06262020 BUSINESS

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FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2020

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confident over Bahamas is downgraded DPM beating $1.3bn deficit on ‘extraordinary beating’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE “extraordinary beating” inflicted upon the tourism industry

by COVID-19 was critical in Moody’s decision yesterday to strip The Bahamas of its “investment grade” credit rating, the deputy prime minister says.

K Peter Turnquest, responding to the rating agency’s move to slash The Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness by two notches to “Ba2”, told Tribune Business there was little the government can do to improve this situation in the short-term given that the priority remains protecting

• Moody’s cuts nation ‘two notches’ to ‘junk’ • Predicts economy to shrink up to 20% • DPm hopeful of Thanksgiving revival

K PETER TURNQUEST

families, businesses and the wider economy against the worst of the pandemic’s fall-out.

Pointing out that The Bahamas was far from alone in suffering downgrades as a result of COVID-19, Mr Turnquest said the government was still predicting an economic revival will begin in late November 2020 when the Thanksgiving holiday signals the start of the winter tourism season.

He admitted, though, that this forecast could easily be derailed by the multiple

“unknowns” surrounding COVID-19 - particularly the timing and strength of the US travel market rebound, given that the country accounts for 82 percent of all visitors to this nation.

“Our economy is affected more than most in that we are so tied to tourism, which has taken an extraordinary beating,” Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business. “In the eyes of the rating agencies, that increases the risk.

SEE PAGE 4

Over $11m spent on Lucayan terminations

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government will have spent more than $11m on employee termination packages and support by the time it closes the Grand Lucayan’s sale, it was revealed yesterday.

Michael Scott QC, the resort’s chairman, told Tribune Business that the latest separation round involving around 175 employees will cost “about $3m” in due severance pay and benefits after the hotel confirmed this newspaper’s revelations that terminations had begun ahead of completing its sale to the ITM Group/Royal Caribbean joint venture.

Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds the resort, said in a statement that prior employee

• Hotel chair reveals $3m in latest round • First 50 of 170-plus leave ahead of sale • Union president warns of legal action

MICHAEL SCOTT QC

OBIE FERGUSON

severance and COVID19 support packages had cost the government some $8.542m. It broke this down into $6.705m paid to workers during the two voluntary separation exercises carried out in 2019, and $1.837m in vacation bonuses,

emergency welfare fund payments and NIB benefits paid during the pandemic.

“The formula for the payments to the presently departing employees, some of whom have been employed with the hotel for 20 years, is based upon the

Financial sector faces ‘heightened challenge’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank is warning that the Bahamian financial services industry faces “heightened challenges” with sector employment levels falling for the fifth consecutive year in 2019.

Unveiling its latest annual survey of the industry’s economic contribution, the regulator said attrition as a result of international tax and anti-financial crime initiatives continues to chip away at its size, competitiveness and relative importance

to the Bahamian economy.

“The 2019 survey of The Bahamas’ financial services sector revealed that, in expenditure terms and tax revenues, the sector’s economic contribution was slightly expanded,” the Central Bank said. “Yet heightened challenges remained, with further trend-reduction in employment and in the number of supervised financial institutions (SFIs), particularly in international operations.

“Reflective of the ongoing automation of

SEE PAGE 7

Union chief: 2020 a tourism write-off

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE hotel union’s president has described this year as a write-off for the tourism industry while voicing optimism that 2021 could be “a banner year” for the sector based on pent-up COVID-19 demand.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU), told Tribune Business it was “hard to determine” how much tourism business this nation will attract during the first

DARRIN WOODS few weeks following the reopening of the borders to commercial travel on July 1.

With resorts such as Baha Mar, Sandals Royal Bahamian and San Salvador’s

SEE PAGE 7

same ministerial-approved calculation as that of the former employees who received separation packages totaling $6.705m under the two voluntary separation exercises held in 2019,” Lucayan Renewal Holdings said. It originally had 419 staff when it took over.

Add in the $3m due to be paid out to the newlydeparting staff takes the total employee severance/ support outlay to more than $11.5m in less than two years since the government acquired the Grand Lucayan from Hutchison Whampoa in 2018.

SEE PAGE 5

THE deputy prime minister yesterday voiced optimism that the government will beat its $1.327bn fiscal target for the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year as he reassured that The Bahamas’ debt burden is not yet “unbearable”.

K Peter Turnquest, speaking after Moody’s stripped The Bahamas of its “investment grade” credit rating with a two-notch downgrade, expressed confidence that the Minnis administration can secure a repeat of its 2018-2019 fiscal performance when it beat that year’s deficit target.

“The good news is that we have beaten the estimates before, so there’s no reason to believe we won’t do better this time assuming the economy does turn as we anticipate it to,” he told Tribune Business. “The big unknown is when this virus will be taken under control, or a vaccine comes into play, and it’s still unknown how visitors will react to the current environment with the virus still active, but we’ll see.”

The government’s 20202021 budget forecast and economic projections are based on tourism’s revival starting with the endNovember Thanksgiving holiday, which traditionally signals the start of the peak winter season (see other article on Page 1B).

Mr Turnquest said that while The Bahamas “has to be optimistic and positive” that these predictions will work out, “we obviously have to be concerned, and very watchful” over the rapid surge in COVID-19 infections in this country’s major source market, the US, which supplies 82 percent of annual visitors.

Pointing out that the government has already adjusted

its COVID-19 health protocols to require incoming travellers to produce a negative PCR swab test before they will be admitted to The Bahamas, having initially sought to waive this requirement ahead of the borders’ re-opening on July 1, Mr Turnquest acknowledged that this country was ahead of the US - with its 2.2m cases - in controlling the virus.

“It is a concern,” he reiterated of the present US situation, and especially in the so-called “Sunshine State”. “Most of our market comes from Florida or transits through Florida. Either way we can anticipate some negative short-term reaction to that.

“That’s built into our Budget projections. Hopefully by the time we get to Thanksgiving we either have a vaccine or a calming of the situation because people are prepared to deal with it. No matter what we do, the reality is if our source market is not performing at the same standard we will have issues.

“Our whole objective is to make sure we coincide with the recovery in the US so that once they’re clear, we’re clear, and there’s no uncertainty but they’re still having challenges.”

Mr Turnquest revealed that the government is unlikely to tap the international capital markets for the foreign currency debt financing required to cover the projected $1.327bn deficit until fall 2020, adding that the reduction in yields on its existing debt was “a little bit of good news”.

Moody’s yesterday revealed that the yields on the government’s foreign currency bond issue due to mature in 2028 had dropped from 11.6 percent at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May to 8.2 percent currently, which is still higher than the six percent

SEE PAGE 7

PAGE 2, Friday, June 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ENSURING PRODUCTIVITY AMONG REMOTE STAFF

W

ITH the call being made for public servants and private sector employees to return to work, many workers are questioning whether a return to centralised work space is necessary. COVID19 has certainly tested our capacity to engage in productive work remotely, and businesses in the process of recalling staff must ask a series of questions before a final decision is made on who returns and who is allowed to work from home.

Here are a few points to consider: 1. Before placing the willing employee on the remote work list, a true assessment of their work history should be completed. Does the employee have a reasonably good work ethic? Are they a self-starter? Do they take initiative and are they

proactive? Do they follow up instinctively, and is this someone you can depend on to get things done? If you have doubts over these and more questions, you may want to reconsider the decision. Perhaps a blended approach or some greater checks and balances need to be put in place to ensure this employee works from home successfully.

2. Establish clear remote productivity standards.

Managers must lay out clear deliverables - sometimes

daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly - to let employees know what quantity and quality of work is expected in a given time period. Job descriptions will help, and standard operating procedures ensure consistency in standards, but a remote work protocol document provides the safety net for ensuring that results are achieved.

3. Identify and provide the right tools for remote work. Ensure that the lines of communication between internal and external

customers, and other stakeholders, will not be hindered in any way. Remote employees need the same access to things used by onsite employees, which may include (but are not limited to): • Policy and procedure manuals • Presentation templates and supplies • Mail supplies and stationery • Software programs • Corporate credit card • Telecommuting technology • Most remote work can be conducted with little more than a computer, Internet access, a phone and a headset.

4. Put a budget in place to ensure the success of remote work. It might appear that little to no money should be invested in remote work, but the technology and infrastructure must be in

place for this to work effectively. Both on the employee and employer end, certain conditions must be met to maintain high standards.

5. A scheduling of times and methods for interaction with the time. Remote work does not mean NO communication with the team.

Managers must be very deliberate and intentional in bringing the team together virtually.

6. Finally, a follow-up schedule to monitor the progress of work assignments, and to provide the team and individuals with new projects and assignments. Follow-up sheets provide assistance here. The employee will indicate periodically what they have accomplished, and the supervisor is then able to measure and evaluate whether remote work is working for that employee.

IAN FERGUSON BY

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@ coralwave.com.

Food stores predict 20% sales decline

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net FOOD store retailers yesterday said they expect sales to drop by 20 percent between now and September.

Atwell Ferguson, Golden Gates Supermarket’s general manager, told Tribune Business: “Sales have dropped for sure since the pandemic, and basically things are back to normal.

“I think we are on the level for last year right now.

It’s like it’s going down, and we are down by about 20 percent. By the way things look, I think it will go down another 20 percent between now and September.”

Cyril Carey, general manager of Kenneth’s Food store on Prince Charles Drive, said: “It’s still been pretty good. I can’t say

off-hand how things look compared to last year, I don’t have those figures in my head.

“Hearing what’s going on, things may drop off, but I’m hoping that it’s not going to happen. Not as easy as that.”

Asked to estimate his sales forecast in the shortterm, Mr Carey said: “I know a lot of people are out of work, and a lot of them are going back to work next week, so I really can’t comment on what to expect.”

Shoshana Davis, general manager of Lucky Food Store on Market Street, said: “For the most part sales did slow down. The panic buying was a boost in sales, but right now there are lulls.

“We do see an increase in the evenings, particularly closer to closing time.

But for the most part it is

pretty much back to normal, where you have lulls in the middle of the day. But I don’t anticipate sales to dip in the foreseeable future for my location.”

Their comments came after Rupert Roberts, Super Value’s president, revealed he is bracing for a “below normal” sales decline as the post-COVID lockdown reality bites.

He added that the supermarket chain is preparing for “a tapering off” in groceries demand that could happen as early as this week as high unemployment and reduced incomes as a result of the economic lockdown shrink consumer spending.

“There hasn’t been any major tapering off yet,” Mr Roberts said, “but we know that as the hotels open the staff will be eating in the hotels, and as the restaurants people will be eating

out instead of at home. We expect a drop-off. First, it’ll go back to normal and then go below normal.

“The lack of money, we expect to encounter that in weeks to come. It may be sudden rather than a gradual drop-off. The sudden may start this week. I don’t know. There’s going to be a shortage of money to shop, and people will want to be in by dark. It hasn’t happened yet, but we all now it’s going to happen. It may have started this week, and we really don’t know. I haven’t looked.

“If we start falling ten percent below last year we’ll be in trouble. Our expectation is that it will not go below ten percent below last year before we catch ourselves, tourism kicks back in and the economy catches itself.

It’s wait, watch and see.”

That was echoed by one

of Super Value’s major competitors, BISX-listed AML Foods, which revealed that it, too, is expecting top-line volumes to start declining by the end of its 2021 first quarter.

That period ends on July 31, meaning that the fall-off is likely to be occurring now.

The Solomon’s and Cost Right owner, unveiling its full-year and fourth quarter results for the period to endApril 2020, also exposed the boost that COVID-19 panic buying and stocking up gave to its top-line and those of other food stores as those figures also contained the pandemic’s first six weeks.

AML Foods saw its fourth quarter sales increase by more than $5.7m or 13.3 percent year-over-year, jumping from $43.66m in the same period in 2019 to $49.382m during the three months to end-April 2020.

Franklyn Butler, AML Foods’ chairman, told shareholders: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on sales for the quarter. However, the expectation is that with increased unemployment and the prolonged closure of the tourism industry, sales volumes will begin to decline by the end of the 2021 first quarter.

“Increased sales during the quarter were singlehandedly from our food distribution segment...

Consumer purchasing behaviours shifted during the quarter, and sales of higher margin departments such as deli and clothing were down, negatively impacting our gross margin dollars. During the quarter, our gross margin percentage dropped to 30.3 percent from 31.8 percent.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, June 26, 2020, PAGE 3

Businessman voices Customs frustration

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A GRAND Bahama businessman is voicing frustration that Customs is undermining the ease of doing business by preventing freight forwarders and couriers from bulk clearing shipments.

Darren Cooper, owner of D’s Car rentals, told Tribune Business that business processes were being slowed down because Customs is now requiring these companies to clear items imported on behalf of clients individually.

“In Grand Bahama, freight forwarders and couriers were allowed to bulk clear,” he explained.

“Now they have to submit individual entries per customer, and that is slowing the process. We are getting items very slowly and it is costing more. You have to pay for an entry, and you have to pay for processing

and excise tax and VAT, so we are paying much more money.

“It is an added cost to the way we do business. Grand Bahama doesn’t need any additional burden. I spoke to the deputy prime minister and he told me not to worry about it, and the enforcement of the [relevant sections in the Customs Management Act] wont happen, but it happened.

“A letter from the freight forwarders and brokers association was also drafted to the customs comptroller, Dr Geanine Moss, for Customs’ reconsideration but they have not responded to the concerns. This system is taking us too long to get our stuff, and the system keeps crashing.”

However, Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, said himself and Dr Moss, the Customs comptroller, were both unaware of the issues Mr Cooper is complaining

about. “I spoke to the comptroller and she is not aware of any problems,” Mr Johnson added. “What we’re doing in Grand Bahama is consistent with what is applied across the board.

“If persons have any specific complaints and issues please send them on to the comptroller so she can an address anything that may be an anomaly. We’re not doing anything different in Grand Bahama from what the standards nationally are.

If you are bringing in stuff you have to list the items for valuation because it’s the rules. Otherwise it would be impossible to put any valuation on it.”

However, Mr Cooper added: “This is not even the Click2Clear system, as this is supposed to be leading up to the Click2Clear system. Grand Bahama does not need this. This is frustrating businesses and we are not prepared to deal with this system.”

Taxi chief ‘very concerned’ on Bay Street cruise bypass

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s president yesterday said he was “very, very concerned” that the cruise lines will direct their passengers to bypass downtown Nassau whenever the industry resumes sailing.

Wesley Ferguson told Tribune Business he is fearful that his members, and all other sectors that depend on cruise tourism for their livelihoods, will be shut out upon the industry’s return after Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive warned that passengers will likely be directed to the controlled environment of pre-booked tours to protect them from infection by COVID-19.

“I would like to respond to Michael Maura’s statement,” Mr Ferguson said.

“He had an article in the paper where he was saying that he believes that the people of the downtown area, inclusive of the straw vendors, hair braiders, taxi drivers and the downtown merchant’s would not benefit from tourism arrivals by the cruise ships possibly until next year.

“The cruise ships are tentatively supposed to come here in late September or early October. He believes that they are going to make changes, and they intend to basically encourage these people on the cruise ship to stay within the confines of what the cruise ship has arranged for them.

“So they are going to have pre-arranged tours and transportation, where the cruise ship people are

coming in and the cruise ship is going to direct them to a bus to go to some other destination that the cruise ship has pre-arranged, or that the cruise ships have agreed for them to go to,” Mr Ferguson added.

“Then the busses will wait on them and bring them back to the cruise ship, and they leave without interacting or going downtown or patronising any of the local businesses or the straw vendors downtown. I find that very, very concerning.”

Mr Maura had warned that the cruise lines may not let passengers “independently wander” down Bay Street until 2021 due to the ongoing threat posed

by COVID-19. Voicing concern that taxi drivers will be left out when cruise ship passengers are allowed back into The Bahamas, Mr Ferguson added: “Only a handful of people will be getting some kind of benefit from the cruise ships coming back.

“When you look at it, America is a very, very sick place when it comes to COVID-19, and it seems as if everybody feels as if we are downplaying ourselves in The Bahamas, including the Ministry of Tourism.

They are making it seem as if we are the ones that are sick, and that they have to protect the Americans from us. But nobody is saying who is going to protect us from the Americans.

“If you look at our COVID-19 figures, our figures are down. We have nine people now still infected, and we open the borders for international

visitors on July 1. When you look at it in Europe, they are getting ready to ban American travellers,” he continued.

“But here it is. We who are very, very fortunate that we had strict measures taken against the COVID19 through the ministry of health, have done well in spite of the rhetoric and negativity. We only had 11 deaths and only nine people, I think, are still infected. But then we are opening up our borders, and they are acting as if they have to protect Americans from us, instead of us from them.”

Mr Ferguson added: “We have not yet even decided or ironed out all of the logistics with tourists coming in here, because at first they didn’t even want to test the tourist. Then, secondly, when somebody blew the whistle they changed their mind.

“There is a lot of controversy in the United States as to whether or not they should wear masks. Now the Bahamas government is saying it is mandatory that you have to wear a mask in the taxi, so what if those tourists come here and decide that we are not wearing any masks because that is an issue in the United States.”

Mr Ferguson warned that tourism officials “are not aware” of the kinds of scenarios that may occur where Bahamian law is saying everyone must wear a mask in public, but Americans decide not to wear their masks.

Straw Vendors: Authority ‘not candid’ on re-opening

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net STRAW vendors yesterday accused the Straw Market Authority (SMA) of not being “candid” with them about its plans for the downtown facility ahead of the July 1 post-COVID-19 borders re-opening.

Reverend Esther Thompson, president of the Straw Business Persons Society, told Tribune Business: “We are still waiting to meet with the SMA on further directions; nothing has been finalised as yet. The stalls are already designed for social distancing because they are three by six. Each stall is three by six, and the length of the stalls is six feet, so I don’t see where that will be a big problem. Plus we have a lot of empty stalls in there so we can make adjustments if need be.”

Some 371 stalls at the downtown Straw Market, or 74 percent, were occupied prior to the COVID-19 lockdown out of a total of 500. Rev Thompson added: “We had two meetings and we are supposed to meet again to come up with the final opening decision.

“I don’t think the SMA is being candid with the vendors. Another issue the vendors have is with the National Insurance Board (NIB). They are inconsistent, and some vendors up to this day have not gotten a dollar yet.”

Explaining what she meant about the SMA “not being candid”, Rev Thompson added: “The Ministry of Tourism had a plan. My position is how can the Ministry of Tourism come out with a plan for the straw vendors and we are not under that ministry? We are under the Ministry of Works, and when we confronted the SMA about it they claimed they didn’t know anything about it.

“This was at the first meeting. At the second meeting, the SMA brought in the proposal of how they plan to structure the market, but I said to them: ‘You had just told us that you didn’t know anything about what the Ministry of Tourism had put in place, so how come you are coming in with a plan with the same thing that the Ministry of Tourism is saying?’

“They are not being candid. I have a problem with this, because I don’t know if we are going to be blindsided with the Ministry of Tourism’s position,

where they say that 50 percent of the persons have to come out of the market,” Rev Thompson continued. “They showed us two models. Our position is, if all vendors cannot be accommodated then we want none.”

Asked whether straw vendors could be accommodated on Prince George Wharf if more space was needed, Rev Thompson said: “They didn’t make the provisions for us the first time; that was something we had to do. The SMA didn’t do that. The association organised that, and that was a lot of hassle, but I guarantee you vendors wouldn’t mind.

“I don’t think we want to get to that permanently, and we would rather be in the market. You had to tote your goods with you every day when you are on the dockside. It is a lot of work and insecure. We would prefer to be in the market.”

Rev Thompson also complained that NIB had deducted pension payments due to straw vendors from the unemployment benefits they had received from NIB as self-employed persons. “Vendor’s pension is between $250 to $320, and out of the $800 in government assistance, they took the difference,” she said.

“Some vendors got like $500, and our position is

the government assistance shouldn’t have anything to do with your pension, because your pension is something you made contributions for. One shouldn’t have anything to do with the other. The $200 per week is supposed to be income replacement.

“It is just too much injustice going on. These ministers are not really getting down on the ground to find out what is going on with the people, and they believe whatever these people tell them that work in the system and the people on the ground are hurting.”

“You heard them come out and say that the vendors are going to get $200, but you didn’t hear them say that if you are on a pension we are going to take it out of your pension. None of these things are coming out, so the public believes that every vendor is getting $200 and that is not the case.”

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PAGE 4, Friday, June 26, 2020

Bahamas is downgraded on ‘extraordinary beating’ FROM PAGE ONE “There is nothing we can really do about that in the interim save we continue to work on alternatives to shore up revenue gaps and further generate economic activity.

We are cautiously optimistic we will have a rebound in the second half of the year going into the Thanksgiving holiday.

“By Thanksgiving hopefully we will see some kind of rebound and stabilisation.

Our budget is based around that, and if all things follow there’s going to be pent-up demand. All those persons that wanted to go on vacation, but were forced to hold off, are going to want to take those vacations, so hopefully that will translate into a sharp uptick in activity before things start evening off in the middle of next year.”

The Bahamas has now lost “investment grade” status with both Moody’s and its fellow rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), with

the former’s action yesterday also dropping the country to so-called “junk” status. The consequences include a potential increase in the government’s borrowing costs when it goes out to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in debt financing later this year to cover its upcoming $1.3bn fiscal deficit.

Investors will likely seek higher interest rates on Bahamian sovereign debt to compensate for the extra risk due to the government’s loss of creditworthiness. This, in turn, will lead to higher debt servicing costs that will ultimately have to be paid by the Bahamian taxpayer.

And the Moody’s downgrade, an action that has been flagged by the rating agency since April 9 this year, could also impact foreign direct investment (FDI) levels as investors in that area will have to factor the increased country and fiscal risks into their decisions as to whether to deploy capital.

Moody’s, in its rationale

THE TRIBUNE for the “two notch” downgrade and “negative outlook” placed on The Bahamas, forecast that this nation’s economy will shrink by between 16 percent and 20 percent during 2020. This is equivalent to a gross domestic product (GDP) loss of around $2bn, further highlighting the immense damage and suffering caused by the combination of COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.

Moody’s GDP projections are now in line with those of both S&P and the prime minister, although they are slightly worse than the Government and Central Bank forecast of a 12 percent economic shrinkage. And, with the government undertaking huge borrowings to prevent the economy’s collapse, Moody’s is now forecasting that The Bahamas’ debt-toGDP ratio will jump by 25 percentage points within two years.

The rating agency said yesterday it believes that The Bahamas’ debt burden will soar from 60 percent of GDP in June 2019 to equal 85 percent of economic output by the end of the upcoming fiscal year in June 2021, meaning that the country’s liabilities will not be far off

from matching the economy’s size.

And, with the COVID-19 pandemic predicted to cost the government some $900m in revenue, Moody’s said its debt servicing costs will increase to 22.6 percent of its $1.7bn revenues in 2020-2021 compared to just 13.5 percent in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

This means that the government’s interest bill will be greater than one-fifth of its income, or more than one out of every five dollars it takes in.

Forecasting that the government’s total borrowing needs for 2020-2021 will match the size of the economy’s contraction, standing at 17 percent of GDP, Moody’s nevertheless provided a few minor glimpses of optimism for The Bahamas amid the country’s projected loss of over 50 percent of tourism inflows.

For it suggested that The Bahamas could recover half of its lost economic output in 2021 if tourism business volumes returned to between 60 percent and 70 percent of their 2019 levels. And Moody’s also noted that the government’s debt costs had somewhat stabilised, with yields on its foreign currency bonds due to mature in 2028 dropping from 11.6 percent at COVID-19’s May peak to around 8.2 percent currently.

“The main driver for the downgrade is the significant negative effect the coronavirus outbreak will have on The Bahamas’ economic and fiscal metrics,” Moody’s explained. “For The Bahamas, the shock mainly transmits through the sharp decline - and potentially prolonged slump - in the tourism industry, which represents a sizable proportion of gross value added in the economy as well as a source of government revenue and export earnings.

“Tourism’s direct contribution to Bahamian GDP is close to 20 percent of the total, while its indirect contribution through other sectors represents another estimated 20 percent of GDP.” While noting The Bahamas’ plans to open its borders and relaunch the tourism industry on July 1, Moody’s pointed to the continuing uncertainty over the cruise industry’s return, which has now been postponed until September 15 at the earliest.

It also noted that the likes of Baha Mar, Sandals Royal Bahamian and Club Med’s San Salvador resort have all delayed their re-openings until the 2020 fourth quarter.

Tribune Business reported exclusively more than a week ago that Baha Mar plans to terminate between 15 percent to 20 percent of its workforce, a move that could make up to 1,100 persons jobless.

“Given these dynamics, Moody’s expects a loss of over 50 percent of tourism flows in 2020 relative to 2019, which would lead to a GDP contraction of about 16 percent to 20 percent,” the rating agency said. “Moody’s believes that the recovery of the global tourism sector is exposed to potential changes to consumer behaviour following the coronavirus outbreak.

“The performance of the sector will also depend on the speed of the recovery of the airline industry and ability to service tourist destinations such as The Bahamas. That said, a recovery in 2021 to 60 percent to 70 percent of 2019 tourism flows could lead to a GDP expansion of over ten percent in The Bahamas.”

However, Moody’s warned that The Bahamas’ mediumterm economic performance will remain “subdued” even if there was a strong tourism rebound due to its failure to tackle long-standing structural weaknesses such as “weak credit growth, high energy costs and weak ease of doing business”.

Acknowledging the record fiscal deficit projected for next year, Moody’s added: “The Bahamas’ debt burden will reach 85 percent of GDP by June 2021, from 60 percent in June 2019. Additionally, the government’s debt affordability will deteriorate as a consequence of higher interest payments and the loss of revenue, which will push the interest-to-revenue ratio to 22.6 percent in 20202021 from 13.5 percent in 20182019.

“Moody’s expects the ratio to decline somewhat in subsequent years as government revenue recovers. Overall, The Bahamas’ fiscal strength will materially weaken relative to its prior Baa-rated peers.” Acknowledging the improvements made by the Minnis administration in fiscal policy credibility and effectiveness, the rating agency warned that its limited fiscal

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, MICHELLE AMBER BAKER (nee MOXEY) of Nassau, The Bahamas, mother and father of MERCEDES KRISTAL BAKER A minor intend to change my child’s name to MERCEDES KRISTAL GYANE 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.

headroom could translate into “heightened government and external liquidity pressures should market access become more constrained”.

With debt servicing costs also set to rise when the government seeks foreign currency financing to bolster the external reserves during the upcoming 2020-2021 fiscal year, Moody’s said: “Following the intensification of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020, The Bahamas’ sovereign bond spreads widened significantly.

“The yield on its 2028 global bond reached 11.6% percent in May but has since stabilised around 8.2 percent.

Even at this lower level, The Bahamas’ bond yields are still higher than historical levels of around six percent. This points to more constrained market access and, should these bond spreads remain at these levels, it would increase government liquidity risks and place additional pressure on debt affordability metrics.

“Moody’s forecasts government borrowing needs will exceed 17 percent of GDP in 2020-2021, above historical levels of about seven percent of GDP. About five percent of GDP corresponds to principal repayments, most of which are due to reliable domestic sources. Moreover, because of the loss in tourism flows, The Bahamas’ external accounts will deteriorate in 2020 and lead to a reduction in its foreign exchange reserves.”

Moody’s added that The Bahamas faces further fiscal and economic pressures due to the annual threat of hurricanes, while the COVID-19 fall-out was set to “weigh significantly” on higher unemployment levels and further strain the Public Treasury.

“Given the severity of the crisis, downside risks to the credit profile will remain over the next two years. There is still significant uncertainty about the strength and speed of the recovery of the global tourism sector,” the rating agency warned.

“If, in particular, the recovery in 2021 is weaker than Moody’s expects, this would put additional pressure on government revenue and further erode the government’s fiscal strength. Moody’s also considers that prospects for debt stabilisation are highly susceptible to economic performance in 2021 and 2022.

“There is also a risk that market sentiment towards The Bahamas does not improve enough to enable the government to finance its larger funding needs through 2021-2022. While the favourable [debt] maturity profile mitigates some risks related to government liquidity (the next global bond is not due for repayment until 2024), limited market access could create external liquidity pressures.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, June 26, 2020, PAGE 5 LEGAL NOTICE

ANNAKA ASSOCIATED S.A. Company No. 1650760 (InVoluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to Section 204 (1)(b)of theBVI Business Companies Act, 2004 that ANNAKA ASSOCIATED S.A.is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 3rd June, 2020 and MykolaReshetovof Flat NW2 2004, Dubai Investment park 93945, DUBAI, UAE, hasbeen appointed as the Sole Liquidator.

Dated this 4th day of June, 2020 Sgd. MykolaReshetov Voluntary Liquidator NOTICE SMCLtd. Incorporated under the International Business Companies NOTICE Act, 2000of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.Registration Number196565B SMC Ltd.

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000

of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Company is in Notice is hereby given that the above-named Numberof 196565 B dissolution, commencingRegistration on the 29thday MayA.D. 2020.

(In Voluntary Liquidation)

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar.

Notice isishereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, The Liquidator CroweBahamas, Suite # 0587, Harbour Bay Plaza, commencing on the 29th day of May A.D. 2020.

ShirleyStreet, Nassau, The Bahamas, P.O. Box AP-59223. Email andrew.

Articles ofPersons Dissolution have been duly registered by the The davies@crowe.bs. having a Claim against theRegistrar. above-named Liquidator Bahamas, # 0587,the Harbour Bay Plaza, Shirley Street, Company areis Crowe required on Suite or before 28thday of June A.D. 2020to Nassau, The Bahamas, P.O. Box AP-59223. Email andrew.davies@crowe.bs. mail Persons and email names, and particulars their ondebts havingtheir a Claim againstaddresses the above-named Company are of required or or th before the 28 day of June to mail and email their names, addresses claims to the Liquidator ofA.D. the 2020 Company, or in default thereof they may and particulars theirbenefit debts orofclaims the Liquidatormade of the before Company, or inclaim be excluded fromofthe any to distribution such default thereof they may be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made is proved. before such claim is proved.

Over $11m spent on Lucayan terminations FROM PAGE ONE The figures give an insight into the burden Bahamian taxpayers have had to shoulder beyond the $65m purchase price in a bid to rescue Grand Bahama’s ailing resort product and economy. Tribune Business records show that the government injected $13m into the property during the six months to year-end 2018, while a further $16.1m outlay was approved in February’s supplementary budget for 2019-2020.

It is unknown if the previous $8.542m termination payments were included in these figures, but the sums involved suggest the government - via the taxpayer - will have spent around $100m in total to facilitate the property’s long-awaited sale to ITM/Royal Caribbean and their Holistica joint venture. Operating losses running at between $1m to $1.5m a month will have been subsidised for much of the government’s ownership.

Mr Scott yesterday said the government and Lucayan Renewal Holdings Board had sought to be “as humane as possible” in their treatment of the Grand Lucayan’s remaining 208 staff given their

commitment as part of the sale terms to finance the terminations.

Revealing that around 50 received their due severance pay and benefits on Wednesday, he added that between 30-35 will stay with the resort during the transition to cover areas such as administration, security, the golf course and property maintenance.

“With Dorian and the depressed economy up there, we’re trying to be as humane as we can and as thoughtful as we can,” Mr Scott told Tribune Business. “We’re trying get this wretched deal closed, and but thought as we head in that direction it would be a good time to start the process.”

“Unlike when the government bought the hotel from Hutchison, because they should have done this but didn’t, we’re making sure we protect Grand Bahamians by supervising and undertaking this obligation that is owed to them. It’s an obligation of the seller whenever a business is sold, be it a hotel or restaurant. It’s deemed an automatic termination of employees unless the parties agree to a deemed continuation.”

Mr Scott said the ‘bigger

picture’ issue remained completion of the Grand Lucayan’s sale to facilitate its $300m redevelopment, and that of Freeport Harbour, by ITM/Royal Caribbean. “We’re still having discussions to iron out a few things,” he said of the negotiations, “but we’re close. I don’t want to say any more than that so that I don’t prejudice discussions between the government side and theirs.

“My main focus and tremendous anxiety is to reopen our economy and the US economy, and get some activity going. The sooner things get done and construction starts, the happier I will be.”

However, Obie Ferguson, president of the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA), yesterday reiterated his accusation that Lucayan Renewal Holdings had breached the Employment Amendment Act which requires employers to negotiate and inform union bargaining agents in advance if they plan to make more than 20 workers redundant.

He warned that the Association would initiate legal action if its members did not receive the correct severance pay and benefits due

to them, as he again hit out at the resort’s failure to consult over a series of phased terminations that are due to be completed in 2020.

Mr Ferguson, also complaining that he had initially assured his members there was nothing to fear, after Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said he was unaware of the terminations, blasted the episode as “not good industrial relations”.

He said: “I’m going to have a meeting with my members tonight by Zoom, and if we have to go to court we will if they don’t pay the workers what they’re entitled to. Failing which we will have no alternative but to go to court because they’re in breach of the industrial agreement and in breach of the law.

“There’s no issue about that. We are the legitimate bargaining agent. If you’re going to do something with the workers, you’re obligated to tell us that and sit down and work out what is due to them.... That is not the relationship I thought I had with the minister. I’m going to talk to my people this evening, find out what the deal is, what they want me to do, and based on that I will take the necessary action.”

Legal Notice

NOTICE

Apolo Capital Ltd.

Dated this 24 day of May A.D. 2020 th

Dated this 24th day of May A.D. 2020

NOTICEIS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: __________________ Crowe Bahamas

(a)

APOLO CAPITAL LTD., is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 25th of June, 2020 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said Company is Delco Investments Limited of Deltec Bank & Trust Limited, Deltec House, Lyford Cay, P.O. Box N-3229, Nassau, Bahamas.Dated

Crowe Bahamas Liquidator

Dated this 26th day of June, A.D. 2020 Delco Investments Limited Liquidator

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2020

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,123.60 | CHG: -1.00 | %CHG: -0.05 | YTD: -108.00 | YTD%: -4.84 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.24 22.65 7.00 6.75 2.58 2.00 5.47 12.77 6.16 4.50 9.92 3.64 5.10 10.88 8.44 16.99 9.40 4.25 15.21

52WK LOW 3.21 20.91 5.50 5.39 1.78 0.67 2.00 11.05 5.60 3.62 5.41 2.53 2.20 8.00 7.10 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

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00

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

52WK HI 2.31 4.40 2.10 198.39 168.29 1.67 1.85 1.76 1.24 8.34 10.26 7.08 12.15 12.71 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

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: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

LAST CLOSE 3.23 17.43 6.00 6.75 1.78 1.62 3.00 11.26 6.16 4.00 6.01 2.89 5.10 9.49 8.44 14.50 8.97 3.71 15.20

CLOSE 3.21 17.43 6.00 6.75 1.78 1.62 2.99 11.26 6.16 4.00 5.92 2.87 5.10 9.55 8.44 14.50 8.97 3.72 15.20

CHANGE -0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.09 -0.02 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 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

LAST SALE 100.00

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

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

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

VOLUME 2,250

2,300

1,000 2,000

2,742

10

VOLUME

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

27 NAV 2.31 4.39 2.10 192.52 145.55 1.67 1.79 1.75 1.16 8.30 9.90 7.08 11.27 12.71 10.23 N/A 8.31 10.01

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

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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 13.4 18.7 N/M 18.3 N/M N/M -6.8 15.6 13.7 21.7 42.3 28.1 10.9 14.8 11.6 17.8 9.6 18.3 24.1

YIELD 5.30% 7.23% 0.00% 3.85% 0.00% 1.23% 0.00% 6.39% 3.57% 3.00% 0.00% 15.12% 1.18% 3.43% 2.84% 3.72% 2.23% 3.23% 4.01%

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

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% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 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-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 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% -0.45% 8.36% -3.20% 11.46% 2.10% 5.15% -6.17% 3.54% 2.92% 5.55% -4.66% -3.81% 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 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020 31-Mar-2020

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

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

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

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

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

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

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

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

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

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

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

N/M - Not Meaningful

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

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

PAGE 6, Friday, June 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

4

Daily Express Friday, April 10, 2020

Puzzles

➔

5

4

DX1ST

SuMTHiNg

MARVIN BLONDIE

1➔

There are six answers to be entered clockwise on the clock face. Each has four letters each begins with the last two lette previous one, until we come full cir answer six ending with the first two answer one. Here are the clu 1 Expensive 2 Land force 3 Bird 4 Part of the neck 5 Persian fairy 6 Travel by horse

6

➔

CARPE DIEM

iSe W Ck

➔

JUDGE PARKER

In the following passage, the numbers 12345 represent different letters: When 25532 125 5234542 in 2342, it was an 22432 scene.

A 425 5224 and a 212 5421 the cart which 5234542 had mounted to 4352 into the church, while 25532 descended on a 1342 from the roof with a belt made of 1225 around his 1352 52443242. The whole 5342 thing was 5243523 by all for being so 12345.

Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out

CL o

WorDS

Fit the missing numbers into the grid below so that all the sums are correct – reading left to right or on single lines top to bottom. There are 11 squares to fill, with one digit in each, and the 11 digits you must use are listed beneath the grid. But where do they all go?

Solution in Monday’s puzzle pull-out

?

?

x

– CRUSADER PRIZE CROSSWORD acrOss 1 Investor from Berlin, say (10) 6 Weakling makes a slow delivery? (4) 10 Refrain from bats in a stew (7) 11 Excessively large pub shows a strip of icons (7) 12 Tiny clues about skirt for starters (9) 13 Pass on some punctuation (5) 14 Encountered gold, back underground (5) 15 Daughter joins strange, chief bandleader (4,5) 17 Model glad about top award (4,5) 20 Turn page, reaching conclusion, turn over (5) 21 Scheme includes current aviator (5) 23 Vets treated one, turning blue in hall (9) 25 Admit girl has nothing: this harm is self-inflicted (3,4) 26 Dull, allow little accommodation (7) 27 God of the roses (4) 28 Not interested in Westminster-designed lilac patio (10)

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

CALVIN & HOBBES

?

YEs

9 Retreat, 10 Arch, 12 Inn, 13 Squeeze, 14 Aim, 15 Down, 17 Doorway, 19 Secure, 20 Addresses.

Down: 1 Caravans, 2 Over, 3 Net, 4 Therefore, 5 Roared, 6 Crane, 8 Synonyms, 11 Humour, 13 Sited, 16 Wave, 18 Was.

● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals or verb forms ending in “s”.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 10; very good 15; excellent 21 (or more). Solution on Monday

call 0907 181 2585 for today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

BATTLESHIPS FIND where the fleet of ships shown is hidden in the grid. The numbers to the right of and below the grid indicate how many of the squares in that row are filled in with ships or parts of ships. The ships do not touch each other, even diagonally. Some squares have been filled in to start you off.

Solution on Monday 2

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10

A

1

B

3

C

1

D

3

E

1

F

2

G

0

H

4

I

2

J

3 1

CRYPTIC PUZZLE 1 Spill beans or fruit? (5) 4 Didn’t go much on Arthur’s place (7) 8 Resin out of place (3) 9 Some sites for development apparently (2,2,5)

1 But Arctic fur doesn’t come from it (7) 2 Confirm when definite (9) 3 Expedition has only half a tent (5) 4 Unusual docile snakes may be (6)

10 Get back into the middle of the procession (7)

5 Mary and child featured in stonework (7)

11 Words of love among sisters (5)

6 Shelter a US general (3)

13 Anyone in it is out (6)

7 Essays written in examinations (5)

15 Operator of a printing machine (6)

12 Given a free passage? (9)

18 Strange job an instrumentalist may hold (5)

14 Anger over a disease (7)

19 Song that once charmed Ulysses (7) 21 She went in order to be topical (2,3,4) 23 Go down for a swim (3) 24 She was one of his creations (7) 25 Supply arrangement (5)

2

3

4

5

Down 8

6

3

0

11

13

14

21

24

12

20

23

25

16 One who swears or turns into a drunkard (7) 17 It smoothly finishes off a piece of writing (6) 18 The captain who was put off by his crew (5) 20 A loss-making loop line (5) 22 Label that may be applied to a children’s game (3)

Yesterday’s Cryptic Solution

Yesterday’s Easy Solution

Across: 1 Stage names, 8 Inure, 9 Tadpole, 10 Painter, 11 Aisle, 12 Astute, 14 Fencer, 17 Toted, 19 Leveret, 21 Cowslip, 22 Dread, 23 Scrap paper.

Across: 1 Walk of life, 8 Sousa,

Down: 2 Tourist, 3 Great, 4 Nature, 5 Mediate, 6 Shoes, 7 Penetrated, 8 In practice, 13 Toddler, 15 Cortege, 16 Slip up, 18 Towns, 20 Vodka.

Down: 2 Aquatic, 3 Knave,

9 Uncanny, 10 Retreat, 11 Naive, 12 Except, 14 Leaves, 17 Organ, 19 Bazooka, 21 Grimace, 22 Blame, 23 Deep-seated.

4 Faulty, 5 Incense, 6 Ennui, 7 Cyberspace, 8 Sure enough, 13 Pinnace, 15 Violate, 16 Obsess, 18 Guild, 20 Zebra.

Across 1 Planet’s curved course (5) 4 In theory (2,5) 8 Large African gazelle (3) 9 Improbable tale (4,5) 10 White of egg (7) 11 Surpass (5) 13 Languid (6) 15 Undertake (6) 18 Command (5) 19 Avoiding commitment (7) 21 Payment to remain silent (4,5) 23 Sailor (3) 24 Fast (7) 25 Championship in sport (5)

1

4

4 x submarine

16

22

1

2 x cruiser

15

19

2

3 x Destroyer

17 18

3

7 1 x Battleship

9

10

EASY PUZZLE

Across

1

3

Down 1 Defensively vigilant (2,5) 2 Noble birth (4,5) 3 Clan emblem (5) 4 Rectangular figure (6) 5 Have as a quality (7) 6 In favour of (3) 7 Regal (5) 12 Violent seizure of power (4,5) 14 Egyptian royal tomb (7) 16 Declare one’s approval of (7) 17 Instrumentality (6) 18 Further (5) 20 Until now (2,3) 22 Undermine (3)

?

THe ALPHAbeATer

black squares: 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 17, 18, 1 25, 28, 33, 34, 35.

Across: Faith, Healing, Jab, Zodiac Pecan, Elegantly, Monastery, Woken Refine, Pox, Warlike, Embed.

Down: Primes, Agate, Puma, Coin, A Haziness, Anywhere cAnTArgeT you crack the Alphabeater? Each gridHuddle, Equine, Extra lette Lichen, Tuck, Numb, Evoke, Oxygen number represents a letter – or black square. reCoNCiLe 0907 181 cleric clone coil cole letter colic of the CroSS DoubT As incircle Alphapuzzle, every alphabet (Deduct three creel crenel creole encircle enrol leer Across: YOGIC each extra clue is used.

But you have to complete the grid too! leone lice licence lien line liner lino Down: PEACE lion lire loci loin lone loner lore

THE ALPHABEATER

YPu f o l Hl E

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

x

1 2 3 4 5 DOWN 1 Allure caused initial = = We’ve given you one digit – the 3 on the bottom row. damage (5) Here are the missing digits to fit in: 2 Adjusted pants 1,a lot 1, 1,after 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 8 3 x ? 1 10 the happy event (9) 3 Rants about arrangement change (14) Express Puzzled Mentathlon is in five parts, each consisting o 4 Broken gun The putDaily down of our puzzles. outside, unhurried (7) Take the12last letters of the answers to DITLOIDS, WORD QUIZ OF THE WEEK and the last letter of the first answer in CLOCK-W 5 Tunes composed about sections. Now rearrange those into a five letter word meaning this writer showing limited fare (3,4) 14 15 7 Film about British revolutionary (5) 8 Worked withSAMurAi home, SuDoku WorDSeArCH including new renter (9) 7 6 5bread 3 9 2 1 and 4 8 4 7 17 6 5 9 1 2 8 3 9 He doesn’t get S A H N O I X I 18 F I C U R1 3 4 8 1 7 6 2 9 5 1 9 2 8 6 3 7 4 5 wine, and doesn’t 9 1 2 5 8talk 4 6 3 7 8 3 5 2 7 4 1 9 6 T N N O I T C E R R U S E 1 5 6 7 4 3 9 8 2 2 5 8 7 3 9 4 6 1 I O O J T Q C T N E L R T much? (14) 2 9 4 8 6 1 7 5 3 3 6 9 4 1 8 5 2 7 7 3 9 2 5 4 1 6 7 1 4 6 5 2 8 3 9 U I S F D C P D E H J C Y 14 Excellent call84 for an 8 9 2 5 7 3 6 1 8 2 5 9 4 7 1 8 6 3 5 2 1 3 2 5 9 7 4 22 C T D I J A R B 23 M A L Y Q amplifier (9)65 32 71 46 13 89 58 27 94 49 31 76 65 82 21 3 9 4 7 6 1 8 S A T C R Y P O V P A C R 3 7 5 8 1 2 6 4 16 Jibe couple endlessly9 about 6 5 8 3 4 2 1 7 9 I R D A O V A E S D L N H man in the street (3,6) 4 1 2 7 6 9 3 5 8 B B D K K H Z D N S E W G 1 4 6 2 5 8 7 9 3 6 5 8 4 1 2 7 3 5 9 8 6 18 Evolve as a film 3 8 5 (7) 9 1 7 2 4 6 1 7 3 8 9 5 6 1 4 3 2 7 D E V W C C O U I T B P L 7 9 6 3 4 1 8 5 2 9 4 7 3 6 2 9 8 4 1 5 2 19 Left turn on 24the way gets 5 8 25 5 8 3 7 6 9 1 2 7 9 6 3 1 4 2 A L J B N A S L Y R E U D 6 9 1 4student 8 2 3 5 7 2 4 9 5 7 1 6 3 8 fellow university F E S H M M R N I S F C N 7 2 3 5 9 1 8 6 4 3 6 1 4 8 2 7 5 9 9 5 4 1 2 7 8 6 3 amorous (7) 8 6 4 1 2 3 5 7 9 O C H S L O N D J D D D O 5 1 2 7 6 9 4 3 8 1 7 3 8 5 6 2 9 4 22 Fast old tempo U Y Z A Z U T C S F A P O 9 3 7(5) 8 4 5 6 2 1 6 2 8 3 4 9 5 7 1 W A P T B S28G G E M H Y H 27 24 Praise former spouse, SMALL CroSSWorD M A U N D Y T H U R S D A bringing auction item Across: 1 Construct, 7 Choirs, back (5)

TARGET

DENNIS THE MENACE

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THE TRIBUNE

Friday, June 26, 2020, PAGE 7

DPM confident over Union chief: 2020 a tourism write-off beating $1.3bn deficit FROM PAGE ONE

FROM PAGE ONE interest coupon that The Bahamas has traditionally paid on bonds placed with overseas investors.

“It will hopefully translate into a bit of a reduction in the anticipated financing costs,” Mr Turnquest said of the yield fall, “but it’s still going to be higher than our traditional six percent.

It’s going to be better than we had anticipated, but still higher than our normal rates.

The upside is better than we were looking at a couple of weeks ago. Our borrowing capacity remains solid and we checked on that today.

We’re in solid stead.”

Increased interest costs translate into a higher debt servicing burden that must be financed by Bahamian taxpayers, and Mr Turnquest said the government was focused on returning to its fiscal consolidation plan as rapidly as possible given that persistent deficits and borrowing will continue to squeeze its budgetary flexibility.

“As we run deficits and borrow, financing costs become a higher percentage of the budget and, at some point, you will run out of room to efficiently manage that and service the other obligations the government has,” he told Tribune Business.

“Even as we go out to borrow $1.3bn we are very mindful we have to restrain the expenditure and put

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ourselves back on the fiscal consolidation path as quickly as possible. You will see that in the Fiscal Strategy Report that is due out in November.

“The reality is the trajectory on these interest costs is going to become more significant, and at some point it will become unbearable.

We’re very far from that, and the fact of the matter is we still have the ability to make adjustments on the other side. But we don’t want to get to the point where the decisions you are making are forced by fixed interest costs.

That’s not productive.”

Mr Turnquest added that the government would “really be in trouble” without the consolidation efforts undertaken during the Minnis administration’s first two years, and said it was currently focused on managing cash flow while also providing the necessary stimulus to the economy “at the right time and helping people as best as possible so they don’t fall below the poverty line”.

Pledging to extract value from every dollar spent by the government in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, he told Tribune Business: “One of the things we’ve been stressing is the expenditure we are making, particularly when it comes to infrastructure, is that we are diligent and hawkish about that as much as possible to ensure the projects we engage in are going to be growth positive, employ people and stimulate other sectors of our economy.

“It has to be something that fills an infrastructure need. We don’t want to engage in middling works projects but take the opportunity to invest in critically needed infrastructure.

We also have to encourage people to shop at home, particularly for domestic goods or manufactured products so that we keep as much foreign currency as possible during this period when tourism earnings are down.”

Club Med property electing to remain closed, and the former preparing to lay-off between 15-20 percent of its staff, Mr Woods suggested those properties that have chosen to open from July will face “a challenging five to six weeks” as the tourism calendar moves into the slower summer months “We will see what happens going into late October, November and December, but tourism for this year has pretty much gone away,” the union chief said. “Any residual business we get at this time will not

Financial sector faces ‘heightened challenge’ FROM PAGE ONE

operations and consolidation of businesses, total employment within banks and trust companies declined by 48 (1.2 percent) to approximately 4,001 in 2019.

This followed a 1.9 percent decrease a year earlier, and an average reduction of 3.1 percent over the past five years.

“A breakdown by nationality showed that both Bahamian and non-Bahamian employees reduced by 46 (1.2 percent) and two (0.8 percent), respectively, to 3,754 and 247 persons. As a result, the share of Bahamian employees in the banking sector softened by ten basis points to 93.8 percent over 2018,” it continued.

“An analysis by activity revealed that an estimated 65.5 percent of Bahamians were employed in the local banking sector; 15.7 percent in international banking, 11.9 percent in trust administration and 6.9 percent in other wealth management related activities.”

put us in a positive light.

“You’re trying to ride through, get through the end of the year, and hit 2021 with all cylinders firing.

If we can recoup some of those persons who have rebooked from travelling around March, April and May, if we get them it may double our numbers, double our capacity, but it will never make up for what we have lost.

“I’m hoping 2021 will be a banner year based on what we have gone through in 2020. I’m kind of optimistic next year will be a lot better. It’s just a matter of getting to the end of this

year and see what next year has in store for us. Next year will be a blank sheet, so we have to write our own story.”

Mr Woods added that the hotel union was braced for “anything to happen” in terms of further hotel industry terminations, adding: “It’s a wait and see.

The government is doing their part, and we just have to see what the result of that is in terms of persons travelling.”

He admitted that the increasing COVID-19 infection rates in states representing The Bahamas’ major tourism

source markets, especially Florida, continue to be a concern both for the tourism industry and the union’s members given that they will be interacting with visitors from July 1 onwards.

Mr Woods said the possibility of Europe imposing a travel ban on US visitors “may work in our favour” if it occurs, as it will force Americans to look to markets in closer proximity to their borders such as The Bahamas. This nation’s geography has been a key feature of the marketing efforts it has conducted in a bid to entice travellers to return to its shores.

Acknowledging the financial services industry’s continued struggles for growth, the Central Bank added: “Although marginal growth was evident in segments of the financial sector’s contribution to the Bahamian economy in 2019, it was still overshadowed by the average trend of consolidation stemming from uncertainties in the international space, and the persistent need for efficiency-driven adjustments in operating costs.

“The international product offering has continued to experience negative fall-out from the implementation of international tax co-operation and transparency initiatives, suppression of financial crimes risks, and the political sanctioning regimes that empower these reforms.

“In this respect, losses have concentrated in the European market, with the likelihood that this segment will fuel further re-domiciling of clients and financial institutions to their home countries. That said, business opportunities in new markets such as Latin America have attracted the establishment of new operations, and growth within such client bases for some longer-standing licensees.”

The Central Bank added that the sector’s immediate and medium-term well-being rested on The Bahamas keeping pace

with global regulatory demands, with ongoing supervisory reforms critical to maintaining “credibility and stability” in the domestic market.

“Uncertainty persisted around adjustments to the jurisdiction’s embrace of global tax transparency and co-operation obligations; the convergence of commitments to counter financial crimes abuses; and the adverse interplay of punitive multi-lateral and bilateral sanctioning regimes,” the Central Bank said. “These continue to influence the re-domiciling of operations and clients to Europe, outweighing emerging growth in markets such as Latin America.”

Growth opportunities also need to be sought out on the international side, the Central

Bank said, while warning that the increasing search for cost savings and efficiencies will demand increased use of technology and restrain job creation.

“The financial sector’s medium-term prospects also hinge on sustained exploitation of new growth prospects in the international space, and policy initiatives to strengthen the competitiveness of the operating environment for both domestic and international institutions,” the regulator continued.

“Even with business growth, the search for cost efficiencies, including through the increasing digital delivery of financial services, will constrain average employment growth in the medium-term - especially within domestic financial services.”

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NEAL WATSON II, of Queens Highway, Buccaneer Point, Bimini, Bahama is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 26th day of June, 2020 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PAGE 8, Friday, June 26, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 97° F/36° C Low: 76° F/24° C

TAMPA

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Partly sunny and breezy

Patchy clouds

Partly sunny

Partly sunny

Partly sunny

Clouds and sun, a t‑storm in spots

High: 89°

Low: 80°

High: 90° Low: 79°

High: 89° Low: 78°

High: 88° Low: 78°

High: 88° Low: 78°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

99° F

89° F

100°-88° F

100°-86° F

100°-85° F

99°-85° F

High: 98° F/37° C Low: 81° F/27° 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: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 91° F/33° C Low: 80° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 82° F/28° C

N

S

E

W

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° C

MIAMI

High: 93° F/34° C Low: 82° F/28° C

6‑12 knots

KEY WEST

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 83° F/28° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 80° F/27° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

S

E

W S

8‑16 knots

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

12:03 a.m.

12:36 p.m.

High

Ht.(ft.)

3.1 2.6

6:35 a.m.

6:41 p.m.

0.0 0.3

Saturday

12:56 a.m.

1:35 p.m.

3.0 2.7

7:26 a.m.

7:44 p.m.

0.0 0.4

Sunday

1:52 a.m.

2:37 p.m.

2.9 2.8

8:20 a.m.

8:51 p.m.

0.0 0.4

Monday

2:52 a.m.

3:39 p.m.

2.8 3.0

9:16 a.m. ‑0.1 9:59 p.m. 0.4

Tuesday

3:53 a.m.

4:40 p.m.

2.7 3.1

10:13 a.m. ‑0.2 11:04 p.m. 0.3

Wednesday 4:54 a.m.

5:38 p.m.

2.6 3.3

11:09 a.m. ‑0.2 ‑‑‑‑‑ ‑‑‑‑‑

Thursday

2.6 3.4

12:06 a.m. 0.1 12:04 p.m. ‑0.3

5:53 a.m.

6:33 p.m.

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:22 a.m.

8:03 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

11:34 a.m. none

First

Full

Last

New

Jun. 28

Jul. 5

Jul. 12

Jul. 20

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

H

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

CAT ISLAND

E

W

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 ................................................... 90° F/32° C Low .................................................... 81° F/27° C Normal high ....................................... 87° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 74° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 90° F/32° C Last year’s low ................................... 79° F/26° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.20” Year to date ............................................... 24.47” Normal year to date ................................... 12.77”

uV inDex toDay

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

7‑14 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° 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: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA

H

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 82° F/28° 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: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS E at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots NE at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots ENE at 8‑16 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 10‑20 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots

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

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VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 85° F 85° F 88° F 88° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 84° F 87° F 89° F 87° F 87° F 83° F 83° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 83° F 85° F 85° F