05202020 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020

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BISX-listed firms warn on dividends

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SEVERAL BISX-listed companies have warned shareholders against “undue optimism” that dividend payments will continue given the need to preserve cash and liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both JS Johnson and Family Guardian cautioned investors in their recent 2020 first quarter results filings that the regular capital returns many Bahamian investors have come to regard as routine may be paused due to the ongoing uncertainty over how long and severe any downturn will be.

Alister McKellar, JS Johnson’s managing director, disclosed that profits at its agency/brokerage business were down 21 percent year-over-year for the three months to end-March 2020 due to a combination of Hurricane Dorian payouts and COVID-19.

“It’s doubtful anyone could have predicted the level of disruption that COVID-19 would cause around the globe,” he wrote. “The pandemic has cost many Bahamians their livelihoods, as closed businesses have had to lay-off employees to cut costs. We were also initially ordered to close, until the government re-classified insurance companies as ‘essential’ and we were allowed to re-open on a limited basis under strict protocols...

“On the business front, our agency division experienced a 21 percent decline in profits for the quarter, from $749,646 to $589,038, as a result of lower-thanexpected premiums and a loss of dividend income.

We’re still recovering from Dorian and the first quarter was actually shaping up to be positive until the pandemic arrived.”

As for Insurance Company of The Bahamas (ICB), the underwriter through which JS Johnson places much of its property and casualty business, net income rose eight percent as a $422,570 increase in contracts with customers offset a $379,909 paper or “unrealised” loss on the value of its investments portfolio.

“Overall, net income fell by just over six percent from $1.574m to $1.476m year-on-year,” Mr McKellar added.

“This provided the board with enough confidence to declare a dividend of 14 cents per share this quarter.”

However, he was quick to warn that such payouts may not continue. “To be prudent, we’d like to caution against undue optimism regarding future dividend levels given the longerterm effect that COVID-19 will likely have on the economy,” the JS Johnson chief wrote. “Times are extremely uncertain at the moment, and all businesses face serious threats to their profitability, with hurricane season also just around the corner.”

Mr McKellar’s warning was echoed by Norbert Boissiere, Family Guardian’s chairman, in his 2020 first quarter update to shareholders. “The financial performance of the group will undoubtedly be tested as we continue to

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Web shops heat up govt closure battle

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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EVERAL web shops yesterday “lit the candle under” their attorney to file legal action against the government by tomorrow “at the latest” over their continuing COVID-19 closure.

Wayne Munroe QC, who is representing Paradise Games and TIG Investments, trading as The Island Game, told Tribune Business his clients had ordered him to fast-track litigation and not bother offering the government a chance to reconsider its actions.

Blasting the Minnis administration’s treatment of domestic gaming as “unfathomable”, Mr Munroe said he hoped to file the necessary legal papers

• Legal action filed ‘by tomorrow at latest’ • QC: Industry’s treatment ‘unfathomable’ • To fight COVID-19 regulations, their use

WAYNE MUNROE QC with the Supreme Court registry either today or tomorrow.

He confirmed that the action will challenge “the validity” of the government’s Emergency Powers regulations in the first

instance and, should that prove unsuccessful, he and his clients will target their use in “singling out gaming houses” as the only industry that cannot provide delivery, drive through or curb side services to patrons.

Mr Munroe said he had still been writing the letter, which he had hoped to send to the Prime Minister’s Office last Friday, giving it an opportunity to reverse course and provide the medical explanation for closing domestic gaming once again, when his clients decided to quicken the pace.

“We were working on the letter when I spoke to them this morning,” he revealed.

“We’ve decided to just file

the action. They pointed put to me that they feel, as a result of the article in your newspaper [on Friday], the government has already had an opportunity to react and didn’t react.

“They don’t feel there’s any point wasting time writing to them. I’ve been told I need to, as it were.... they lit the candle under me. I’ve been told to task it, and get it done as quickly as possible.”

Describing the mood of his clients and the wider domestic gaming industry, Mr Munroe added: “For most of them it’s more a matter of, I wouldn’t say

A BAHAMIAN retailer yesterday urged the government to “stop picking winners and losers” in determining which businesses are COVID-19 “essentials” after he was forced to fully terminate 20 staff.

Egan Kemp, president of Eunison Company, the Shoe Depot parent, reiterated his call for the Minnis administration to provide a medical explanation for the “disparity” in how some businesses and industries have been allowed to re-open while others in the same or different sectors have not.

He argued that the restaurant industry was a prime example, as fast-food restaurant chains such as Wendy’s, Burger King and KFC have all been permitted to remain open via drive through services, while those at Arawak Cay and

among them - who have been unable to open due to the restrictions imposed by the government’s Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Orders.

Pointing out that it was now two months since the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns were imposed, Mr Kemp questioned how it was possible for still-closed businesses to exist without a single cent of revenue income for that period.

Although Shoe Depot’s had re-opened on Monday to offer curb-side and pickup services, he revealed that “the numbers are already not adding up” sufficiently to justify continuing this given the fixed utility and labour costs the retailer has to continue meeting.

No decision ‘yet’ on shedding civil service retirees

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Mr Kemp added that some customers had already voiced their anger and frustration at not being allowed to enter the stores physically, with one exchange even reaching to “the point of confrontation”.

“It’s very difficult. It’s costly,” he told Tribune Business of the present operating “normal” faced by his business and many others. “The numbers are already not adding up. I’ve already told my people that if the numbers don’t improve it’s better to stay closed than open on the curb-side because of electricity and labour costs. It will not be doable. It’s been very hard.

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 5

SEE PAGE 4

• Retailer seeks reasons for opening ‘disparity’ • Forced to terminate 20 Shoe Depot workers • Urges: ‘Set parameters, let us operate’ Potter’s Cay Dock have been ordered shuttered.

Suggesting that the government was effectively “discriminating against their own” by this, Mr Kemp said it needed to get out of the way and “let us operate” on a level playing field with a common set of “parameters” and health protocols such as restrictions on the number of customers allowed in a store based on its square footage size.

Emphasising that he had no quarrel with those industries and companies allowed to open, he explained his concerns were not just for himself or Shoe Depot as there were many other retailers - clothing, electronics and jewellery vendors

K PETER TURNQUEST

THE government had made no decision “as yet” on whether it will seek to cut the $670m civil service wage bill by shedding all public sector workers who have reached retirement age.

K Peter Turnquest, in brief messaged replies to Tribune Business questions, said “fundamental decisions” have yet to be made about next week’s 20202021 budget which will set out the government’s short and medium-term plans for tackling the combined economic and fiscal fall-out from Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.

Voicing optimism that the government will successfully be able to obtain the debt financing it needs from both the Bahamian and international capital markets, Mr Turnquest described next week’s presentation to the House of Assembly as a “very pivotal budget once again in terms of the medium and longterm outlook”.

He denied, though, that any binding decision has been made to retire all civil servants who have either reached the 65 years retirement age or been in the public service for over 40 years as a means to cut the government’s wage bill.

“No decisions have been made in this regard as yet,” Mr Turnquest replied. To bring the government’s costs in line with vastly reduced revenues as a result of COVID-19, many observers have argued that the Minnis administration must reduce recurrent (fixed) expenditure, and the civil service wage bill - together with $83.815m in allowances - remains among its largest expense line items.

‘Stop picking virus winners and losers’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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Bahamas urged: Break with fiscal ‘false reality’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIANS were yesterday urged by a governance reformer to “take off the rose-coloured glasses and get real” over a post-COVID-19 predicament that has pushed the country “over the fiscal edge”.

Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas had “kicked the can down the road as far as we can” as the government prepares to further add to a national debt burden that already stood at $8.4bn at year-end 2020.

With Hurricane Dorian reconstruction costs already projected to take The Bahamas’s fiscal debt towards the $9.5bn mark, and many observers fearing that 2020-2021 borrowing could fall in the $1bn-$2bn range, Mr Myers called on Bahamians to break with the “false reality” sold by past administrations.

This, he argued, had involved persistent fiscal

• Governance reformer: Country ‘over the edge’ • Faces choice between ‘status quo’ or stability • Calls for Recovery Committee transparency

ROBERT MYERS deficits and borrowing to fund a bloated public sector and social benefits that each administration left its successor to cope with knowing that The Bahamas’ rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth and tax revenues were insufficient to ultimately repay this.

Suggesting that muchimproved governance was the most critical element in ensuring The Bahamas can make it through COVID-19’s coming economic

storm, Mr Myers said uncertainty over the timing and strength of tourism’s return means it cannot be “business as usual”.

“That’s the biggest change that has to happen post-Dorian and postCOVID-19,” he told Tribune Business. “From a government standpoint they’ve got to become more efficient, they’ve got to become more accountable and they’ve got to become more productive, as well as getting to a balanced Budget.

“Nobody expects that to happen overnight, and now is not a great time to be talking about that, but I don’t believe we’re on the fiscal edge. We’re over the fiscal edge, and the correction is not recommended; it’s absolutely paramount.

The correction in the way the government has been doing business is not up for debate any more. We’ve kicked the can as far down

the road as it can go.”

Acknowledging the financial emergency that the government and Bahamian economy find themselves in as a result of the double blow inflicted by Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, Mr Myers added that trying to borrow a way out of this predicament will simply result in the country’s debt level and associated interest costs becoming unsustainable.

“We can keep borrowing from predatory lenders just as a drug addict keeps smoking cocaine,” he said, “but the cost of doing that is irreversible, just like the drug addict that overdosed.

What happens if we have another crisis.” Should another hurricane, COVID-19 virus strain or global recession strike, the ORG chief warned that The Bahamas will “have less and less headroom when the inevitable comes along”.

He added: “The longer we procrastinate, the more likely it is we will encounter failure. It’s just a question of facing the reality. I just think we need to take off the rose-coloured glasses and get real. This is not sustainable. One thing is going to happen. It’s either the end of the status quo or the end of our fiscal stability.

One of those things is going to happen. Either way, one of those two things is going to play out over the next 24 months.”

Mr Myers argued that The Bahamas still needed to focus on generating sufficient private sector growth to absorb workers from a slimmed down public sector. “I’m not saying we should have a 20 percent cut back in the public sector workforce, or 30 percent cut in public sector pay,” he added.

“We must make it a priority to shift five percent of that workforce into the private sector annually.

There’s too many people in the public sector, and that recurrent expenditure is killing is and we’re not

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

In the first of a new three-part series, Hubert Edwards looks at the scale of the recovery task confronting The Bahamas in the immediate term and further out.

T

HE Bahamian economy must be rebuilt following this global crisis. We deliberately avoid using the word “recovery” because of its potential to convey the idea of going back to what was. The reality is, regardless of how the global economy ultimately matches what existed previously in terms of numbers, we will never return to that normal. There will be significant shifts around regulation, supply chains, national security, sustained attacks on financial services and loss of employment capacity. With the anticipated fall-out expected to significantly affect persons in the lower levels of society, there must be sharp focus on economic inclusion, equity and greater equality. A rebuild designed to go back to achieving prior performance levels, but without real underlying strategic reforms, adjustments and innovations, will fall short of responding to the call for a new “new normal”.

“We face two crises. One is the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed tens of thousands of lives around the world, and which will claim many more. The other is the economic crisis that will persist after the virus is beaten back.

Joblessness is on the rise across the globe and here at home. The economic crisis is severe for The Bahamas”. These were the words of the Prime Minister, Dr Hubert Minis, in a speech delivered on April 1, 2020. It underlined the gravity of the situation and signals, in our opinion,

THE TRIBUNE

COVID-19’s big economic rebuild - 2020 and beyond

BY HUBERT EDWARDS the first clear indication by the government that it was truly concerned about a long-lasting event.

For context, based on our observations, it was around this time that the narrative of a June opening started its “stage left” exit. The message from the prime minister was loud and clear, and rang consistently with our own analyses, as presented in three previous articles. There are indications that the economy will be opening soon, albeit in limited ways, and the economic impact is already hardening.

With The Bahamas reportedly faced with a fiscal deficit of close to $1bn, and current revenues down by 50 percent year-overyear, the government’s already narrow fiscal space is contracting faster than the demand for spending on social safety nets and efforts to save businesses.

The affordability of social and economic programmes is greatly limited. The possibility of a 30 percent national unemployment rate has significant social implications and, as accurately foreshadowed by the prime minister, must take on a high level of priority.

Continuing on this trajectory, government decisions will eventually be reduced to determining how we help to ensure persons have sufficient social support versus paying certain obligations.

This, of course, will not be unlike decisions being made at the household and corporate levels. With a relatively weak healthcare system,

which imposes major limitations on how quickly the economy can be re-opened, and overwhelming reliance on a single and highly-concentrated tourism sector, The Bahamas’ options are limited. Decisions must necessarily be balanced and bold, and measured risks will have to be taken.

Let us jump forward to May 10, 2020, and the Prime Minister’s narrative of concern deepens even further. “We are in a time of heartbreak and hardship. Not since the outbreak of World War II over 70 years ago have we lived through such a devastating impact on our economy and the livelihoods of so many Bahamians,” he said.

This historical context is important, given that the Bahamian economy as we know it was largely engineered post-World War II. Built fundamentally in response to the demands of the time, it has largely remained the same - a twopronged mechanism resting unequally on tourism and

financial services.

This crisis has shown how highly vulnerable The Bahamas is, and this is not limited to economics. With an economy, not unlike many in the Caribbean, that is dependent on travel and leisure, it must now wait for the return of tourists before it will realise any significant level of economic normalcy. With a virus as the backdrop to this reality, the country has significant problems.

Should it fail to find viable solutions, the suffering will be long and hard, and the economic and social fall-out will be deep - much deeper than what is apparent at this time. The challenges faced in finding solutions should be viewed against the background of some existing factors that will naturally impose limitations on the flexibility policy makers will have. In no order of importance, there is first the pegged exchange rate that must be actively defended. This creates the need for a pool of foreign exchange reserves that must be actively maintained at a certain minimum level to give efficacy to the peg. To maintain this efficacy, there are policy restrictions that exert limitations on economic activities.

Currently, the reserves are expected to reduce significantly without inflows that come mostly from tourism. With closed borders, the natural shift would be to domestic markets.

However, with extremely small internal markets the options are limited. Much of what is sold locally is imported without any real capacity for import substitution in the short-term.

There are well-known existing structural weaknesses, together with policy deficiencies, that have remained unresolved for a long time. All these issues will have to be addressed as we build the path for the way forward.

The fact is The Bahamas has been vulnerable for a very long time. Without making light of our current circumstances, consider this. Is tourism the only thing that is

currently missing from the country today? What if, by some magical process, COVID-19 disappears and the tourists return with the attendant opening of the rest of the country? Will we be OK? Will there be broad-based economic inclusion? Will there be greater economic and social equity? Will the cost of living and the cost of doing business improve? Will the tax base for the government expand? Will there be robust economic growth?

As you read this article, let these and other questions occupy your mind. Let them linger for a moment.

Only when the answers to those are explored, and the issues driving them are confronted, will the statements made by the prime minister take on the seriousness we think they were intended to convey. In an April speech, Dr Minnis said: “As a people we have to be ready to shift how we operate. We have to be ready for generational changes to the economic structure of our Commonwealth.” And, one month later, he added: “For too long we have embraced a status quo model that is not suited for the times... we must also change the way we approach how our economy functions.”

This is a defining moment where we must resist - with every bit of our collective will - any temptation to gloss over the issues and to reach for sub-optimal goals.

This is a defining moment when the only thing which matters is where we end up as a country. The global financial/health crisis presents the Bahamas with a rare opportunity to reimagine the country, and its economic and social arrangements.

This moment cannot be squandered. Generations as yet unborn are depending on us to get it right. Not necessarily complete, but to start charting a bold “new” path. As the prime minister most appropriately puts it: “We will not [cannot] sugarcoat the severity of the circumstances in which we find ourselves...Some of the decisions that we shall have to take will no doubt be

uncomfortable, and indeed painful. But we cannot shirk away from making the hard decisions”.

A Devastated Economy?

The economy has been devastated, but there are issues we must confront which existed prior to this.

To achieve this there must be a willingness to shift the way we have been operating up to now. There is no possibility of understatement in saying that the status quo has remained for too long. Unfortunately, in the national discussion, this tends to focus on personalities rather than on the institutionalised processes that engender inefficiency and ineffectiveness, and therefore limit the country’s ability to grow. While COVID-19 has caused a dramatic halt to commerce, as we move to rebuild, the entrenched issues that existed before cannot be ignored. The overarching point here is simply this: A “recovered” economy will not have optimal impact. Based on where we are today, getting back to pre-COVID-19 levels will definitely be a positive.

While that must be a part of the thought process and an imperative, it is not sufficient for the long-term. The structural matters, which have been perennially lamented by commentators, consecutive administrations and pressure groups, and documented by multiple national planning initiatives, have to form a part of any sustainable rebuild. Let us therefore undertake a brief analysis of some of these factors, namely growth, structural weaknesses, diversification and macro and microeconomic competitiveness.

Growth The economy needs growth. Historically, it has been growing too slowly.

This is the case for many Caribbean countries.

Jamaica, for example, prior to this economic crisis highlighted its 20 consecutive quarters of growth but, on a closer look, had a low annual outturn of 1.9 percent. Barbados, on the

SEE PAGE 3

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 3

FOREIGN FIRM REMOVES ARAGONITE PERMIT CLAIM

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A MEXICAN company has removed from its website promotional material claiming it has the necessary approvals to dredge for, and export, “aragonite sand” from Sandy Cay in the northwestern Bahamas.

Oceanus International’s website, up until April 25, stated: “We have concessions and permits to extract aragonite sand from Sandy Cay in The Bahamas. We can fill a hopper boat to ship and export to any port in the world. This is ideal for beach recovery projects and artificial beaches.”

CHESTER COOPER This material has now been removed by the company, which describes itself as a specialist in beach restoration and nourishment, after Chester Cooper, the opposition’s deputy leader, questioned its presence in

The Bahamas and whether it had actually obtained the necessary government approvals.

Oceanus’s purported plans for Sandy Cay, which lies off the western tip of Grand Bahama, have been

exposed at a time when debate over this nations’s national resources, their potential value in a postCOVID-19 world, and the need to ensure the Bahamian people are the prime beneficiaries of their exploitation, is gathering momentum.

Mr Cooper said the material on Oceanus’ website is “particularly interesting given that the government anticipates the Department of Lands and Surveys will collect a total of only $22 from aragonite mining this budget cycle”. The Exuma MP asked why an international company was marketing the sale of a

Bahamian natural resource given such low revenue projections for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

He called on the Prime Minister, given that he is responsible for the Department of Lands and Surveys, to confirm whether or not Oceanus is authorised to mine aragonite in The Bahamas and when it was granted a permit to dredge.

Mr Cooper is also asking if Oceanus is subcontracted to dredge in The Bahamas; what it had paid for its permits; and how much revenue will be generated for the government.

“In 2018, the minister of the environment announced

that Cabinet was reviewing a report on the value of aragonite and the requisite mitigation of the effects of mining, and that a report would be made to Parliament,” Mr Cooper said, asking for a copy.

Tribune Business that the aragonite mining licence for Sandy Cay has been assigned to the Sandy Cay Development Company, which is owned by Anthony Myers, a Bahamian. Government sources yesterday said they had never heard of Oceanus International, and suggested it had neither been granted the necessary permits nor hired as a subcontractor by anyone else.

Minister rejects NIB Social services in concerns in Bimini $700k IT system

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BRENSIL ROLLE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A Cabinet minister yesterday rejected concerns that many Bimini residents had failed to receive their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefit prior to the island’s two-week lockdown.

Brensil Rolle, minister for the public service with responsibility for NIB, told reporters outside the Cabinet Office: “Many persons in Bimini have been paid.

Perhaps persons were looking for advancement in pensions that we did, but we did that in March and April where we paid pensions early. Persons are looking for the same process this month, but we have gone back to the regular days to make sure we are able to pay.”

Neal Watson, owner of Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Centre, had told Tribune Business last week that none of his employees had received their NIB benefits despite all of their applications having been properly submitted.

However, Mr Rolle added: “We understand the sensitive nature of

COVID-19’s big economic rebuild - 2020 and beyond FROM PAGE TWO other hand, showed growth of negative 0.5 percent. For the Bahamas, our analysis shows that prior to the last two years, GDP was growing on average at less than one percent. In 2018, the economy grew below the projected two percent to settle at 1.6 percent. Following the implementation of VAT, we saw reported GDP expanding to $12bn.

Prior to that, it fluctuated within a narrow range of just below $11bn. While this represents a shift of around $1bn, when looked at in real growth terms the change is not very significant. Why is this important? GDP is popularly reported in nominal or prevailing price terms, which simply means there is no adjustment for inflation and taxes. Real GDP, on the other hand, reflects this adjustment and represents the actual production of goods and services in the economy. Real GDP for 2018 stood at $10.76bn.

This same measure was $10.41bn in 2014, just before the implementation of VAT, for a change of $350m over the three-year period. This level of growth is not robust enough to help build buffers and resilience in the economy.

DR NICOLA VIRGIL-ROLLE Bimini, and we did our best to make funds available to them as quickly as we can. There are one or two cases in Bimini we have not been able to resolve before the lockdown, but we are addressing them.”

Dr Nicola Virgil-Rolle, NIB’s director, told Tribune Business yesterday she was “unaware” of any issues involving the nonreceipt of unemployment assistance by Biminites who had applied for it.

Revealing that NIB has now paid out benefits to around 30,000 persons so far as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown, Dr Rolle said the social security system was providing assistance to workers whose employees have failed to pay contributions on their behalf.

“There are some companies that owe NIB monies.

We have taken the critical and legal position to pay their employees unemployment assistance, and then we will go after these companies to make sure they provide us with the appropriate amount of funds,” she said.

“We’re doing our best.

We have made a commitment to make payments to the Bahamian people. I

can’t say specifically what the outer bands will be, but I do know more than 30,000 have been paid by NIB and, as a consequence, I could clearly say more than 30,00 persons are unemployed at this time in The Bahamas. We have made payments to over 30,000 individuals, and we are processing another 5,000 to 6,000 this week that will be processed and paid this week.”

Brensil Rolle, meanwhile, said the economic fall-out from the COVID19 pandemic means NIB is paying out $16m more per month in benefits than it would normally.

Uncertain whether NIB can sustain this level of payouts for a year, Mr Rolle said the social security system is taking it “one month at a time” as it has an obligation to provide individuals with unemployment assistance.

He added: “We are in unprecedented times. Our commitment is to persons that are unemployed. Yes, it is going to be a strain on NIB’s Board, I fully understand that, but I don’t see that we will not be able to make the payments at this time.”

We need significant development to address the vulnerabilities we face.

Some will challenge this thinking. How can we grow now may be the instinctive refrain. The answer to this is to keep an eye on the future and build for growth. The stance must be to maximise all opportunities for GDP expansion. A general policy shift to more aggressive GDP growth is required. It is difficult to achieve resilience in a chronically low growth environment Structural weaknesses As we seek to remediate the current state of affairs, there are some important structural issues with the Bahamian economy that must be addressed.

Let us be clear. The government does not have the capacity to borrow enough to solve the current issues without further hurting the economy. As we argued in a previous piece, the recent downgrade and general global crisis will result in increased borrowing costs. The recent statements by Michael Maura, the Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, in relation to the cost of raising funds for the new port is indicative of how serious this is. The eight percent interest rate attached to the cruise port’s bonds demonstrates the level of risk the market has priced into Bahamian-connected debt.

Interestingly, prior to the recent Standard & Poor’s downgrade, existing Bahamian government

bonds were showing indicative pricing in this same ramge. At the date of writing, we are reliably informed that the number is much higher than this.

Borrowing will not be a comfortable undertaking for The Bahamas. This was why we proposed in our earlier writings that the government should get out of the gate quickly to secure as much borrowing as analysis showed was needed, and the country could afford. We do acknowledge that the speed at which this could happen comes into question, given the current environment globally.

Given limited public resources, a major underlying principle of the remediation effort must be to create the environment that allows the private sector (local and international players) to drive economic growth.

One of the greatest advantage policymakers have is their ability to be facilitative. Flattening approval levels, and streamlining the processes, will position the country to benefit from deeper private sector investment, especially in areas that are traditionally the focus of government.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are therefore likely to loom large as a policy position emanating from the budget, and as part of the work of the Economic Recovery Committee appointed by the prime minister.

THE Ministry of Social Services has received the go-ahead to acquire a near-$700,000 information management system that will better track benefits recipients and reduce application turnaround times.

Frankie Campbell, pictured, minister for social services, said yesterday: “We have been beta-testing an IT system, an information management system. We are pleased with the prospects, and Cabinet has approved the funding, so we are hoping that in short order we will sign the formal contract. This system is excess of $600,000 and nearer to $700,000.

“Hopefully within another two to three weeks we will have the full use of this information management system, which would allow us to track all of our

clients from beginning to end. This would allow us to reduce the waiting time for clients, thus reducing the frustration, and which would allow us to make better projections because we will have accurate real time data from this system.”

Mr Campbell said his ministry has modified the standard process for applying for assistance, and added: “Usually there is a list of questions, and it necessitates home visits to verify certain things. We are trying to bypass those in the immediate to give the

emergency assistance, and then we can follow up on that later.

“We are managing well with the resources that we have. You would have heard of our efforts in Bimini in preparation for the lockdown there. We have in excess of 700 homes in Bimini, and we made it possible to provide food coupons for more than 600 homes.

“There are persons there who were benefiting from the Bank of The Bahamas pre-paid cards. Those persons realising that the cards wouldn’t be uploaded until the end of the month, we ensured that they, too, had care packages in preparation.”

Mr Campbell said the government’s social assistance funding has “significantly increased” year-over-year as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, but he was unable to provide reporters with an up-to-date figure.

JUDICIAL SALE

m.v. “RCGS RESOLUTE” On Monday 22 June 2020 at 11:00 hrs. the seagoing ship, sailing under the flag of Portugal, “RCGS RESOLUTE” (the “Vessel”) will be auctioned before the Court of First Instance of Curacao at Wilhelminaplein 4, Willemstad, Curacao, at the request of ARCTICA ADVENTURE AND CRUISE SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, with its registered office in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas at Ocean Centre, Montague Foreshore, East Bay Street, having chosen domicile at in Willemstad, Curacao, at Cas Coraweg 40, and in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, at Veenhaven 17, of which offices Mrs. mr.

E.M. Pennings and mr. C.J.H. Baron Van Lynden respectively, will act as attorneys-at-law.

The judicial sale takes place against and for the account of BUNNYS ADVENTURE AND CRUISE SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, having its office in Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas at Ocean Centre, Montague Foreshore, East Bay Street, owner of the Vessel.

The judicial sale is based on a Dutch notarial deed of indebtedness dated 17 March 2020 executed by and signed before the civil law notary Mr. O.A.J.H. Smit, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. for and amount of USD 3.937.669,87 and EUR 47.251,97 to be increased with further principal sums, interests and costs.

The general particulars of the Vessel are: Type: passenger cruise vessel; Built: 1991, Rauma Shipyards, Rauma, Finland; Callsign: C6KA9; Tonnage: GT 8445, NT 2573; IMO Number: 9000168; Deadweight: 1177 mt (at max draft); LOA: 107.99 mt; Breath extreme: 18 mt; Depth: 7 mt; Engine: diesel, 5880 KW 2 MAK 8M453C; Propulsion: 2 cp propeller; Bow thruster: Kamewa1650D/AS, 700 kW; Capacity: 200 passengers in 94 passenger cabins and 125 crew; Class: DNV GL, Passenger Ship 100 A5 E4 MC Aut. No rights can be derived from the above description of the Vessel. The Vessel will be sold as is where is and can be inspected after written consent of the attorney of the executing party. The Vessel is moored at the Mathey wharf in the Anna Bay harbour of Curacao.

The judicial sale will take place by way of the “Dutch auction system”. The applicable Conditions of Sale will be deposited with the Court of First Instance of Curacao.

Further information and a copy of the Conditions of Sale can be obtained from Mr. E.M. Pennings, SOLID. attorneys, tel. +599 (9) 846 88 88 e-mail. pennings@solidattorneys.com

PAGE 4, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

BTC aids Freeport hospital patients THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has provided the Rand Memorial Hospital with mobile devices so patients can talk to their relatives during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Visitors are not allowed in the hospital due to the pandemic.

Garfield “Garry” Sinclair, BTC’s chief executive, said: “At BTC, we believe that heart is more than something you have; it’s something you share. We understand the need for people to be connected now more than ever and, more importantly, for persons who have relatives and

TREVOR TURNQUEST, left, head of technical operations for the Northern Bahamas and Tenecia Woods-Smith, right, retail manager presenting mobile devices to Sandra Mortimer-Russell, centre, deputy administrator for the Rand Memorial Hospital.

loved ones who they cannot visit in hospitals and nursing homes.

“The decision to provide the mobile devices to the Rand Memorial Hospital was a ‘no brainer’. We trust that families and friends will be able to connect with their loved ones frequently while they are in hospital to give them some comfort.”

BTC donated eight mobile devices with SIM cards and phone credit. A similar donation was made to the Ministry of Health a few weeks ago to assist the COVID-19 task force.

Sandra Mortimer-Russell, deputy administrator for the Rand Memorial Hospital,

said: “Regrettably, during this unprecedented pandemic, it is mandatory that visitor restrictions are fully enforced. Reaching out to people and loved ones is one of the best ways to reduce anxiety, depression, loneliness and boredom, particularly during hospitalisation.

“The executive management team, staff and, most importantly, our patients, are most appreciative of this kind gesture and partnership with BTC.” BTC has also assisted the Ministry of Health by providing the 311 toll-free hotline enabling residents to contact their team directly.

‘Stop picking virus Web shops heat up winners and losers’

govt closure battle FROM PAGE ONE

indignation as that may be too strong a word for some, but bearing in mind these were persons in a ‘black/ grey’ market that pushed to be regulated and taxed, and then they were heavily regulated and taxed, it’s unfathomable after all that why they’re treated like this.

“Hopefully we’ll be in a position to file tomorrow, if not Thursday at the latest.” Much like the Prime Minister’s to keep COVID-19 restrictions on certain Family Islands, such as Exuma, Eleuthera, San Salvador and the Berry Islands, no explanation has also been forthcoming for the government’s decision to order web shops to close just one week after they reopened to provide delivery, drive through and curb side services like other sectors.

Dr Hubert Minnis, in one of his national addresses, said the permission granted for businesses to provide delivery and curb-side pickup services was “designed to relate strictly to retail business establishments which can operate efficiently without the need for direct person-to-person physical contact or face to face interactions”.

He added: “They were never intended to apply to

the operations of gaming houses, and this is now made abundantly clear by the provisions of Part B of the order. Those provisions specifically state that permission to engage in home delivery and curbside pickup services do not apply to ‘a gaming house operator’.”

The domestic gaming industry immediately pushed back against what it branded as an arbitrary and discriminatory action that deliberately singled out the sector, but there is little sign that Dr Minnis - as the “competent authority” overseeing enforcement of the COVID-19 Emergency Powers - is willing to change course.

Web shop operators are arguing that their closure cannot be based on medical grounds, given that the likes of liquor stores - which could also be viewed as detrimental to health during a pandemic - have been permitted to offer delivery and curb-side pick-up services.

They are also pointing out that their operations pose no greater threat of spreading COVID-19 than food stores and other businesses allowed to re-open, while it was their regulator, the Gaming Board, that gave them written permission to re-open provided the necessary health and safety protocols are in place.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

Managing Editor, The Bahamas A daily newspaper is seeking a first-class Managing Editor.

The successful applicants will have; • At least ten years of senior management experience in newspapers, preferably with a regional daily or national paper, • Hands-on experience across all multi-media platforms and strong social media background, • First-class professional credentials including the ability to write well, over see and design attractive broadsheet and tabloid pages, • Full working knowledge of Apple Mac, InDesign and Photoshop software Apply in writing, with full CV, examples of work, and salary expectations, to

hr@tribunemedia.net before May 22, 2020.

However, many observers believe that the prime minister ordered the domestic gaming sector’s closure to prevent jobless Bahamians from spending their National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefits on numbers purchases as opposed to food, water and other essentials critical to ensuring their families survive during this time of hardship.

Meanwhile, Mr Munroe told Tribune Business yesterday he plans to mount a two-pronged challenge against the government’s closure order. “It’s going to be a challenge to the Emergency Powers regulations; the validity of the emergency regulations. That’s the primary challenge,” he explained.

“Alternatively, if we’re wrong and the emergency regulations are valid, then we’ll challenge the use of that power granted to single out gaming houses for curbside service. The power is supposed to be used to prevent the spread of the virus. That’s going to be the basis of the challenge - the regulations and, if we’re wrong in that, the exercise of the power given by those regulations.”

Mr Munroe has long argued that the emergency regulation is illegal under the Emergency Powers Act, as the law does not allow the Governor-General to make such regulations on the basis of public health.

He has suggested that many businesses besides web shops might be able to claim compensation for their closure as a result, and is now planning to deploy this argument on behalf of that specific sector.

The well-known QC contrasted domestic gaming’s shuttering with the fact that Sun Cash, the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) chosen digital payments provider for distributing unemployment benefits, has just two physical locations.

“Directing more persons to pile up in one location is more dangerous than having people spread out, which is the way you control this virus,” he added.

“Having two payment points as opposed to ten cannot make sense.”

FROM PAGE ONE “My biggest thing is the medical reasons. This is a medical crisis. What’s the medical reasoning for the disparity between some businesses being open and others closed, and completely shut down by government force?

All I want is the medical explanation for the biased conditions that exist in the marketplace.”

Citing the restaurant industry, and the differing dates of the fast food franchises and traditional Bahamian eateries, Mr Kemp added: “It’s like the Government is favouring the big foreign brands over its own native restaurants, and those who have invested their lives into building those businesses.

“They’re literally discriminating against their own. Where is the medical reasoning for that disparity? Please explain that to me, Mr Government. What is the medical reason Kelly’s, Super Value, Subway, Starbucks, Solomon’s, Cost Right, AID etc can have customers inside their business but we and countless others cannot?

“The Government is being completely prejudicial in its ‘essential’ versus ‘non-essential’, and even on the staged opening. It’s not about my business. There are many others out there, whether they sell clothing, jewellery, electronics and those that the Government has deemed to be non-essential. Why make it impossible for them to have customers in their place of operations, but it’s medically OK for those ‘essential’ businesses?

“I’m not mad at those people. I’m upset with the Government picking winners and losers, and effectively writing off half of the workforce and letting them disappear.” Mr Kemp argued that the Government would pay for this through its own reduced revenue income, which

would ultimately force it to cut either public sector jobs, payroll or both to bring its spending into line.

Restaurants with the necessary capacity and facilities have been permitted to offer drive through, take-out and home delivery services, but no walk-ins are allowed. However, the Emergency Powers Orders specifically prohibit the reopening of the Arawak Cay Fish Fry and Potter’s Cay. Retailers categorised as “non-essential” will be permitted to open their physical stores in “Phase three” of the Government’s economic re-opening strategy, albeit with limits on the number of customers and the continuation of health protocols such as wearing masks and social distancing.

Employee numbers may also be reduced. Currently, The Bahamas has barely reached “phase two”.

Mr Kemp, meanwhile, acknowledging the need to prevent COVID-19’s spread via the initial lockdown, curfews and other measures, told Tribune Business: “We’re now months into this. I want to ask the Government, government workers, essential businesses and essential workers: What would you do if you were cut off from income for two months?

Could you survive?

“They don’t feel the pain so many other Bahamians have felt. This week I had to terminate 20 of my employees; fully terminate. It was heart-breaking, wrenching, and I was on the point of tears in having to do this. I spoke to a government worker about this, who said: ‘I’m sure they understand.’ They don’t understand. That’s their income.

“I really want the Government to put itself in the place of those people and businesses forced to be closed, and have some compassion and empathy instead of sympathy. Could you survive two months without income? No, you

couldn’t.”

Mr Kemp said he had “tried to soften as much as possible” the blow caused by terminating 40 percent of the Shoe Depot’s staff by concentrating the redundancies among those with the least years of service.

The move also comes after the company moved out of its former Mall at Marathon outlet after it was unable to agree satisfactory terms on a new lease.

In assessing how the curbside service had gone, the Shoe Depot chief said the biggest complaint from customers was the inability to go into the company’s store locations unlike “essential” retailers who are able to offer these services. Clothing (apparel) and footwear retailers are at a slight disadvantage here because consumers frequently like to try-on product before they purchase it, which represents another health risk.

“The biggest complaint that customers were very adamant and angry about was why was the Government not allowing us to permit customers inside while other businesses were, almost to the point of confrontation with one customer in particular,” Mr Kemp said.

“We should all be allowed to open with the same parameters. Let us operate. It looks like this virus is going to be with us for a while. We all need the opportunity and to make decisions about the level of risk we’re willing to take. It is important for the Government to understand that freedom of choice.

“Let every industry decide. Give basic parameters that we have to follow, and the customer will decide what stores they will go into or not. At the rate we’re going, we’re going to destroy so many businesses and livelihoods and it’s just not necessary. It’s going to be tough enough to survive as is without the tourism business.”

BISX-listed firms warn on dividends FROM PAGE ONE weather the storm as a result of the COVID19 pandemic,” he acknowledged.

EMERA INCORPORATED (“Emera”)

Notice to Holders of Depositary Receipts

DIVIDEND NOTICE UPDATE The custodian of Emera’s depositary receipts has advised Emera that due to logistical challenges with its intermediary bank related to Covid-19, the payment of the dividend of CAD $0.153125 per Emera depositary receipt (CAD $0.6125 per common share of Emera) payable to depositary receipt holders of record as at May 1, 2020 will be delayed until on or before May 29, 2020.

“Early predictions indicate that the domestic economy is expected to experience a negative downturn in 2020 as tourism output is anticipated to be moderate, while the unemployment rate is projected to increase over the near-term. The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed our livelihood and the way we conduct business, resulting in travel and border restrictions, quarantines and general market uncertainty.

“The COVID-19 pandemic led to considerable

global market reactions in March, which resulted in fluctuations in market prices. As a result, the group was negatively impacted by unrealised losses on investment assets from its holdings in mutual funds with investments in international securities.

Management also took steps to preserve liquidity by limiting subscriptions in investment assets as a part of our business continuity cash management strategy.”

While Family Guardian had declared declared a $0.08 per share first quarter dividend for shareholders of record as at May 25, 2020, which will be payable on June2, Mr Boissiere said further capital returns could be impacted by the COVID-19 fall-out.

“The board of directors will continue to actively monitor the developments surrounding COVID-19, and wish to advise shareholders that it may be required to adjust or possibly defer future dividends,” he wrote.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, PAGE 5

Bahamas urged: Break with fiscal ‘false reality’ FROM PAGE ONE getting the service from it. The larger the labour component, the less money we have to provide public services.”

Mr Myers, in feedback provided on the Facebook Page of the governmentappointed Economic Recovery Committee, wrote: “Ultimately it is the government and the way the people of The Bahamas are governed that requires the greatest innovation and change.

“This change will only happen when Bahamians realise that successive governments sold Bahamians a false reality as they continually spent money on large government and social benefits they had to know they could never pay back based on the rate at which they were growing the nation’s economy and government revenues.

“This is the sobering reality this government and the Bahamian people face today,” Mr Myers continued. “The only difference being that now the borrowing is completely unsustainable and has driven us over the edge of fiscal stability. The correction The Bahamas needs is not more of the same but less of the same; it needs more innovative change thinking and courageous leadership mixed with a lot of hard work on the part of the people.

“The new order of the day has to be to get an education, get smart, get retrained, become employed, be productive and go to work on time every time. Bahamians must control their destiny

with government and not allow it to be controlled by government.”

The ORG chief added that it was critical that the committee focus on the economy’s “immediate” need for foreign exchange inflows to replace those from tourism earnings given the potential danger to The Bahamas’ fixed exchange rate regime.

He also urged it not to reinvent the wheel, and use existing works as a foundation, such as the National Development Plan, Oxford Economics reports produced for ORG and the Chamber of Commerce, and the “ease of doing business” committee’s recommendations.

“These committees must focus on ways to immediately stimulate revenue inflows (FDI), job creation and money churn in the local economy while reducing government expenses. It is this action that will reduce the need for borrowing and provide The Bahamas with any glimmer of hope and a sustainable, safe future for our kids,” Mr Myers said.

“The reports must be transparent to the public so that the public can at least understand what is being proposed and then acted upon, otherwise the public have no means to gauge the effectiveness of the administration and the government overall.

“Case in point, the ease of doing business committee, established two years ago that produced a report that went to government yet little to nothing has improved with the ease of doing business. In fact, we dropped in global rankings.”

No decision ‘yet’ on shedding civil service retirees FROM PAGE ONE Kimsley Ferguson, the Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) president, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that retiring all those who have reached 65 or possess long service records was “speculation”.

However, he revealed that Mr Turnquest had informed him that Brensil Rolle, the Cabinet minister with responsibility for the public service, planned to meet with the BPSU chief at some stage.

“I’m all ears at this point,” the BPSU chief said. “At this point I’m waiting to have a discussion with the government regarding how they’re going to approach whatever. If recommendations are made, and consultations held, the union will use that as an opportunity to make its recommendations that

it thinks will be in the best interests of members.”

Mr Ferguson added, though, that the union “wouldn’t take kindly to anybody coming and suggesting they’re going to cut public service salaries without any consultation”.

He said: “Given the circumstances that the country is facing, and the public sector being the ones keeping the economy afloat, I don’t think it would be a wise idea for the government to do that.

“While they may explore other areas, I don’t think they want to consider that one at this point. That’s not something the union would endorse. As it relates to salary cuts that’s not something the union is in support of. If they’re looking for funding we can sit, consult and come up with ways of how they can implement other cost-cutting measures that may be necessary at this juncture.”

YOUR

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

TUESDAY, 19 MAY 2020

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,140.56 | CHG: 1.37 | %CHG: 0.06 | YTD: -91.04 | YTD%: -4.08 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.75 2.60 2.00 5.47 12.77 6.17 4.50 10.30 3.64 5.10 10.88 8.15 16.99 9.40 4.25 15.21

52WK LOW 3.35 20.91 5.50 5.39 1.78 0.67 2.00 10.21 5.60 3.62 5.41 2.53 1.85 8.00 6.63 13.04 6.98 3.14 13.90

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

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

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

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

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 3.55 17.43 6.00 6.68 1.78 1.62 2.98 11.26 5.98 4.03 6.01 2.93 5.10 9.14 8.15 14.50 8.97 4.00 15.20

CLOSE 3.55 17.43 6.00 6.68 1.78 1.62 2.98 11.26 6.10 4.03 6.01 2.76 5.10 9.37 8.15 14.50 8.97 4.00 15.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.00 0.00 -0.17 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.91

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.91

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

LAST SALE 100.00 107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME

3,600

5,000

VOLUME

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

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

P/E 14.9 18.7 N/M 18.1 N/M N/M -6.8 15.6 13.6 21.9 42.9 27.1 10.9 14.5 11.2 17.8 9.6 19.7 24.1

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 4.79% 7.23% 0.00% 3.89% 0.00% 1.23% 0.00% 6.39% 3.61% 2.98% 0.00% 15.72% 1.18% 3.50% 2.94% 3.72% 2.23% 3.00% 4.01% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

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

YTD% 12 MTH% 0.37% 3.81% 0.24% 4.38% 0.23% 2.75% 5.76% 5.76% 12.81% 12.81% 0.94% 3.72% -3.46% 2.09% -0.11% 3.43% -3.33% 1.53% -0.32% 10.20% -1.58% 15.37% 0.88% 5.22% -4.91% 10.77% 1.89% 6.75% -1.95% 0.38% N/A N/A -10.90% -4.30% -18.80% -12.00%

NAV Date 31-Jan-2020 31-Jan-2020 31-Jan-2020 31-Dec-2019 31-Dec-2019 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020 29-Feb-2020

MUTUAL FUNDS

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

52WK HI 2.30 4.38 2.09 195.13 166.73 1.67 1.85 1.76 1.24 8.34 10.26 7.00 12.15 12.58 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.61 1.75 1.70 1.14 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.30 4.38 2.09 195.13 166.73 1.67 1.79 1.75 1.16 8.31 10.07 7.00 11.42 12.58 10.52 N/A 8.31 10.01

MARKET TERMS

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

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

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

31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020

PAGE 8, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 93° F/34° C Low: 70° F/21° C

TAMPA

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Some sun with a shower or t‑storm

Becoming cloudy, a t‑storm in spots

Partial sunshine

Some sunshine

Partly sunny with a passing shower

A couple of showers and a t‑storm

High: 86°

Low: 76°

High: 86° Low: 76°

High: 86° Low: 74°

High: 85° Low: 74°

High: 85° Low: 74°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

98° F

86° F

98°-81° F

96°-79° F

93°-76° F

94°-78° F

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 72° F/22° C

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

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

7‑14 knots

S

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 71° F/22° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 72° F/22° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

MIAMI

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 73° F/23° C

4‑8 knots

KEY WEST

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 77° F/25° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 76° F/24° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 77° F/25° C

N

High: 83° F/28° C Low: 78° F/26° C

N

S

E

W S

4‑8 knots

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

7:03 a.m.

7:30 p.m.

High

Ht.(ft.)

2.3 2.8

1:12 a.m.

1:12 p.m.

0.2 0.0

Thursday

7:43 a.m.

8:07 p.m.

2.3 2.9

1:53 a.m. 0.1 1:48 p.m. ‑0.1

Friday

8:21 a.m.

8:45 p.m.

2.3 2.9

2:33 a.m. 0.0 2:24 p.m. ‑0.1

Saturday

9:00 a.m.

9:23 p.m.

2.3 3.0

3:13 a.m. 0.0 3:01 p.m. ‑0.1

Sunday

9:39 a.m.

10:03 p.m.

2.2 3.0

3:53 a.m. 0.0 3:39 p.m. ‑0.1

Monday

10:21 a.m.

10:45 p.m.

2.2 3.0

4:34 a.m.

4:20 p.m.

0.0 0.0

Tuesday

11:05 a.m.

11:30 p.m.

2.2 2.9

5:18 a.m.

5:04 p.m.

0.1 0.1

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:23 a.m.

7:50 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

5:11 a.m.

6:10 p.m.

New

First

Full

Last

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ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 78° F/26° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 77° F/25° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 77° F/25° C

L

tiDes For nassau

CAT ISLAND

E

W

4‑8 knots

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

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 86° F/30° C Low .................................................... 68° F/20° C Normal high ....................................... 84° F/29° C Normal low ........................................ 71° F/22° C Last year’s high ................................. 87° F/30° C Last year’s low ................................... 67° F/19° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.90” Year to date ............................................... 13.73” Normal year to date ..................................... 7.62”

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

4‑8 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

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

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 84° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

H

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

W

N E

W

E S

S

4‑8 knots

4‑8 knots

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

Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday: Today: Thursday:

WINDS SW at 6‑12 Knots SSW at 4‑8 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots SSE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots S at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots SW at 7‑14 Knots SW at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots NE at 4‑8 Knots ENE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots S at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots

WAVES 3‑5 Feet 5‑9 Feet 0‑1 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 4‑7 Feet 1‑3 Feet 2‑4 Feet 2‑4 Feet 4‑7 Feet 1‑3 Feet 3‑6 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑2 Feet 3‑5 Feet 4‑8 Feet 0‑1 Feet 1‑3 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 1‑2 Feet 2‑4 Feet

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502-2394

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 4 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 80° F 80° F 82° F 84° F 82° F 83° F 84° F 84° F 81° F 81° F 82° F 83° F 83° F 83° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 80° F 80° F 81° F 83° F 85° F 84° F 82° F 82° F