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Bahamasair’s cash burn at $7m on ‘deeper dive’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

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“DEEPER dive” has revealed Bahamasair is burning through $7m per month in what one Cabinet minister yesterday described as a “vexing” problem for taxpayers and the Public Treasury.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, pictured, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business that previous estimates suggesting the national flag carrier’s total COVID-19 shutdown was costing $3.5m per month had under-estimated the magnitude of the problem by 50 percent.

That sum, he explained, consisted largely of staff

• Going through double previous $3.5m estimate • Minister admits ‘vexing’ problem for govt agencies • Must ‘pivot quickly to focus on saving livelihoods’

payroll and benefits, and ignored other costs such as the airport fees, leases and rents that Bahamasair pays at all international airports

it flies to, plus insurance and debt servicing payments associated with the $120m loan that helped reequip its fleet.

“Bahamasair is totally shut down right now. It probably has about $7m a month in fixed costs by the time you factor in payroll and benefits, airport leases and other insurance, and all those other fixed costs. That’s what it’s clipping up at,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

Both Tommy Turnquest, Bahamasair’s chairman, and Tracy Cooper, the airline’s managing director, have

SEE PAGE 3

Water Corp ‘hanging on a very tight string’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE government has little choice but to bail-out a Water & Sewerage Corporation that is “hanging on a very tight string”,” a Cabinet minister confirmed yesterday.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that the stateowned water utility is facing “tremendous challenges” due to the growing number of customers unable to pay their bills due to COVID19 related job and income losses.

With the pandemic worsening the problems created by the corporation’s below-cost tariff rates and Hurricane Dorian, which inflicted millions of dollars in repair costs as well as wiping out virtually its

• Minister: Govt ‘will have to assist’ • COVID fall-out is ‘unsustainable’ • Fears no-disconnect policy ‘abuse’ entire Abaco customer base, Mr Bannister said the financial position was becoming increasingly unsustainable with “tremendous amounts of money” now owing to suppliers, contractors and service providers.

Praising the Corporation’s executive chairman, Adrian Gibson, and general manager, Elwood Donaldson, for “just keeping things going”, Mr Bannister said the utility was “very reluctant” to disconnect any delinquent customers given water’s importance in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, he added that both the corporation

One hundred plan march for ‘242 business survival’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

PERMISSION is being sought for a “business survival march” to draw attention to the plight of entrepreneurs who fear their firms “might not last beyond September” with the present COVID restrictions.

Mark A Turnquest, pictured, the small business consultant who is organising a march that aims to attract 100 business owners, told Tribune Business yesterday that up to 75 percent of his clients and other entrepreneur contacts

feel they cannot last for more than one month if lockdowns and restrictions remain in place.

Confirming that he had already applied to police commissioner Paul Rolle to stage the march on Friday, September 4, between Arawak Cay and Parliament Square and back again, Mr Turnquest said the level of “stress” many businesses - especially those deemed non-essential by the government - are suffering had persuaded many to take part despite fears it would be seen as political.

SEE PAGE 5

Union calms members over Atlantis concerns

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE hotel union yesterday sought to calm its Atlantis members by saying it has not been approached by the resort over permanent terminations or severance packages less than the legal minimum.

Sheila Edden-Burrows, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s (BHCAWU) general secretary, nevertheless told members in an August 20 note seen by Tribune Business that it will “continue to monitor this new

development” after claims circulated on social media that the Paradise Island mega resort was seeking to negotiate just a four-year severance pay-out for affected staff.

The claims, which were also seen by Tribune Business, alleged that the government wanted Atlantis to go up to the eight-year benchmark.

However, both are below the statutory 12 years set by the Employment Act as the statutory maximum for calculating severance packages for employees who have worked for a company for that length

SEE PAGE 5

DESMOND BANNISTER and the government were reluctant to implement this as a wide-ranging policy because it would encourage persons such as those can pay but will not to “abuse” the situation.

“The Water & Sewerage

Corporation is hanging on a very tight string,” Mr Bannister told Tribune Business. “They’re tremendously challenged. They have huge challenges. Many people are not paying their bills, and as a result of that they don’t have the revenue they need to be able to do what they have to do.

“There are many reverse osmosis suppliers who are owed millions of dollars by the corporation. There are suppliers all over that the corporation owes tremendous amounts of money.”

An insight into the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s

SEE PAGE 5

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First steps to ‘eating a planning elephant’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday pledged the government is taking the first steps to “eat the elephant” and end the ten-year wait for Land Use Plans that are demanded by Bahamian law.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, told Tribune Business that Department of Physical Planning officials had agreed to report back to him by November 2020 on how far they had progressed in developing a land use plan for New Providence.

Acknowledging that such planning tools will guide The Bahamas away from “ad hoc” development and towards more disciplined growth, Mr Bannister also conceded that several Supreme Court rulings had found the government guilty of breaching the Planning and Subdivisions Act 2010.

This made the development of land use plans for every Bahamian island a legal requirement, but successive PLP and FNM administrations did precious little to give this effect even though the Act paved the way for more orderly development and the use of planning to build greater community resilience to flooding and other natural disasters.

“Over the years there’s been lots of starts and stops with land use plans,” Mr Bannister admitted to this newspaper. “We’re finally making some progress. We have a date in November when the Department of Physical Planning is supposed to report to me on certain steps they’ve agreed they can take by then to advance a land use plan for New Providence.

“We’ve been very grateful for the advice of Pericles Maillis who has been involved with this

from the start. The development of a land use plan for New Providence, much less the country, has been a challenge. They’re [the Department] going to get back to me by November with the initial progress on the first steps I’ve asked them to look at.”

Warning that the creation of land use plans for every Bahamian inhabited island will not happen “overnight”, Mr Bannister said the effort would last across multiple administrations and be taken “step by step”.

“You know the old saying about how do you eat an elephant,” he told Tribune Business. “We’ll take one little piece at a each time, and hopefully get the elephant over a long period of time.”

Mr Bannister admitted that the government’s failure to comply with the Planning and Subdivisions Act had resulted in it being found at fault “in a lot of court orders”, and he pledged: “Now we’re moving full steam ahead.

“I’m not sure what the ultimate cost is going to be. We’re going to take the preliminary steps and keep moving ahead. I’m sure someone else will be there to tackle the Family Islands.

“The whole country has been built in an almost ad hoc manner. We can see that. It was based on exigencies as they occurred over time... Now you are going to see some real planning and development, which will take place over the next few years, but it will not be an overnight thing.”

Mr Bannister’s comments came as two recent InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) reports, one dealing with the creation of the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction, and the other with Hurricane

SEE PAGE 5

PAGE 2, Friday, August 21, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

‘LOW HANGING FRUIT’ FOR COVID OPPORTUNITIES

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HE year 2020, and perhaps 2021, will prove to be seasons where entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity will thrive. With thousands of well-established businesses failing under the COVID-19 cloud, and millions being laid-off worldwide, people are being forced into survival mode.

The lay-offs, reduced pay and hours will serve as the inspiration some needed to wake up and get moving.

Thousands of Bahamians are already sitting at home and asking the question: How do I start a business that sustains my family with little to no capital? Successful business persons, who began as a small start-up, will encourage budding entrepreneurs to remain

in the jobs they have, and to begin trading as a side pursuit. A detailed business plan, strong marketing regime and a thorough analysis of your customer base will go a long way in ensuring future success.

This week, we conclude a two-part series sharing ten great business ideas that are “low hanging fruit” for the recently unemployed or individual seeking to seize a new opportunity.

Here are the final five: 6. Roving agriculturalist/ farming assistant With a growing emphasis on organic foods and self-sufficiency in food production, many Bahamians are eyeing with interest starting backyard gardens and “on the low-farming”.

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Go for it. Prepare yourself with seed samples, equipment packages, learning tips and videos that will help your customers experience success in the short-term.

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Laundromats enjoy strong reopen boost

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net LAUNDROMATS yesterday reported brisk business despite being restricted to 50 percent capacity after being given permission to re-open through an easing of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

Cassandra Cartwright, owner of Sunrise Wash, told Tribune Business: “We just reopened this morning so it is hard to say, but I can tell you it was busy. Thank God we are making a couple of dollars again.”

She added that all required washing supplies are in stock, and said: “We are not short on anything.

With regard to the restrictions, we were doing this before and it worked out

fine. We just let in as many as we are supposed to, and when they leave we let another set in.

“We let in at the Fox Hill location about eight people, and at our Bar 20 location we let in about six, because that is a small operation.

But we space people out according to the competent authority’s rules, so when it is not crowded we only have who we are supposed to have inside the stores at all times.”

Ms Cartwright said the 10pm curfew presented no problems, and said: “We are closed to the customers at about 7pm or 7.30pm so we don’t run over into the curfew time. We don’t go over the curfew time and we only let in sufficient people close to closing time.

We let staff get home in time.”

The government’s latest emergency orders allow laundromats to operate daily from 6am to 9pm. However, they are restricted to 50 percent capacity and cannot allow groups to congregate either inside or outside.

Eleska Thompson, Swift-li Laundry’s general manager, said: “It is very busy actually. We expect this to continue for the next few days.n We are glad to be open and we brought back all of our staff. Everything is going pretty good.”

Nathaniel Dyer, Fast Splash Laundry’s general manager, said: “Things are picking up a bit. Hopefully this will go on for the next couple of days.”

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You just might surprise yourself on what opportunities you might find in this new business venture.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is

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

Andros banking access worry as storm forms

and selling water keeps me very busy. We sell quite a bit of water. We have two suppliers in this area. I supply along with somebody else.

The only concern is that people are having problems with the banking hours, and the number of days that we do have banking.

“That’s a big concern, even with the COVID-19 pandemic, because with limited days you have more people around than if the days were regular days for five days out of the week. So you have more congestion, and more people at the bank at one time, because it is limited days and limited hours.

The limited banking hours are not working in terms of preventing the spread of COVID-19.”

Mr Rahming added: “Other than that, we are prepared for the hurricane. It is difficult times for people. We haven’t had a good economy this year. The bonefishing industry was hit by this situation [COVID-19], and people don’t have that extra money to spend, so whatever they have they are trying to

do the best with it.”

Tavares Thompson, president of the Central Andros Chamber of Commerce, said: “No one is making any preparation right now so, maybe

by Friday, people will begin making preparations. But no one has started to make any serious preparations yet; we are just watching to see what is happening with it. I just took down my shutters from the last storm, Isaias, that just passed, so we are just watching and waiting.”

Responding to concerns over adequate water and food being on the island, Mr Thompson said, “We have sufficient water here, and the boat just left yesterday to replenish the food store, so we should be stocked and prepared if the storm comes our way.

“They closed the bridge in Fresh Creek because it is was damaged. That’s the only thing serious that happened here recently. The mail boat (New G) slammed into the dock yesterday, but other than that everything else is fine here in Central Andros.”

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE South Andros Chamber of Commerce’s head yesterday said access to banking and financial services is the main concern for residents as they prepare for a hurricane amid COVID-19 restrictions.

Joe Rahming told Tribune Business that South Androsians are already preparing for what could be a category one hurricane that scores a direct hit on their island.

“People seem to be prepared in shopping for food items and they are pretty much prepared to an extent,” he said.

“My business runs a water depot and water machine,

IAN FERGUSON BY

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, August 21, 2020, PAGE 3

Auto parts boss says lockdown not working

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net AN AUTO parts dealer yesterday urged the government to open-up the economy and focus more on enforcing COVID-19 health protocols as opposed to a lockdown strategy that has “obviously failed”.

Dwayne Higgs, WHIM Automotive’s general manager, told Tribune Business: “I think we can reopen.

Instead of us trying these lockdowns, which have

obviously failed, and they are not really doing anything other than frustrating people and then jamming the same amount of people on shorter days closer together.

“Let everyone open up and put the focus on the protocols, and the six feet apart and the sanitising and the apps. Do that instead of wasting manpower with blockades [curfews] and all of that other foolishness.”

On curfews, Mr Higgs said the authorities can still “do some of that in

the night time, and that’s fine to keep the parties and whatever else down. The lockdowns are not working; they are frustrating people, it is killing the economy and it is putting people into poverty.

“My thing would be to forget the lockdowns. Let everyone open, and ensure everyone is following the safety protocols. If you see a shop not following the safety protocols, then that is when you either shut them down, pay the fine or both,” he added.

“You can pay for the utilities, you can pay for your shipments and all of that, but with being closed down now we made the decision to pay our staff for another week because it is just not fair on them.

So I just think that is the way going forward. If you do another lockdown after this it is going to be chaos.

People are just fed up and frustrated.

“We just said that we were going to lockdown for seven days, and now a little storm that’s headed our

way caused the competent authority to reverse that.

That has destroyed everything you tried to squelch by telling everyone to stay home. You just hit the reset button on that with all of the crowds that are out there now. Then you are not going to see those numbers until a week or so from now,” Mr Higgs continued.

“This is the first time where everybody’s health and safety is in somebody else’s hands. That’s why at my store I am very strict with it, and you can see

my staff rolling their eyes when they see me because I am ultra-strict with it.

I’ve actually had customers leave because they refuse to cover up properly and, once you stick with that, you can kill this thing in a matter of two months.”

Mr Higgs said he has been monitoring other countries and how they are dealing with COVID-19.

While most have been dealing with a surge in cases since June, The Bahamas has to “deal with it and coexist”.

Destination provider signs Disney contract

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN tour and destination provider has added Disney to its roster of cruise line clients despite the industry’s delayed return and wait for COVID-19 border/lockdown restrictions to ease.

Peter Rebmann, Pearl Island’s managing partner, told Tribune Business: “Pearl Island has as its biggest client, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), which is the second largest

cruise line in the world.

But from the port calls, it is the number one cruise line here in The Bahamas.

“We also have Norwegian Cruise Line, which is the third largest cruise line in the world,. and we are really happy we signed up Disney last week. So Disney, which is number four in the world, is our newest addition.”

Mr Rebmann added: “We also have nearly 100 percent of all of the cruise lines from Europe coming to The Bahamas. We also have Costa Cruise Lines,

which is the largest cruise line in Europe. We also have TUI, which is a subsidiary of RCCL, and is a German company. It’s the largest travel and leisure company in the world.”

He said it had taken three years’ worth of work to contract with the cruise lines to take their passengers to its destination. “We have a few daughter companies from Carnival also as clients,” Mr Rebmann said.

Pearl Island, he revealed, was also bracing in case it had to take over paying

Bahamasair’s cash burn at $7m on ‘deeper dive’

FROM PAGE ONE

previously said the first COVID-19 three-month lockdown cost the national flag carrier some $10.5m or $3.5m per month.

Challenged to explain the discrepancy, Mr D’Aguilar replied: “That [$3.5m] was for payroll. We’ve done a deeper dive. We’ve got that payroll, the $120m loan that was taken out for the five ATR aircraft, which is about $100m now as we’ve paid-off some of it.

“You’ve got the airport rent wherever Bahamasair flies, whether it’s West Palm Beach; Fort Lauderdale; Miami; NAD; Orlando; Grand Bahama; Turks & Caicos; Haiti. You’re in about $84m, or $7m per month, in fixed costs.”

The minister added that the airline’s staffing costs, inclusive of salaries, pensions, benefits and health insurance, accounted for just under 50 percent of the total by coming in at between $35.$40m per year.

Bahamasair’s plight, he added, mirrored that of all government-owned entities in the Bahamian aviation industry. Mr D’Aguilar noted that both the Airport Authority and Nassau Flight Services (NFS), as well as the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), had seen their fee-based income sources evaporate as a result of the tourism shutdown and border closures related to COVID-19.

The minister conceded that NAD’s ability to service the nine-figure debt taken on to finance Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) $409.5m redevelopment will be threatened if the COVID19 pandemic and travel shutdown persist for many more months.

With the airport operator’s fee and rental income having dried up, Mr

D’Aguilar said: “You have to scale back all your operations, all your discretionary spending and all your capital expenditure to meet the obligations to the debt holders.

“You have the cash you have, but that will only take you so far. There will probably come a time to turn to your bond holders and ask for concessions; whatever you can get. You have to turn to your bond holders, at some stage when the opportunity presents itself, and ask for concessions.

“You have to really throttle back all of your expenses in order to push that discussion as far down the road as possible and hope things begin to turn prior to that.”

Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business that the government will now “have to pivot quickly” to focus on saving jobs, businesses and the economy as well as deal with COVID-19’s health implications after the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimated that the pandemic could threaten up to 100,000 Bahamian jobs.

With an IDB study forecasting more than one in six “formal” Bahamian jobs might be lost, the minister said: “The pandemic is devastating. It’s just devastating in so many ways. It’s very sad that it’s so devastating.

I think we probably have to pivot quite quickly to really focus on saving livelihoods.

“I think that’s going to be a major concern for all of us. COVID-19 is here for a while. I think everybody understands it’s here for at least another year, as much as want to be optimistic about the availability of a vaccine we have to start recognising this is a new normal, and we’re going to have to start living with COVID-19 in some way, shape or form for the next 12 months at a minimum.

It’s real challenge.”

Mr D’Aguilar said more

than 1,000 jobs relied upon Bahamasair, Nassau Flight Services and the Airport Authority, all of which have seen their fee and userbased income shrivel with the global travel and tourism shutdown.

“Bahamasair is probably the biggest of the bunch because it has the biggest fixed costs with the aircraft and a substantial payroll,” he added. “All of those agencies are significantly impacted by the fact they have no users paying fees.

“If your regard is to maintain the employee levels, that becomes a burden.

Now they don’t have the user fees, they will revert back to the shareholder for payroll costs. It’s vexing me and vexing the Treasury, the minister of finance, because usually those agencies rely on government for a subvention but not nearly as substantial as that which is coming due.

“We’re fighting as hard as we can to maintain salaries and wages to as many people as we can for as long as we can... The minister of finance [K Peter Turnquest] is probably getting this challenge all around from many government entities that relied on user fees,” Mr D’Aguilar continued.

“It’s a systemic problem.

All those government agencies that survive on user fees, when they’re dislocated because people cannot pay or are not using the service any more, the cost structure in many of those entities is at a high level of fixed costs, and when you don’t get many customers your losses career out of control. They explode.”

Mr Turnquest, Bahamasair’s chairman, previously warned that the airline will close down unless it receives a substantial increase upon the $19m subsidy allocated in the 2020-2021 budget due to its mounting losses.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

its 30-plus staff should the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) unemployment benefit scheme be exhausted by end-September, as its responsible minister, Brensil Rolle, indicated recently.

“From our side, NIB is doing a fantastic job,” Mr Rebmann said. “Our employees are getting what they deserve and I am very happy about that. But Pearl Island is also again preparing funds in case NIB begins to run out of money, so we are collecting money from friends of mine and,

hopefully, NIB can continue its work, but if not we are prepared to pay our own employees again out of our own pockets.”

Describing The Bahamas’ tourism shutdown as a “disaster” and “devastating”, Mr Rebmann said he disagrees with persons saying that this nation should look to other industries as its main economic driver. He said: “The Bahamas has the perfect location and travel will never, ever end. It will come back, and it will always be our main business. It would be silly

to try to go into other businesses where the country has zero experience.”

Mr Rebmann said The Bahamas will probably not see any cruise ship visitors until Christmas 2020, but the timing depends on how quickly this nation and the US get COVID-19 under control, as well as the restrictions that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) impose on the sector. “There is nothing you can do at this time. This is a waiting game and a very costly waiting game,” he added.

Water supply warning for independent depots

also have to be able to keep my depot going. As the depot gets depleted I supply it, but the juggling act I was referring to is that we also have trucks on the road.

“So my trucks are on the road, and they are delivering to all of my customers. A lot of the critical places like the hospitals and the food stores, and places where people go to get water, my trucks are on the road dealing with that as well as at people’s homes and for people that cannot come out.

“It is very important that we try and turn those around fast so my trucks can get back on the road and do deliveries.

As my trucks are on the road I am trying to keep my depot stocked so we don’t run out of supply there either. That’s my juggling act that I am finding myself in right now,” he added.

“We haven’t stopped production. There is no water shortage, we haven’t sold out and we won’t sell out. As long as I am producing I am putting product back out there.”

Many independent water depots were out of water when Tribune Business pulled up yesterday. “I feel for the independent depots, especially at a time like this when a lot of people are out of jobs and they are fortunate enough to be able to broker in a commodity that is in very high demand now, and a necessity,” Mr Knowles said.

“But they still have their challenges because the

independent water depots get water from all of the other water companies. We have two depots that are under our umbrella. We have two company depots; one is on Marathon and Wulff Road, and the other is our main depot at our Bernard Road plant.”

“There are a lot of other independent depots that are around the island, and they get water from the other suppliers. We supply some of them. But I can imagine that when they go and get themselves resupplied they are finding themselves in the same situation as everybody on the line and, in a lot of cases, when it gets to the point where you have to take stock of where your priorities are, you might have to limit some people from getting certain amounts.

“You can’t service everybody that wants to get 20 or 30 bottles of water, and you have to limit them, so what we say is that we will give you some now and we will give you some later. So I can imagine that this is the problem that they are facing.”

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A MAJOR bottled water supplier yesterday said it might have to limit service to some independent depots to enable production to catch up with demand.

Christian Knowles, Aquapure’s operations chief, told Tribune Business: “We’re not having any production issues; we’re producing at full steam ahead. It’s just how much the demand is.”

“I have a juggling act. My trucks come back in the yard, and I want to be able to turn them around and get them back on the road, but I still want to be able to replenish my depot. So you can imagine the situation we have if we’re running production straight through.

“As we get the empty five gallon bottles they get turned around, put back on our industrial line. Then they get washed, they get sanitised, they get filled, and then they are right back on the trucks or the depot.”

Mr Knowles continued: “When we get high demand, and people may want ten to 15 bottles of water each, I have to service them and I

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PAGE 4, Friday, August 21, 2020

US halts imports linked to Taiwanbased fishing vessel WASHINGTON Associated Press ACCOUNTS of abusive conditions and forced labour have prompted the US to halt imports from a Taiwan-based fishing vessel that reportedly has supplied the global tuna trading company that acquired Bumble Bee Seafoods this year.

US Customs and Border Protection issued the order blocking shipments from the Da Wang at all American ports, the second such action by the Trump administration against a vessel in the Taiwanese shipping fleet since May. It follows reports from Greenpeace East Asia of abuses in the second largest fleet in the world after China that partly led the agency to act this week under a US law intended to keep out products tainted by forced labour.

The global fishing industry has been plagued by labor abuses for years, with workers subjected to brutal treatment often with little or no pay.

Congress approved legislation providing the agency with additional authority to crack down on forced labor in 2016 after an Associated Press investigation found that seafood caught by slaves in Southeast Asia was ending up in restaurants and markets around the United States.

The CBP announcement did not mention Bumble Bee or Taiwan-based FCF, which acquired the seafood company in February following the disclosure of a price-fixing scheme among canned tuna companies in the US. Andy Shen, senior oceans adviser at Greenpeace USA, said FCF confirmed it had been supplied at least once in 2019 by the Da Wang and the company did not dispute the contention in a statement it issued with Bumble Bee. “FCF remains in ongoing communication with Greenpeace and is in complete agreement that significant progress must be made to ensure responsible labor practices are followed on all tuna vessels,” it said.

The statement said the companies will continue to “make the responsible recruitment and treatment of all workers an ongoing top priority” and “will not tolerate any human rights or environmental violations in our supply chain”.

A spokeswoman declined to answer specific questions from the AP about its relationship to the ship cited

by Customs and Border Protection.

Shen said the US order “makes it clear to US buyers of Bumble Bee or FCF supplied tuna that there are legal, financial, and reputational risks” to buying from companies that abuse their workers.

“The days of turning a blind eye are over,” he said.

The Da Wang, which is flagged in the island nation of Vanuatu and registered to corporate owners in Taiwan, operates in the Pacific, often transferring its cargo to larger vessels so it can stay longer at sea.

Greenpeace took statements from migrant fishermen from Indonesia who worked on the Da Wang.

Workers told the environmental and human rights organisation they were forced to work up to 22 hours per day, beaten and threatened by the crew, provided with little or poor quality food and had their wages withheld.

They said one man who was beaten was later found dead.

Customs and Border Protection typically conducts its own investigation after receiving allegations. It issues an order that temporarily detains any shipments if it determines there is sufficient evidence of forced labor and that the goods reach the US. It’s then up to the company to prove the goods are produced legally or to take them back.

THE TRIBUNE

Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy WASHINGTON Associated Press THE coronavirus recession struck swiftly and violently. Now, with the US economy still in the grip of the outbreak five months later, the recovery looks fitful and uneven — and painfully slow.

The latest evidence came yesterday, when the government reported that the number of workers applying for unemployment climbed back over one million last week after two weeks of declines.

The figures suggest that employers are still slashing jobs even as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded.

“Getting the virus in check dictates when there’ll be relief from this economic nightmare, and it doesn’t look like it will be soon,” said AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed, a job listings website.

The scourge in the US has killed more than 170,000 people and caused over 5.5 million confirmed infections, with deaths rising by more than 1,000 a day on average. Worldwide, the death toll stands at about 790,000, with over 22 million cases.

The overall number of laid-off American workers collecting unemployment benefits declined last week from 15.5 million to 14.8 million. Many of them probably found jobs. But some may have used up all their benefits, which in most states run out after about six months.

In Europe, meanwhile, fears mounted over rising infections, many of them attributed to vacationers and young people lowering their guard.

Italy added nearly 850 cases to its count, with Sardinia becoming a hot spot because of people partying at nightclubs and other spots without masks. Greece reported 269 new infections, matching a record high set two days earlier. Amid a surge in Spain, emergency coordinator Fernando Simón said younger people should take into account the risk of infecting older relatives.

“Nobody should be

A PERSON looks inside the closed doors of the Pasadena Community Job Center in Pasadena, Calif, during the coronavirus outbreak.

Yesterday, the government reported that the number of workers applying for unemployment climbed back over one million last week after two weeks of declines.

Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP fooled. Things are not going well,” he said.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron insisted the country will send millions of students back to school starting Sept 1, despite the biggest weekly spike in cases since the height of the outbreak in March and April — over 18,000.

“The return to school will happen” in the coming days, Macron said. “We will not bring our countries to a halt, but we will have to learn to live with the virus.”

Elsewhere around the world, India logged a record 69,652 confirmed infections in a single day.

In the US, the previous weekly report from the Labor Department showed new jobless claims had dipped below one million for the first time since March, to 971,000. But that trend reversed itself this time.

Many businesses and consumers remain paralysed by uncertainty and restricted by lockdowns, and job gains appear to be slowing from the rapid bounce-backs of May and June, when millions of restaurant and store employees were rehired.

The number of job openings posted on Indeed fell last week for the first time since April.

Twenty-two million jobs were lost to the outbreak

in March and April. In the past three months, only 9.3 million have been regained, and unemployment remains high at 10.2%.

Until the virus can be brought under control, economists agree, any recovery is destined to remain weak.

Kronos, a company that makes time-tracking software for small businesses, said the number of shifts worked by its clients is barely growing after rising steadily in the previous three months. Shifts worked are stuck at about 10% below their pre-pandemic level.

“It’s increasingly clear that the last 10% of the recovery will be the most challenging,” said Dave Gilbertson, a vice president at Kronos.

At the same time, those who are drawing unemployment are now getting far less aid because a $600a-week federal benefit has expired, which means they must get by solely on the much smaller benefits from their states. That has deepened the struggle for many and put some in danger of eviction.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to provide $300 a week in federal unemployment aid. Twenty-eight states so far have said they will dispense it, though they

would need to revamp their computer systems, and it could take a few weeks for the money to start flowing to some recipients.

Arizona said on Monday it has started paying out the extra $300 this week, the first state to do so.

While home construction and sales have bounced back along with auto purchases, small businesses are struggling, and spending on travel, entertainment and many other services is still weak. While more Americans are eating at restaurants, seated dining is still 54% below pre-pandemic levels, according to OpenTable.

Daniel Zhao, an economist at Glassdoor, an employment website, said the industries with the largest increase in job openings are health care and e-commerce and delivery services.

But those gains reflect mainly responses to the outbreak rather than economic growth.

Yesterday’s report showed that in addition to people who applied last week for state benefits, roughly 540,000 others sought aid under a new program that has made self-employed and gig workers eligible for the first time. That figure isn’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so it is reported separately.

Including the

self-employed and gig workers brings to 28 million the number of people receiving some form of jobless aid, though that figure may include double-counting in some states. That number is little changed from a week earlier.

State unemployment benefits average about $308 a week. Louisiana pays the nation’s lowest average, $183, Hawaii the highest, $456.

For John Williams, a former cabdriver in Slidell, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans, the loss of the $600 in federal benefits landed him in a food bank line this week, waiting for groceries.

He now receives just $107 in state unemployment aid, which is all that he qualifies for based on his previous income.

Before the virus dried up most of his business, Williams, 77, used to pick up fares at the New Orleans airport. Now, besides his jobless aid, he receives about $300 a month from Social Security and a small pension from a previous job as a maintenance man in the city’s school system. He can barely cover his mortgage.

Williams has gone two days without taking his blood pressure medication because when he went to have it refilled, the cost had doubled.

“I’m hanging in there, doing the best I can,” he said.

PANDEMIC PUSHES EXPANSION OF ‘HOSPITAL-AT-HOME’ TREATMENT Associated Press

AS HOSPITALS care for people with COVID19 and try to keep others from catching the virus, more patients are opting to be treated where they feel safest: at home.

Across the US, “hospital at home” programs are taking off amid the pandemic, thanks to communications technology, portable medical equipment and teams of doctors, nurses, X-ray techs and paramedics. That’s reducing strains on medical centers and easing patients’ fears.

The programmes represent a small slice of the roughly 35 million US hospitalisations each year, but they are growing fast with boosts from Medicare and private health insurers.

Like telemedicine, the concept stands to become more popular with consumers hooked on home delivery and other Internet-connected conveniences.

Eligible patients typically are acutely ill with — but don’t need roundthe-clock intensive care for — common conditions including chronic heart failure, respiratory ailments, diabetes complications, infections and even COVID-19.

They are linked to 24/7 command centers via video and monitoring devices that send their vital signs. They get several daily home visits from a dedicated medical team. Just like in a hospital, they can press an emergency button any time for instant help.

Research on such programs around the world over the past 25 years shows

NURSE practitioner Sadie Paez uses a stethoscope to listen to the chest of William Merry, who is recovering from pneumonia at his home in Ipswich, Mass. As hospitals care for people with COVID-19 and try to keep others from catching the virus, more patients are opting to be treated where they feel safest: at home.

Photo: Elise Amendola/AP patients recover faster, have fewer complications and are more satisfied, while costs can be a third lower.

Doctors, hospital officials and patients tout other advantages: People get more rest sleeping in their own bed. They can eat what they want, start moving around quicker and go outside for fresh air.

They’re less likely to fall in their familiar surroundings, where they have support from family and even pets.

“I would recommend it in a heartbeat for anybody to be able to stay at home,” said William Merry, who received care for pneumonia in July at his Ipswich, Massachusetts, home.

“There was never any problem. Never.”

Merry, who had endured an uncomfortable hospital stay six years ago, refused another one when

antibiotic pills didn’t help and his temperature hit 103. So his doctor arranged care through Boston-based Medically Home.

Merry and wife Linda, a retired nurse, said they were amazed at how quickly the service transformed their dining room into a mini-hospital room.

Technicians set up medical equipment, gave them supplies and oxygen tanks, then explained how everything worked.

That eased their stress, as did regular video calls with a doctor. They got daily schedules listing planned medical staff visits, blood draws, tests, IV medicine administration and other care, she said.

“I think it’s really important,” she cautioned, “that the person has somebody that’s able to be at home.”

Dr Bruce Leff, a geriatrics

professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a home hospital pioneer, did pilot studies years ago. He found benefits for elderly patients who, as he said, were otherwise “basically going to get crushed by the hospital” due to risks of developing blood clots and infections, losing mobility and developing delirium.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic emerged earlier this year, some hospitals were considering at-home-care programmes to absorb temporary patient spikes — and avoid the high cost of new buildings.

It’s unknown exactly how many US programmes exist, but when COVID-19 struck, some institutions rushed to sign up with Medically Home and similar services.

Nashville, Tennesseebased Contessa Health,

which serves 14 hospitals in six states, says it’s adding two more hospitals shortly and is negotiating potential contracts for about 20 more.

Patient volume has jumped 140% since last year and it’s added care for patients “admitted” from urgent care and cancer clinics.

Another company, DispatchHealth, previously focused mainly on preventing ER visits by rushing paramedics to provide diagnostic testing, medication and other care at patients’ homes or elsewhere. The Denver-based company says it has 200plus contracts with insurers in 19 US markets to treat seriously ill and injured people at home. It piloted a hospital-at-home program in November, already has programs running in three cities and plans rapid expansion.

Some hospitals have mounted their own at-home programs. In late March, eight of the Atrium Health system’s 36 hospitals in the Carolinas and Georgia began one for COVID-19 patients who don’t need intensive care. It’s already treated about 11,000 people.

Meanwhile, hospitals with existing programmes are seeing far more patients choose at-home care.

In New York, the Mount Sinai at Home program went from handling ten patients a month to up to 30, said its director, Dr Linda DeCherrie. The program has since added a twist in which patients start care inside the hospital, then finish at home.

“Everybody we offered it to said yes,” said DeCherrie.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, August 21, 2020, PAGE 5

Water Corp ‘hanging on a very tight string’ FROM PAGE ONE

financial challenges, and the increasing burden this will inflict on the Bahamian taxpayer, was provided earlier this week when its main water supplier, BISXlisted Consolidated Water, revealed that the government had paid $4m in July to reduce the utility’s debt to it to $17.8m.

Mr Bannister yesterday said COVID-19’s economic fall-out had exacerbated the problems posed by the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s already-inadequate revenue streams due to the fact it is selling water at a price below the cost it takes to produce it and buy it from various reverse osmosis suppliers.

“They don’t have debts to the level of Bahamas Power & Light (BPL),” the minister added, “but when you put that perspective they still have huge debts relative to the size of the corporation. It cannot be sustained.

The government is going

to have to assist.

“We are consuming a product that many of us are reluctant to pay for. When you have a situation like this [pandemic], the corporation cannot keep disconnecting people. People have to have water to survive.

“When we’re in the middle of a pandemic the corporation is very reluctant to disconnect anyone. I don’t want to say this is a policy because there are many people who will abuse it.

But when it comes to circumstances where people legitimately cannot pay their bills, we understand that.

That’s our job as part of the social construct.”

Mr Bannister suggested the absence of direct taxation meant many Bahamians did not equate subsidies to state-owned corporations with the fact that they were often paying for those who did not pay their bills.

While he had not seen the Water & Sewerage

One hundred plan march for ‘242 business survival’ FROM PAGE ONE To accompany the march, Mr Turnquest said those involved planned to present “a business recovery” document to the government covering ten industries once the event was over. Among its proposals is likely to be a suggestion for “alternate businesses to open on different days”, meaning that certain sectors would only open three days per week to address fears of COVID-19 spread.

“It’s 100 business owners who are going to get together to make a request to the government and relevant authorities to put together a strategic plan to open up the country in relation to non-essential businesses in what I call a sensible medical and economic fashion,” Mr Turnquest explained to this newspaper.

“I know there’s an Economic Recovery Committee and sub-committees, but the problem is none of them at this moment are telling anyone about what they’re going to in the short-term.

They indicated September for their report, but 75 percent of my business associates, who are my clients or in business chat groups, might not last beyond September.

“A lot of them had already paid rent on August 1, and right now that rent has gone down the drain because they were not open and were closed from the first week in August. It’s going on three weeks and they’re making no money.”

Mr Turnquest said that even his business clients who had sought to diversify into fast-food and take-away enterprises, in the belief such ventures would never be

First steps to ‘eating a planning elephant’ FROM PAGE ONE

Dorian, noted The Bahamas’ failure to develop land use plans as a planning tool that could aid disaster resilience.

With another storm heading towards The Bahamas, the report on the ministry said: “Despite the approval of the Planning and Subdivision Act in 2010 (that requires the development of a land use plan for each island of The Bahamas, consistent with all National Land Use Development Policies), practical development and operationalisation of such plans is still underway in many of the islands.

“Ensuring and promoting data accessibility, and the technical capacity for local authorities to access and interrogate the existing hazard and risk data, as well as the correct use of these data in the development of territorial land-use/zoning planning, are critical factors to build increased resiliency against escalating climate hazards.”

The Dorian-related report added: “Reconstruction in coastal zones that provide hurricane resistance/buffer zones are to be avoided. Implementation of protected areas in selected zones, as part of the existing plan of expanding the

subject to COVID-19 lockdowns, had been forced to eat these costs once these sectors, too, were closed.

He added that many small businesses and entrepreneurs, who had invested heavily in COVID-19 health protocols to ensure they could re-open in June and July, “never planned for a closure like this in August”.

Mr Turnquest said the proposal to have different industries open three days per week was an attempt to strike a balance between allowing companies to earn sufficient revenue to survive and the medical concerns associated with COVID-19.

“The pandemic is not going anywhere,” he added.

The small business consultant, in his August 20 letter to the police commissioner, said: “One Hundred business owners would like the approval to have a nonpolitical, non-violent and controlled march on Friday, September 4, 2020.”

Branding it the 242 Business Survival March, he added: “The mission of the march is to advocate the strategic and timely opening of non-essential businesses [in a way] that focuses on the alignment of medical and economic competing factors.

A business recovery document representing over ten industries will be presented after the march.

“The duration of the march will be from 10am to 1pm commencing from Arawak Cay to Parliament Square and then concluding at Arawak Cay. The business owners will be professional and adhere to all COVID-19 protocols (six feet apart and face masks/shields).”

Mr Turnquest said he was now awaiting a response from Mr Rolle.

Marine Protected Area network in the country, should be followed through as are nature-based solutions to harmonise different land uses in the reconstruction plan.

“The deficiencies in construction and maintenance practices are exacerbated by absent or incipient territorial planning. To enhance resilience, it is recommended that exposed communities and flood prone areas be identified. By collecting data and mapping all low areas with risk of flooding, a zoning system can be generated. This system could be the determinant factor for allowing future construction developments.

“Given the exposure of the country to natural hazards and the repeated damage to infrastructure located close to the shoreline or in floodprone areas, it is imperative to design zoning plans. Although this action is socially, culturally and economically costly, it can no longer be postponed.

“The opportunity should especially be seized in settlements that were completely or almost destroyed and must be rebuilt, as they provide the right conditions to pilot the design and construction of resilient communities. Spatial planning plans must also consider the role of ecosystems as first defense barriers and should encourage ecosystem protection and recovery.”

Corporation’s latest financial figures, Mr Gibson’s June Budget presentation in the House of Assembly had set out the extent and speed of its descent.

He said then that between 60 percent to 70 percent of Water and Sewerage Corporation customers will not be able to pay their bills in the next six months.

“COVID-19 has had a devastating blow to the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s cash flow which, quite honestly, was already in a downward spiral due to the impact of Hurricane Dorian and the loss of our second largest revenue base (Abaco),” Mr Gibson said.

“Year-to-date, cash collections has decreased from $29.8m in June 2019 to $22.5m in 2020. This represents a 25 percent decrease.”

The executive chairman also noted that the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s revenue loss stood at $3.8m per month as a result

of their policy position to not disconnect water from customers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is anticipated that 60 percent to 70 percent of WSC customers (due to the increase in the unemployment rate) will not pay their water bill. This will amount to $2.28m to $2.66m per month or $11.4m over the next six months,” Mr Gibson added.

In the meantime, the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s debt to its main BISX-listed supplier hit almost $20m at the 2020 midpoint as its customers found it increasingly difficult to pay their bills.

Consolidated Water, in last Friday’s 10-Q filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed that Bahamian taxpayers are being relied upon ever-more to fill the financial gaps left by the corporation and its customers as the sum owed to it was cut by some $2.1m

during July.

The owner/operator of New Providence’s Blue Hills and Windsor reverse osmosis plants also disclosed that nearly 80 percent of the debt - or four out of every five dollars owed to it for supplying the Water & Sewerage Corporation and its customers - is delinquent, meaning it is more than 90 days past due.

“Consolidated Water (Bahamas) accounts receivable balances due from the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas amounted to $19.9m as of June 30, 2020 and $18.4m as of December 31, 2019,” Consolidated Water said in its SEC filing.

“Approximately 79 percent of the June 30, 2020, accounts receivable balance was delinquent as of that date. The delay in collecting these accounts receivable has adversely impacted the liquidity of this subsidiary. As of July 31, 2020,

Consolidated Water (Bahamas) accounts receivable from the Water and Sewerage Corporation totalled approximately $17.8m.”

That indicates that the Bahamian taxpayer, via the government, has again been active in cutting the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s receivables balance to a more manageable level.

And Consolidated Water acknowledged that the Public Treasury has always come through to pay what is owed by its sole client, enabling it to avoid taking provisions for doubtful accounts.

However, at $19.9m, the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s debts to its main supplier are as high as they have ever been due to COVID-19’s impact on its own customers’ ability to pay their bills as well as the loss of its second highestproducing island, Abaco, to Hurricane Dorian.

Union calms members over Atlantis concerns FROM PAGE ONE

of time or longer.

And the government is unlikely to waive or change the law just to suit one employer, no matter how large or important that company is. An Atlantis spokesperson did not respond to this newspaper’s request for comment, but one resort contact - speaking on condition of anonymity - also dismissed the notion that the resort will be given special treatment or the law changed to meet its requirements.

Mrs Edden-Burrows, too, noted that it was impossible to make laws apply retroactively even if they were changed. She wrote: “We have not been approached by the company [Atlantis] with regard to any redundancies.

“The law presently provides for employees to receive redundancy payments up to 12 years. The law cannot be amended

ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND retroactively. Any amendments to the law will only affect new employees, not existing employees. Any amendments to the law would have to be debated in the House of Assembly and the Senate respectively.”

Still, observers yesterday suggested it was potentially only a matter of time before Atlantis follows Baha Mar’s lead and moves to permanent terminations given the complete absence of any income and the ongoing uncertainty over when the tourism industry will open and how quickly demand will

come back.

John Pinder, director of labour, was tight-lipped when contacted by Tribune Business on the Atlantis situation, immediately referring this newspaper to Dion Foulkes, minister of labour.

“Call my minister, I think he’s dealing with it,” Mr Pinder said. “I can’t say anything’s going on. I’m not involved.

I’m hearing the same things you’re hearing. He’s got the information.”

Mr Foulkes did not respond to Tribune Business phone calls and messages seeking comment. Dionisio

D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said he was unaware of any developments.

Darrin Woods, the hotel union’s president, told this newspaper that its Atlantis shop stewards had heard nothing in relation to potential terminations or reduced redundancy packages.

However, he said members across all resort properties were growing increasingly frustrated over the continued uncertainty as to when the tourism industry will re-open.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

THURSDAY, 20 AUGUST 2020

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,097.16 | CHG: -0.10 | %CHG: 0.00 | YTD: -134.44 | YTD%: -6.02 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

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

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

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

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

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

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) 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

LAST CLOSE 3.50 17.43 1.62 1.79 1.67 6.00 6.75 2.99 5.10 3.79 6.10 11.26 2.49 5.30 10.02 8.44 14.30 3.99 8.97 15.20

CLOSE 3.50 17.43 1.62 1.79 1.67 6.00 6.75 2.99 5.10 3.79 6.10 11.26 2.44 5.30 9.95 8.44 14.30 3.99 8.97 15.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.05 0.00 -0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

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

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

VOLUME

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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 14.6 18.7 N/M N/M N/M N/M 18.3 -6.8 36.4 20.6 13.6 15.6 23.9 11.3 15.4 11.6 17.5 19.7 9.6 24.1

YIELD 4.86% 7.23% 1.23% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 3.85% 0.00% 0.00% 3.17% 3.61% 6.39% 17.79% 1.13% 3.30% 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

MATURITY

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

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 1.79 1.73 1.06 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 1.68 1.81 1.76 1.07 8.30 9.90 7.08 11.27 12.71 10.23 N/A 8.93 11.27

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.13% 4.00% 0.91% 2.59% 1.04% 2.39% 0.65% 2.50% -1.88% 3.33% 1.10% 2.34% -2.43% 1.49% 0.34% 2.43% -11.07% -9.92% -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 -4.20% 0.20% -8.60% -2.90%

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

NAV Date

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

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, August 21, 2020, PAGE 7

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

Tech gains send indexes higher even as other stocks fall NEW YORK Associated Press BIG technology companies powered more gains on Wall Street yesterday, even as most stocks fell following more discouraging data on the economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% after rallying back from an earlier 0.6% loss as investors weighed new government data showing an increase in the number of Americans who sought unemployment aid last week. A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that manufacturing activity in its region is slowing.

Like the jobless claims report, that reading was also weaker than economists had forecast.

The discouraging reports helped send two out of every three stocks in the S&P 500 lower. Energy producers and financial companies had some of the sharpest drops. Treasury yields also fell, reflecting caution in the market.

But tech stocks in the S&P 500 nevertheless rose 1.4%, continuing a remarkable run of resilience that has carried through the pandemic. The industry has been delivering big profits as the pandemic accelerates work-from-home and other tech-friendly trends.

And because they’re among the biggest stocks by total market value, their movements carry more weight on the index.

The S&P 500 rose 10.66 points to 3,385.51. The gains kept the benchmark index close to its record level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 46.85 points, or 0.2%, to 27,739.73.

The strength in tech stocks, meanwhile, helped lift the Nasdaq composite up 118.49 points, or 1.1%, to 11,264.95, a record high.

Smaller companies didn’t fare as well. The Russell

2000 index lost 7.76 points, or 0.5%, to 1,564.30.

The initial downward move for stocks on Tuesday followed a government report indicating that slightly more than 1.1 million US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. That’s up from 971,000 the prior week and an indication that the pace of improvements for layoffs may be stalling.

The number of jobless claims had been on a steady march downward since March, and the prior week marked the first time the total had eased below one million since just before the pandemic shuttered businesses across the country.

“The market’s looking through” the worse-thanexpected report on jobless claims, said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “The trend is for continued improvement in the labor market.”

Still, with so much uncertainty still hanging over markets, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see it take a “time out” after the S&P 500 returned to a record high on Tuesday.

“From here I think you need new good news,” Wren said.

Yesterday’s backand-forth moves for the broader market follow up on its sudden loss of momentum on Wednesday.

Stock indexes began dipping immediately after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its last meeting.

The Fed has been a central reason for the stock market’s rocket ride back to record heights, due to its promises to keep shortterm interest rates at their record low of nearly zero and to continue buying reams of bonds to support markets. The Fed’s minutes showed that policymakers

still find it very difficult to predict the path of the economy, which depends so much on what happens with the virus.

They also showed that several Fed officials aren’t very excited about the idea of putting caps on yields beyond ultrashort-term rates, a move that some investors had been speculating could be next for the central bank to help markets.

Apple was among the stocks the led the tech sector’s gains on Tuesday. The iPhone maker rose 2.2% and is once again flirting with a total market value of $2tn. It’s the first US stock to cross that threshold.

Intel rose 1.7% after it said it will speed up $10bn in buybacks of its own stock because it sees the price as cheap relative to its value.

Uber and Lyft bounced higher after an appeals court said the ride-hailing giants can continue treating their drivers as independent contractors in California while an appeal works its way through the court. Both companies had threatened to shut down if a ruling went into effect this morning that would have forced them to treat all their drivers as employees, a change they said would be impossible to accomplish overnight.

Uber jumped 6.8% and Lyft gained 5.8%.

The yield on the ten-year Treasury fell to 0.65% from 0.67% late on Wednesday.

Stock markets in Europe closed broadly lower. The German DAX lost 1.1%.

The French CAC 40 fell 1.3%, and the FTSE 100 in London dropped 1.6%.

That followed a weak showing in Asian markets.

Benchmark US crude oil for September delivery fell 35 cents to $42.58 a barrel yesterday. Brent crude oil for October delivery fell 47 cents to $44.90 a barrel.