08052020 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020

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‘Don’t kill the fly with the sledgehammer’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN businessmen yesterday warned that the two-week national lockdown could be “more devastating than COVID-19 itself”, and urged: “Don’t use a sledgehammer to kill a fly.”

Ben Albury, Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that the prime minister and the government needed “to get more creative” in balancing commerce and efforts to stamp out so-called virus “hot spots”.

Arguing that the private sector and employees had been given too little notice

• Businesses warn lockdown ‘cure’ worse than COVID • Fear next two weeks ‘more devastating than virus’ • ‘We’re saving life, but are destroying livelihoods’

by Dr Hubert Minnis of the lockdown, which begins today, Mr Albury argued that the government had to keep some industries and sectors moving “or else we’re going to starve”.

“Just like every other industry it’s going to be devastating,” he told this newspaper of the latest restrictions. “The prime minister just said in the House of Assembly that we cannot BEN ALBURY

ROBERT MYERS

SEE PAGE 3

Foreign reserves enjoy $200m restriction boost

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday said restrictions imposed on capital outflows have boosted the external reserves by $200m to-date, as he pledged: “Losing control of the peg is not an option.”

John Rolle, unveiling the regulator’s economic assessment for the 2020 second quarter, argued that the conservation measures implemented during the early stages of the COVID19 pandemic had already paid off as The Bahamas’

• Governor: ‘Losing exchange peg not an option’ • Warns of ‘urgency’ to find new foreign currency • NIB repatriates over $100m overseas investment

JOHN ROLLE

Governor: No tourism rebound fully till 2023

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday warned the tourism industry might not fully recover from COVID19 until 2023 with the Bahamian economy now projected to contract by 15-20 percent this year.

John Rolle, addressing second quarter economic developments, indicated that the regulator had slightly increased its expectations for how much the economy will shrink by this year as he projected that this nation’s proximity to the US will place it at the forefront of any tourism rebound.

“Given the ongoing weight of tourism, the Central Bank now forecasts that the economy could shrink by 15 to 20 percent in 2020, following at least a six-month material pause in activity, with only a gradual recovery to the tourism sector’s normal seasonal pattern,” he said.

“It is projected that a complete recovery in global tourism could be delayed through at least 2023. However, proximity to the US could put The Bahamas on a slightly more accelerated recovery path.”

Mr Rolle conceded that there could be “a further revision” downwards to The Bahamas’ 2020 gross

SEE PAGE 6

Lockdown: ‘Low hanging fruit’ missed out

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

THE Bahamian private sector was yesterday said to be in discussions with the government to address “low hanging fruit” that can aid the economy amid the latest COVID-19 lockdown.

Jeffrey Beckles, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that food wholesalers and hardware/construction supply stores were critical components that had seemingly been left off the list of essential services allowed to operate over the next two weeks.

JEFFREY BECKLES “We’ve been able to establish a cordial relationship with the government, and have already begun to share with them some ideas as to how to adjust the current environment to help the local economy,” he explained.

“It’s a broad-based

SEE PAGE 2

foreign currency reserves closed June at around $2bn.

Confirming that a near$1bn drawdown on those reserves, which provide the critical support to the fixed one:one exchange rate peg with the US dollar, is still anticipated over the 2020 second half, Mr Rolle said the Central Bank’s four immediate policy measures had borne fruit.

He disclosed that the National Insurance Board’s

(NIB) liquidation of its overseas investment holdings, and their repatriation, had brought “in excess of $100m” in foreign currency back to The Bahamas. And the bar on dividend/profit repatriation by the Canadianowned banks, coupled with the block on foreign portfolio investments by Bahamians, was likely to conserve up to a further $180m.

SEE PAGE 6

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Auto dealers ‘crippled’ as sales drop 55.5%

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AUTO dealers yesterday said they were bracing for the two-week lockdown’s “crippling” effect after suffering an industry-wide 55.5 percent decline in new vehicle sales for the 2020 second quarter.

Rick Lowe, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s secretary, told Tribune Business that the national shutdown which began last night had cut-off the “sense of normality” that had begun to creep back into the sector and wider economy following the initial COVID-19 restrictions imposed in March and early April.

With new vehicle sales down by more than 200 units year-over-year against 2019 second quarter comparisons, Mr Lowe added that the industry’s near-term performance would depend heavily on how long the latest lockdown lasts amid expectations it will persist beyond the initial fortnight.

“It’s not good, but what can you do? People won’t social distance and wear masks,” he said. “We had just started to feel some sense of normality. Things were not exactly like we needed them, but we were heading in the right direction. It’s going to cripple us, quite frankly, and is certainly going to make recovery even harder.

“While I understand the process, I’m a little disappointed the decision had to be made. It’s quite discouraging. Sales through June were 177 units for the second quarter as opposed to 398 in the second quarter

last year. It’s been around 400 units for the second quarter for the last several years.

“In the first quarter we held our own, but the second quarter was when all this came into play. This quarter depends on how long this [lockdown] has to go on. Businesses just can’t keep paying wages without some revenue, just like the government. You can borrow, but there’s only so much you can borrow.”

The latest two-week national lockdown leaves companies facing the prospect once again of having to pay fixed costs, such as rents, utilities and bank payments, with no revenue earnings; employees likely to be temporarily furloughed, adding to the social security burden on government; and Bahamian families already struggling being threatened with more hardship.

Fred Albury, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president, told Tribune Business that the latest lockdown was “a bitter pill to swallow” for the auto industry, individual businesses and the wider economy.

He argued that “the innocent are going to suffer for the guilty” - a reference to the numerous Bahamians who raced abroad to COVID-19 hot spots such as Florida once the borders opened on July 1, only to bring the virus back with them.

“Hopefully we’ll stay alive. That’s what it has boiled down to,” Mr Albury said. “Money can always be made, but you can never

SEE PAGE 3

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 5, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ENTREPRENEURS DEVELOP COVID TRACKING WEBSITE TWO Bahamian entrepreneurs yesterday unveiled a website that allows Bahamians to track the COVID-19 pandemic’s progress through the country dating back to the very first case in March.

Ash Henderson and Ben Jamieson said they have developed the new website, CV19BS.com, to provide an interactive look at the virus through wideranging, customisable and

easily-understood data.

Mr Jamieson, founder of web design company, Thyme Online, said: “As a web application developer for the past two decades, I knew I had the ability to build a website to provide up-to-the-minute and historic information on a daily basis; I just didn’t have the data.

“Luckily Ash, a long-time friend and colleague, had been compiling meticulous

spreadsheets since the start of the pandemic. I knew we were on to something.”

The duo built the website, which will be updated daily, in their own time, and Thyme Online has donated the hosting space to keep it online. Initially fairly simple, the website includes interactive charts, allowing visitors to visualise the COVID19 spread throughout the islands in multiple ways.

Mr Henderson, a

prominent Rotary member and marketing executive, said of the project: “As a citizen and as a parent, I am constantly worried about the spread of this virus and how it affects our nation. I’d been compiling the raw data since day one, but had no real way to make it useful to others.

“When Ben and I came up with the idea for the website, it made total sense - he had the web

development expertise, and I had the analytical skills to make it work. Now we are on a par with other nations who have fully interactive COVID-19 dashboards to give their citizenry a way to visualise the threat of this pandemic.”

The duo said they hope to expand the system in the future if time and funds allow. The website will be updated daily as soon as information is release by

the Ministry of Health.

With the pandemic having impacted virtually every country, tracking cases, waves and fatalities has become an all-consuming pastime for people across the globe. Previously, citizens and residents of The Bahamas could only track the virus’ path through this nation via a series of static graphics published daily by the Ministry of Health.

Web designer sees Lockdown: ‘Low hanging fruit’ missed out COVID work uptick FROM PAGE ONE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A WEB design and marketing firm yesterday said its development of online applications and e-commerce platforms has generated significant growth for it amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Randia Coakley, Azulify’s creative director, told Tribune Business: “During COVID-19 we have had a lot of inquiries about online placement and online sales, because what I have seen is that people want to make sure that when they do introduce the concept of e-commerce, they want to make sure that it is secure and done with a local bank.

“So we have a lot of those, and another thing I think that has been a big thing I am happy for is that a lot of people are realising that you can do stuff virtually; you do not physically meet a person.”

She added: “For example, with our work with the Bahamas Development Bank, we met with

RANDIA COAKLEY them prior to the COVID19 lockdown and were in the process of doing their work during the lockdown.

It was then that they realised the importance of the application process.

“So their online application process for all of their loans is now 100 percent virtual, and there is no more reason for physical paperwork and anyone having to be faceto-face because now, with COVID-19, they realise the need. If we don’t have to, we shouldn’t, because of health reasons. Showing the ease and the possibilities of doing it online, I

think, is the best part of what happens for businesses here in the country.”

Besides assisting the BDB with its online loan applications process launch, Azulify also aided shipping company, Cubix Bahamas Ltd, with its online payment platform. Other clients include Scotiabank and the Ministry of Education.

Ms Coakley added: “I think the benefit of this second phase is that we have seen what occurred during the first phase, so a lot of businesses were already prepared by having a website and being able to do curbside delivery, or having the ability to do delivery and understanding the value of being online previously. They have been able to roll out instantly, or they are in preparation to roll it out with their version during the lockdown and after the lockdown.”

“Right now, everything we have been doing since COVID-19 has been website development, particularly with e-commerce and online applications to cut down face time.”

approach. I’ll give you an example. Food stores are permitted to open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but wholesalers are not allowed.

A lot of wholesalers make up a significant portion of the supply chain all the way from ‘Mom and Pop’ stores to the major stores.

“It would be reasonable to figure out how to get wholesalers that supply food stores open so people can get food.

That’s a low hanging fruit.

Construction is able to continue but the supply chain has been Mr Beckles, meanwhile, said many businesses were already “teetering on closing” now that The Bahamas was entering its second national lockdown. “I think the mood right now is one of concern, and as I told one of my colleagues earlier, a lot of companies took a big hit,” he added.

“In fairness to them, right now many of them are very nervous about these next couple of weeks and the impact it will have on them because most of them are teetering on closing in any event. Many of them had thoughts about whether they would survive, and so now

to have another lockdown, right, wrong or indifferent, it is what it is. So they have to get through that and that is creating a bit of consternation for us.”

Mr Beckles continued: “Obviously everyone is taking a beating, and obviously those sectors that are directly related to tourism and tourism supply chains are feeling it because they have gone from something to nothing. The feeling is being felt across the board, and so I don’t know if there is one group that is exempted.

“Obviously we are extremely concerned about the SME (small and medium sized enterprises) community and those small businesses that have been really serving as the backbone of the local economy for many decades.

We are very concerned about them and whether or not all of them can weather this storm.”

Turning to how the Ministry of Finance’s tax deferral initiative has been assisting businesses during this COVID-19 shutdown period, Mr Beckles said: “We have been advised that the response has been surprisingly positive.

“These are extraordinary times, and whether or not the

plans seem to be sufficient or not, the issue is the effort is being made to provide stimulus to the SME community, and the SME community has been responding and taking advantage of it. That’s a positive thing and we will continue to encourage businesses to do so moving forward.

Mr Beckles continued: “At this point we will continue to work with our stakeholders in the private sector and we will continue to engage at the policy level. This is an evolving environment we are in. It’s a new one, and it is different, and we continue to encourage business owners to share their thoughts and their ideas.

“We are not going to get through this in a silo.

We need the best and the brightest minds coming together consistently with a view of looking towards the future for the best practices, and be ready for the constant change.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 5, 2020, PAGE 3

DPM: NO CUTS TO CIVIL SERVICE EYED

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE deputy prime minister yesterday said the government still has no plans to slash civil service jobs and hopes to “sustain” current staffing levels despite growing fiscal pressures from COVID-19.

K Peter Turnquest, speaking to reporters outside the Cabinet Office, said: “At the moment we still have not made any decisions about the public service and any kind of adjustments there.

Hopefully we will be able to sustain our current levels and ensure that people are able to meet their commitments, particularly as it relates to getting back to school and the other commitments that

K PETER TURNQUEST people have.”

Turning to the increasing hardship facing many Bahamian families and individuals as the country prepares for its second national lockdown, Mr Turnquest added:

“We do anticipate that there are going to be significant adjustments in the family budget that are going to have to be made as a result of this new shutdown.

“As you know we have

programmes in place to assist residents as best as possible, either through rental assistance or food assistance. The prime minister would have talked about the food assistance programme and the feeding programme that we have launched, now nationally, and that programme is now feeding thousands of Bahamians and we will continue to do that.

“We are committed to ensuring that nobody goes hungry to the best of our ability. We know that there are wrinkles in the programme that we have to work out and we are working on those,” he added.

“Additionally we continue on our programme with respect to income replacement for those persons

who are directly affected.

National insurance is doing its part in terms of unemployment assistance for those who are having challenges with lay-offs or temporary furloughs and, of course, the Ministry of Finance continues with its support for businesses to ensure we keep as many people employed or paid as possible.”

Responding to concerns that the government simply cannot afford to maintain the massive spending propping up the economy with little to no revenue income, Mr Turnquest replied: “We have always said that we had planned for an interim period of lower income to the government and, up to now, we have been tracking pretty much where we

expected, which is about 50 percent of our usual revenue for this period.

“Fortunately, this is the slow tourism period. We are not totally off of our mark.

The expenditure is elevated as a result of all of the social programmes that we are trying to follow through, but the good news again is that we had budgeted for this.

“So we are more or less where we anticipated we would be and, once we get into the autumn, and if we continue to have lockdowns and our tourism business does not come back, then we will have to start making some new decisions and adjustments, but for the moment we are more or less where we anticipated we would be at this stage.”

BPL’S ‘TREE’ PROBLEMS EXPOSE WEAKNESSES

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A CHAMBER of Commerce director yesterday said the wait for Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) to fully restore power post-Isaias showed it still cannot handle a major hurricane.

Debbie Deal who heads the chamber’s energy and environment division, said: “I realise BPL is under a lot of financial stress, and I understand that they say that the trees that are in people’s yards have not been cut.

“I know that they say that some areas are worse than others because the developers stopped using

DESMOND BANNISTER underground utilities and started going overhead because it was cheaper. I understand all of the things that they are saying, but none of those things that they are saying are anything different than any other

year, and my main concern is that in Nassau we did not have a hurricane; we had a tropical storm.

“We may have had gusts up to 60 miles per hour, but nothing blew down in my yard aside from some leaves on my trees,” Ms Deal added. “They said that they did an automatic shutdown because they had a stage one, stage two, stage three, stage four, with stage four being an automatic everybody is being turned off.

“At stage one is when they actually shut the entire island off, and after that when they started turning the island back on, almost every single subdivision was still out and some of them were still out from

yesterday morning. That is three days and we have not had a hurricane. What are we to expect if we have a hurricane? We can’t just say that we may not have it or maybe next year, because we have no idea.”

She spoke out after Desmond Bannister, minister of works with responsibility for BPL, blamed delays in restoring electricity supplies on damages to the utility’s overhead wires caused by uncut tree branches in privately-owned yards.

He told reporters outside the Cabinet Office: “This is a very serious issue, and I want to ask you all to take some time to do one thing.

Drive along our streets and look at people’s yards, and look at all of the trees

‘Don’t kill the fly with the sledgehammer’ FROM PAGE ONE

keep locking down, opening up, locking down and opening up.

“Then Dionisio D’Aguilar gave everyone a false hope last week by saying they weren’t thinking of a twoweek lockdown, and then days later.... There’s just too much inconsistency and too much instability for employers and employees alike. To impose a two-week lockdown with 24 hours’ notice, it doesn’t give people time to pivot and prepare. Everywhere is being overrun.”

Dr Minnis, in his national address on Sunday night, unveiled a two-week national lockdown with restrictions even more severe than the initial version implemented in late March/early April as the government desperately bids to choke-off the surge in COVID-19 cases.

With 36 fresh infections unveiled yesterday, taking the number of active cases to 608, the prime minister argued he was left with little choice but to act “aggressively” to protect lives, exhausted healthcare workers and an overburdened public health system where more than 50 percent of its COVID-19 beds are now occupied.

However, Mr Albury and others now fear the cure is becoming worse than the problem, with the latest lockdown likely to force more business closures, create a longer unemployment line and further delay any prospect of an economic recovery.

They argue that, with no vaccine in sight, The Bahamas must develop better methods for mitigating the risk presented by COVID-19 other than lockdowns.

“It’s just that the economy cannot continue to bear this,” the Bahamas Bus

and Truck general manager told Tribune Business.

“I understand the hospitals are overwhelmed, but they should have been better prepared for this. We all understand that the 72-hour window for Bahamians to travel abroad and come back without testing was a critical mistake.

“The prime minister has got to figure out how to get certain things moving or else we’re going to starve. During the first lockdown we continued to pay our staff and did not furlough anyone, and today I instructed the payroll department to pay staff for the next two weeks, but how long can businesses bear the brunt of it?

“I’ve had business people calling me from last night [Sunday] saying they’re giving serious consideration to closing their business.

Some already have. I had four to five friends call me between last night and today.

Many assisted their staff in the first lockdown and kept them on. This time they’re not able to do that. It’s just unsustainable, trying to be a good corporate citizen,” Mr Albury continued.

“How far can this go? I believe there are more surprises ahead. What happens a month after we re-open and cases go up again?

This virus is not going anywhere. There’s no vaccine on the horizon. I think he [Dr Minnis] just needs to get more creative.”

Pointing to evidence from the National Food Distribution Task Force that one in four Bahamians, or 25 percent of the population, is receiving food assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Albury said increases in drug and alcohol abuse, child and sexual abuse, were among the likely consequences of the government’s renewed lockdowns.

“Poverty has been shown to reduce a life by ten years,” he added. “I think the effects of this lockdown will be more devastating than the virus. Ninety percent of people get it and don’t know they have it. He [Dr Minnis] makes knee jerk reactions, depending on lockdowns to solve the problem.

“The prime minister and Cabinet are still collecting pay cheques every month but there are thousands of Bahamians who aren’t that lucky. If something is not done soon crime will be out of control. I’m already nervous getting out of the car at home and work because there are a lot of desperate people out there. I’m scared what Christmas is going to look like.”

Mr Albury also pointed to an interview given

by Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, who helps lead the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) pandemic response, where she said ‘localised’ measures should be used to stem Covid19 - rather than national lockdowns - due to the health, social and economic repercussions.

All non-essential businesses and services, including those that are retail and office-based, have been ordered to close again with effect from today. However, Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, yesterday renewed his concerns over why COVID19 free islands such as Andros and Eleuthera were being required to halt commerce and lockdown.

“This could go on for a long time,” he warned. “Are we going to shut down The Bahamas every time or are we going to come up with an alternative; a more strategic alternative that targets the areas most affected.

“It’s not just the private sector, it’s also the government itself. Every time you restrict commerce and people’s movement you also impact the country’s income because all those taxes are related to all those things that don’t occur. It hurts both the government and GDP, families and businesses.

Everybody.

“That’s a real killer on top of the hurricane, and now another hurricane, and another hurricane season. I just don’t know where we’re going if we cannot be more creative in our approach, living with this virus and hurricanes.”

Mr Myers called on the government to adopt a similar strategy to COVID-19 as it did with hurricanes, where the only islands required to batten down were those in the storm’s forecast path.

“We’ve got to be more strategic. That’s just my suggestion,” he added. “I don’t have the information he [the prime minister] and the government have, so I may be making a completely naive statement,” he added.

“But my observation is: Don’t kill a fly with a sledgehammer because you destroy the whole house. Every time you whack the economy back it takes longer, and is slower, to recover. Every time you knock it many more people become unemployed and many more businesses are forced to close.

“I get it. I understand the fear. We all live with a definite degree of risk, and we cannot eliminate that risk.

Everyone out there understands the risk of COVID-19, some more than others, but we have to take a strategic approach. We may be saving life, but are destroying livelihoods. The destruction of livelihoods has grave longterm implications.”

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that are co-mingling among BPL lines.

“It’s a very, very serious issue, as we had 40 miles per hour winds. BPL has a challenge with trees knocking down lines. It is a responsibility of a landowner to make sure that their trees are not in the lines. It is not BPL’s responsibility, and under the URCA guidelines, which all of you can get, you will see that BPL can go into your property, cut the trees, bill you for it and put a lien against your property.

“What happens is this.

Your tree knocks down a line, and after the storm, before BPL can repower any substation, they have to go along every single line in that area.”

BPL had announced prior to Isaias making landfall that, by 8pm on Friday evening, it would be having a “controlled shutdown” in certain key areas around New Providence if winds hit 40 miles per hour.

Mr Bannister, meanwhile, asked whether BPL will be conducting disconnection exercises during the new COVID-19 lockdown period, said: “BPL is cognisant of its responsibility as an entity in this country that looks after the best interest of the Bahamian people.

I won’t say any more than that other than they are going to be a responsible corporate entity, but at the same time Bahamians have to understand that it is our duty to pay up.”

Auto dealers ‘crippled’ as sales drop 55.5% FROM PAGE ONE find another life. I’d rather be safe than sorry. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, not only for the auto industry but the rest of the economy.

The innocent are going to suffer for the guilty who have gone away and brought the chickens home to roost.

“I’ve made up my mind.

I’ve got chores to do at home, and will go and do that and keep my mind busy until we get the green light to come back out. My gut feeling is this is going to be longer than a couple of weeks. The amount of cases that are out there, the amount of community spread probably already

created is tremendous, I’d not be surprised if we end up with 1,000-plus cases.

“Everyone can moan, bitch and cry all they want.

This is the necessary ill we have to take to deal with the matter.” Mr Albury, though, said his Auto Mall business had received a modest boost from being allowed to open for several months.

“The opportunity to reopen for the short-term really benefited us a lot.

We had some sales, and service and parts was brisk; very brisk. We got a lot of inventory in, and sales were better than I anticipated to be quite honest with you. It helped to allow us to unload some inventory, generate some cash flow and stay alive as well,” he added.

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 5, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Foreign reserves enjoy $200m restriction boost FROM PAGE ONE Mr Rolle added that Bahamas-based commercial banks have also been given “at least $100m of excess space” to obtain foreign currency from alternative sources to the Central Bank, reducing reliance on its foreign currency reserves and its recycling of US dollar government debt issues.

But, despite these initial successes, he warned that the focus of Bahamian monetary and fiscal policy will remain protecting The Bahamas’ fixed exchange regime well into 2021 given the absence of replenishing foreign currency inflows from the still-shuttered tourism industry.

Underscoring the threat this poses to Bahamian living standards and economic disruption, Mr Rolle admitted there was “an ongoing urgency to expand other foreign currency earning activity, with foreign direct investments being at the top of this list” in tourism’s absence.

Still, satisfied that the Central Bank’s action has sufficiently preserved the foreign reserves to-date, the governor said: “What

we did was we gave the commercial banks at least $100m extra space in terms of their ability to source foreign exchange through other sources [apart from the Central Bank].

“We would anticipate having felt the full effect of that benefit. Once they have exhausted that, they will return to making purchases from the Central Bank. We placed a hold on portfolio investments abroad by residents, and we would have imposed a pause on commercial banks making repatriations of profits abroad. That is a measure where the benefits are spread over the remainder of the calendar year.”

Mr Rolle added that “the full amount” of proceeds created by NIB’s liquidation of overseas investment holdings was received during the 2020 second quarter. “I think they would have repatriated the full amount of what we anticipated,” he said. “I know the figure was in excess of $100m.

“I would say on the portfolio investment [overseas investments by Bahamians in securities and real estate], on an annual basis were

were beginning to approach a level in excess of $60m, so the savings are in the range of $60m-$80m potentially given current levels as the potential impact for the year. In the banking sector we have potentially seen in excess of $100m generally in dividend outflows in any year.”

The Central Bank governor revealed in May that the regulator had “put the potential savings from these measures at at least $300m” on a collective basis, and yesterday suggested that some two-thirds of this had already been obtained.

“When one looks at what happened from April to the present, we have to assume that if these outflows occurred.... they could have used up $200m-plus more in foreign reserves during this period,” he said.

The Central Bank yesterday confirmed that the external reserves grew by $269.9m during the 2020 first half, aided by these restrictions and reduced private sector foreign currency demand amid the COVID19 lockdown, to close end-June at around $2bn.

This was lower than the $363.9m growth enjoyed

over the same period in 2019, by the total remained equivalent to 7.3 months of The Bahamas’ total merchandise imports. Yet while that position appears relatively healthy, the Central Bank has not altered its view that the external reserves will come under increased pressure during the 2020 second half in the absence of offsetting tourism inflows.

“Our projections have not been amended materially,” Mr Rolle added. “We still believe the reserves could be drawn down to a level close to $1bn” by year-end 2020 due to the traditional pre-Christmas demand for foreign currency by the private sector.

Maintaining the fixed exchange rate parity with the US dollar will arguably be the government and Central Bank’s overriding economic priority amid the COVID-19 pandemic, given that its loss would further undermine Bahamian purchasing power and living standards and fuel significant inflation.

These concerns were underlined by Mr Rolle, who said: “Monetary and fiscal policies must stay

protective of the Bahamian dollar currency peg, ensuring that the external reserves are stabilised or incrementally improved during 2021. There is therefore an ongoing urgency to expand other foreign currency earning activity, with foreign direct investments being at the top of this list.”

Asked how long the external reserves could withstand the tourism shutdown before coming under sustained pressure, the Central Bank governor said it was critical to “maintain and improve access to international capital markets” and US dollar financing if increased borrowing became necessary to support spending within the Bahamian economy.

“That allows us to maintain the economy at a certain level,” he added.

“If not, there will be natural belt tightening measures that economies like The Bahamas must make.

Losing control of the peg is not an option for The Bahamas. Adjustments will be made where ever else they need to be made so that we maintain that equilibrium.”

Elsewhere, Mr Rolle said: “On a quarterly basis,

foreign exchange inflows through the banking system fell by over 50 percent during April through June in comparison to 2019, and were lower by almost 25 percent for the first half of the year.

“On the other hand, private sector purchases of foreign exchange from commercial banks - which signalled domestic demand adjustment - decreased less proportionately by 22 percent during the second quarter, and by about seven percent for the year to-date.

“This differential meant that, over the last three months of the quarter, the Central Bank switched to being a net supplier of foreign exchange to the banking system, channelling net inflows from the government’s debt operations,” Mr Rolle continued.

“Ordinarily, the Central Bank would not supply net foreign exchange to the system until the second half of each year. Nevertheless, with ongoing replenishment, the foreign reserves balances remained relatively stable, fluctuating near the $2bn level from March through the end of July.”

Governor: No tourism rebound fully till 2023 FROM PAGE ONE domestic product (GDP) contraction should tourism “prospects for the end of the year look bleak” come October-November, with the latter month containing the Thanksgiving holiday that traditionally signals the start of the winter tourism season.

He added that Bahamian borrowers had “deferred” repayments on around one-third of all outstanding Bahamian commercial banking industry credit, although he did not provide a figure for this. “As conditions are managed going forward, lenders have been

encouraged by the Central Bank to limit their forbearance to just borrowers with identified needs, and to begin to adjust loan loss provisioning as they obtain clearer information about when individual borrowers are likely to return to their jobs,” Mr Rolle said.

“Outside of the COVID19 impact, which is still delayed, the delinquency rate for private credit continued to fall over the first half of 2020 to just below 8 percent of total loans compared to just under 9 percent of such claims in June 2019.

“While the Central Bank expects that this rate will soon start to deteriorate, it

does not raise any specific solvency concerns as commercial banks would be able to fully absorb such losses from current levels of excess capital.” That rate will likely further be increased as a result of the two-week national lockdown that began last night.

“The Central Bank has not yet seen the amount of reliance on private sector deposits that were earlier projected,” Mr Rolle said. “Higher spending against such withdrawals would also have been a pressure point on the foreign reserves. It is likely, though that the families most encountering employment hardships are those

least likely to have saved meaningful amounts ahead of the economic crisis.”

The Central Bank, in its monthly report for June, said of the tourism sector: “After the borders partially re-opened to private aviation on June 15, the latest data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) showed that total international departures stood at 1,006 during the review month, relative to a seasonal expansion of 16.9 percent to 148,597 in the same period last year.

“During the first half of the year, outward bound traffic contracted by 57.6 percent, a turnaround

MARKET REPORT (242) 323-2330

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,096.75 | CHG: 0.76 | %CHG: 0.04 | YTD: -134.85 | YTD%: -6.04 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.10 22.65 2.00 1.79 2.50 6.00 6.75 5.47 8.59 4.50 6.16 12.77 3.64 5.49 10.88 8.44 16.99 4.25 9.40 15.21

52WK LOW 3.13 20.91 0.67 1.79 1.67 5.40 5.39 2.00 5.05 3.62 5.60 11.05 2.71 2.64 9.60 7.10 13.04 3.20 8.00 13.90

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

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

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

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

SYMBOL LAST CLOSE AML 3.20 APD 17.43 BBL 1.62 BFH 1.79 BOB 1.67 BPF 6.00 BWL 6.75 CAB 2.99 CBB 5.10 CBL 3.79 CHL 6.10 CIB 11.26 CWCB 2.45 DHS 5.30 EMAB 10.18 FAM 8.44 FBB 14.30 FCL 3.99 FIN 8.97 JSJ 15.20 BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

CLOSE 3.35 17.43 1.62 1.79 1.67 6.00 6.75 2.99 5.10 3.79 6.10 11.26 2.53 5.30 10.19 8.44 14.30 3.99 8.97 15.20

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 0.90

CHANGE 0.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.01 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

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) + Bahamas First Holdings Limited

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

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

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

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

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

VOLUME 1,000

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

VOLUME

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

P/E 14.0 18.7 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.3 -6.8 36.4 20.6 13.6 15.6 24.8 11.3 15.8 11.6 17.5 19.7 9.6 24.1

YIELD 5.07% 7.23% 1.23% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.85% 0.00% 0.00% 3.17% 3.61% 6.39% 17.15% 1.13% 3.22% 2.84% 3.78% 3.01% 2.23% 4.01%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

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

MATURITY

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.34 4.41 2.11 198.39 168.29 1.69 1.85 1.77 1.24 8.34 10.26 7.08 12.15 12.71 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.64 1.77 1.72 1.07 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

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

NAV 2.34 4.41 2.11 196.40 163.60 1.69 1.81 1.77 1.07 8.30 9.90 7.08 11.27 12.71 10.23 N/A 8.31 10.01

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.13% 4.00% 0.91% 2.59% 1.04% 2.39% 0.65% 2.50% -1.88% 3.33% 1.88% 3.90% -2.26% 2.49% 0.76% 3.56% -11.03% -8.03% -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%

MARKET TERMS

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

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

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

“Similarly, the average daily room rate (ADR) for both hotel comparable listings and entire place listings declined by 3.4 percent and 2.2 percent, to $144.47 and $412.68, respectively. On a year-to-date basis, total room nights sold decreased by 39.2 percent, owing to retrenchments of 40.7 percent and 24.8 percent in bookings for entire place listings and hotel comparable listings, respectively.

“Pricing indicators varied, as the ADR for hotel comparable listings moved lower by 1.5 percent to $155.52, while the ADR for entire place listings rose by one percent to $405.01.”

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

www.bisxbahamas.com

TUESDAY, 4 AUGUST 2020

from a 19.4 percent expansion in the prior year.

Underpinning this outcome, the US component reduced by 58.7 percent, a reversal from a 21.1 percent increase in the previous year; and the non-US component decreased by 51 percent vis-à-vis a ten percent rise in 2019.”

Turning to the vacation rental market, it added: “Data provided by AirDNA for the month of June showed a 67 percent reduction in total room nights sold, as bookings for entire place listings fell by 68.2 percent and hotel comparable listings by 53.6 percent.

NAV Date

30-Jun-2020 30-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2020 30-Jun-2020 30-Jun-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-2020 31-May-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

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The Public is hereby advised that I, BERNADETTE SHEILA ROLLE, of Edgewater Drive, P.O. Box N-7776, Nassau, Bahamas, intend to change my name to BERNADETTE SHEILA BENEBY. If there are any objections to this change of name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than Thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, RANIQUE FELECIA CURTIS/ RANIQUE FELECIA CLARKE of Eastern District, Nassau,Bahamas intend to change my name to RANIQUE FELECIA ROLLE. 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.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 5, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

TRUMP’S DEMAND FOR US CUT OF A TIKTOK DEAL IS UNPRECEDENTED NEW YORK Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s demand that the US government get a cut from a potential Microsoft purchase of TikTok is the latest unprecedented scenario in an unprecedented situation.

Microsoft is in talks to buy parts of TikTok, a forced sale after Trump threatened to ban the Chinese-owned video app, which claims 100 million US users and hundreds of millions globally.

The Trump administration says TikTok is a nationalsecurity concern. How a ban would have worked was not

clear; that federal authority has never been used before with a consumer app.

TikTok denies that it would send US user data to the Chinese government.

Microsoft did not address a potential price when it confirmed the talks.

Trump said on Monday to reporters that the US “should get a very large percentage of that price because we’re making it possible”, adding that “we want and we think we deserve to have a big percentage of that price coming to America, coming to the Treasury”.

Trump sometimes floats ideas or actions that get set aside without

follow-through.

Appearing on the Fox Business Network yesterday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow appeared to walk back the idea of a payment to the Treasury, saying “I don’t know if that’s a key stipulation.”

TikTok was under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, a US government group chaired by the Treasury Secretary that studies mergers for nationalsecurity reasons, for its acquisition of another video app, Musical.ly, in 2017.

The president can approve or disapprove a transaction

recommended by the interagency panel. CFIUS collects filing fees, but those top out at $300,000.

“I doubt that’s what Trump has in mind,” said Hal Singer, an antitrust expert and managing director at consulting firm Econ One. “Outside of that I can’t think of any means by which the US could basically get its vig on its forced transfer.” A “vig” is slang for interest on a loan, usually in the context of illegal activity, or the fee charged by a bookie for a bet.

There’s no legal precedent in antitrust law for such a payment, said Gene Kimmelman, a senior

adviser at the advocacy group Public Knowledge and a former antitrust official at the Department of Justice. “In terms of a foreign company agreeing to sell assets to a US company subject to antitrust review, I can’t see any logical basis under which Treasury or the White House would be negotiating elements of the financial portions of the deal.”

While noting that he is not an expert in all areas of US law and the broad authority that the president has, he said the TikTok deal and the White House’s role in it was highly unusual.

“Not in my experience have

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 77° F/25° C

TAMPA

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

Partly cloudy

Partly sunny, a t‑storm in spots

Mostly sunny; stray thunderstorm

Clouds and sun with a thunderstorm

Partly sunny

High: 88°

Low: 79°

High: 88° Low: 79°

High: 87° Low: 76°

High: 87° Low: 76°

High: 87° Low: 76°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

101° F

88° F

100°-89° F

98°-83° F

99°-83° F

98°-80° F

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 81° F/27° C

6‑12 knots

S

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 77° F/25° C

6‑12 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE

FREEPORT

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 76° F/24° C

E S

E

W

WEST PALM BEACH

W

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

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

N

uV inDex toDay

TONIGHT

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 89° F/32° C Low: 79° F/26° C

MIAMI

High: 91° F/33° C Low: 80° F/27° C

3‑6 knots

KEY WEST

High: 90° F/32° C Low: 84° F/29° C

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 79° F/26° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

tiDes For nassau Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

9:46 a.m.

10:07 p.m.

High

Ht.(ft.)

2.8 3.3

3:53 a.m.

3:51 p.m.

0.3 0.3

Thursday

10:28 a.m.

10:46 p.m.

2.8 3.1

4:31 a.m.

4:34 p.m.

0.4 0.5

Friday

11:09 a.m.

11:24 p.m.

2.8 3.0

5:09 a.m.

5:16 p.m.

0.5 0.7

Saturday

11:51 a.m. ‑‑‑‑‑

2.8 ‑‑‑‑‑

5:47 a.m.

6:00 p.m.

0.6 0.9

Sunday

12:04 a.m.

12:35 p.m.

2.8 2.7

6:25 a.m.

6:47 p.m.

0.7 1.0

Monday

12:45 a.m.

1:22 p.m.

2.6 2.7

7:05 a.m.

7:38 p.m.

0.8 1.2

Tuesday

1:31 a.m.

2:12 p.m.

2.5 2.7

7:48 a.m.

8:33 p.m.

0.9 1.3

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

6:40 a.m.

7:52 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

9:33 p.m.

8:19 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Aug. 11

Aug. 18

Aug. 25

Sep. 2

CAT ISLAND

E

W

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

N

S

E

W

4‑8 knots

S

6‑12 knots Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 2 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 86° F/30° C Low .................................................... 79° F/26° C Normal high ....................................... 89° F/31° C Normal low ........................................ 76° F/24° C Last year’s high ................................. 91° F/33° C Last year’s low ................................... 80° F/27° C Precipitation As of 2 p.m. yesterday .................................. trace Year to date ............................................... 34.48” Normal year to date ................................... 20.60”

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

I seen any engagement from the White House in this manner,” he said. “It’s already a unique situation from start to finish with the government intervening to prevent use of a service in the US.” There are no “obvious antitrust or other legal bases” for the demand for “what is in effect a payoff to the US government,” said Eswar Prassad, an economist at Cornell University. “The notion of a payment to the US government sets a dangerous precedent of explicit entanglement between national security and economic considerations.”

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

N

High: 88° F/31° C Low: 82° F/28° C

S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 79° F/26° C

H

E

W

6‑12 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 87° F/31° C Low: 80° F/27° C

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

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS RAGGED ISLAND High: 85° F/29° C Low: 80° F/27° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 88° F/31° C Low: 81° F/27° C

N

N E

W

E

W

L

High: 86° F/30° C Low: 80° F/27° C

S

S

6‑12 knots

7‑14 knots

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

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

WINDS SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 6‑12 Knots E at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots SE at 7‑14 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots E at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots ESE at 7‑14 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots SE at 4‑8 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots E at 6‑12 Knots E at 8‑16 Knots SE at 6‑12 Knots ESE at 4‑8 Knots

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

VISIBILITY 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 6 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 7 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 84° F 84° F 87° F 88° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 84° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 86° F 87° F 87° F 85° F 85° F 85° F 84° F 84° F 85° F 86° F 86° F 85° F 84° F 85° F