06082020 BUSINESS

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MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2020

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may replace IMF: Bahamas must hit Govt BPL on bond raise ‘average’ $500m surplus

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government must run an unheard-of $500m fiscal surplus beginning in the 2024-2025 budget year to hit a key debt reduction target by the end of this decade, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed.

The fund, in a report accompanying its decision to approve a $250m loan to The Bahamas, revealed that the government will only achieve its goal of a 50 percent debt-to-GDP ratio by the 2030-2031 fiscal year if it achieves an annual budget surplus equivalent to four percent of economic output gross domestic product (GDP).

This would mean the government has to generate an average $472.65m primary surplus, the amount by which its revenue income must exceed all fixed cost spending bar interest payments, for a six-year period over the coming decade as the extent of the combined blow dealt by COVID-19

• Debt-to-GDP ratio not in line for decade • Balance of payments ‘gap’ over $1bn • FDI to ‘halve’; World Bank help eyed and Hurricane Dorian is fully revealed.

The IMF also warned that The Bahamas faces a threeyear wait for its economy to return to pre-COVID-19 output levels, estimating that this would not occur until “end-2023” - more than three-and-a-half years away and a full 12 months further out than projections previously given by John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor.

And, while backing the government’s policy response to the health and economic fall-out produced by the pandemic, the fund added that The Bahamas now faces “significantly higher” interest rates on its future borrowings as the Minnis administration moves to finance the projected $1.327bn fiscal deficit for the upcoming 2020-2021 budget year.

The report also noted that this nation faces “a

$30m ‘sin tax’ rise rejected by govt

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government rejected plans for a $30m hike in socalled “sin taxes” on alcohol and tobacco in the run-up to the 2020-2021 budget, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed.

The fund, in a report accompanying its decision to grant The Bahamas a $250m loan, disclosed that the Minnis administration had been mulling one-year excise tax increases of ten percent and $5 per gallon for tobacco and alcohol

products respectively.

“A sin tax may be imposed for one year on items deemed harmful (including alcohol and tobacco). Excise rates on these products could rise by ten percent and $5 per gallon, yielding about B$30m in additional revenues in fiscal year 20202021,” the IMF said in a report that appears to have been written during the final stages of the government’s budget preparations.

However, the measure was never unveiled or included in the 2020-2021

SEE PAGE 5

IMF: ‘There’s room to cut interest rates’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has nudged the Central Bank towards a more proactive monetary policy stance by saying it has “some room to lower interest rates” amid the COVID-pandemic.

The fund, in a report accompanying its decision to grant The Bahamas some $252m in “emergency” funding, warned that any move to lower the discount rate

from its present four percent would have to “weigh” the potential negative repercussions for the $2bn foreign currency reserves.

“Staff sees some room for monetary easing, but the policy stance should take into account developments in the foreign exchange market,” the IMF said. “Against the backdrop of a collapse in economic activity and limited inflation pressures, there is some room to lower interest rates.

SEE PAGE 6

pronounced balance of payments shock”, with foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows projected to fall by more than $290m or 50 percent year-over-year to $265m in 2020-2021. As a result, the IMF forecast that The Bahamas faces a $1.012bn balance of payments financing gap that will have to be filled with help from multilateral lending institutions.

Urging the government to immediately shift “to rebuilding buffers and strengthening resilience” once the COVID-19 crisis has passed, the IMF said: “Decisive and significant fiscal measures are needed to bring public debt on a clear downward path and achieve the fiscal targets under the Fiscal Responsibility Act. “Staff calculations suggest that to achieve the Fiscal Responsibility Act debt target by 2030-2031, an

average primary surplus of four percent would be needed starting in fiscal year 2024-2025, with significantly faster consolidation than in the current baseline already beginning in fiscal year 2022-2023.

“The exact speed of this adjustment should be calibrated to the economic outlook, subject to scrutiny by the Fiscal Council and parliament approval.” The closest that the government has come to achieving the required four percent of GDP surplus came in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, when it managed to notch a positive $342.5m balance on the primary account.

However, this is still $130m short of the sixyear average estimated by the IMF, which suggests that achieving a 50 percent debt-to-GDP ratio within a decade will be virtually

SEE PAGE 6

THE government may move Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) aside and secure the ninefigure refinancing the state-owned utility requires itself, a Cabinet minister revealed yesterday.

Desmond Bannister, pictured, minister of works, told Tribune Business that “market conditions” postCOVID-19 will dictate whether the government has to replace BPL, and effectively stand in its shoes, to obtain the necessary sums to transform the energy provider’s financial fortunes.

Speaking in the wake of the government tabling two House of Assembly resolutions to refinance $246m worth of collective BPL loans that it already guarantees, Mr Bannister indicated that the strategy to place the electricity monopoly on a secure footing may have to be revised yet again.

BPL had itself been seeking to obtain the required turnaround financing through the placing of a Rate Reduction Bond (RRB) with local and international investors prior to the pandemic, but

COVID-19 brought this to a seemingly temporary halt.

However, the minister told this newspaper yesterday: “BPL is not going out to market right now.....

“There’s a question as to whether BPL will go out at all, and if the government will do the whole thing. We’ll watch the markets and see what’s best.

It would simply mean that the government would get the best deal it can get, and the funding would be available through it to BPL. BPL would be responsible for repaying it.

“If the market conditions do not improve sufficiently that BPL can go out on its own, that’s something that will have to be decided. We have to look at the economy and what the markets are

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Monday, June 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

‘Baffled’ over failure to reform public pensions

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive says he is “baffled” at the government’s failure to reform public sector pensions by making civil servants contribute towards their own retirement costs.

Jeffrey Beckles, speaking on a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas, said: “I can’t find a model in the world that has been using the same system where it has proven successful or profitable, and I don’t know what causes us to feel that we will be the first country to maintain it and be successful.

“So I believe that the time has passed and, certainly with urgency, we must move to change it towards a contributory one. The time is now.” The government is well aware of the “ticking time bomb” that unfunded civil service

pensions represent for both its financial sustainability and that of the country, given that the issue has been identified by multiple observers as a major weakness for years.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), as recently as its 2018 Article IV report on The Bahamas, warned that the current system - where civil servants contribute nothing to funding their retirement - is “unsustainable”.

The Washington DCbased fund listed civil service pensions, together with the public sector’s wage bill and loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs), as three key reforms that the government must target if it is to reverse The Bahamas’ fiscal decline - and that was before both Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The civil servants’ pension system is unsustainable,” the IMF warned two years’ ago.

“Government

employees draw pensions at retirement without contributing to the system while employed. Staff analysis in the 2016 Article IV Staff report noted that accrued government pension liabilities totaled $1.5bn in 2012, and would rise to $3.7bn by 2030 as the population ages.”

The IMF called for reforms that involve “moving to a contributory regime in the near term, and to a definedcontribution scheme in the medium-term”. This would require civil servants to contribute a portion of their salary to funding their retirement, rather than having this financed 100 percent by the taxpayer through the budget - as is done currently.

The government has known of its growing pension crisis for some time, but successive administrations have neglected to take any corrective action, instead preferring to “kick the can down the road”.

Tribune Business possesses a presentation delivered by the KPMG accounting firm in 2013, the early years of the Christie administration, which provided options for how the government could arrest a growing liability that threatens to burden future Bahamian generations.

KPMG estimated the unfunded, “pay-as-yougo”, civil service pension liabilities at around $1.5bn.

These liabilities were set to increase to $2.5bn by 2022, and $4.1bn by 2032, unless reforms are enacted.

The 2020-2021 budget allocates some $106.1m towards paying civil service pensions, matching the amount provided in the current fiscal year. This sum, though, is projected to increase to $111.1m in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, and then grow further to $117.1m in 2022-2023.

And, with gratuities paid to civil servants increasing from the present $30m to $33m by that latter year, the sum Bahamian taxpayers

will be paying to finance civil servant retirements and gratuities is set to jump by just over ten percent or $14m within the next two years to hit $150.1m Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s (the former Colina Financial Advisors) principal, told the same webinar his firm has “recommended repeatedly to any number of quasi-government agencies” to convert from a defined benefit pension plan, where the employer funds 100 percent of the employee’s retirement, to a defined contribution scheme. The latter involves employees making contributions to their own retirement that are matched by the employer.

“In fairness some have converted to a defined contribution plan, but again the lack of political will to make the tough decisions to cause all of these plans to be contributory will only further burden not just us but our kids tomorrow and in the future,” Mr Ferguson added.

Describing COVID-19 and the associated economic

contraction as a “pancession”, he said: “I’m hoping that out of this pancession, government would now cause mandatory savings as in Bermuda as in the Caymans and as with some of the others in the developed world. I’m hoping that this would be one of the changes we see coming out of this pancession.

“The National Insurance Board (NIB) had a deficit last year, and when I say deficit, meaning the total contribution, total investment income versus what they paid out, of about $35m plus. I know in July they are expected to increase the insurable wage which will increase some degree of contribution.

“However, NIB is running a significant deficit.....

Perhaps it is time that they really include NIB as part of the total budget so we can really get a better feel for where we’re at. The reality is there is about $2bn plus of unfunded pension liabilities in this country.”

Minister not disappointed at missing $500m ‘dream’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE minister of works says he is “not at all disappointed” by his $151m capital works budget for 2020-2021 even though it falls well short of his previously-voiced desire for $500m.

Desmond Bannister, speaking ahead of today’s Budget debate kick-off, described the $500m figure as “a dream” in telling Tribune Business that his ministry has been allocated sufficient funds to “play a significant role in bringing The Bahamas out of this recession”.

With the 2020-2021 Budget allocation representing a $57m, or 60.6

percent, increase upon the $94.098m provided in the revised financing for this fiscal year, Mr Bannister disclosed that the widening of Gladstone Road into four lanes was among the projects scheduled to begin this year.

Noting that there had been “a lot of cuts” in the Ministry of Works’ recurrent budget, the minister said of his capital works allocation: “It’s a huge increase. In these tough times the budget is about what I could have expected, and I think we’re going to be able to make quite an investment in the lives of Bahamians with what we have. I’m not disappointed at all.

“The Ministry of Works has a significant role in

bringing The Bahamas out of these recessionary times, and I believe the Ministry of Finance appreciates that and they’ve provided the funding for it. In our capital budget, the funding that is there is certainly going to help us provide some stimulus for our Bahamian people. Five hundred million dollars is a dream.

What we have is, I think, very good for us for this year.”

The government has increased capital spending year-over-year by more than one-third, raising it by 33.7 percent from $385.5m in the revised 2019-2020 budget to some $515.525m for the upcoming 12 month fiscal cycle. The increased is designed to accommodate continued post-Dorian

reconstruction as well as create construction sector employment, and generate some economic activity, in the COVID-19 pandemic’s aftermath.

The Ministry of Works has seen its allocations for road repairs and maintenance, and bridge repairs and maintenance, double or increase by more than 100 percent. The road repairs budget stands at $40.622m for 2020-2021, while the budget for building maintenance has been expanded to $15.851m. And some $11.897m has been given towards an “airport infrastructure programme”.

“What we have is I think very good for us for this year,” Mr Bannister added. “If we manage it appropriately, while it is for the projects that have to be done, we can help a lot of people get back on their feet, help a lot of people be employed in the

construction industry, help the development of the Family Islands and prepare for the increase in tourism development, and improve the standard of living of the Bahamian people.”

Mr Bannister said the ministry of works was overseeing the construction of several bridges in Andros, replacing the Spanish Wells-Russell Island bridge and looking to undertake roadworks projects across five different islands.

“We’re really going to be ensuring we keep things moving,” he added. “In New Providence we will have lots and lots of small contractors working.

I anticipate it’s going to be hundreds of contractors and thousands of workers.

“We’re just going to keep it going. We’re going to ensure there’s some money in the economy, moving around the economy, and ensure people will be able

to see where that money is going.”

Branding the Gladstone Road widening project as “critical”, Mr Bannister said work on expanding the key north-south New Providence highway will begin as soon as the necessary studies are received from the engineers. Roadworks are also planned for Village Road.

“You’re going to see some changes in this country that impact how we live and how we get around,” Mr Bannister added. “It’s going to be exciting and we’re looking forward to it.

“I think when you see the number of people unemployed currently, the reality is that the Ministry of Works, through capital funding of infrastructure projects, is one of the few entities that can make the kind of difference in people’s lives immediately and help with the turnaround.”

Tour operator fears on COVID protocols

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net TOUR and excursion provider are voicing concerns over the cost and ease of execution associated with implementing portions of the tourism industry’s post-COVID-19 Readiness and Recovery Plan.

Captain Mike Russell, owner of Chubasco Charters, told Tribune Business: “I hope it works. I don’t know how easy these changes are going to be to implement, but it’s something that is going to have to be implemented and we are going to have to do it.

“Some of it is kind of sketchy, especially for us in the charter fishing business, as to exactly what is going to be expected and how much of it is going to be expected of us. A lot of it, like de-sanitising the boats, is something we have been doing for years. We always use bleach and water to wash the boats down. As far as keeping hand sanitiser on the boats that is something that is going to be new.”

Mr Russell added: “This is going to be an additional cost. We have been out of business now for three

months, and I think the last charter we did was at the beginning of March.

It’s hard. Hopefully the biggest thing here, as far as I’m concerned, is if the tourists come. I’m not sure how quick we are going to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully it happens quickly.

Expressing hope that persons booked for charters before the lockdown will reschedule and decide to come at a later date, Mr Russell said: “You have tourists on a boat, and you can’t go behind them every time they touch something and wash it down and wipe it.

“That’s going to be kind of crazy. I have already looked into buying temperature guns to make tourists a little more at ease when they come on the boat. We will take their temperatures, wipe the gun off of them to take our crew and captain’s temperature. That kind of thing may make people more secure.

Me Russell said “a lot of this is going to have to be worked out”. He added that it would be impractical to go behind a fisherman and wipe down his fishing rod

and work station every time he catches a fish.

Afeez Junaid, manager of Luxton Ace, said: “These things are going to be hard to implement because we are a small company and we have small cars, so spacing is going to be tough.

Normally for city tours we charge $90, and the maximum we can take is seven passengers, but now we are going to be forced to take four passengers.”

He said he is “probably” going to have to increase prices to $120 per person now, but is unsure if visitors are going to be willing to pay this.

“Whatever the case may be it looks like my company is going to have to run at a loss,” Mr Junaid said. “When people come they want to escape the coronavirus and they want to get something cheap, and if they have been here before they know that it is $90 per trip, but now I am telling them $120.

“The bigger companies can offer them cheaper tour fares. I may have to add more stops, but the money is what the passengers are worrying about. They don’t worry about stops.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 8, 2020, PAGE 3

ANALYST: VAT HIKE TO 15% ‘INEVITABLE’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A LEADING financial analyst says a VAT rate hike to 15 percent is “inevitable” within two years of the next election as he called for a shift to a more progressive system via personal and corporate income tax.

Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, speaking at a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas, argued that the business licence fee needs to be converted to a corporate income tax levied on net profits.

Urging a shift away from regressive, consumption-based taxes such as VAT and import tariffs, he added that even if the

current Bahamian generation do not end up paying a personal income tax then “I can almost assure you” the next one will.

The private sector has for years urged reform of the

business licence fee, which is levied on revenue turnover. It has argued that such a levy penalises high turnover, low margin businesses such as food stores and gas stations while favouring low revenue, high margin services businesses.

And many companies say they pay more in business licence fees than they make in annual profit.

Noting these distortionary effects, Mr Ferguson said: “We have in certain sectors, like the insurance sector in particular, we pay three percent premium tax on the revenues, just like business licence, etc. What

is does is it causes business to not be able to manage their cash flow. It discourages the entrepreneurship because, if someone is getting started, they have to pay the duty up-front and then try to sell that afterwards.

“In my opinion I think we need to convert the business licence into a corporate tax and, at some point - we can delay it - but if, at some point and time in my life, if I don’t pay income tax then I can almost assure you that my daughter or her kids one day will have to pay the income tax because we would not have the working

class resource to support a taxation system, and so we are going to have to adjust that.”

He added: “The average age in this country is still under 40, but the impact on NIB (National Insurance Board) as we all can see is significant where they are now paying out more than they are actually earning plus the contribution that’s being made.

“So the fact of the matter is we have a $2bn unfunded pension liability out there.

All of these things have to be funded; it can’t be funded by duties. The only place it will be funded is by either income tax, corporate tax or a combination thereof.

“At least with the income tax you can always say anyone under $12,000 or $15,000, which is where

Bahamas, said: “You can always tell from a budget how serious governments really are, and they are not serious. It is very, very clear.

“Poultry imports are about $80m a year. Fresh fruits, etc, is a couple of hundred million, yet the increase in the budget for agriculture and fisheries was a little over $500,000. They just can’t be serious. So until we are prepared to get serious, I think we will continue

to find ourselves putting our heads in the sand and finding that the economy is going to continue to grow slower, slower, slower with the increasing deficits.”

The government has barely increased the size of the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources’ allocation, raising it from $26.068m to $26.252m, despite including a new $6m “line item” for “food security”. A further $3m has

been added to this effort on the capital side of the budget, but the subsidies provided to the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) and Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) have been cut by a combined $2.45m.

Mr Ferguson added: “The last time I checked in Israel, they were in the desert and they have some of the best agricultural products

globally. If you put the right resources in poultry and egg farming, for instance, within 12 months to 18 months you can be certainly well on your way to creating an alternative industry that creates employment opportunities.”

Turning his attention to measures announced by Michael Pintard, minister for agriculture and marine resources who said the government is looking to mandate within Heads of

Agreements that foreign investors purchase up to 40 percent of their produce locally, Mr Ferguson said: “If you talk about imposing on these Heads of Agreements that we mandate that you have to purchase a certain amount of goods, fruits and vegetables and agricultural products as part of their purchases globally, we can reduce our imports and, of course, preserve some of our foreign reserves.”

Acknowledging that The Bahamas can go in several different directions as it emerges from the COVID19 pandemic, Mr Ferguson said: “Let’s be clear, our economy hasn’t grown significantly for the last five years. I think last year it was on track to grow 0.5 percent, and if you go back six or seven years, it actually was negative. In addition to what I would call slow growth, as well as Dorian, where we lost about 15 percent of our economy, Abaco and Grand Bahama, we now have this pandemic.

“So I believe we are in what I would call a pancession, a health pandemic which is now causing a recession pandemic, so hence pancession. I think, though, we have a wonderful opportunity to really look at how we manage this economy.

“Jeff (Beckles, chief executive of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation) has spoken a lot about the private sector involvement.

However, that requires what I would call a mature government - a government that is going to be non-partisan

in their tapping the wealth of knowledge that a significant amount of young people in this country have, and they can help grow the future.”

Mr Ferguson praised the Budget for increasing the focus on digitising government. He called for funds allocated for this purpose to be spent “judiciously”, and called for the creation of an “office of budget and management” to oversee some

of the spending.

However, he questioned the government’s decision to borrow a “significant portion” of its targeted $1.3bn deficit in foreign currency. The CFAL chief said: “Today we have about $2bn in foreign debt.

The point is this. Continued foreign borrowing is extremely expensive.”

Warning that excessive foreign currency

borrowing will begin to “slowly impair” the one:one exchange rate peg with the US dollar, Mr Ferguson questioned the strength of The Bahamas’ external reserves given this need to support them.

He added that The Bahamas has $300m worth of foreign currency debt principal coming due in 2024 that may have to be refinanced.

• Calls for more progressive taxation • Make business licence corporate tax • And also shift to personal income levy

ANTHONY FERGUSON

the average salary is in this country, don’t have to pay taxes. So you can make it a little bit more progressive.

Right now we pay 12 percent VAT,” Mr Ferguson continued.

“I submit to you that within two years after the next election, whomever is elected, they would probably have to increase the VAT to 15 percent. That’s inevitable, if not higher, so we will find ourselves in a place where we have to be reactive as opposed to proactive in terms of planning out how we wish to manage our economy.”

“So I would strongly recommend to the government to convert, with immediate effect, the business license into a corporate tax. Make it on net and then adjust from there. But at some point it has to come.”

GOVT ‘NOT SERIOUS’ OVER FOOD SECURITY

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE government’s 20202021 budget allocation for agriculture shows it “can’t be serious” about improving The Bahamas’ food security, a well-known financial analyst says.

Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, speaking on a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The

Economy set to contract by 15%

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian economy is likely to shrink by 15 percent this year due to the combined effects of COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian, a financial analyst has predicted.

Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, speaking to a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas, said: “It is estimated that our unemployment [rate] is now at 35 to 40 percent. The government’s [cash] burn rate is about $150m to $175m a month.

“The government debt, projected up to 2022, is probably going to come in around $11.5bn. GDP should contract. I see the government in their budget is suggesting a five percent contraction. I believe it will

be significantly more than that. Based on the numbers I have calculated, it’s going to be around ten percent to 15 percent.”

Mr Ferguson said some of his “concerns” are that, “salaries, subsidies, of course interest on the debt, comes up to close to 95 percent [of GDP] projecting out two years, which leaves very little headwind for the government to make any substantive change to the economic model that we currently have”.

“The problem as I have seen it is that successive governments, since 1973, have had a broad economic consensus with a particular focus on tourism, which I believe continues to serve us well. I believe, however, this has limited the ability of politicians and their advisors to see cracks in the system and to imagine alternatives,” the CFAL chief added.

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PAGE 4, Monday, June 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

AIRPORT CALLS FOR EARLY ARRIVALS AS IT REOPENS

LPIA passengers and employees are now required to wear face coverings. Plexiglass barriers are in place at check-in counters.

SOCIAL distancing markers in place in check-in queues at LPIA.

A NAD cleaning team member ramps up sanitisation ahead of the airport’s re-opening.

LPIA signage on access doors with the ‘new normal’ procedures.

OFFICIALS at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) are urging travellers to arrive two hours ahead of departure time when domestic interisland flights resume today.

The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), in a statement released yesterday, warned passengers to expect a much different experience than they are used to due to the extra health and cleaning measures implemented to combat COVID-19.

And it recommended that travellers on international commercial flights arrive at least three hours’ before departure when that segment of the aviation

sector resumes operations on July 1. These measures are designed to give passengers extra time to check-in and go through security, as well as to allow for a longer boarding process. These times may increase as more persons begin to travel.

All airport users must wear a mask or face covering when in the terminal buildings. Outbound passengers travelling from New Providence to a domestic destination will be required to complete a standardised travel form and a standardised health form at the time of check-in.

Additional health checks

may be conducted at the discretion of health professionals stationed at LPIA, including temperature checks. Passengers who present with symptoms of COVID-19 will be isolated in a separate area of the airport for further testing and evaluation.

Jonathan Hanna, NAD’s director of operations, confirmed the airport experience will be different from what travellers are used to due to the new safety protocols. “The first change that passengers can expect is that access to the terminal facilities will be limited to essential airport workers and ticketed passengers only,” he said.

“We’ve put in some concessions for elderly passengers, passengers with restricted mobility and passengers who are minors who need additional assistance. Additionally, NAD has put down social distancing markers in all public areas including in the check-in halls, Bahamas Immigration and Bahamas Customs to provide passengers with the information on where to stand to ensure they have as much physical distancing as possible.”

Plexiglass barriers have been installed in the domestic and international terminal’s check-in hall, and at domestic boarding gates. Additional work will

continue in the US Departures terminal, Bahamas Immigration, Bahamas Customs and other areas.

In preparation for activity in-terminal, NAD has ramped up cleaning and sanitisation, purchasing fogging machines that allow cleaning teams to sanitise up to 2,000 square feet at a time as well as electrostatic sprayers that use a negative charge to wrap around materials and help disinfect hard-to-reach areas.

NAD said it will continue to monitor its operations over the coming weeks as the travel restrictions are lifted during each phase.

From next Monday, June 15, commercial flights to

Govt may replace BPL on bond raise FROM PAGE ONE like, and what type of appetite financiers have.”

Mr Bannister denied that international and local investor appetite towards BPL’s proposed RRB offering had been cool, or lukewarm at best, adding: “Every indication that BPL got was that it was being well received in the marketplace before COVID-19 came out.”

However, the minister’s revelation that the government may have to stand in BPL’s place to obtain the required financing - last pegged at $580m - will heighten suspicions that both international and Bahamas-based investors had concerns about the troubled energy utility’s ability to financially support itself without state backing.

Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, speaking to a webinar hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas on Thursday, voiced such concerns when he said BPL could not place the RRB preCOVID-19 because there was no investor appetite to buy-in given the risks such an investment presented.

“What they were trying to do in the first instance, just a little background, was something similar to what was done at the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) where you have the passenger facility and passenger security charge to service the debt,” Mr Ferguson said. “The challenge with BPL is that it is not that they wanted to delay it, not that COVID-19 caused the delay, but there was no appetite for the debt of BPL for many number of reasons.

“First and foremost, the government is still controlling it so that means it is poorly managed - and has

been poorly managed - and will continue to be poorly managed. And, until you can give investors confidence that the management has the capacity to manage in an efficient manner with the reduction in the costs of generating electricity, the appetite for BPL debt will continue to be extremely low except for National Insurance Board (NIB) and government controlled entities.”

Mr Ferguson added: “The fact is there was no appetite for BPL, and that’s why they didn’t do it. Until BPL is prepared to make some tough decisions, or the government is prepared to make some tough decisions in terms of the management and getting out of the management a bit and making it more efficient...

“What the government should really do is privatise generation and keep transmission and distribution.

That way they can control the cost of distribution to the end consumer. I do not see BPL being able to raise, even with a rate reduction bond, anything [with an interest coupon] under nine or 9.5 percent.

“One of the other reasons why they weren’t able to do it is because the lenders wanted it to be variable, and not at a fixed rate. It was initially, when it was conceived, it was going to be 0.2 or 0.3 cents per kilowatt hour [debt servicing charge],” he added.

“But, when you look at the expanding inefficiencies and growing debt, that was not going to be sufficient enough to cover the debt. So they [the investors] wanted to make it variable, and adjust it when the debt increased and, of course, I don’t think government was prepared to make that tough decision so as such they were not able to refinance their debt.”

The Bahamas will resume exclusively for Bahamian citizens, legal residents and homeowners qualifying for economic permanent residency, as well as the immediate family members of these groups.

NAD added: “All returning persons will still be required to register at a Bahamas embassy or consulate and obtain a COVID-19 test with a negative result prior to travelling.”

Private aviation will also resume at all fixedbased operators (FBOs) at LPIA on June 15. And, as of Wednesday, July 1, international flights will resume for Bahamian and foreign travellers.

The uncertainty surrounding BPL’s debt refinancing, and the strategy behind it, could not have occurred at a worse time for The Bahamas given that energy sector reform - especially more reliable supply and lower costs - will be vital to lifting this nation out of a COVID-19 recession that could cause the economy to contract by between $1.5bn to $2bn.

Should the government have to stand as the borrower in BPL’s place it could potentially undermine a key aspect of the RRB strategy, which was to structure the refinancing in such a way that it kept the debt off the state’s balance sheet and eliminated previous loan guarantees made on the utility’s behalf.

The bonds were supposed to be issued, and placed, by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to help refinance $321m debt while providing more than $220m in new working capital to fund upgrades to BPL’s long-neglected transmission and distribution (T&D) network. The utility’s entire turnaround plan, and the provision of reliable, lower cost energy to its business and residential consumers, depends on placing this bond issue.

The initial obstacle to placing RRB was the need to obtain a credit rating for the issue from the major rating agencies - something that was not accomplished prior to COVID-19. And Mr Bannister said in early March 2020 that feedback from the international capital markets had urged the government to amend the bond’s supporting legislation to provide investors with greater protection given that the issue would have no state guarantee behind it.

BPL had previously confirmed that an additional charge, equivalent to 15 percent of a customer’s monthly electricity consumption, would be added to monthly bills to service the debt and pay interest to bond investors.

This meant Bahamian businesses and households will ultimately be the ones to pay for the refinancing, although BPL aims to more than offset this through lower electricity supply costs.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 8, 2020, PAGE 5

THE RACE to space is on. Astronauts and visitors depicted in space tourism.

SPACEX SUCCESS SHOWS THE NEW SPACE RACE IS ON ACTIVTRADES WEEKLY

By RICARDO EVANGELISTA www.activtrades.bs

IN 1957 the then Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first communication satellite, firing the starting shot for the first space race. Over the following decades the USSR and the USA were involved in a competition, with each side trying to outperform the other.

The most compelling episode in this saga was the Apollo 11 lunar landings of 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first astronauts to walk on the Moon and America claimed victory in the race, asserting its technological supremacy and claiming a PR coup of incalculable value within the context of the Cold War.

$30m ‘sin tax’ rise rejected by govt FROM PAGE ONE

budget, indicating that the proposal was dropped late in discussions over the government’s plans for the upcoming fiscal year that starts on July 1.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, yesterday acknowledged a hike in so-called “sin taxes” - levies on products deemed to be harmful to human health or have an anti-social impact - had been “a policy consideration” during internal government debates leading up to the budget’s unveiling on May 27.

“It didn’t come forward in the Budget presentation,” he confirmed. “During every budget exercise a whole lot of ideas and considerations are put forward.

He referred Tribune Business to K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, for further comment. The latter did not respond to Tribune Business phone calls or text messages before press time last night.

It is thus unclear why the government rejected tax increases on products which, due to their addictive nature, tend to have an inelastic demand and therefore generate increased revenues for the Public Treasury whenever rates are raised.

However, such a move would likely have proven unpopular with Bahamian consumers already battered

by COVID-19 unemployment increases and income reductions, and who saw such products as providing some relief from the restrictions imposed by the government’s COVID-19 lockdowns and curfews.

It would also have gone against Mr Turnquest’s prior public pledge not to implement new or increased taxes on the Bahamian people in the wake of the pandemic, while the extra $30m raised would have been relatively insignificant when set against the $1.327bn fiscal deficit that is projected for 2020-2021.

The Soviets never managed to land astronauts on the Moon and that perhaps marked the beginning of a decline, that ultimately ended with the collapse of their system and fragmentation of the Soviet Union. The Cold War was as much about hard power, epitomised by the constant threat of a nuclear conflict, as it was about being able to project credibility and influencing public opinion. Ultimately the United States won the Cold War, not through an armed conflict, that certainly would have meant doom for mankind, but by gaining undisputable economic supremacy and slowly eroding the other side’s selfconfidence. In this respect, the role played by the space race was central.

Fast forward to 2020; amid the mayhem generated by the coronavirus, culture wars and social unrest, a new space race is beginning. On Saturday, May 30, for the first time, a private firm operated a space ship carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. It’s true that private contractors have always worked with NASA and other space agencies, too, but SpaceX is the first non-governmental organization to oversee such a project, beating competition from, among others, Boeing. And it did so at a fraction of the cost incurred by NASA with its previous astronaut carrying programme; the cost of developing the Space Shuttle reached, in 2019 $27.4bn, while SpaceX’

Meanwhile, the IMF revealed that the government had initially planned to cut its recurrent (fixed cost) spending far more deeply than it ultimately did. Some $300m worth of cuts were planned in the 2020-2021 “draft budget”, the fund revealed, but the actual document features only $113.5m of these compared to the revised 2019-2020 figures that were approved by Parliament in February just prior to COVID-19.

The $2.574bn worth of recurrent spending that the government actually settled on also represents a $35.3m increase on the post-COVID-19 estimate for 2019-2020, with the IMF seemingly voicing scepticism that the Minnis administration would achieve all the cuts it had initially sought.

The Washington DCbased fund estimated that the government would achieve less than two-thirds, or just $195m, of its targeted $300m recurrent spending cuts. The government subsequently settled for much less than either figure, but the IMF is also projecting that it will only realise just over half - some $11m - of the $21m savings it is seeking in the upcoming fiscal year from loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

“Staff estimates that the additional measures could yield total savings of about $175m in fiscal year 20202021. As a result, staff projects the overall deficit at 6.7 and 9.5 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2019-2020 and fiscal year 2020 2021, respectively,” the IMF report said.

Those deficit projections are greater, and lower, than the government’s own estimates of 6.4 percent and 11.6 percent for the same two fiscal years respectively.

Mr Johnson said the government typically took “a very, very conservative approach to budgeting” and would likely take encouragement from the fund’s projection that the record 2020-2021 deficit will be less big than the Ministry of Finance’s forecast $1.327bn.

The IMF’s own estimates show the government incurring an $802.6m fiscal deficit for the present 20192020 fiscal year, followed by $1.122bn in the upcoming budget cycle. It is forecasting

that revenues will drop by $504.3m and $730.2m in these two years, with Dorian-related tax concessions accounting for $232.5m and $169.8m worth of these sums, respectively.

As a result, the fund is forecasting that The Bahamas will face deficit financing “gaps” of $381.9m and $550m for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, respectively, equivalent to 3.2 percent and 4.7 percent of economic output or gross domestic product (GDP) respectively.

These shortfalls, the IMF added, will have to be filled by a combination of its own $250m loan, borrowing from other multilateral institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and private sector loans guaranteed by the World Bank.

Still, the IMF backed the government’s fiscal policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its focus on supporting the healthcare system, employment, businesses ranging from the smallest to largest, and the poor and most vulnerable groups in society.

“Fiscal policy has appropriately shifted toward providing economic relief to mitigate the impact of pandemic,” the IMF said. “These measures come on top of the recovery and reconstruction outlays and tax exemptions following Hurricane Dorian.

“The fiscal position is expected to deteriorate sharply this fiscal year and next.

To accommodate some of the increased fiscal needs, the 2020-2021 budget introduces current spending cuts of 20 percent across ministries, excluding interest expenses and the wage bill, to be achieved through postponing non-priority programmes and improving efficiency...

“The authorities have put in place contingency plans to protect priority spending.

In addition to the current expenditure cuts and proposed increase in excise taxes in the 2020-2021 budget, they are reviewing public expenditure (including by state-owned enterprises) to allow the government to reprioritise spending flexibly and timely should downside risks materialise,” the fund added.

Dragon project was comparatively cheap, at a mere $1.7bn.

SpaceX is of course owned by billionaire Elon Musk, who, among other business interests, is also the founder and CEO of Tesla, who’s shares gained six percent last Monday (the first trading day after the launch); the success of the mission was a spectacular PR coup for Mr Musk, enhancing not only his personal reputation but also that of other businesses he controls. Another beneficiary was Virgin Galactic, owned by billionaire Richard Branson and focused on

“space tourism”; its share value rose more than three percent, as new dreams of space travelling entered our collective mind.

In business, as in geopolitics, soft power is key; public relations do, to a large extent, determine how consumers and investors make decisions, and nothing captures the collective imagination, projecting

competence and credibility, as space conquest does. It is, therefore, unsurprising that some of the better-known business leaders of our time (a list also including Amazon’s CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, through his Blue Origin company) are entering a new space race, likely to soon return men to the moon, with the ultimate objective of reaching Mars.

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PAGE 6, Monday, June 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

IMF: Bahamas must hit ‘average’ $500m surplus FROM PAGE ONE impossible - especially for a country that faces an annual risk of being struck by major hurricanes - without fundamental fiscal reforms.

“The authorities remain committed to fiscal consolidation over the medium term as specified under the Fiscal Responsibility Act,” the IMF said nevertheless. “The government activated the escape clause of the Fiscal Responsibility Act after Hurricane Dorian hit the country. This allows the authorities to postpone the achievement of their fiscal consolidation targets (a fiscal deficit of 0.5 percent of GDP by fiscal year 2020-2021 and a public debt-to-GDP ratio of 50 percent by fiscal year 20242025) by four years.

“The COVID-19 crisis will delay reaching these targets further, but the authorities are steadfast to bring the fiscal deficit to 0.5 percent of GDP by 2026-2027 and the debt ratio to 50 percent of GDP by 2030-2031. They will resume various measures when the pandemic fades, including the reviews of state-owned enterprise

(SOE) governance, investment incentives, and the pension system, enhancements to public financial management (PFM) to increase expenditure control and efficiency, and revenue administration reforms.”

The IMF report added that the government’s fiscal stimulus measures to protect the health system, private sector, jobs and most vulnerable in society, were worth $437m - equivalent to 3.7 percent of Bahamian GDP - and spread over the current and upcoming fiscal years.

The largest component is the $180m allocated to the tax credit and deferral initiative targeted at supporting payroll expenses for medium-sized and large firms.

Referring to the government’s deficit financing plans, the IMF added: “The increased fiscal needs will be financed by a combination of domestic and external debt issuance, as well as financial support from the fund and other IFIs (international financial institutions).

“Despite the recent S&P downgrade by one notch to ‘BB’, The Bahamas is expected to continue to

have access to international bond markets albeit at significantly higher rates than before. The authorities plan a long-term external bond issuance in fiscal year 2020-2021.

“They are also seeking two guarantees from the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) for COVID-19 healthcare expenses and capital spending.

The associated guaranteed commercial bank loans would have maturities exceeding five years. Discussions are ongoing with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) for new credit facilities amounting to $320m in fiscal year 20202021 for policy loans and investment loans, with maturities exceeding 20 years.”

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, confirmed to Tribune Business yesterday that the World Bank guarantees, which would ensure private sector lenders to The Bahamas are repaid, was among the $1.327bn deficit financing options being explored.

“We haven’t finalised the specifics of how we will make use of that facility,”

he added. “Yes, we are looking at the MIGA facility as a way to secure private financing on favourable terms. It guarantees lenders will be repaid.

“It’s being explored to optimise the kind of rates we’re able to get out there in the marketplace. Again, we haven’t finalised the nature of the credit facilities. We are looking at the multilateral entities, the IDB and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) facilities as well, to see how much we will make use of the facilities they have because we’re trying to get the best rates possible on borrowing and extended terms.”

The IMF report estimated that its $252m loan, together with $180m and $50m provided by the IDB and CDB, respectively, and $88m obtained from foreign lenders under the World Bank guarantees would cover some $570m - or nearly 60 percent - of The Bahamas’ balance of payments financing needs.

The remainder, or $442m of the total $1.012bn need, would come from the drawdown on existing foreign currency reserves.

“The Bahamas faces a pronounced

balance-of-payments shock,” the IMF said. “The current account balance is expected to deteriorate to a deficit of 17 percent in 2020, from a surplus of 0.7 percent in 2019. Although lower international oil prices and reduced imports will help the trade balance, these effects are more than offset by the sudden stop in tourist arrivals.

“On the financial account, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are expected to halve.

Gross international reserves have been boosted by hurricane insurance payouts of about eight percent of GDP in 2019 and 2020.

The result is an external financing need of about US$1bn.

“It is expected that financial support from the Fund and other international financial institutions (IFIs), notably the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), will be able to bridge about 60 percent of this financing gap, helping contain the still-significant drawdown of international reserves.

Reserves are expected to decline to about $1.3bn in 2020 and to remain at similar levels thereafter.”

The IMF estimated that The Bahamas’ services exports, representing the key tourism industry, will decline by $2.78bn or 24.5 percent of GDP this year.

This represents a fall-off from $4.151bn to $1.371bn year-over-year, which will be partially compensated for by a $2.422bn or 21.3 percent contraction in total import volumes.

“A gradual recovery should take hold in 2021, assuming that the pandemic fades and global containment efforts can be gradually unwound. Tourist arrivals are expected to recover strongly in 2021 but reaching pre-crisis levels will take time,” the IMF said.

“With the removal of domestic containment measures, post-hurricane reconstruction activity is expected to regain momentum. These developments should lead to a rebound in real GDP growth of about 8 percent in 2021, but the recovery will be gradual with the economy reaching its pre-pandemic level only by end-2023. Inflation is expected to increase to 2.5 percent in 2021, along with the economic recovery, and converge towards two percent in the long run.”

IMF: ‘There’s room to cut interest rates’ FROM PAGE ONE The benefits of doing so have to be weighed against the potential erosion of international reserves and structural bottlenecks in the monetary transmission mechanism.”

The IMF’s comments will likely hearten those observers who have been urging the Central Bank to adopt a more proactive approach and use monetary policy as a stimulus tool. However, John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, last month ruled out using interest rates as an economic stimulus tool - and even the fund itself admitted that the present four percent discount rate was at an “historically low level”.

He argued that interest rate cuts were “not an option for The Bahamas”, as any reduction or relaxation of credit policies would spark a surge in import demand and undermine the foreign reserves at the worst

possible time when there are virtually zero replenishing US dollar inflows from the tourism industry or foreign direct investment (FDI).

The Central Bank’s position has always been that the use of monetary policy as an economic stimulus tool has been restricted by the need to maintain the one:one currency peg with the US dollar, and the need to maintain sufficient underlying foreign currency reserves to support this.

However, others have argued that the 30 percentplus unemployment rate generated by COVID-19, together with the reduction in disposable incomes and low consumer confidence, means that import demand will be muted and there is space - as suggested by the IMF - to lower rates and provide some relief for hard-pressed Bahamian borrowers - both households and businesses.

The fund, though, backed the $300m worth

of measures taken by the Central Bank to safeguard The Bahamas’ currency peg and international reserves.

Besides the bar on Canadian-owned bank dividend remittances and relaxation on bank foreign exchange sales to the public, the regulator has suspended all approvals for Bahamians seeking to invest in foreign securities and real estate, and requested that the National Insurance Board (NIB) liquidate “some” of its overseas investments and return the proceeds back home.

“While the recent Central Bank interventions could help ensure an adequate level of international reserves, the repatriation of NIB assets needs to be done in a controlled manner that avoids any potential firesale dynamics and preserves the NIB’s financial position,” the fund added.

“While there are no significant capital outflows at this stage, the Central Bank views the recent foreign exchange measures as necessary to preserve reserve adequacy. Repatriating some of the NIB’s external assets, representing a small portion of its portfolio, and allowing domestic banks greater latitude in open positions to purchase funds in the interbank market should contribute to foreign exchange liquidity.

“The Central Bank argues that it has adequate systems to monitor the effects on the banking system of these interventions. The Central Bank also highlighted their temporary nature, and that they will not jeopardise recent progress in exchange control liberalisation. The Central Bank does not consider expansionary monetary policies to be appropriate at the current juncture.”

The government, in its response to the IMF, forecast that the Bahamian economy will suffer “a deep recession” in 2020 with GDP shrinking by between nine percent and 15 percent. Unemployment was forecast to reach as high as 35 percent, and the Fund added: “The authorities are projecting significantly lower growth in 2021 and higher growth in 2022-2023.

“They expect the lingering effects of the global COVID-19 travel restrictions and consumer hesitancy to temper the pace of the recovery in tourism demand through the first half of 2021..... The authorities highlighted the severe revenue shortfalls they are experiencing, with April revenues being 50 percent lower than last year.”

Mr Rolle and K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister, in a May 22, 2020,

“letter of intent” to the IMF said the 2020-2021 budget will incorporate “sunset clauses” detailing when the measures to combat COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian will end.

“To ensure compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act over the medium term, we intend to embed sunset clauses in the new budget for the temporary measures put in place in response to COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian, and resume various measures planned before Hurricane Dorian (including the review and reform of investment incentives, reform of tax administration, and review and reform of state-owned enterprises to make them self-sustained entities) once the COVID-19 crisis abates,” the duo wrote.

“We will also develop detailed contingency plans to protect priority spending, including on social assistance, healthcare and key infrastructure projects. In addition, we will take steps to increase revenue collection, contain the wage bill and reduce transfers to SOEs at a measured pace over the coming years.”

Messrs Rolle and Turnquest promised that the Auditor-General would audit all COVID-19 related spending within nine months of year-end, and post the results on the government’s

YOUR

website. They added: “The government of The Bahamas will maintain an open dialogue with the IMF. We are committed to ensuring continued macroeconomic stability and will avoid any measures or policies that would exacerbate balance of payments difficulties.

“We do not intend to impose new or intensify existing restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, trade restrictions for balance of payments purposes, or multiple currency practices, or to enter into bilateral payments agreements....

“In line with the IMF safeguards policy, we commit to undergoing a safeguards assessment in connection with the [$252m loan]. We will provide IMF staff with the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ most recently completed external audit reports, and authorise our external auditors to hold discussions with IMF staff,” the duo continued.

“Given that financing from the IMF will be disbursed for budget support, a framework agreement will be established between the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Ministry of Finance on the respective responsibilities for servicing financial obligations to the IMF.”

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 8, 2020, PAGE 7

SUPPORT THE BLOOD BANK

THE SUN sets behind an idle pump jack near Karnes City, Texas. Demand for oil continues to fall due to the new coronavirus outbreak. As demand for fuel plummeted worldwide and the oil industry faced a devastating drop in oil prices, the US took the rare move of stepping into negotiations involving the member countries of OPEC and non-members such as Russia and Mexico.

Photo: Eric Gay/AP

OPEC, allied nations extend nearly 10M barrel cut by a month DUBAI Associated Press OPEC and allied nations agreed on Saturday to extend a production cut of nearly ten million barrels of oil a day through the end of July, hoping to encourage stability in energy markets hard hit by the coronavirusinduced global economic crisis.

Ministers of the cartel and outside nations led by Russia met via video conference to adopt the measure, aimed at cutting the excess production depressing prices as global aviation remains largely grounded due to the pandemic. The curbed output represents some 10% of the world’s overall supply.

But danger still lurks for the market, even as a number of nations ease virus-related lockdowns, and enforcing compliance remains thorny.

Algerian Oil Minister Mohamed Arkab, the current OPEC president, warned meeting attendees that the global oil inventory would soar to 1.5 billion barrels by the mid-point of this year.

“Despite the progress to date, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels,” Arkab said. “The challenges we face remain daunting.”

That was a message echoed by Saudi Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, who acknowledged “we all have made sacrifices to make it where we are today”. He said he remained shocked by the day in April when US oil futures plunged below zero.

“There are encouraging signs we are over the worst,” he said.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak similarly called April “the worst month in history” for the global oil market.

The decision came in a unanimous vote, Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei of the United Arab Emirates wrote on Twitter. He called it “a courageous decision”.

But it is only a one-month extension of a production cut that was deep enough “to keep prices from going

so low that it creates global financial risk but not enough to make prices very high, which would be a burden to consumers in a recessionary time,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations.

“There is so much uncertainty that I think they took a conservative approach,” she said. “You don’t know how much production is going to come back on. You don’t know what’s going to happen with demand. You don’t know if there’s going to be a second (pandemic) wave.”

Jaffe said improved oil demand in China and Asia and a gradual stabilisation of demand in the United States and to some extent Europe, where there’s some cautious economic reopening, were encouraging for producers.

OPEC has 13 member states and is largely dominated by oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The additional countries involved part in the so-called OPEC Plus accord have been led by Russia, with Mexico under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador playing a considerable role at the last minute in the initial agreement.

Crude oil prices have been gaining in recent days, in part on hopes OPEC would continue the cut.

International benchmark Brent crude traded Saturday at over $42 a barrel. Brent had crashed below $20 a barrel in April.

Earlier this year, when demand was down, Saudi Arabia was flooding the market with crude oil, helping to send prices down to record lows. That prompted the US government in April to take the unusual step of getting involved in OPEC’s negotiations, pressuring members of the cartel to agree to cuts to help end the oil price free-fall.

At the time, President Donald Trump said the US would help take on some of the cuts that Mexico was unwilling to make. And perhaps more importantly, a group of US senators upset over the impact on US shale production said at the time that they had

drafted legislation which would remove American forces, including Patriot Missile batteries, from Saudi Arabia.

Under a deal reached in April, OPEC and allied countries were to cut nearly ten million barrels per day until July, then eight million barrels per day through the end of the year, and six million a day for 16 months beginning in 2021.

In a rambling Rose Garden speech on Friday, Trump took credit for the April deal. “People said that wasn’t possible but we got Saudi Arabia, Russia and others to cut back substantially,” he said. “We appreciate that very much.”

US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette tweeted his applause on Saturday for the extension, which he said comes “at a pivotal time as oil demand continues to recover and economies reopen around the world”.

However, some countries have been producing beyond quotas set by the deal. One was Iraq, which remains decimated after a years-long war against the Islamic State group. Iraq Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said in a statement that Baghdad had “renewed its full commitment” to the OPEC Plus deal.

Analysts had expected only a one-month extension given the still fluctuating level of demand.

“If the demand is great, countries like Russia will want to produce more oil, so they probably won’t want to get locked into a longerterm deal that may not help them,” said Jacques Rousseau, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners.

In a research note, Clearview also said on Saturday that the producers group “appears to be going to great lengths to keep the deal together despite unequal compliance” — trying to avoid public fights on the issue.

“That solution might work today, but not repeatedly,” it said, citing reports of rising Libyan output and the end of production cuts from Mexico that will heighten the need for compliance.

P. O .Box AP-59229 Lynden Pindling International Airport Nassau, Bahamas Request for Proposals for Insurance.

Nassau Airport Development Company, (NAD) invites proposals from Bahamian qualified Insurance Brokerage Firms for the Insurance requirements of NAD. The Insurance Brokerage Services will be for a period of two (2) years following the selection of a successful proposal. Parties interested in submitting a proposal may collect an information package from the Executive Offices of NAD at the Lynden Pindling International Airport by making a payment of $100.00 at the time of collection.

All proposals should be sealed, and delivered to: V.P. Finance & CFO Nassau Airport Development Company Lynden Pindling International Airport 3rd Floor, Terminal B P. O .Box AP-59229 Nassau, Bahamas and should be marked: PROPOSALS FOR INSURANCE SERVICES All proposals must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Thursday July 16, 2020.

Nassau Airport Development Company Limited reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

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PAGE 8, Monday, June 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SENATE Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky, arrives for a Republican luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Photo: Susan Walsh/AP

New jobs report diminishes GOP appetite for more virus aid WASHINGTON Associated Press A STRONGER than expected jobs report could further scramble an already uncertain picture for passing a fifth and possibly final coronavirus aid bill. The positive statistics are feeding the wait-andsee approach of the White House and its GOP allies in Congress.

Republicans say the numbers vindicate their decision to take a pause and assess the almost $3tn in assistance they already have approved. The White House was already showing little urgency about pursing another trillion-dollar response bill, much less the $3.5tn measure passed by the House last month, and prefers to concentrate on reopening the economy.

The coming weeks are expected to bring difficult negotiations over what

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif, pauses as she speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP the package should contain, just months before an election where the White House and control of Congress are at stake.

For lawmakers, tough decisions loom about how much money to allocate

to states, how to extend unemployment benefits for millions of people and whether to create lawsuit protections for businesses and schools as they reopen during the pandemic.

Friday’s jobs report

showed a 2.5 million gain instead of an expected loss of millions more, complicating prospects for the aid talks. Trump is difficult to gauge, but talks often of pursing public works spending and a payroll tax

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

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ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,137.00 | CHG: -0.12 | %CHG: -0.01 | YTD: -94.60 | YTD%: -4.24 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 6.75 2.58 2.00 5.47 12.77 6.16 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 7.01 13.04 6.98 3.20 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 3.00 11.26 6.10 4.00 6.01 3.08 5.10 10.11 8.00 14.50 8.97 4.00 15.20

CLOSE 3.55 17.43 6.00 6.68 1.78 1.62 3.00 11.26 6.10 4.00 6.01 3.03 5.10 10.02 8.00 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 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.05 0.00 -0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

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 500

296

430

500

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 21.7 42.9 29.7 10.9 15.5 11.0 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% 3.00% 0.00% 14.32% 1.18% 3.27% 3.00% 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% 1.04% 3.87% 0.61% 2.93% 0.50% 2.50% -1.34% 2.23% -12.71% -5.79% 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-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 27-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 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 52WK HI 2.31 4.40 2.10 198.39 168.29 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 2.31 4.39 2.10 192.52 145.55 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

cut, which is a nonstarter on Capitol Hill.

“They are less than urgent, less than inclined for another package,” said Rep Patrick McHenry, R-NC, a GOP leader when his party was in the majority. “There is less urgency to go strike a hard deal — and this one would be a hard deal. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen, I just think the urgency is far lessened.”

Democrats looked at the jobs report and saw job losses for 600,000 public employees that are likely to worsen if Washington doesn’t help cash-starved state and local governments. Despite the positive jobs news, unemployment nationwide is at 13%, so the looming expiration of a supplemental $600 per week jobless benefit promises to provide a catalyst for action.

Top Democrats such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York are united behind the $3.5tn “HEROES Act”, which contains party priorities such as jobless aid, another round of $1,200 checks and money for essential workers, local schools, colleges and people missing mortgages and rent payments.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other Republicans are opposed to the Democratic plan.

But they are struggling with their own divisions, with more pragmatic lawmakers favoring aid to states and local governments and recognising that additional jobless aid is inevitable if there is to be an agreement.

GOP Sens Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Cory Gardner of Colorado back a significant state aid package, and there’s strong support across Congress for help for smaller municipalities. But concerns about piling additional trillions

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

of dollars onto the national debt have risen, and some Republicans believe Congress has done enough.

McConnell has already said Republicans won’t extend the $600 per week supplemental unemployment benefit, which they say is taking away incentive for people to return to the job market. A recent Congressional Budget Office report estimated that five out of six people would earn more by continuing to receive the higher benefits than returning to work and that extending the benefit would harm the economy next year.

What is plain is that the enormous sense of urgency that produced the first four aid bills has faded, along with the freewheeling dynamic that inflated the price tags. That dynamic helped Democrats to win gains in the $2tn CARES Act in March that they might not have gotten through a more deliberate process.

“Unlike the CARES Act, where we really did need to act in a matter of days, here we have a little bit of luxury of time, but that time is not indefinite,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the US Chamber of Commerce. “We don’t have months.”

Now, Republicans have set a goal of keeping the cost of the next bill below $1tn. That’s going to be a hard sell for Pelosi, who devoted almost $1tn just to states and localities.

Supporters of a deal had hoped to reach an agreement this month, but acknowledge the annual August recess is now looking more like the informal deadline. For starters, leadership aides in both parties acknowledge there have been virtually no bipartisan talks so far, with Pelosi and McConnell communicating through their public statements.

“Future efforts must be laser-focused on helping schools reopen safely in the fall, helping American workers continue to get back on the job, and helping employers reopen and grow,” McConnell said Friday.

PUBLIC NOTICE

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, RAVEN FARQUHARSON of Faith Avenue North, P.O.Box EE-16273 Nassau, Bahamas, mother of EMMANUEL PATRICK SPENCER A minor intend to change my child’s name to TONY FARQUHARSON If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 8, 2020, PAGE 9

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

T

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

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

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

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

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

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

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OPPORTUNITIES • • • •

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

BENEFITS

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

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

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, June 8, 2020, PAGE 11

Kosovo lifts trade measures, hoping to resume Serbia talks PRISTINA Associated Press THE new Kosovo government on Saturday lifted some recently imposed measures on Serb goods entering the country, in an effort to pave the way to resuming dialogue to improve ties with its neighbour.

The decision was among the first taken by Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti’s Cabinet of the centre-right Democratic League of Kosovo, or LDK, three days after taking office.

Hoti’s predecessor, Albin Kurti, introduced the “reciprocity” measures a few days before leaving office. They required Serbian authorities to apply the same documentation standards on goods exported to Kosovo as they require for Kosovar goods

NEWLY elected prime minister Avdullah Hoti, speaks to the media, in the capital Pristina. Kosovo’s parliament voted in a new prime minister on Wednesday to lead a fragile coalition government that will inherit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and stalled normalisation talks with neighbouring Serbia.

Photo: Visar Kryeziu/AP entering Serbia.

The move was a replacement for a 100% tariff imposed on Serb and Bosnian goods in 2018, but both actions were opposed by

Serbia, which considered they were blocking dialogue.

The LDK’s governing coalition includes three smaller ethnic Albanian parties, Kosovo’s ethnic Serb

minority party and other minority lawmakers.

Resuming the European Union-facilitated dialogue over ties between Kosovo and Serbia remains a top

challenge. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Saturday the lifting of the trade barriers paves the way.

“Six months of a hard political battle are ahead of us,” Vucic told the pro-government TV Prva.

Hoti said: “Now we wait to see the same thing from the Serb side to lift all the obstacles and give air to the dialogue process.” He added that “we also preserve our rights as a sovereign state to set all the necessary measures to preserve our sovereignty in coordination with our international partners.”

Hoti wants the United States and the European Union to be involved in the talks and help guarantee the implementation of any deal that comes out of them.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, an

independent US government agency, welcomed the lifting of the “reciprocity” measures and resumed implementation of a $49m funding programme for Kosovo. The agency paused the programme in March to pressure Kurti to change his stand on Serbian imports.

The new prime minister expressed his gratitude “for the continuous support of the American government to our country.”

Kosovo was part of Serbia until an armed uprising in 1998-1999 by the ethnic Albanian majority population triggered a bloody Serb crackdown. A NATO bombing campaign to force Serbia’s troops out of Kosovo ended the war.

Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence.

PAGE 12, Monday, June 8, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 75° F/24° C

TAMPA

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Clouds and limited sunshine

Mostly cloudy

Rather cloudy

Variably cloudy with a thunderstorm

Pleasant with partial sunshine

Partly sunny with a shower

High: 88°

Low: 77°

High: 88° Low: 74°

High: 84° Low: 74°

High: 85° Low: 75°

High: 85° Low: 75°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

101° F

87° F

98°-80° F

91°-74° F

91°-77° F

94°-80° F

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° 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: 89° F/32° C Low: 77° F/25° C

6-12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 79° F/26° C

E

W S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 78° F/26° C

MIAMI

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 79° F/26° C

7-14 knots

KEY WEST

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 83° F/28° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 77° F/26° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 84° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

10:32 a.m.

10:59 p.m.

2.5 3.2

4:42 a.m. -0.3 4:35 p.m. -0.3

Tuesday

11:24 a.m.

11:48 p.m.

2.4 3.0

5:32 a.m. -0.1 5:26 p.m. 0.0

Wednesday 12:17 p.m.

-----

2.3 -----

6:22 a.m.

6:18 p.m.

0.1 0.3

Thursday

12:38 a.m.

1:11 p.m.

2.8 2.2

7:12 a.m.

7:12 p.m.

0.2 0.5

Friday

1:28 a.m.

2:07 p.m.

2.6 2.2

8:02 a.m.

8:10 p.m.

0.3 0.7

Saturday

2:20 a.m.

3:02 p.m.

2.5 2.3

8:51 a.m.

9:09 p.m.

0.4 0.8

Sunday

3:11 a.m.

3:55 p.m.

2.3 2.3

9:38 a.m. 0.4 10:07 p.m. 0.8

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:19 a.m.

7:59 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

11:00 p.m.

8:56 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Jun. 13

Jun. 21

Jun. 28

Jul. 5

CAT ISLAND

E

W

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

S

E

W

7-14 knots

S

7-14 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 .................................................... 82° F/28° C Normal high ....................................... 86° F/30° C Normal low ........................................ 73° F/23° C Last year’s high ................................. 92° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 78° F/26° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ............................................... 20.50” Normal year to date ..................................... 9.85”

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

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 78° F/26° C

6-12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

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

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 85° F/29° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N W

N E

W

E S

S

8-16 knots

8-16 knots

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

Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday: Today: Tuesday:

WINDS S at 6-12 Knots E at 7-14 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots ESE at 7-14 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots ENE at 4-8 Knots ESE at 8-16 Knots E at 6-12 Knots SSE at 6-12 Knots ENE at 6-12 Knots SSE at 7-14 Knots SSE at 4-8 Knots SE at 7-14 Knots E at 6-12 Knots SE at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots ESE at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots ESE at 7-14 Knots ENE at 4-8 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots ESE at 6-12 Knots SE at 8-16 Knots E at 8-16 Knots SE at 6-12 Knots E at 6-12 Knots

WAVES 1-2 Feet 0-2 Feet 0-2 Feet 0-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-2 Feet 0-2 Feet 0-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 Feet 0-2 Feet 0-1 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-2 Feet 1-3 Feet 1-3 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 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

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