms, plus 22 single family lots of two-plus acres each. A 55-slip marina able to accommodate boats
ranging in size from 20 feet to 125 feet was to be developed, with amenities including a beach club, restaurants, spa, tennis/fitness centre and water sports/ dive centre. Planned amenities include a yoga pavilion, sports and recreational activities, gym and events lawn. “Williams Cay will have two external marinas: A guest arrival dock and service dock functioning as a back-of-house marina,” the EMP added.
“Access to the service dock will require dredging...; dredge volume is estimated at 4,500 cubic yards. No dredging is required for the guest arrival dock which has sufficient existing depth. “All residential docks will be designed and built by the developer. It is anticipated that residential docks will be sited accordingly to avoid dredging with shallow draft vessels only. Typical residential docks will be 35 feet by 10 feet with a select few extending to 60 feet offshore.”
By ANNELIA NIXON
Business
THE union representing senior doctors at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) yesterday asserted it has been receiving “the dog ate my homework excuse” for too long over extended industrial talks. With a draft industrial agreement dating back to September 2022, Charelle Lockhart, the Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) president, reiterated that the union and Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) should have reached a resolution a long time ago.
Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, yesterday issued a statement sharing the same sentiments. However, Ms Lockhart fired back, saying she does not believe anything said until she sees it in writing.
Referring to Mrs GloverRolle’s statement, which said “the Government has already agreed to the terms concerning health
insurance”, Ms Lockhart replied: “So they claim.” She said she has been asking for weeks that any promises be sent in writing as a sign of good faith. The terms include a major insurance underwriter, with 80 percent of premiums being paid by the Government and the remaining 20 percent by the employee.
“Minister Glover-Rolle told us at the last quarterly meeting on the 28 that we would receive a proposal on, well, April Fool’s Day,” Ms Lockhart said. “So I was fooled, but the Tuesday, which was April Fool’s Day, we got nothing. And the thing is, they also go radio silent, and so I have to be chasing them.
“So weekly I would check in with the labour consultant, Mr Evans, and he would say, ‘It’s all straight on our side. We gave them the go ahead to send you the proposal’. And then I would call the deputy medical director [Keva Thompson], and she would say: ‘I don’t have the green light to go ahead with sending any proposal, and I’m waiting for them’.
“Until just before Easter, she told me: ‘Well, I have something. Can we set up a meeting?’ And I said: ‘Absolutely not. I am not interested in wasting my time at a meeting without seeing something in writing before’.
“I’ve seen the press release,” Ms Lockhart added. “They’ve said this a million times. I want to see it in writing. I don’t believe anything they say until it is put in writing. Because, as I said… when I actually get the document in writing, it says something completely different than what was verbalised to me. That’s where we lose trust and lose this whole feeling of negotiating in good faith, because they tell you one thing and they write something completely different.”
The statement put out by the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service
‘Everyone praying this home run’ on Grand Lucayan sale
Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper that the cost and scale of any transformation has been “severely and negatively impacted by the passage of time”, and “the virtual abandonment of large parts of the property” with the former Memories hotel and Breaker’s Cay section closed for more than eight-and-a-half years since Hurricane Matthew struck in October 2016.
And he also argued that Prime Minister Philip Davis KC “cannot” discuss the Grand Lucayan deal without giving a progress update on Grand Bahama International Airport’s long-touted $200m overhaul which has yet to take-off. Mr D’Aguilar said it was “quite worrying” that so little had been heard about the Manchester Airport Group consortium, the winning bidder, and its deal appears to have “fizzled”.
Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that Concord Wilshire’s actual purchase of the Grand Lucayan, and all its real estate and physical assets, is due to close today (Wednesday) ahead of tomorrow’s Heads of Agreement signing.
This, they argued, meant a signing ceremony heavily promoted by the Government will be more than just the typical agreement of terms and conditions with a private investor. Instead, they said it will represent an actual transaction
involving the purchase of a resort acquired by the Government for $65m in September 2018 to prevent its closure by Hutchison Whampoa’s property arm.
“It’s premature to attack something without having all the details, and Lord knows the people of Grand Bahama need something,”
Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business. “Everybody is praying this is a home run. I’m sure it’s going to be touted. We all hope that it’s that.
“I’m quite interested to see what type of deal is about to be made or about to be signed. Obviously I’m interested to see what is the vision for the project, what is the amount of investment and when is it expected to be transformed. Then, what is the projected economic impact on the island of Grand Bahama?
“Time has moved on, costs have gone up, but certainly at least north of $200m,” Mr D’Aguilar added of the capital investment required under the new owners, “because the property has been severely and negatively impacted by the passage of time and virtual abandonment of large portions of the property.
“The vision is important, and the amount of investment. What are they going to do? This is the third time this project has been presented to the people of Grand Bahama. We had one [Royal Caribbean and ITM] that fell by the wayside, primarily due to COVID. The second
Super Value chief:
Tariff hits yet to wash through
FROM PAGE B1
to be impacted by the uncertainty and loss of consumer confidence.
Mr Roberts, though, yesterday voiced “very, very” strong optimism that the US-China 90-day ‘pause’ will lead to a wider trade agreement between the two rivals that enables The Bahamas and other countries to escape the predicted fall-out from any tariff battle between the two.
“Anything could happen, but I’m hopeful,” he said. “Canada will probably reach an agreement with the US, and it looks like China will, so I’m hopeful everything will settle down. The stock market is settling down and moving ahead. That’s a good indicator that investors feel everything is back to normal.”
However, other businessmen warned that The Bahamas cannot afford to let its guard down as there is no certainty yet as to what will happen beyond the US-China 90-day pause. The Bahamas imports significant quantities of Chinese-made goods, and
a sizeable portion of this supply transits through the US before reaching this nation, thus exposing it to whatever the final Trump tariffs are.
Sir Franklyn Wilson, the Arawak Homes and Sunshine Holdings chairman, told Tribune Business it is simply “too early to tell” what the final outcome of the tariff chaos and turmoil will be. “The US position is so volatile, and changes so fast, I don’t know if it would be prudent to make long-term decisions in this environment,” he said.
“Let’s hope and pray that negotiations may lead to a reduction, but you cannot make a meaningful decision on something that may change in 90 days. I don’t know of very many business people that make long-term decisions on the basis of a 90-day cycle. I cannot see anything strategic changing based on the 90-day arrangement. Just hope that calmer heads prevail and something comes up.”
Mark A Turnquest, president of the fledgling 242 Small Business Association
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that RONY SAINTIL of #17 Ramsey Street, New Providence, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
one had a change of heart. We’ll see what this project entails.”
That “second one” was Electra America Hospitality Group which, despite being unveiled with much fanfare by the Davis administration, never reached the stage of a firm offer or signed sales agreement.
Concord Wilshire is a $10bn Miami-based real estate developer, with a project portfolio that extends across ten US states and includes several Florida resort destinations.
“It’s a fairly substantial US company in the field of property; the property space,” Mr D’Aguilar added. “They do have some hotels; not an enormous amount. They have no properties in the Caribbean right now, which is a little troubling because it’s different to do business here than on the mainland US, where most of their properties are located.
“I think if you look at the projects that have been successful in the past in The Bahamas, the large projects such as Atlantis and Baha Mar, they usually have a visionary leader of those entities, Sir Sol Kerzner and Sarkis Izmirlian. When you go with these corporate entities, it’s not the same as having a visionary coming in there and putting in billions of dollars to transform the property.”
Tribune Business sources last year suggested that Concord Wilshire plans to demolish most, if not all, of the existing Grand Lucayan
and Resource Centre, as well as a consultant to many companies of that size, said that while the US-China 90-day ‘pause’ was “great news” for many of his members and clients, the ultimate outcome “is like elections; it’s too early to tell”.
Confirming that Bahamian small businesses have been “gloomy” about their 2025 prospects ever since Mr Trump launched his tariff war, he added: “It’s unbelievable how he [the US president] changes his strategy day-by-day. The projections, last time you and I spoke, for the year were bleak - summer backto-school, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas. It was bleak.
“They were exhausted from the chaotic behaviour of Trump. They were exhausted. They didn’t know what to order, how much to order, how to order and most definitely where to order. Having a 90-day pause is nothing tremendous. What happens after 90 days?”
Mr Turnquest’s client base includes numerous electronic and clothing retailers, and the former import most of their inventory from China via the US, thus exposing them to the latter’s tariffs.
Bahamian clothing retailers also rely on shipping via the US, and Mr Turnquest
property and invest up to $2bn - ten times’ the amount suggested by Mr D’Aguilar - in developing six new hotels targeted at different markets such as golf, gaming, marina, timeshare and fractional ownership.
The former tourism minister, though, argued that the Heads of Agreement signing cannot escape an update on Grand Bahama International Airport as its revamp “goes hand in hand” with the Grand Lucayan whose revival depends on vastly expanding airlift. An improved airport will be needed to handle the passenger increase.
“Grand Bahama does need something,” Mr D’Aguilar agreed. “I’m excited and optimistic from the perspective the Government feels comfortable enough to bring something forward. The devil is in the details, and hopefully the details will be revealed on Thursday.
“The Grand Lucayan, for better or worse, has been an anchor property in Grand Bahama. It’s substantial, and if it can be fully upgraded, renovated, revived and re-energised, it could be as significantly impactful as it once was.
“Some people will say it must go hand-in-hand with the renovation and upgrade of the airport. You’re not going to build a ton of rooms unless you pay specific attention to that airport,” Mr D’Aguilar added. “We will wait and see how
said all were “still going to feel the blow” of the initial US tariffs on shipments initiated before this week’s easing. “I can tell you one thing: If it was still 145 percent, my clients would be in huge trouble,” he added.
“The increase was inevitable, and they were going to have to downsize to a certain extent to keep themselves above water. No amount of marketing, no amount of hirings. They were going to sit this year out for non-performance. If they cannot find economical pricing, it doesn’t make sense” as retail stores have brand names to protect.
Mr Turnquest said the turmoil created by the Trump tariffs has undermined his clients and members’ expansion plans to open new stores on islands such as Grand Bahama, Exuma and Eleuthera. And it has also impacted their ability to plan and obtain financing for doing so.
“A lot of our customers, and one or two members, have good relationships with the banks and sometimes they can say they anticipate needing a certain amount of capital at a certain time,” he explained. “They can make the request to the bank that they need to increase their overdraft facility to accommodate increasing sales.
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NOTICE is hereby given that PEGGEY JOSEPH of West Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 7th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that IME S ILS N of Hanna Hill, Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that SULLY CHARLES of Jerome Avenue, New Providence, Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
they tie the airport into that project. “Quite worryingly, we haven’t heard any more of the Manchester Airport Group consortium. It seems to have fizzled. I haven’t heard anything. Maybe they are still in the due diligence stage. I’m sure the Prime Minister cannot mention this project without an update on the progress being made at Grand Bahama International Airport.
“We will wait and see what the details are, and then everyone can opine on whether they think it’s going to be as impactful as the Government claims it to be, or another one of those projects that’s going to have a difficult journey. We’ll see.”
However, Michael Scott KC, ex-Hotel Corporation and Lucayan Renewal Holdings chairman under the Minnis administration, yesterday largely dismissed the imminent Concord Wilshire agreement signing as “pre-election hype”. He reiterated that any deal for the resort will be unable to proceed without an upgraded Grand Bahama International Airport.
“From what I understand, the proposed suitor, Concord Wilshire, are - from my own contacts - a reluctant suitor, and the Government seems to be more interested in them than they are in the Government,” Mr Scott said. “Second, one of the major impediments to the Royal Caribbean deal going through was not just
“They can say they expect to make ‘x’ sales so they are going to rewrite their business plans to accommodate this increase. They have to put plans in place to request money for additional funding to increase inventory or increase capital development in their business”, and it is impossible to plan because of the Trump tariff uncertainty.
Senator Barry Griffin, the Bahamas Trade Commission’s chairman, told Tribune Business: “While the recent tariff de-escalation between the US and China is a welcome signal for global trade stability, The Bahamas must remain focused on its long-term goal of reducing over-reliance on any single market.
“Trade diversification is not a reaction to global shifts but, rather, a core pillar of our economic resilience strategy. I would like to highlight that our trade diversification strategy was established well before the recent trade and tariff stand-off. We believe this policy goes to the core of developing a more fair, more competitive and more affordable Bahamian economy.”
Mr Griffon said the Bahamas Trade Commission, working with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and other agencies, is seeking to expand market access for Bahamian
COVID or the pandemic but any remedial works at the airport.
“Without an airport, without pre-clearance, without a revenue stream to offset the serious capital costs that will be necessitated by redevelopment of that deteriorating property, it’s not going to happen... You have to have facilities to bring in visitors in substantial numbers, and the lack of infrastructure is a serious impediment to this. How are Concord going to get people there?”
Pointing to the lack of airlift from American Airlines and other major carriers, Mr Scott added: “Marine traffic or sea traffic is not enough to sustain an operation like that. And not just sustain an operation, meaning to fill rooms, but producing the necessary returns on investment. I think it’s pre-election hype and a typical manoevere on the part of a government which is gearing up for an election.”
Mr Scott also challenged the Government’s failure to produce the annual accounts for Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that owns and holds the resort on its behalf, in the House of Assembly. Some $17.882m in subsidies supported the hotel’s operations in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, and of the $17m allocation for 2023-2024 virtually all - some $16.633m - was spent in nine months.
companies by “engaging with CARICOM, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and Latin American partners to explore new trade arrangements and cooperative frameworks”.
“A series of capacitybuilding programmes and export readiness workshops are being rolled out for Bahamian SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to help them scale up for international markets,” he added. “We are supporting local innovation and value-added production, particularly in areas such as agro-processing and creative industries, to ensure our export base is both broad and competitive.
“These efforts are ongoing, and while results will unfold over time, we expect to see measurable progress in phases. We expect to see positive results from our trade diversification initiatives within the next few months, and expect to see greater progress with some of our longer term initiatives within the next six to 12 months - particularly in the number of export-ready businesses and bilateral engagements.”
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that JIENSEN MICHAEL BRICE IMBERT of Breadfruit Street, South Beach, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that ER ANS IE NNE of East Street, Fritz Lane Nassau, New Providence is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
SENIOR DOCTORS UNION FED UP
The statement put out by the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service also explained that the initial proposal that handles clocking-in and attendance, which was another major issue that the CPSA wanted resolved, was rejected by the union “because the language in the document did not align with what was agreed upon by the Department of Labour and the financial secretary”.
The ministry added that the proposal was resubmitted to the PHA on April 15 with “revised language that was agreed upon by all involved parties”. However, “the final counter-proposal has not yet been presented to the CPSA”. Up until press time, Ms Lockhart said she had not yet received the counter-proposal.
The union president explained that doctors are expected to clock-in when they are within hospital walls, but sometimes services are rendered outside PMH and doctors should be compensated for those times as well.
“What she [Ms GloverRolle] wrote is that we didn’t accept the language or the verbiage,” Ms Lockhart said. “And so I’m waiting
to see if and how they have adjusted the language, because they have still not come up with what we feel is a suitable way to capture the hours that we work, and until they are able to come up with a suitable way to capture the hours we work, we’re not going to agree to that in our IA [industrial agreement].
“They want you to clock in on the clock on the wall,” she added. “Now, what I will tell you, that minister Glover-Rolle will try to say, is that it’s not about time and attendance. It’s about not even accountability; it’s about safety. ‘So what if the hospital blows up? We need to know all of the staff who were in the hospital.’
“So that would be one of the examples that she might give, right? And our thing is that is a segue to now starting to try to punish people if you feel like they’re not spending enough time in the four walls of the hospital. So my thing is: Start to compensate people for the work that they are doing outside of the four walls. Such that they will spend whatever agreed upon time in the four walls.
“But you don’t want to just lay down something to catch the two people that you feel are not spending
enough time in the four walls. I don’t know how you decide that. See, everything is very arbitrary when it comes to how we manage our teams and what we do,” Ms Lockhart added.
“It’s difficult to put that across the board in terms of the different specialties, because the way somebody in family medicine, a consultant in family medicine, works is very different than a way a consultant works in surgery, is very different than a consultant works in the emergency room. And so they’re trying to kind of paint this with one brush, and you can’t.
“One of the suggestions was actually made by a consultant who used to work for BPL, and he said: ‘We recognise that our technicians do work outside of the four walls, and they need to be compensated for it.’ And so that they had an app on their phone, such that when they got a call at night to do a particular job, they would somehow sign into this app. However, this was vehemently rejected as an option in one of our meetings.”
Ms Lockhart said she had been holding back on updating union members after “being the ever optimist”. However, she added that CPSA is still committed to coming to an “amicable solution”.
“I apologise to my entire group last night after I had spoken to the deputy
medical director on Monday
morning, because I’ve been stalling in giving them any updates. I have been the ever optimist, listening to their promises and praying that they would send me something that was reasonable,” Ms Lockhart said.
“Because they keep saying, ‘Oh, I think we’re going in a positive direction. I think you’ll be pleased with what we’re sending to you.’ And then they send me some crap, and I’m like, ‘How could I be pleased if you’re sending me the same thing that I rejected three months ago.’ How am I going to be pleased? And so I’ve been getting ‘the dog ate my homework’ excuse from April 1…
“I want to say that we are continuously trying to come to an amicable solution. And so in my mind, we shouldn’t have these long delays in between our back and forth conversations. And it is just a shame that they don’t respond unless you do something drastic.
“They are quite happy to continue to stall you and delay you, and promise you with no shame. It’s shameless. It’s absolutely shameless. They have no issues doing that until you reach the end of your rope and you say, ‘Hold on a second. I have been more than patient and more than reasonable. I’m going to have to start calling you out on this’.”
ATTORNEYS VOICE CONCERN OVER CRITICAL LAND REFORMS
FROM PAGE B1
important an issue not to allow challenges to a tribunal’s factual findings.
“If there’s a land dispute, they’ve actually narrowed the scope of an appeal,” Mr Thompson explained. “You can’t appeal on the facts; only on findings of law - no factual errors.” The Bill’s clause 28, which deals with court appeals, in section one stipulates that a land decision can only be challenged “on the ground that it is erroneous in point of law or on the ground of failure to comply with any procedural requirement of this Act”.
Confirming that his concerns have been sent to the Bahamas Bar Association, Mr Thompson added: “It’s very curious that this would even be drafted this way. I don’t understand why you would leave the Privy Council out of the appeal process and narrow the scope of an appeal because this is an issue where we want to get it right.
“Like my law partner said, they’ve narrowed the scope of the appeal. Why? Why? These are questions we have to answer.” David Morley, broker/owner of Morley Realty, told Tribune Business: “I know the attorneys have some concerns with what is being proposed but they were obviously very encouraged with moving forward with it.”
He explained that the issues revolved around the ability of attorneys to determine whether liens, judgments and other liabilities are attached to a particular land parcel or
property, and how title searches and determining property ownership is to be addressed during the transition from the current system to registered land - a move that will likely take years, if not decades, to complete.
“They have some hesitancy with it,” Mr Morley explained. “When an attorney does a title search on a property, he or she has to look at the causation list for any liens or judgments against it. I know the attorneys were concerned that the causation list is not kept up to date in a timely manner. That was a big issue for them.
“The other concern I know they had was the transition period, and what takes place during the transition period. The Government and [land reform] committee anticipated a five-seven year transition. From a real estate conveyancing perspective, any transaction taking place, a lawyer has to conduct their title search.
“The challenge was, with that transition period, potentially having to do a double search and the cost of it. I know the Bar Council was having a series of meetings to work out how to charge clients. That’s a matter that could potentially cost a bit more during the transition period.” Attorneys would have to perform both the title searches they conduct now and also search in the newly-created land registry.
Andrew O’Brien, the Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien attorney and partner, who specialises in conveyancing, said “there’s a host of issues that can cloud
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that VRUNDA PRASHANT SAKHARKAR of #1 Prospect Ridge, Skyline Subdivision, P.O. Box GT-2590, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 14th day of May, 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that KARL HEINZ BRACKHAUS of P.O. Box N7776 High Meadows, Lyford Cay, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 7th day of May 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
title” as he acknowledged that the Bar Association was looking at examples from other jurisdictions over how they handled lawyer fees during the switch to registered land.
He backed Mr Morley, adding: “I think the question that concerns attorneys with making the switch largely revolves around what effort is going to be required to make the switch. When someone registers their parcel, is the Committee going to do their own 30-year search to make the parcel is in the proper hands, has good, clean title, and no one else has a claim?
“Will they require the owner to submit that or accept someone’s conveyance as evidence of good title?” Mr O’Brien also warned that “survey issues may arise” when it comes to determining the proper boundaries for land parcels that are being entered into the land registry.
The last Ingraham administration led similar legislative reform efforts more than one decade ago to develop a three-strong package of Bills that would
have overhauled the existing system.
These Bills - the Land Adjudication Bill, the Registered Land Bill and the Law of Property Bill - would have created a land registry in the Bahamas, and given commercial and residential real estate buyers greater certainty that they had good title to their properties. However, they were ultimately shelved and no one saw fit to revive them until the Davis administration.
Sharlyn Smith, senior partner at Sharon Wilson & Company, who co-chaired the land reform committee, in 2022 referenced an InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) report which “found that 15 percent of the parcels in the country were in dispute.
“This is particularly significant given the observation that, by and large, 70 percent of the land is controlled by the Government,” she said. “That leaves only 15 percent of the land, which is in private hands, not in dispute. Expressed differently, an IDB study in the early 2000s found half the land in private hands was in dispute.”
On Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 an incorrect advertisment for a citizenship appeared in the newspaper name Keisha Marie Dean who is not applying for citizenship. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
NOTICE is hereby given that SAN RA A N BRACKHAUS of P.O. Box N7776 High Meadows, Lyford Cay, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a
ABACO RESORT INVESTS $250K TO BATTLE HOUSING SHORTAGES
FROM PAGE B1
and for the hotel, the laundry facility. And then it has four rooms upstairs.
“One of them will have two twin beds, and then the other three will be permanent rooms, just with a queen bed. One person in each room. Then the one room will have two people, like for transient people that need to stay overnight and go back home the next day. And then we have one more room that’s not done. We’ve got one more room in there that hopefully we’ll be able to finish up. That will be five when that one’s done.
“Part of it underneath is also storage. So we’re using it for staff housing, the kitchen for the staff and the laundry room for the whole resort, and then a little bit of storage and hopefully another room somewhere in the near future.”
Ms McIntosh has been vocal about the need for more skilled workers on Abaco, and has expressed her belief that a lack of housing on the island has discouraged many from accepting job opportunities. While she has built staff quarters, she added that it cannot accommodate families. And with most housing on the island being short term-rentals, she is still faced with a housing problem for workers.
“I got one [room] filled,” Ms McIntosh said. “But I’m working on finding the right people for it. I need some different positions filled. So we’re looking. We’re actively looking. And we now do have a one bedroom place to put people, which is a big help. But remember, too, that’s not anybody with a family that’s going to come in.
“They’re going to want a house, and we can’t put children in staff quarters and wives and all that. So it still is an issue, even though I’ve built a building and a quarter-of-a-million dollars and we’ve got four rooms in it now, it’s still not totally fixing the problem.
“Most of the places that are built, they are looking for the short-term rentals where they make a lot more money. So I understand, and I can’t force anybody to do it, but I was just hoping that somehow, maybe the
Government could make some type of programme to encourage landowners to build some longer-term housing places, maybe with some tax help,” Ms McIntosh added.
“I don’t know what it is, but I know that it’s difficult here. We did just build staff housing here, so we did get a few rooms to help us with bringing some people in from away. We can now get some people from Nassau or from Freeport, or even from Marsh Harbour, because we can have them live in staff quarters.”
Ms McIntosh suggested a programme hosted by the Government and motivated by incentives that would encourage the building of more long-term rentals on Abaco.
“One of the things that I was just thinking of... somehow the Government could have some kind of programme initiated where, if someone gets the Crown Land and builds some longterm housing on it, like townhouses or something where some live with their wife and a kid, or something like that, that they would give them some tax concessions,” Ms McIntosh said.
“Maybe they wouldn’t have to pay duty on bringing in the materials to build it, or some kind of concession to help people. Encourage people to want to do that, because the short-term rentals are so much more profitable than the long-term. And so it dissuades people from wanting to build for that.
“I mean, it’s not just me. All the places in Abaco, we’re all looking to get some more help, because as the business builds we need more and more qualified staff. And tourists coming in now are looking for a little more sophistication than maybe they used to. But Abaco is wonderful. We don’t want all of our talented and smart, wonderful young people to have to move away to get a good job.”
PUBLIC NOTICE
Court rejects tax auction bar; property already sold
that there was a single bidder, they added: “The said property is classified as an ‘owner-occupied property’ with two ongoing business concerns.
“The defendants acted with total disregard to required and proper notice, and the adverse impact that their actions would have on the businesses’ 23 employees.” Mr Miller and Miller Enterprises alleged that notwithstanding the dispute over how much real property tax was owed, they had made a $200,000 payment on the arrears and intended “to fulfill their tax obligations”.
However, the Department of Inland Revenue argued that “the appeal lacks merit, serves no practical purpose and has no realistic prospect of success” because it sought to challenge the removal of an injunction “that was rendered moot by a completed and irreversible transaction. They no longer hold legal or equitable interest in the subject property, and the appeal, if allowed to proceed, would have no legal effect”.
Shunda Strachan, the Department of Inland Revenue’s head, in a March 3, 2025, affidavit, revealed: “The property was sold at public auction. On
November 20, 2024, a sales agreement was executed between the Treasurer of The Bahamas and the eventual purchaser of the subject property.
“On January 22, 2025, the conveyance was executed and the property was conveyed to a purchaser. Notice of sale of the property dated January 23, 2025, was hand delivered to the first claimant. The first claimant was notified that the ‘second defendant had accepted a bid and executed an agreement of sale of the property’.
“A letter dated February 6, 2025, giving notice to vacate within 15 days recited exercise of the
Microsoft lays off about 3% of its workforce in what one executive calls a 'day with a lot of tears'
By MATT O'BRIEN
AP Technology Writer
MICROSOFT began laying off about 6,000 work-
ers Tuesday, nearly 3% of its entire workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years as the company
spends heavily on artificial intelligence. Hard hit was the tech giant's home state of Washington, where Microsoft informed state officials it was cutting 1,985 workers tied to its Redmond headquarters, many of them in
NOTICE
GIGA INVESTMENTS LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 207235 B.
(In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General. Dated this 13th day of May A.D. 2025.
RODRIGO SILVA TOLEDO LIQUIDATOR
software engineering and product management roles.
Microsoft said the layoffs will be across all levels, teams and geographies but the cuts will focus on reducing the number of managers. Notices to employees began going out on Tuesday.
power of sale and was hand-delivered to the first claimant on February 6, 2025.” Justice Card-Stubbs, in her ruling, said “the injunction had already been overtaken by events at the time that the claimants sought interlocutory injunctive relief.
“Secondly, the claimants did not, in their application for equitable relief, make full and frank disclosure. Either of those considerations would constitute a sufficient ground for the discharge of the injunction,” she added.
“While the matters of the exercise of the powers of the Treasurer under the Real Property Tax Act
The mass layoffs come just weeks after Microsoft reported strong sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations for the January-March quarter, which investors took as a dose of relief during a turbulent time for the tech sector and U.S. economy. "I think many people have this conception of layoffs as something that struggling companies have to do to save themselves, which is one reason for layoffs but it's not the only reason," said Daniel Zhao, lead economist
NOTICE
Nilzete Enterprises Ltd.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 212018 B. (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General. Dated this 13th day of May A.D. 2025.
ROBERTO DESCHAMPS LIQUIDATOR
might be of public interest or importance, those matters would not arise for determination at the appellate level since they had not arisen for determination in the court below.
“The question to be considered on the discharge of the injunction was whether the court had properly exercised its jurisdiction and discretion in discharging the injunction. These grounds are misconceived and there is no prospect of success on an appeal. There is no issue of public importance that arises that would cause this court to grant leave to appeal.”
As for the renewed injunction bid, Justice
at workplace reviews site Glassdoor. "Big tech companies have trimmed their workforces as they rearrange their strategies and pull back from the more aggressive hiring that they did during the early post-pandemic years."
Microsoft employed 228,000 full-time workers as of last June, the last time it reported its annual headcount. About 55% of those workers were in the U.S. Microsoft announced a smaller round of performance-based layoffs in January. But the 3% cuts will be Microsoft's biggest since early 2023, when the company cut 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that were scaling back their pandemic-era expansions.
Microsoft's chief financial officer, Amy Hood, said on an April earnings call that the company was focused on "building high-performing
Card-Stubbs said: “The effect of a stay would be to maintain an injunction aimed at staying the exercise of a power of sale and the acceptance of bids. The evidence before the court is that the power of sale has already been exercised and that a bid was accepted prior to the obtaining of the injunctive relief.
“Having regard to this court’s determination that the injunction in the terms sought and issued is of no aid to the claimants, and having determined that the court must not act in vain, there seems to me to be no justifiable reason to stay the discharge of the injunction.”
teams and increasing our agility by reducing layers with fewer managers." She also said the headcount in March was 2% higher than a year earlier, and down slightly compared to the end of last year.
The layoffs are hitting all parts of Microsoft's business, including the video game platform Xbox and the career networking site LinkedIn. Some laid-off workers and the executives who made the cuts took to LinkedIn to talk about them.
"This is the first time I've had to lay people off to support business goals that aren't my own," wrote Scott Hanselman, a vice president of Microsoft's developer community. "I often have trouble separating my beliefs with the system that I participate in and am complicit in. These are people with dreams and rent and I love them and I want them to be OK."
NOTICE
INILIUS LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the registration number 209880 B. (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General. Dated this 13th day of May A.D. 2025.
ANA LUCIA FORTINI DUVELIUS LIQUIDATOR
FINAL LEGAL NOTICE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000
JSS Money Market Fund Ltd Voluntary Liquidation
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, the dissolution of JSS Money Market Fund Ltd (the “Company”) has completed, a Certifcate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the dissolution was 5th March 2025.
Israel Borba Liquidator
WALL STREET RISES AGAIN AS THE S&P 500 ERASES ITS LOSS FOR 2025
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
MOST U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging report that showed inflation unexpectedly slowed across the country last month.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, coming off an even bigger gain to start the week after the United States and China announced a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.6% as AI and other tech stocks led the way.
Stocks have been roaring back since the S&P 500 fell nearly 20% below its record last month on hopes that President Donald Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher. The S&P 500, which sits at the center of many 401(k) accounts, is back within 4.2% of its alltime high set in February and positive again for the year so far.
Tuesday's report said that even with all the uncertainty around trade, and even with many businesses rushing to import products
from other countries before tariffs raise their prices, inflation slowed to 2.3% last month from 2.4% in March.
It's encouraging because such data pulls the economy further from a worst-case scenario called "stagflation," one where the economy stagnates but inflation remains high. The Federal Reserve has no good way to fix that toxic combination. It could try to lower rates to help the economy, for example, but
that would likely worsen inflation in the short term.
Even with Tuesday's encouraging report, though, economists and analysts say inflation may still run higher in coming months because of Trump's tariffs. That will likely leave the Fed waiting for more data to guide their decision on whether and when to cut interest rates in order to help the economy.
It's similar to the wait that investors in general are enduring. With the Fed
set to make no moves on interest rates for the time being, markets will likely trade "with negotiation and reconciliation headlines," according to Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, global co-head and co-chief investment officer of multi-asset solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
"I think investors are aware that the trade deal is not done yet," said Louis Wong, director for Phillip Securities Group in Hong Kong.
SPECIALIST Michael Pistillo works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. Photo:Richard Drew/AP
"I would advise investors to remain cautious in the near term and to be prepared for unexpected news from the trade front," he added.
On Wall Street, Coinbase Global jumped 24% after the cryptocurrency exchange learned its stock will join the widely followed S&P 500 index next week. That means many investment funds will likewise add it before trading begins on Monday. Coinbase will replace Discover Financial Services, which is getting bought by Capital One Financial.
Stocks in the artificialintelligence industry were also strong. Nvidia rose 5.6% and was the biggest single force pushing upward on the S&P 500. It's partnering with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fundowned AI startup Humain to ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power a new data center project.
Super Micro Computer, which builds servers used in AI, jumped 16%. GE Vernova, which is hoping to power vast AI data centers,
rose 4%. Palantir Technologies gained 8.1%. They helped offset UnitedHealth Group, whose shares tumbled 17.8% after it suspended its fullyear financial forecast due to higher-than-expected medical costs. The nation's largest health insurer also announced that CEO Andrew Witty was stepping down for personal reasons and that Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately. UnitedHealth was the main reason the Dow lagged behind other U.S. stock indexes. All told, the S&P 500 rose 42.36 points to 5,886.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 269.67 to 42,140.43, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 301.74 to 19,010.08. In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher with hopes for the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.48% from 4.45% late Monday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed action, ticked up to 4.01% from 3.98%.
