07182018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018

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Govt admits to 50% Customs leakages

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE government has admitted to losing around 50 percent of due Customs revenues from inefficiencies in a system it is working feverishly to reform by eliminating manual processes.

The confession is contained in the government’s own just-published review of The Bahamas’ progress in meeting the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, with

WSC faces $17m shortfall over ‘first world’ upgrades

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Water & Sewerage Corporation (WSC) is exploring “ways and means” to bridge a $17m funding shortfall on works critical to bringing its waste systems “in line with the first world”.

Adrian Gibson, pictured, the state-owned water supplier’s executive chairman, told Tribune Business there

the report’s release timed to coincide with Dr Hubert Minnis’s visit to the New York-based body today.

The review, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, confirmed that half of due revenues collected through Customs were being lost due to system leakages, loopholes and fraud prior to efforts to modernise the system by introducing the Electronic Single Window (ESW) - a project said to be in the final stages of completion.

“The existing system was considered ineffective, due to over-reliance on manual

Govt delivers on auto bond within weeks

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TOP AUTO dealers yesterday hailed the government’s quick execution of promised budget reforms for freeing up millions of dollars in cash flow and slashing vehicle delivery times.

Rick Lowe, Nassau Motor Company’s (NMC) operations manager/director, told Tribune Business that the approval of bonded facilities could - for some dealers - release “up to $3m” currently tied-up in

excise tax already paid on vehicle imports.

The bond, for which NMC has already received approval, switches the auto industry’s point of taxation from the vehicle’s arrival in The Bahamas to when it is sold, thereby eliminating the carrying cost associated with paying excise tax up front.

Mr Lowe said the move would benefit both consumers and dealers, and ultimately enable the industry to “have better inventory” in stock once

SEE PAGE 3

WTO push poultry farmers to eye product diversification

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net AN ABACO poultry producer yesterday said “uncertainty” surrounding the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession has forced it to explore diversification, adding: “You don’t know what field you’re playing on.”

Underscoring fears among local producers and manufacturers about the potential impact full WTO membership may have on their industries, Lance Pinder, Abaco Big Bird Farm’s operations manager,

* Reforming ‘ineffective’ manual system * Call to end ‘free ride’ of property tax carve-outs PM DR HUBERT MINNIS * ORG chief urges ‘unlocking’ of land banking Myers said of the 50 perprocedures and outdated information systems,” the government’s report concedes. “These deficiencies were estimated to be costing the system around 50% percent of the revenues that a more efficient tax administration system would be able to collect.”

Robert Myers, the Organisation for

* ‘NO DOUBT’ SEWERAGE OVERHAUL NEEDS GOVT HELP * ‘REVAMP’ EYED FOR WATER SECTOR REGULATORY REFORM * IDB FEARS PLANS MAY BE ‘COMPLETELY ABANDONED’ was “no doubt” that the cash-strapped Corporation will have to seek government support to finance its Wastewater Master Plan for New Providence.

He spoke out after an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report revealed the financing gap’s existence, warning that its original $81m to upgrade Nassau’s water and sanitation systems is insufficient to cover the total cost.

The IDB, in an evaluation of Bahamas-based projects it is financing,

told Tribune Business: “We have a big concern about WTO, obviously. We don’t know how that will impact sales, but it’s safe to assume there will be an impact.

“Our chicken is a premium product, and people may go for the cheapest thing. Right now there is so much uncertainty. We’ve been battling with imported chicken for a long time, and it’s going to be even harder going forward. Everyone is concerned about it and what the government is going to negotiate to help us out going forward.

SEE PAGE 2

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Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, yesterday told Tribune Business that the government’s estimate was in line with those produced by the private sector when he headed the Chamber of Commerce’s Coalition for Responsible Taxation (CRT).

That body had projected the government was

collecting just 45 percent of due Customs duties and real property tax prior to value-added tax’s (VAT) introduction in early 2015, with the low collection rates resulting in an ever-increasing burden being placed on compliant taxpayers to contribute more.

“I think that’s right from what I understand,” Mr

cent Customs leakage rate.

“Back in the CRT we said compliance on Customs duties and real property tax was 45 percent. That’s pretty frigging atrocious.

“The modernisation of that, and going to the Electronic Single Window, will help considerably but when you’re not collecting taxes

SEE PAGE 2

Bahamas’ 16-spot internet plunge ‘absolute non-issue’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

warned: “There are also financial risks related to the rehabilitation of sanitation infrastructure in New Providence.

“Available funds fall about $17m short of what is needed to cover the works prioritised by the Wastewater Master Plan, and new financial sources will be needed for completion. WSC also needs to further strengthen maintenance practices for all its physical assets to guarantee

SEE PAGE 4

THE Bahamas’ 16-spot plunge to 65th in global rankings for broadband Internet speed was yesterday branded an “absolute non-issue”, despite being critical to its technology hub plans.

Dr Donovan Moxey, who chaired the governmentappointed Grand Bahama Technology Hub Steering Committee, told Tribune Business that such assessments were relatively meaningless without knowing how this nation and others were assessed.

He said he was “not concerned about anything” to do with broadband Internet

* NATION RANKED 65TH ON DOWNLOAD SPEED * TECH HUB CHAIR: NOT BACKED BY REALITY * CABLE AGE ONLY CONCERN AS IXP MULLED capacity and download speeds, with the infrastructure provided by the likes of Cable Bahamas and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) deemed “pretty good” in comparison to many rival nations.

Dr Moxey spoke out

after Cable.co.uk, an Internet site that compares broadband, TV, mobile and energy providers’ performance, ranked The Bahamas 65th out of 200 nations for Internet download speeds.

The so-called “league table”, which was covered by prominent UK media houses, said this represented a fall of 16 places for The Bahamas compared to its 49th position in the inaugural rankings issued in 2017.

The rankings, which were based on “the time to download a typical HD movie” of 5GB (Gigabytes), said this took one hour, eight minutes and

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Wednesday, July 18, 2018

WTO push poultry farmers to eye product diversification FROM PAGE ONE “You don’t know what field you’re playing on. It’s really hard to invest any money right now or do any expansion with uncertainty.

Uncertainty is bad for business.”

As reported previously by Tribune Business, many Bahamian businesses fear they are unable to advise the government on where to set the WTO “red lines” because they lack the necessary industry-specific analyses to determine the impact of membership and what the economy will look like post-accession.

Mr Pinder told Tribune Business: “We’re seriously trying to diversify right now. We’re looking to do a lot of different things to help mitigate any fall-out.

Obviously we have our avocados and limes apart from chicken. We’re looking to do more processing, some pre-cooked options and that sort of thing.”

He added that the company has been “hanging in there”, aided by a strong tourist season on Abaco.

“The locals here support us, and so we know when the resorts are doing well because they buy a lot of our chicken,” Mr Pinder said.

“Sales on Abaco have been good. Nassau has been bit sluggish. We’re only running at about 70 percent capacity right now. A lot of costs have gone up. Fuel prices have gone up. There has been a big spike in corn and soy bean prices right now. The cost on paper products for packaging have also gone up in the last six months.”

THE TRIBUNE

Govt admits to 50% Customs leakages FROM PAGE ONE from who you’re supposed to be collecting them from, you have to charge other people more tax.

“If you don’t make this thing compliant, and tax compliance is at 50 percent, you are having to charge the compliant ones 50 percent more than they should be paying. That’s the problem. The law abiding taxpayers are paying double what they should be paying. That’s the thorn in my side. The other 50 percent aren’t paying what they should be.”

The government’s review, which will be submitted to the UN, also pledged reform and modernisation of the real property tax system - echoing its pledges in the 2018-2019 budget.

Mr Myers yesterday called for the government to end the exemptions that see Bahamian real estate owners in the family island, and those possessing undeveloped land in New Providence, not having to pay real property tax.

Arguing that the government needed the broadest possible tax base, the ORG principal suggested such carve-outs were inequitable and had resulted in “land banking” that tied up large tracts that could be used for productive economic activity because there are no carrying costs.

“Some thought needs to be given to that also to start unlocking some of this land that could be used for development, increasing GDP and improving the government’s fiscal position,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business.

“I’m a believer in the Out Islands. The people that build third and fourth homes, and are renting them, should be paying property tax. Those are businesses, so they should be paying property taxes.

“They may not pay the same rate as in Nassau, but

they should not be getting a free ride given that the government needs a broad base of tax. I’d prefer to see that ahead of the government doing income or corporate tax. There’s a lot for us Bahamians to consider. It’s a ‘me’ problem, not a government problem.

We’ve got to fix this thing otherwise we’ll all go under together.”

The government’s UN sustainable development goals review identified fiscal reform as critical to strengthening sustainable development, and mobilising domestic resources to achieve this.

“Good fiscal management is critical for economic growth,” it acknowledged.

“It is therefore important to have strong domestic resource mobilisation institutions and mechanisms, fiscal discipline through the development of strong monitoring tools such as budgeting and accountability processes, debt management, policy coherence and availability of high quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data.”

However, the government admitted that among the challenges was “some expected institutional resistance to organisational change” from within the public sector to the various financial and information management systems being implemented.

It also identified “project fatigue” as a concern, given that the $33m Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed project to overhaul the public sector’s financial management and performance monitoring will take place over five years.

Further challenges were

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the government’s ability to achieve “continued prudent fiscal management, from both the revenue and expenditure perspective, to mobilise significant resources for development in the face of vulnerability to external shocks” such as hurricanes.

Finally, the government conceded there was “the absence of a coordinated framework to effectively co-ordinate and seek out international technical co-operation”.

YOUR

ROBERT MYERS

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 18, 2018, PAGE 3

delivers on auto CHAMBER FACILITATES Govt bond within weeks TAX REFORM MEETINGS FROM PAGE ONE

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net THE Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive yesterday said the private sector will continue to discuss tax reform options with the Government even as it adjusts to the VAT rate increase.

Edison Sumner told Tribune Business that the private sector body was assisting the Deloitte and Touche accounting firm in its study of tax alternatives by facilitating meetings with the private sector on the possibility of introducing a corporate tax.

“This week the Deloitte consultants are in town again, having consultations with a number of private

sector industry organisations and businesses on the idea of implementing corporate tax as opposed to, or as an alternative to, the Business License fees,” Mr Sumner said.

“The Chamber is assisting them in facilitating those meetings that commenced today, and will be running though Friday. It is giving the business community an opportunity to have a direct discussion with the consultant who would be advising the Government on the next tax strategy.”

Mr Sumner added that many businesses are still working to get their systems in place relative to the VAT increase from 7.5 per cent to 12 per cent.

“Some of them are still

working to get their systems in place,” he said.

“As you know, the Government gave many of the retailers an extension until August to get their systems in place.

“That process is still ongoing for a number of businesses. Some are adjusting to the new environment, although it is still a challenge with the rate increase. We’ve concluded that it is what it is now. We will continue working with the system until such time we have an opportunity to make any further amendments to it. That is a discussion we will be having with the government on a continuous basis to see what other means of taxation can be considered.”

existing vehicles are sold and cleared out of the system.

Fred Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business that the bond’s introduction would enable his dealership to reduce the “time to market” for jitneys it sells to the public transportation industry.

The Auto Mall chief explained that he currently imports buses into Freeport, where his business can exploit the existing “bonded goods” framework under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement to avoid paying excise tax up front.

The buses are only taken out, and due taxes paid, once a sale has been agreed, but Mr Albury explained that Nassau-based clients sometimes had to wait “a week or two” for their purchase to be shipped from Freeport.

The government’s extension of similar bonded facilities to the rest of The Bahamas means that Mr Albury can now ship buses directly into Nassau, improving supply chain and logistics management.

The BMDA president said the reforms will also end problems previously encountered in reclaiming excise tax paid on vehicles leased to the government, and eliminate “the ton of money lost” on existing inventory whenever tax rates change - as occurred in the 2018-2019 budget.

The government has moved quickly to deliver on promises to ease the auto industry’s taxation burden, approving bonds for individual dealerships within three weeks of the 2018-2019 budget’s passage.

“We’ve got approved for our bond for duty free cars,” NMC’s Mr Lowe confirmed to Tribune Business. “That’s major. At any given point car dealers have millions of dollars in pre-paid duty.

“This should actually be

very beneficial to all the dealers’ cash flow, and hopefully by the time we get it sorted out and orders are in the pipeline we be able to have better inventory.

“We’ve got almost as much duty tied up as inventory; not quite, but 65 percent of the value. It’s a very positive development for the industry as a whole,” Mr Lowe added of the bond.

“We’ve just got ours, and everyone is at various stages of approval. At any given point it could be up to $3m [tied up]. It could be higher depending on inventory levels, it could be less. It varies from place to place.”

Mr Lowe said the introduction of bonded warehouse-type facilities for the auto industry was “approved in principle” by the former Christie administration prior to the 2017 general election. However, its successor elected not to follow through until its second budget cycle - the first it was able to claim full ownership of.

Mr Albury said his own dealership was “just about done” in obtaining its bond, and expected to “be good to go by the end of the week” with Customs having already conducted the necessary inspection of his facilities.

He added that the change will prevent a repeat of this year’s auto industry dilemma, where dealers have been forced to “eat” six-figure sums on existing inventory after the budget suddenly lowered the excise tax rate from 65 percent to 25 percent for vehicles with engine capacity of 1,500 CC or less.

“It will help tremendously with cash flow, and it will also help when they change the rates,” Mr Albury told Tribune Business. “We’ve lost a ton of money in taxes already paid at a higher rate.

“This is going to be a big advantage as we move to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession; that inventory will be duty postpaid. If the government makes any adjustments we

won’t be impacted this going forward.”

The reforms do not alter the government’s revenues, only the timing of when it receives them, and Mr Albury said they will also benefit his supply chain management and vehicle leasing business.

“In my case I sell a lot of buses for public transportation,” the Auto Mall chief said. “I used to take them into Freeport because we’re also a licensee of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and hold them in bond until the client got their duty-free exemption.

“Now, we’ll be shipping them direct from Japan to Nassau, put them in bond and make a quicker delivery to clients instead of them having to wait a week or two to ship down from Freeport. It makes things more flexible.”

Mr Albury added that Auto Mall will also no longer have to seek refunds of excise tax already paid on vehicles leased to the government, further aiding cash flow.

“There’s going to be a bit of savings for us on the interest and cash flow side of things,” he told Tribune Business. “Not having to pay taxes up front means less outlay of funds and less interest to pay on those funds, plus flexibility with industry selling duty-paid.”

Mr Lowe said Customs would receive its due excise tax and VAT “on the day of sale or just before”, with all dealers having to produce a monthly sales report for the revenue agency.

“If you want to come in and buy a car today, we’ll pay the duty today, put in the entry and get the car licensed,” he added.

Customs will conduct inspections of auto dealers to ensure vehicle inventory matches the sales report, and it will also possess electronic records from when the autos were imported.

“I’m sure they won’t give us a licensing slip until the duty is paid,” Mr Lowe added.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, July 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

WSC faces $17m shortfall over ‘first world’ upgrades FROM PAGE ONE their long-term sustainability.”

Mr Gibson, in response, described the comprehensive overhaul of the WSC’s sanitation and wastewater treatment infrastructure as “a much-needed component” of its wider modernisation strategy.

He added that the Master Plan was undergoing an internal review by the corporation, with Mr Gibson having previously told Tribune Business that a project to connect two-thirds of over-the-hill residential dwellings to a centralised sewerage system will cost it almost $75m alone.

“We are reviewing that plan, and we’re also reviewing ways and means to fund it,” Mr Gibson said of the wastewater master plan and funding shortfall. “No doubt we’ll be approaching government with respect to funding and/or getting a loan.

“This is a much-needed component of the plan. This would modernise Water & Sewerage Corporation’s waste water treatment in the country. It would put us

in line with the first world, upgrading sewerage, waste water and their treatment.”

Much of the WSC’s existing wastewater treatment infrastructure is in a state of decay and disrepair, with just 13 percent of households in New Providence and Abaco serviced by it.

“According to WSC, sewer coverage has remained steady at 13 percent since 2011, with 16 percent of coverage in New Providence andfour percent in Abaco,” the IDB report revealed.

Mr Gibson, meanwhile, suggested that the longawaited overhaul of the water sector’s legal and regulatory regime may transfer oversight responsibilities to a newly-created environmental agency rather than the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) as originally planned.

The WSC executive chairman said it had sought input on draft legislation from UK water suppliers and regulators when the corporation’s senior board members and executives visited recently, and the example set by other Caribbean nations will

New IRS policy allows some tax-exempt groups to veil donors WASHINGTON Associated Press THE TRUMP administration is lifting requirements that some tax-exempt groups disclose the identities of their donors to federal tax authorities.

The change benefits groups that spend millions of dollars on political ads, such as the US Chamber of Commerce and an organization tied to the billionaire Koch brothers.

Republicans accused the Internal Revenue Service during President Barack Obama’s tenure of liberal bias and unfair targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups. Now those groups figure among the organisations allowed to withhold names of their donors under the new IRS policy announced late Monday.

Treasury Department officials portrayed the changes as important free-speech and privacy protections for donors, while also preserving government transparency.

But critics see the easing of disclosure requirements as

opening the door to more dark money in political campaigns.

“Americans shouldn’t be required to send the IRS information that it doesn’t need to effectively enforce our tax laws, and the IRS simply does not need tax returns with donor names and addresses to do its job in this area,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Mnuchin said the same information on tax-exempt groups that was previously available to the public will continue to be so, while private taxpayer data will be better protected.

Critics said the action will hurt openness in political campaigns and allow hidden unscrupulous donors to funnel money into the system.

“It is another Trump blow against transparency and for obscurity — hardly his promised swamp drainage,” said Norman Eisen, the chief ethics lawyer from the Obama administration.

NOTICE ESSO EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION ANGOLA (BLOCK 32) LIMITED _______________________________________________ Creditors having debts or claims against the above-named Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 14th day of August, A.D., 2018. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.

Dated the 18th day of July, A.D., 2018.

R.W. Rice Liquidator 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway Spring, Texas 77389 U.S.A.

also be considered.

“We have some draft legislation we are reviewing and likely revamping,” Mr Gibson told Tribune Business. “We’ve been getting assistance from international partners. We took the draft with us and showed it to different environmental agencies in the UK, leaving it with various companies who will be making recommendations to us.

“We are going to go to Jamaica and St Lucia to review the systems there, and see what parts of their legislation and best practices we can adopt.”

He added that it was imperative that The Bahamas move away from the current water industry regulatory model, where the government - through the WSC - plays the role of regulator, operator and provider via one entity.

“We want to move away from being regulator and provider,” Mr Gibson told Tribune Business. “It’s either going to be URCA or a new environmental agency; one or the other.

Either URCA develops that arm and it’s regulated under URCA, or we create

a new environmental agency.”

He pointed to the example of the UK, where the water industry has its own regulator, Ofwat, along with environmental overseers. Each utility has its own regulator, and Mr Gibson added: “Some countries put it under one umbrella, others divide it into departments.

“We’ll certainly be moving in that direction.

That’s the way of the first world. You don’t want to regulate yourself and, at the same time, be provider.”

Draft legislation to revamp the water industry’s regulatory structure has been contemplated as part of the IDB-financed project since 2011, but is now into its third administration with little sign of it coming forward on to the Parliamentary agenda.

The IDB expressed concern that regulatory reform could be “completely abandoned” once its loan project closes, even though this was vital to the sector’s “long-term sustainability”.

“Legislation reform is key to ensuring the longterm sustainability of interventions in the sector,”

the IDB warned. “As the legislation prepared under the project has yet to be approved by Parliament, there is a risk that - considering the time elapsed since its preparation - it will need to be updated or, more important, that this effort will be completely abandoned after the project’s closure.

“The country’s legal framework does not define an independent entity for economic and environmental regulation of the water and sewerage sector. In the absence of an independent regulator, WSC makes decisions more on a political than a commercial basis.

“The WSC is assigned regulatory functions for service provision and water resources, but these functions exceed its capacity.

Tariffs are not linked to WSC’s financial sustainability. Because there are no rules for groundwater abstraction, the sustainability of groundwater resources is threatened.”

The IDB report referred to “political challenges”, with the former Christie administration said to have been unwilling to increase WSC’s consumer tariffs and

restructure the corporation - elements that also delayed legislative reform.

“The legislation developed under the bank’s programme, including the establishment of the needed economic and environmental regulators, has been presented to the Cabinet but is not yet approved,” the IDB added.

“Lack of stakeholder commitment and ownership, particularly related to the strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework in the sector, was recognised as an important risk... This risk materialised during project implementation, as the changed priorities of the new administration and unwillingness to implement new tariff structures and restructure the WSC led to delays in Parliament’s approval of new legislation for the sector.

“Despite the implementation of mitigating measures, and IDB’s continued engagement with the government and key stakeholders, political realities in the country proved a challenge.”

Bahamas’ 16-spot internet plunge ‘absolute non-issue’ FROM PAGE ONE 38 seconds to accomplish in The Bahamas, giving this nation a download speed of 9.95 Mbps (Megabytes per second).

While the download speed was above the global average, the Cable.co.uk table placed The Bahamas behind rival international financial centres (IFCs) such as the Cayman Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Singapore and Hong Kong. Caribbean competitors such as Barbados, Turks & Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago also finished ahead.

Dr Moxey yesterday warned against reading too much into such findings as they did not reflect the on-ground experience in The Bahamas. The timing of the survey’s publication, though, and associated media coverage is not helpful to efforts to promote Grand Bahama as a “technology hub”, especially since broadband Internet speed/capacity is critical to attracting such an industry.

“That’s extremely important,” Dr Moxey told Tribune Business of bandwidth capacity. “We have a lot of companies that are going to want as much bandwidth as they can get.”

Informed of the Cable.co.uk findings, he responded: “I don’t see any

issue right now in terms of having bandwidth. The infrastructure we have here in The Bahamas is pretty good infrastructure. We have gigabyte capacity in the network systems in The Bahamas.

“If you talk to the players at BTC, Cable and Aliv they’ll tell you capacitywise it’s fine. From a data capacity perspective, The Bahamas has what it needs.

I don’t see any issue.”

Dr Moxey added that Aliv, the mobile provider, is delivering download speeds equivalent to 80 Mbps. He questioned how the download speed “league table” had been compiled, especially the level of network traffic and time of day when it conducted its analysis of The Bahamas - as these were all factors that can impact download speed.

More importantly, the MobileAssist president said it was unclear what network technology was used, and whether it was BTC’s slower DSL or faster fibre-to-the-home.

“That’s a non-issue. An absolute non-issue,” Dr Moxey told Tribune Business of the Cable.co.uk findings. “It all depends on how they tested it and evaluated it. When I see this it’s a non-event for me....

I’m not concerned about anything from a bandwidth capacity; there’s huge capacity.”

LANDSCAPE CREW LEADER WANTED:

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A Cable Bahamas source, speaking on condition of anonymity, backed up Dr Moxey’s concerns, arguing that the survey’s ranking of The Bahamas was “definitely questionable”.

Revealing similar concerns, they added: “It depends on what you’re measuring and who’s measuring, and what level of speed you’re actually subscribing to. What measuring and averaging did they do?

“All the broadband networks in the country are as good as anything you can get.”

Dr Moxey, meanwhile, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas’ only concern in relation to broadband Internet capacity related to the age of some subsea fibre-optic cables that provide such connectivity.

Disclosing that network owners were aware of this issue and preparing to address it, he added: “The only thing that is a potential concern for The Bahamas from a broadband perspective is there are several undersea cables nearing the end of their life.

“They were put in 20 years ago. That’s the only thing as far as anything specific to broadband connectivity to the home, the business. From what I was told by members of my committee closer to that, people are looking

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at this. There are plans to add additional undersea cables.”

Dr Moxey said local internet service providers (ISPs) were also assessing whether to develop an internet exchange point in The Bahamas, which could ultimately be owned by a consortium. Both ideas were flagged in the Technology Hub Steering Committee’s report.

“Each local internet service provider (ISP), and mobile and fixed line telecommunications company, should provide detailed information on their current network capacity and plans for expansion/upgrade over the next five or ten years,” the report urged.

“A number of the key submarine cables in The Bahamas are nearing endof-life, and the government needs to engage service providers to ascertain their plans for investing in new cables to replace the older cables.”

As for the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in The Bahamas, the report added: “Each major private sector connectivity provider (ISP) will make an internal decision regarding the possible business case for implementation of an IXP that will be responsible for deterministic routing of local (Bahamas) as well as global Internet traffic.

“The companies will decide if it is in their best interest to establish a consortium of local Internet connectivity and data centre services providers, or if each provider will build and manage IXPs individually. A key question that needs to be answered is what role will URCA play for IXP facilities that may be located in Freeport.”

N O T I C E ESSO EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION ANGOLA (BLOCK 32) LIMITED ____________________________________ N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a) ESSO EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION ANGOLA (BLOCK 32) LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000. (b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 16th day of July 2018 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General. (c) The Liquidator of the said Company is R.W. Rice, of 22777 Springwoods Village Parkway, Spring, Texas 77389, U.S.A.

FIDELITY BANK (BAHAMAS) LIMITED

The Annual General Meeting of Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Limited will be held on Thursday, July 26, 2018 in the Victoria Room of the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, Number One Bay Street, Nassau, Bahamas at 6:00 p.m.

The Annual Report which includes the 2017 Financial Statements is available at www.fidelitygroup.com

Dated the 18th day of July, 2018 HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD. Registered Agent for the above-named Company

Judy A. Higgs Corporate Secretary

PAGE 6, Wednesday, July 18, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

US stocks rebound as tech and household goods companies rise NEW YORK Associated Press US STOCKS rallied yesterday as retailers, technology and household goods companies all made solid gains and helped the market shake off a weak start.

Netflix slumped after investors were disappointed with the streaming video company’s subscriber growth.

Stocks skidded at the start of trading as Netflix plunged early on, and investors sold some of their other recent favourites including Facebook and Apple. But those stocks later recovered and Netflix narrowed its losses. Technology companies also turned higher and strong results from Johnson & Johnson pulled health care stocks upward.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a positive view of the economy as he told Congress that he expects the Fed to keep gradually raising interest rates. Powell said the Fed believes the economy will stay strong and inflation will remain at around two percent for the next few years. Stocks have fallen previous times that Powell gave major addresses, but they didn’t do so on yesterday.

Investors focused on company earnings, which aside from Netflix were mostly good. Financial services company Charles Schwab and regional bank Comerica both rose.

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THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.

“Double-digit earnings growth for this quarter and this full calendar year remains on track, and a ten percent gain in earnings next year is also still doable,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist for CFRA. While investors have been buying US stocks and selling foreign indexes this year, Stovall said earnings growth for companies in overseas markets will probably improve in 2019 while US profit growth slows down. That could make non-US markets more appealing.

The S&P 500 index rose 11.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,809.55 after it dropped nine points at the start of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 55.53 points, or 0.2 percent, to 25,119.89. The Nasdaq composite jumped 49.40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,855.12 and surpassed the record high it set last week.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks

rose 8.72 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,687.26.

Companies that sell clothing, food and household goods made solid gains.

Ralph Lauren advanced 2.6 percent to $133.30 and PepsiCo climbed 1.7 percent to $114.88. Amazon as it said sales in the first hours of its annual Prime Day promotion improved compared to last year in spite of website problems. The company said it’s resolving those issues. The stock rose 1.2 percent to $1,843.93.

Netflix’s weak subscriber totals sent the stock down 5.2 percent to $379.48. The company has regularly beaten its own subscriber forecasts but failed to do so in the second quarter and its third-quarter estimate was lower than analysts expected. Things looked far worse for Netflix in early trading as the stock plunged 14.1 percent before recovering most of that drop.

Even with yesterday’s loss, the stock is up 98 percent this year.

Johnson & Johnson’s second-quarter profit grew thanks to better results from its prescription drug business, and it posted higher sales than analysts expected. The stock gained 3.5 percent to $129.11.

Financial services company Charles Schwab climbed 3.6 percent to $52.88 after it surpassed Wall Street forecasts in the latest quarter.

UnitedHealth, the largest US health insurance company, once again beat expectations in the latest quarter and raised its annual profit forecast. But the company’s spending on medical costs was higher than analysts expected, and the stock lost 2.6 percent to $250.29. Investors worried that other health insurers would have similar problems, and competitors Anthem and Humana also slipped.

Advertising companies sank after Omnicom said its business in North America decreased in the second

MARKET REPORT TUESDAY, 17 JULY 2018

t. 242.323.2330 | f. 242.323.2320 | www.bisxbahamas.com

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,992.40 | CHG 6.63 | %CHG 0.33 | YTD -71.17 | YTD% -3.45 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 19.17 7.50 4.00 1.48 0.19 4.00 9.16 6.60 5.30 11.93 2.71 1.77 8.21 6.21 11.50 7.29 13.67 13.00

52WK LOW 3.50 17.43 7.50 3.32 0.90 0.12 3.00 8.50 6.00 3.15 9.00 2.30 1.40 7.25 6.00 9.50 5.67 3.25 12.50

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

1050.00 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 Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Commonwealth Bank Class Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

E J K L M N

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

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) 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

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.15 4.16 2.00 179.39 157.58 1.55 1.70 1.64 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.49 1.62 1.58 1.07 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57

LAST CLOSE 4.45 17.43 9.09 4.00 1.01 0.18 3.00 9.13 6.14 4.13 10.90 2.86 1.75 7.91 6.10 11.50 6.32 3.65 13.00

CLOSE 4.45 17.43 9.09 4.00 1.01 0.18 3.00 9.13 6.14 4.13 11.40 2.87 1.75 7.91 6.10 11.50 6.32 3.65 13.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 100.00 100.00 100.40 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

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

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

108.62 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

0.16 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

108.46 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial 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

VOLUME

1,000

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.361 0.932 -0.306 0.283 -0.973 0.000 -0.996 0.638 0.573 0.171 0.627 0.102 0.231 0.000 0.545 0.679 0.610 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.100 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.320 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.070 0.084 0.320 0.500 0.200 0.120 0.580

P/E 12.3 18.7 N/M 14.1 N/M N/M -3.0 14.3 10.7 24.2 18.2 28.1 7.6 N/M 11.2 16.9 10.4 13.2 20.6

YIELD 2.25% 6.48% 0.00% 5.75% 0.00% 5.56% 0.00% 3.50% 3.58% 2.91% 5.44% 2.09% 4.00% 1.06% 5.25% 4.35% 3.16% 3.29% 4.46%

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 0.000 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 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 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%

NAV 2.15 4.12 2.00 179.39 153.02 1.55 1.69 1.64 1.09 7.24 8.28 6.46 11.16 11.65 10.26

YTD% 12 MTH% 1.55% 4.09% -0.45% 4.34% 0.84% 2.31% 0.39% 5.05% -0.25% 4.57% 1.29% 4.18% -0.61% 2.84% 1.02% 3.84% -0.87% 1.82% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 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 NAV Date 31-May-2018 31-May-2018 31-May-2018 31-Mar-2018 31-Mar-2018 30-Apr-2018 30-Apr-2018 30-Apr-2018 30-Apr-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018

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 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

quarter and its UK business also shrank. The advertising conglomerate lost 9.5 percent to $70.69 and Interpublic Group shed 6.1 percent to $22.26.

The European Union and Japan signed a broad trade deal on yesterday that will eliminate nearly all tariffs across a third of the global economy. Japanese consumers will pay lower prices for European wine and pork, while Japanese machinery parts, tea and fish will get cheaper for Europe. The deal has been in the works for years and contrasts with the more protectionist approach of US President Donald Trump.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note remained at 2.86 percent.

Benchmark US crude erased an early loss and finished little changed at $68.08 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, picked up 0.4 percent to $72.16 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline gained 1.2 percent to $2.03 a gallon. Heating oil added 0.8 percent to $2.07 a gallon. Natural gas fell 0.7 percent to $2.74 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Metals prices continued to fall. Gold dripped one percent to $1,227.30 an ounce. Silver sank 1.2 percent to $15.62 an ounce.

Copper fell 0.6 percent to $2.75 a pound. All three are near their lowest prices in a year.

The dollar rose to 112.83 yen from 112.30 yen. The euro fell to $1.1664 from $1.1714.

Germany’s DAX jumped 0.8 percent and the CAC 40 in France added 0.2 percent. The British FTSE 100 index rose 0.3 percent.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.4 percent after reopening from a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.3 percent.

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

CIRCLE of FRIENDS Silver: $1,500 - $2,499 Gold: $2,500 - $4,999 Platinum: $5,000 plus

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

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that DWAYNE OSCAR RIGBY of Carl Road off Claridge Road, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of July, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

PAPA JOHN’S FOUNDER: STEPPING DOWN AS CHAIRMAN A “MISTAKE” NEW YORK Associated Press PAPA John’s founder John Schnatter says the pizza chain doesn’t know how to handle a “crisis based on misinformation” and that he made a “mistake” in agreeing to step down as chairman.

Schnatter says the board requested that he step down as chairman without “any investigation” and he should not have complied, according to a letter his representative says was sent to the board on Saturday. The contents of the letter were first reported by the Wall Street Journal Papa John’s, which has started scrubbing Schnatter’s image from its marketing materials and says it is evaluating all ties with Schnatter, did not respond to a request for comment. The company said over the weekend it “specifically requested that Mr. Schnatter cease all media appearances, and not make any further statements to the media regarding the company, its business or employees.”

Schnatter, who remains on Papa John’s board, is the company’s largest shareholder.

“I will not allow either my good name or the good name of the company I founded and love to be unfairly tainted,” Schnatter says in the letter.

A representative for Schnatter declined to comment on whether he was considering legal action.

In the report last week, Forbes said Schnatter used the N-word during a media training session in May, and that the incident led the marketing agency to sever its ties with the company. Schnatter says he used the word while describing how Colonel Sanders spoke, but that he would never use it as an epithet.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018, PAGE 7

Powell says strong economy will keep rate hikes coming WASHINGTON Associated Press FEDERAL Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers on yetserday that strong economic growth will keep the central bank on a path to gradually raise interest rates. But he noted that President Donald Trump’s get-tough trade policies run the risk of dampening future growth if they lead to permanently higher tariffs.

Delivering his twice-ayear report on monetary policy to Congress, Powell gave an upbeat assessment of the economy’s prospects.

He said the economy’s performance has enabled the Fed to dial back the “extra boost” it began implementing a decade ago to help the lift the economy out of the Great Recession.

The Fed’s plan for raising rates slowly is “running smoothly,” Powell said.

And the central bank expects the job market will remain robust and inflation will hover near the Fed’s two percent target over the next several years.

“Our policies reflect the strong performance of the economy and are intended to help make sure that this trend continues,” Powell said before the Senate Banking Committee.

Private economists said that Powell’s remarks sent a clear signal that the Fed, which has already boosted rates twice this year, expects to remain on its current projected path of raising rates another two times this year.

“Although trade tensions remain a downside risk, we continue to expect strong activity growth and rising inflation to prompt the Fed to raise interest rates in September and December and twice more in early 2019,” said Andrew Hunter,

FEDERAL Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress”, at Capitol Hill in Washington on yetserday.

Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP US economist at Capital Economics.

Powell faced a number of questions on trade, with both Democratic and Republican senators seeking criticism of the Trump administration’s policies of imposing punitive tariffs on billions of dollars in foreign imports. The moves so far have triggered retaliation in China and other nations slapping retaliatory tariffs on US goods.

Sens Jon Tester of Montana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, two Democrats up for re-election this year in states Trump carried, were highly critical of the tariffs.

“We can’t afford to put our heads in the sand and ignore the impact of the

president’s policies on our economy,” Heitkamp said.

Republican Sen Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania noted that Fed officials had reported a growing number of business contacts cutting back on investment spending because of growing uncertainty about trade.

At first, Powell sought to avoid directly answering a question of the possible impact of Trump’s approach to trade by saying trade was not an issue the Fed could control. But when pressed, he said that if Trump’s effort “results in lower tariffs for everyone, that would be a good thing. If it results in higher tariffs, that would be bad for our economy.”

The Fed chairman cited trade and fiscal policy,

including last year’s big tax cut, as among the uncertainties that could alter the Fed’s economic forecast.

It is “difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of current discussions over trade policy as well as the size and timing of the economic effects of the recent changes in fiscal policy,” he said.

Powell also faced sharp questioning from some Democrats over the Fed’s approach to bank regulations.

Sen Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, accused the Fed of loosening important rules needed to prevent risky behaviour that could trigger a new financial crisis.

“It looks to me like the Fed is heading in the wrong

direction,” Warren told Powell.

But he disagreed, saying the annual stress tests to determine if the nation’s biggest banks could survive a severe recession were tougher than ever.

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed kept its key policy rate at a record low near zero for seven years before starting a slow process of boosting rates in December 2015.

It raised rates once in 2015, once in 2016 and then three times last year as the economy has begun to gain momentum. This year’s rate hikes, which occurred in March and June, have left the Fed’s key rate in a range of 1.75 percent to two percent.

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THE TRIBUNE

UK’s May faces down revolt over Brexit trade bill LONDON Associated Press BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May faced down more rebellion yesterday over her plans for the country’s exit from the European Union, as lawmakers narrowly rejected a measure that could have kept Britain in a customs union with the 28-nation bloc.

This time, it was pro-EU lawmakers from both May’s Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party who tried to derail the prime minister’s plans for post-Brexit trade relations with the EU. They attempted to force through legislation that would have required Britain to join a European customs union if it had failed to negotiate a “frictionless free trade area for goods” two months before

the country leaves the EU next year. The House of Commons defeated the measure by a mere six votes, 307-301.

The win was the second for May in as many days. Her government on Monday avoided a humiliating defeat in Parliament when it narrowly won another vote over her Brexit customs bill — but only after reluctantly accepting amendments put forward by Brexit hardliners.

A relieved International Trade Secretary Liam Fox described the trade plan as “the confident first step that the UK takes towards establishing itself as an independent trading nation for the first time in over 40 years”.

But the slim margins and rebellion from members of her own party have underscored the fragility of the

prime minister’s government as she tries to move the complex Brexit process forward. The bill now moves on to the House of Lords.

May was defeated, however, on a separate amendment about medicine regulation. She must now try to ensure that the UK continues to participate in the regulatory network operated by the European Medicines Agency.

Labour’s spokesman on trade, Barry Gardiner, described the scene in Parliament “an utter shambles”.

“We have a prime minister who is in office, but not in power,” he said.

The challenges to May’s proposals came as some British politicians again questioned the legitimacy of the 2016 Brexit referendum, following an

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY.

Electoral Commission finding that the official campaign for Brexit broke election laws. Supporters of Britain leaving the EU won the referendum with 52 percent of the vote.

The commission said the Vote Leave group, backed by senior politicians who included former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, failed to declare 675,000 pounds ($894,000) it spent with Canadian data firm Aggregate IQ. The undeclared spending meant the campaign group exceeded

the 7 million-pound ($9.2m) spending limit by almost 500,000 pounds.

“This news makes the narrow referendum result look dodgier than ever,” Labour lawmaker David Lammy said. “Its validity is now in question.”

The commission said it found significant evidence that Vote Leave spent more than it declared by funneling cash to a small, unregistered pro-Brexit youth group, BeLeave.

The Electoral Commission’s investigation became

entangled with inquiries of Cambridge Analytica’s use of data from tens of millions of Facebook accounts to help Donald Trump win the 2016 US election.

Whistleblowers have alleged that Brexit campaigners paid Aggregate IQ to send targeted ads and that their actions may have unfairly influenced the referendum’s outcome.

Campaign consultant Cambridge Analytica allegedly had links to the Canadian firm.

AMAZON POKES FUN AT GLITCHES, SAYS TECH GADGETS POPULAR NEW YORK Associated Press AMAZON poked fun at the early glitches it saw with Prime Day, though it said shoppers still found plenty to buy. Analysts, meanwhile, saw other things Amazon could have done better, like discounting more fashion brands and taking more advantage of its acquisition of Whole Foods.

Early problems Monday sent shoppers to social media to complain after their attempts to click on Prime Day deals returned only images of dogs with

an apologetic message. The snags were an embarrassment for the tech company on the much-hyped shopping holiday it created.

“It wasn’t all a walk in the (dog) park, we had a ruff start — we know some customers were temporarily unable to make purchases,” Amazon said in a statement.

But Amazon touted Prime Day growth and said shoppers still found lots to buy, with tech gadgets in particular among the most popular. It said top sellers included some of its own devices — the Fire TV stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Echo Dot and Fire 7 tablet

with Alexa. Others included a water filter for hiking and the multi-use Instant Pot. The hiccups, though, could have sent shoppers elsewhere during a key period for Amazon to sign up new Prime members. It recently announced that the cost of Prime membership would go up, and the shopping day is a way to prove the value.

Many other chains offered sales and promotions to try to capitalise on the day.

And industry observers said Amazon could have done a better job in several areas, such as offering personalized recommendations.

“For all the hype about

Whole Foods, the grocery stuff on sale was less appetizing,” said Sucharita Mulpuru-Kodali, an analyst at Forrester Research. “No Prime Day specials at the store.”

She also said some of the products Amazon’s site was pushing were a little odd, like urinal splash guards in the health section. She also believes Amazon should have started the sale at midnight instead of the middle of the day to reduce the rush of traffic on the site.

Gary Liu, vice president of marketing at Boomerang Commerce, said he believes shoppers got a “vanilla”

experience when it came to personalisation. He said Amazon heavily promoted its own devices and its own brands but he wanted to see heavier promotions on national-label fashions.

“Shoppers are looking for something more familiar,” he added.

While Amazon doesn’t disclose sales figures for Prime Day, Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research, had estimated before it began that it will generate $3.4bn in sales worldwide, up from an estimated $2.4bn last year.

Prime Day also lasts six hours longer than last year

and is four new countries.

In Europe, Amazon employees were using Prime Day to draw attention to their complaints against the company. Unions in Spain said most of the company’s 2,000 permanent staff there were on a three-day strike on Tuesday.

Amazon created Prime Day in 2015 to mark its 20th anniversary, and its success has inspired other e-commerce companies to invent shopping holidays. Amazon disclosed for the first time this year that it had more than 100 million paid Prime members worldwide.