09072018 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

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A ‘national disaster’ for jobs and growth

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE 2018 decline in already-troubling education standards “is a national disaster” for Bahamian economic growth and employment prospects, governance reformers warned yesterday.

Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas can no longer afford to “sugar coat” and “band aid” poor educational achievement that has resulted in 70 percent of high school leavers graduating with poor to non-existent literacy and numeracy skills.

He said 2018 BGCSE results, which revealed a marginally worse performance than the prior year, provided another reminder

* Bahamas ‘can’t sugar coat’ education woe * 2018 exam results ‘wrong way’ for productivity * Skills gap seminar to takcle ‘deterioration’

ROBERT MYERS

GRADUATES during the 2018 Bahamas National High School Diploma Commencement Ceremony.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

of how poor workforce productivity continued to prevent the Bahamian economy from fulfilling its true potential.

Mr Myers, in particular, focused on the number of graduates obtaining a “C” grade or better in each of English Language, Mathematics and a science as the best indicator of how strong high school leavers are in the “core skills” - literacy and numeracy.

This number fell from 588 in 2014 to 570 the following year, before registering a slight increase to 574 in 2016. The latter year, however, seems to have proven a blip as the number of graduates obtaining a “C” in each of those three subjects fell further to 521 in 2017 before dropping again to 490 this year.

The ORG principal said this represented a near-17 percent, or almost 100-strong, decline over the five-year period, and suggested that an “already significant problem” with the education system’s output was becoming worse.

“It’s the wrong way.

It’s not going in the right direction,” he told Tribune Business. “These are core subjects, and on these three we’re seeing significant slippage. It’s already a significant problem, and we’ve identified it as a major growth problem for GDP. “GDP can only be improved by higher productivity and a more productive workforce, increased foreign direct investment (FDI) or mechanisation, automation and technology.

A more productive workforce comes from a more educated workforce.

SEE PAGE 4

Bahamian group in cruise port proposal ‘Slight delay’ for Grand Lucayan deal closure

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A 50-PLUS Bahamian investor group has submitted a proposal to take over management of Nassau’s cruise port as part of wider plans to grow the capital’s tourism industry.

The group, which first proposed a “cultural village” development for Arawak Cay up to 11 years ago, is aiming to exploit the potential synergies between this project and the millions of cruise passengers that come through Prince George Wharf every year.

Gerald Strachan, a principal in the group, confirmed to Tribune Business yesterday that it had submitted a proposal to the Minnis administration earlier this year relating to the Nassau cruise port.

FEARS that the Government’s $65m Grand Lucayan purchase is illegal were yesterday slammed as “inane” and “irrelevant”, although the deal’s closing may be “slightly delayed”.

Michael Scott, chairman of Lucayan Renewal Holdings, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) created to own the resort, told Tribune Business that next week’s planned closing will likely be pushed back because the Government guarantee needed to underwrite the acquisition’s financing must be approved by Parliament.

The House of Assembly returns for the fall on September 19, with the prime minister expected to give a statement providing more

THE NORWEGIAN Escape ship at the Nassau cruise port.

The former Family demonstrated what we want Guardian Insurance Com- to do inclusive of the Prince pany president said: “There George Wharf. We got an is a group and we have official response from the been working at it for some Government to a presentatime. We did make a pro- tion in January.”

Mr Strachan described posal to the Government; it was made to the Baha- the cruise port’s managemas Investment Authority ment/operations as “one component or element” of (BIA).

“That was done quite the group’s plans, adding a while ago; about JanuSEE PAGE 3 ary. That would have

‘Unshackle’ 10% of NIB assets for SMEs

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s deputy leader has called for an “orderly unshackling” that will allow the National Insurance Board (NIB) to allocate ten percent of its assets to financing “startup” businesses.

Chester Cooper, pictured, in an address to the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) “think tank” earlier this week, said his proposal was part of a wider strategy to “disrupt” the Bahamian

economy’s “status quo” because “isn’t working for the majority” of citizens.

He also called for an end to “petty political immaturity” across all parties, acknowledging that “politics

SEE PAGE 5

Moving renewable energy ‘beyond talk’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) production of an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is “absolutely necessary” to move increased renewable energy usage “beyond talk”, a provider is arguing.

Guilden Gilbert, vice-president of Alternative Power Solutions (APS) Bahamas, backed a $450,000 InterAmerican Development (IDB)-funded project’s plan to ensure that BPL produces

an IRP that “aligns” with government energy policies.

The Government’s National Energy Plan (NEP) calls for 30 percent of The Bahamas’ energy mix to come from renewable sources by 2030, but Mr Gilbert said achieving this target will be extremely difficult without an IRP that sets out the “framework” for getting there.

“What should happen is what happens in a typical regulated environment,” he told Tribune Business. “The

SEE PAGE 5

COURTYARD at the Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport, GB. details on the Government’s strategy for rescuing Freeport’s anchor property and achieving the hopedfor rapid sale to a new private sector owner.

Tribune Business previously revealed that the Grand Lucayan purchase was to close on Tuesday, September 11, but Mr Scott said the Government

guarantee would be worthless without bringing it into compliance with the Financial Administration and Audit Act via a parliamentary resolution.

“There may be a slight delay in the completion because unlike the last government we have to

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Friday, September 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BAHAMAHOST EVOLVES FOR TOURISM DYNAMICS

F

OR the past 40 years, BahamaHost has been the Ministry of Tourism’s signature training programme for tourism and hospitality in our country.

Nearly 50,000 Bahamians have graduated through the programme, now holding the title of BahamaHost certified professionals who positively impact the visitor experience and exceed expectations.

The training has always focused on three core areas - product development, customer service and sustainability. The BahamaHost programme has now been redesigned to better address the needs of the dynamic,

BY

IAN

FERGUSON

ever-changing tourism sector.

It focuses attention on new core areas encompassed in five powerful modules.

Module I: “Proud to be Bahamian” attempts to lift the spirit of national consciousness in every Bahamian. It gives us a fresh look at relevant aspects of our history, civics and culture with great emphasis on our African heritage. We uncover the wonders of The Bahamas in our natural and cultural treasures, and discuss thoroughly ways to guard our heritage.

Module II: Tourism Today gives the learner an appreciation for our position in the regional and global context.

We share detailed information of how we currently market ourselves to the world and the great opportunities we have in new, emerging niche and vertical markets.

Module III: The Bahamian service experience is perhaps best described as service training on steroids.

It presents a holistic view of the service continuum, encompassing how we must use current service models to exceed the expectations of well-travelled visitors.

Module IV: The Global Impact takes the learner on an international and exploratory journey through diversity and cross-culture

training. It climaxes with conversation Spanish, French and Mandarin, where participants get experience engaging visitors in their own languages.

Module V: Empowerment is the final of these modules, and in these workshops we take learners through goal setting, principals of entrepreneurship, leadership, health and wellness, and financial empowerment.

The mandate of BahamaHost has been, and continues to be, “covering the islands of The Bahamas with training solutions that positively impact every guest”. Training is perhaps the most powerful tool that we have

in remaining competitive as a destination. If our people are our greatest resource, we must make an investment in preparing them to create experiences that are magical.

• 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 iferguson@ bahamas.com.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK TEAMS WITH THE INLAND REVENUE THE Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) series is rolling-out an “Ease of Doing Business” workshop, which will be conducted

by Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) officials, at all seven conferences this year.

The workshop is a partnership between Outlook organisers, TCL Group, and the Ministry of Finance with the aim of improving The Bahamas’ global ranking in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” index. It was first introduced at the Eleuthera, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island Business Outlook in April 2018.

Joan Albury, creator of Bahamas Business Outlook, said the “Ease of Doing Business” workshop addresses matters that directly affect the business community in New Providence and all major family island communities. Nine Ministry of Finance officers will be involved in delivering the seminars.

“This workshop will introduce the business

TCL Group’s Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) has partnered with the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) to introduce a new session “Ease of Doing Business” workshop into its seven-island series. From left are DIR representatives: Anton Francis, Esther Hanna, Lynnel Murphy and John Williams community to the ministry’s recently established Internet-based process aimed at making business licensing

processes easier, faster and better for Bahamian companies,” she said. “It is ideal for current business owners

and those considering going into their own business.”

The key objectives of the programme include making

the information for registration of new businesses more accessible to the public; introducing a combined

application form for issuing approvals for business operation; and eliminating the need for filling in many forms and physically calling on each of the relevant government agencies to submit them. The new procedure thereby reduces approval delays which, in the past, have often proven costly in terms of time and money.

The goal is for Business Outlook participants to become more familiar with the new online application process,; how to complete and submit the relevant applications based on the nature of their business; where to access links for submission of forms; and to gain an overall, workable understanding of how the process works.

Those interested in the workshops should visit tclevents.com to register for the remainder of the 2018 Business Outlook Series: Andros, September 13; Abaco, September 30; Exuma, October 18; and Long Island, November 8.

Let’s make banking an enjoyable experience

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One that you can do from anywhere and at any time.

Effective November 1 all withdrawals below $1,500 will need to be done at the ATM. We look forward to more effectively serving you and assisting with all your other banking needs.

JOB OPPORTUNITY A leading Bank & Trust Company is looking to fill the position of

Chief Fund Administrator

Main Function: General Supervision of Fund Administrators and Assistant Fund Administrators, ensuring quality standards are being achieved.

In this challenging position you will be responsible for but not limited to the following tasks: • Assist VP with general department supervision and coordination of Fund Administration issues • Supervision of a group of Fund Administrators and Assistants being a reference point for consultation on Corporate Administration and Fund Legislation affairs • Deal with ad hoc incoming queries and requests from various stakeholders such as investors, directors, investment managers and bankers.

• Ensure department compliance with company procedures and policies • Ensure AML compliance and adherence to legislation and respective Fund statutes • Liaison with The Securities Commission of The Bahamas The successful applicant must have the following qualifications: • Minimum of ten years experience in Corporate Administration ideally including at least four years in Fund Administration • Solid experience in all Corporate Services matters (incorporation of companies, corporate & secretarial services, regulators liaison with the registry and with client) • Experience specific to Fund Administration (licensing, knowledge of register & transfer agent services, Fund legislation) would be an asset • Proven experience supervising a team is a mandatory requirement for the position • Spanish language fluency (written and spoken) or commitment to acquire same would be highly valued • Basic knowledge of Portuguese would be an asset • Training or Certification in Series 6, Series 7, Canadian Securities Course, Fund Administration would be an asset • Above average fluency with spoken and written English at a professional level • Computer literate (MS Office products and Microsoft Windows operating system) • Strong organization and communication skills • Team Player • Capability to work under pressure Applications/resume should be sent by e-mail to peter@pghrbahamas.com Under reference “Chief Fund Administrator”

Conditions apply. Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. ®

Persons not meeting the above requirements need not apply Deadline for applications September 13th, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 7, 2018, PAGE 3

BISX lists latest investment fund THE Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) yesterday revealed it has added another listing to its $4.4bn mutual fund listing tier.

The exchange announced that the Fitpart Dynamic Allocation Professional Fund has completed its listing process and been added to the mutual funds roster.

Fitpart Dynamic Allocation Professional Fund is an open-ended mutual fund that was incorporated as an International Business Company (IBC) under Bahamian law, and is licensed as a Professional Investment Fund under the Investment Funds Act 2003.

Keith Davies, pictured, BISX’s chief executive, said:

Bahamian group in cruise port proposal FROM PAGE ONE that they were seeking to “do something that is extraordinary in the tourism industry”.

He declined to provide detail on the group’s proposals and plans, as he was travelling when reached by Tribune Business. Mr Strachan indicated, though, that he might be able to provide more information upon returning to The Bahamas.

This newspaper contacted the ex-Family Guardian chief after multiple sources disclosed his group’s interest in the Government’s plans to outsource control of the Nassau cruise port to a private sector entity, which will be responsible for financing much-needed berth expansions and infrastructure upgrades while also improving the cruise visitor experience.

One contact, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the former minister of tourism and aviation, is acting as an adviser to Mr Strachan’s group something Tribune Business was able to confirm.

“They have been proposing to the Government for quite a while,” the source said of Mr Strachan’s group. “They have met with the Government and it’s very much alive.

It makes sense for them to control a port that connects to that cultural village.”

Another familiar with the situation, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added: “It’s really a group that Gerald Strachan has put together, and has been in place for some time.

They’re one of four or five groups that’s likely to put in a strong proposal for the management of the port.”

Tribune Business’s files show that the efforts by Mr Strachan and his group have spanned at least three administrations, both FNM and PLP, with Mr

Vanderpool-Wallace a strong supporter of the “cultural village” concept when he held Cabinet office during the last Ingraham administration.

A Tribune Business article, dating from October 2010, quoted Mr Vanderpool-Wallace as saying Mr Strachan and his group were preparing to submit their proposal to the then-Ingraham Cabinet imminently.

The “cultural village” plan was reported as an $80m project, covering 30-35 acres at Arawak Cay, and billed as creating 500 construction jobs and some 150-200 fulltime posts.

The group’s plans had to be adjusted, though, after the Government ultimately decided to relocate Nassau’s shipping companies from Bay Street to Arawak Cay. The Nassau Container Port subsequently took up much of the real estate eyed for the “cultural village”, which was intended to provide an authentic Bahamian cultural and historic experience for locals and visitors.

A 2014 report quoted Mr Strachan as saying just 2.5 acres remained available on Arawak Cay. Yet it also revealed the group’s plan to propose a privately-managed cruise port at Festival Place from then.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, earlier this week confirmed that the contract for Prince George Wharf’s management and upgrading will be open to all potential bidders via a public tender process or request for proposal (RFP).

Mr Strachan’s group will almost certainly face competition from the consortium headed by Global Ports Holding, which operates multiple cruise ports in Europe and the Far East, together with BISX-listed Arawak Port Development Company (APD) and CFAL (formerly Colina Financial Advisors).

That group’s 49-page

proposal, obtained by this newspaper, said its plans to transform Nassau’s cruise port will give the economy a $16bn boost spread over 30 years. It added that a $285.7m upgrade of Prince George Wharf through a waterfront entertainment park would inject an extra $216m into the Bahamian economy in the first year alone.

Mehmet Kutman, Global Ports Holding’s chairman, wrote in a letter to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) that this nation urgently needed to improve a “greatly underperforming” infrastructure asset if it was to capitalise on the cruise industry’s anticipated growth and increase passenger spending yields to the benefit of local businesses.

“Currently, the Nassau cruise port greatly underperforms as a national asset,” Mr Kutman wrote.

“Its infrastructure ought to be significantly improved to ensure the growth of the cruise business by providing a more fulfilling passenger experience in Nassau...”

Referring to an economic impact analysis conducted by the KPMG accounting firm, the Global Ports chief said the construction/ development phase would generate “a cumulative impact of $285.7m” over a three-year period as a result of investment in Prince George Wharf’s infrastructure and building jobs.

“The first year of the operational phase is expected to add an estimated $216m to the economy as a result of expected increases to cruise passenger arrivals, onshore rates and cruise tourist spending,” Mr Kutman continued.

“Over a ten-year period (2022-2031), the cumulative effect is projected to be $3.7bn. A preliminary and high-level estimate is that the project will have a cumulative impact of $16bn from 2019 to 2049.”

“We are pleased to see the addition of this fund. Credit Suisse became a BISX sponsor member in 2007, and since that time they have been active participants of our mutual fund listing facility. Their relationship with the exchange has been beneficial for them, their clients and the exchange. We look forward to a continued relationship

with Credit Suisse.”

Holland Grant, BISX’s chief operating officer, added: “The assets under management of all mutual funds listed on the exchange as at 31 December, 2017, was $4.4bn. We are pleased at how this facility has experienced growth - both in terms of the number of funds listed, and in terms of the

value of assets under management of these funds.”

Fitpart Fund Administration Services has been appointed as the administrator and investment manager for the newlylisted fund. Credit Suisse’s Nassau branch served as the BISX sponsor member that brought the fund to the exchange.

GB crypto firm to brief on ICO offer A GRAND Bahamabased cypto-asset firm plans to brief Nassau residents today on its initial coin offering (ICO), which is scheduled to take place in 42 days.

VirSymCoin (VSC) will unveil its but crypto-enthusiasts in New Providence won’t have to wait that long to take advantage of the VSC experience. On Friday, September 7 at the British Colonial Hilton in downtown Nassau, the company founded and chaired by Bahamian entrepreneur Dario Roberts, will host an open and informative meeting giving interested persons full access to all things Crypto.

VirSymCoin (VSC), which was founded and chaired by entrepreneur Dario Roberts, is a blockchain-based platform that uses smart contracts. It combines bank services such as easy deposits;

payments and lending services; cross-border payments; ATM facility/ convenient withdrawals with a cryptocurrency exchange for the business and consumer world.

“Since going public in July we have been hard at work creating the kind product which we hope Bahamians can not only trust but also actively use in their day to day lives,” said Mr Roberts.

“The product that we’ve created has found a way to transform and revolutionise the way that we, as a people, view how we manage our finances by taking the Bahamian dollar digital”.

VSC said some 900,000 of its tokens have been purchased locally, with the company planning to make more available at today’s meeting at the British Colonial Hilton.

“In the cryptocurrency

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space tokens are a utility, which means that they are designed to be used in everyday life; for anything from buying a hamburger to paying a specific bill,” added Mr Roberts.

“Holders of VSC tokens also have the freedom to openly trade for other coins such as Bitcoin, Litecoin or any of the world’s more than 100 cryptocurrencies.”

Apart from its upcoming ICO, VSC is also preparing to launch its version of a digital and physical bank, providing services ranging from crypto loans to crypto and fiat processing.

“Once the VirSymCoin bank launches in March 2019, our customers will have real-time access to banking services they already enjoy with traditional institutions all readily available from their smartphones,” Mr Roberts explained.

PAGE 4, Friday, September 7, 2018

A ‘national disaster’ for jobs and growth FROM PAGE ONE “If 70 percent of graduating students have a ‘D-’ or lower it makes it harder for the private sector to train that workforce. You’re struggling with low literacy and numeracy skills. It’s hard to get upward mobility; it’s harder for the private sector to grow their business and get upward mobility out of their workforce.”

Bahamian GDP growth has averaged less than one percent for the past decade, but is forecast to receive a boost from Baha Mar’s completion and opening that will take this year’s expansion beyond two percent.

That, though, was before the 12 percent VAT hike and other budget-related tax increases, and Mr Myers urged the Ministry of Education to provide more detail on the BGCSE and BJC exam performance to enable better understanding of whether The Bahamas is making progress in fixing its educational woes.

“This is not time for sugar coating things,” he told Tribune Business of the 2018 results. “You have more people taking it, but that’s because you have population growth. We’ve got to take off the band aids and fix this country.

“Sugar coating is not what the country needs. We’ve had smoke blown up our backsides for 40 years. It’s time to roll-up our sleeves and do some work. You can’t expect under-educated people to drive business; it’s hard enough for them to make a living.

“When you have 70 percent of the workforce under-educated, it’s not surprising GDP growth is averaging below one percent... We have a big growth problem, a massive problem. It’s a national disaster.

Apart from the cost and

ease of doing business, the education factor and skills gap is the biggest problem this country has. Businesses can’t find quality people to grow.”

ORG is itself moving to change this situation through its hosting, in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour, or a National Symposium on Skills Development on September 17 at the Gladstone Road-based National Training Agency (NTA).

The advocacy group, in documents promoting the conference, reiterated: “It is widely recognised among the key sectors that a significant gap exists between the current and future labour needs in The Bahamas and the skills of the local workforce.

“Bahamian employers regularly struggle to find sufficient staff with the necessary technical and soft skills. The long-standing negative impact of this disparity has critically limited growth of the private sector and, subsequently, the economic development of the nation.

Understanding and addressing this skills gap must be given immediate priority to avoid the risk of further economic deterioration.

“Additionally, reduction of the skills gap in The Bahamas will provide a critical and necessary step toward improving ease of doing business; the expansion of the private sector; and growth of The Bahamas’ Gross Domestic Product.”

Mr Myers yesterday said the symposium will focus “on the whole gamut of skills to say: ‘Where are these gaps?” Besides the core skills of literacy and numeracy, the event will also analyse so-called “soft skills” such as communications and conflict resolution, plus industry-specific skills.

The findings. he added, would enable the creation of programmes to address these “gaps” and

COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMS IN THE SUPREME COURT Common Law & Equity Division

2017/CLE/gen/01056

IN THE MATTER of a contract dated the 13th day of November, A.D., 2014 BETWEEN (1) David John Pinder and (2) Marco Jarrett and Lamont B. Jarrett for the sale of a freehold property known as Unit Number D.6 in building B in the “Estate of Seaview Condominium” AND IN THE MATTER OF the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, Chapter 138 of the Revised Laws.

BETWEEN MARCO JARRETT LAMONT B. JARRETT AND DAVID JOHN PINDER NOTICE

Applicants Respondent

TO: DAVID JOHN PINDER TAKE NOTICE that:1.

An Originating Summons filed on the 6th day of September, 2017 have been issued against you in The Supreme Court of The Bahamas being Action 2017/CLE/gen/01056 by Marco Jarrett and Lamont B. Jarrett the Applicants herein;

2.

By the Originating Summons the Applicants claim: (a)

The sum of $11,629.86 plus any surcharge assessed thereon for arrears of real property tax on the Unit. (b) Alternatively, deduction of a like amount of the Mortgage payments. (c ) Costs.

3.

AND THAT by an Order made in the Supreme Court by the Registrar on the 9th day of July A.D., 2018 in Supreme Court Action 2017/CLE/gen/01056 Common Law & Equity Division, it was ordered that service of the said Originating Summons and all other pleadings against the Respondent, David John Pinder be effected by way of this Advertisement.

4.

Please enter an appearance to this action within 14 days of this Notice, in the event of your default in entering such appearance, the Court may proceed in your absence and make such Order as it deems just.

Dated the 30th day of August, A.D., 2018

McKINNEY, TURNER & CO Chambers Oakbridge House 13 West Hill Street Nassau, Bahamas Attorneys for the Applicants

improve employment prospects, competitiveness and employability among the Bahamian workforce.

Mr Myers said ORG’s analysis of the 2016 BGCSE results had shown around 42 percent and 38 percent of graduating students, respectively, had “good to fair competencies” in literacy and numeracy. Those with “low” and “no” capacity numbered around 35-36 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

He explained, though, that the percentage leaving with “low to no” literacy and numeracy capacity increased to 70 percent when high school “drop outs” were included in the analysis. Mr Myers said the latter category were not included in the Ministry of Education’s figures, but pointed to the 5,000-person difference between the 11,000 who sat BJCs and 6,000 who took BGCSEs. “What we’re worried about is the 70 percent failing literacy and numeracy,” he told Tribune Business.

“What we’re not seeing is the drop outs; the number that flunk out... There’s some 5,000 people that don’t make it through high school.

“We don’t know what skill levels they have. That’s where the 70 percent comes from. They’re still out there, sitting on the walls and doing God knows what. That’s why we have such high 30 percent unemployment among the youth.”

Mr Myers said this week’s Ministry of Education release on the 2018 exam results was “opaque”, and more data was needed to provide a greater insight in student achievement and the quality of education outcomes.

Warning against drawing final conclusions based on the release, he added that ORG was working with the Ministry of Education to obtain more complete data that was “constructive” and “usable”.

“The Ministry of Education is working to provide more specific and detailed data,” Mr Myers said.

THE TRIBUNE

‘Slight delay’ for Grand Lucayan deal closure FROM PAGE ONE make sure we dot the ‘i’s’ and cross all the ‘t’s’,” Mr Scott told Tribune Business.

“The financial part of this, the demand mortgage, has to be supported by a government guarantee.

A government guarantee requires an affirmative resolution of the House of Assembly on the 19th.

“The Government cannot technically enter a guarantee without a resolution of the House. You cannot issue a guarantee unless you get a confirming resolution of the House, otherwise the guarantee is invalid.”

The Minnis administration is thought to be financing the Grand Lucayan purchase with a combination of debt and the $25m allocated in the 2018-2019 budget to support the now-abandoned Wynn Group purchase.

The deal is structured so that the Government pays a $10m deposit, which it has done, and a further $20m upon closing. This is likely to be financed largely through the budget, with the $35m balance split into semi-annual $5m payments spread over three-and-ahalf years.

That portion will come from debt, with the funds likely to be extended by the Grand Lucayan’s departing owner, Hutchison Whampoa, as a form of vendor financing. This was proposed a year earlier, when the Minnis administration first suggested it would take an equity stake in a purchase of the resort.

A mortgage, secured on the Grand Lucayan’s real

estate assets, will provide security for the loan or any form of debt financing. The Government guarantee is needed to provide assurance to the lender that its monies will be repaid.

The resort’s purchase, though, has come under fire from Freeport-based QC, Maurice Glinton, who branded the deal illegal because an Act of Parliament was needed for the Government, more specifically its Lucayan Renewal Holdings SPV, to become a licensee of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

All businesses operating in Freeport must obtain a GBPA licence, and Mr Glinton argued that there was nothing in statute law or the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, Freeport’s founding treaty, to allow the Government to assume such a status.

Branding the Government’s thinking as “flawed”, Mr Glinton said: “The recent announcement of the Government, of its intention to purchase the Grand Lucayan resort, is evidence that its decision-making process (or lack thereof) is critically impaired...

“That it should require Parliament to legislate authority in the Government to take on the legal status of licensee of the Port Authority within the domain assigned it by virtue of the [Hawksbill Creek] Agreement is self-evident.

“The Government’s cloaking of itself within some special [purpose] vehicle, of what is otherwise an unauthorised joint venture with the Port

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Authority, does not cure the lack of constitutional capacity to acquire the resort property.”

Mr Scott, in reply, described Mr Glinton’s 14-page legal missive as “reading like a word processor in motion”. He added that the issues raised had already been considered, and were in the process of being addressed.

“As far as I’m concerned it was a display of breathtaking inanity and poor Maurice was reaching for relevance,” he told Tribune Business. “All of these technical points have been discussed, will be scheduled and actioned.

“All of this regulatory minutiae has been dealt with. It’s irrelevant; his points are completely irrelevant. It’s only of a modicum of interest to those who have nothing else to do..

“We need to apply for a Port licence. Why do we need an Act of Parliament to do that? It’s an SPV, a private company that is owned by the Government.

Governments incorporate SPVs to do things all the time. The SPV is in the process of applying for a Port licence. That has already been considered and is in the process of action.”

Mr Scott said the GBPA would likely “bend over backwards” to licence Lucayan Renewal Holdings given that its purchase will save more than 400 jobs at the resort and “indirect employment”.

“What is this about?

What is the problem with this?” he asked of Mr Glinton.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 7, 2018, PAGE 5

‘UNSHACKLE’ 10% OF NIB ASSETS FOR SMES FROM PAGE ONE

is stifling our country” and preventing the development of a broad consensus on essential reforms for unlocking The Bahamas’ growth potential.

The Exuma MP told the National Progressive Institute that access to capital, on better terms and lower interest rates, was just one of the changes required if Bahamian entrepreneurs were to realise their dreams.

While the Governmentsponsored venture capital fund had sought to fill the gap for such financing, Mr Cooper said the Bahamas “needs more of this” given the risk-averse approach of commercial banks to financing small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

“We also need to develop an asset allocation model for NIB, and allocate a minimum of ten percent of total

National Insurance Board assets to alternative investments which will target local entrepreneurs and start-ups with appropriate oversight,” the PLP deputy leader urged.

“Pension funds exist to invest, to find new avenues to grow, and where such pools of funds exist like in the hotel industry their contribution to capital markets and economic development is well-documented. The similar, orderly unshackling of NIB’s potential is key to that growth.”

Some observers will likely question whether financing SMEs and start-ups is an appropriate use of assets belonging to a social security system as NIB, given that such investments are typically perceived as high-risk.

Ten percent of NIB’s assets is equivalent to $160m of its estimated $1.6bn reserve fund, and social security systems worldwide

historically adopt a conservative investment approach that avoids funding entrepreneurial ventures because of their long-term obligations to pay due pensions and benefits to beneficiaries.

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, argued that the Bahamian economy’s “status quo” needed radical reshaping because it was not working well enough for the majority of Bahamians - especially the lower and middle classes.

Focusing on land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship as the economy’s key ingredients, the PLP’s deputy leader argued: “The economy simply does not work well enough for enough of us.

“I think many of us would look at our economy and see unease and uncertainty. Most of us are more educated than our parents, earn more than our parents, work longer hours than our parents, but have a harder

Moving renewable energy ‘beyond talk’ FROM PAGE ONE utility will provide an IRP showing how it can meet that deadline.

“That document is beyond the NEP. It’s a document where the utility shows how it plans to operate and assist the country in meeting the goals of the NEP. It shows the energy mix over five to ten years, and to what level they’re using renewable energy in the total mix.

“I think an IRP will focus the utility on where it’s going as it has to be part of the implementation of the NEP. Creation of an IRP will allow the utility to focus in on how it will meet the goals of the NEP. Everything is going to have to go through the utility at the end of the day. It’s the only one that distributes the power. The IRP focuses in and lays all that out.”

The IDB, in a document outlining the project to support the Electricity Act’s implementation, found that “policy and data gaps” were preventing The Bahamas from shedding its position as the Caribbean’s worst for renewable energy penetration.

The report, obtained by Tribune Business, said the NEP’s “ambitious targets” for renewable energy uptake were being hindered by the absence of an execution mechanism such as an IRP and “poor co-ordination” between the Government,

private sector and regulators.

Mr Gilbert said Bermuda was currently going through an IRP exercise in its energy sector, and said the absence of such a “framework” in The Bahamas would make it difficult to hit the “30 percent by 2030” goal.

“It’s fine to state the goal but we also have to lay out the framework on how to achieve it,” he told Tribune Business. “You can’t come to 2019 and say it will happen next year. It has to be slow and steady implementation.

“If this is something that the Government wants to achieve it’s extremely important that IRP is the framework to achieve the goal. It’s absolutely necessary; it’s no longer just talk, and there’s a plan to get to the end goal and the pieces are moving right now. What’s holding it back is the lack of a framework, and that’s where the IRP comes in.”

The IDB report said: “The Bahamas ranks lowest in the region for renewable energy penetration, suffers from a high fuel import bill (seven percent of GDP), high and volatile electricity prices, as well as a large and financially challenged utility, Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), which experiences frequent power outages and elevated system losses.

“Additionally, in recent years, The Bahamas has suffered from strong natural disasters that impacted

its GDP and energy sector, underlining the need to plan for more resilient energy infrastructure.”

The reformed Electricity Act, and appointment of the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) as sector regulator, were meant to address these challenges but, to-date, have had little practical effect.

“The sustainable energy landscape within The Bahamas continues to be constrained by policy and data gaps, and lacks the resources (financial and human) that are necessary for implementing the robust administrative and governance arrangements that are necessary for effective implementation and coordination of efforts,” the IDB report found.

“The overarching vision has set ambitious targets for the use of renewable energy, but there is a lack of concrete mechanisms to achieve these targets, including integrated energy planning to assist the Government of The Bahamas achieve its goals as articulated in the Electricity Act and National Energy Policy...

“Although the Electricity Act lays out the roles and responsibilities of selected actors, its implementation has been delayed due to poor co-ordination and lack of adequate definition of roles and tasks.”

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time making ends meet than most of our parents – and my mother was a janitress on Exuma.

“We are less likely to own land than our parents. We find it more difficult to educate our children than our parents. Many of us dream of opening businesses and working for ourselves, and carving our way in the world, but we are cut off from the resources that many of our parents or those in the generation before would have had access to.”

Mr Cooper continued: “To me, the test of an economy is how well it works for the majority; how well it works for the average person who wants to own a home and raise a family.

“And, to that effect, our economy has a long way to go. And indeed the status quo, if we define that status quo as a reluctance to act or make tough or abrupt decisions, then it needs to be

disrupted.”

He warned, though, that long-elusive political unity on key reforms and longterm goals was necessary if the Bahamian economy was to be made to work for more citizens.

“Remaking our economy into something that works better for the majority isn’t something that will take five years. It will take consistency and buy-in from many stakeholders over successive administrations,” Mr Cooper said.

“This is why the petty political immaturity on important national issues frustrates me to no end. In the national interest, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that we - FNM, PLP and civil society -set up some broad parameters where we can agree on long-term objectives. Politics is stifling our country, our growth and our people, and our people aren’t pleased.

“To make this economy work for all, it will take goals that we agree on and have the will to implement and subject ourselves to change.”

Mr Cooper hit out at the Bahamian commercial banking for becoming “usury” with its fees and lending policies, while criticising many institutions for focusing on consumer credit as opposed to more productive mortgages and commercial loans.

“Many of our banks have become unfair, imposing ridiculous fees, disadvantaging the vulnerable,” he argued. “Many of the banks have become usury, harming and isolating those who are often at their weakest point and those who are unbanked or underbanked.

“If I have to pay $3 to withdraw my money from an ATM, and I make $210 a week, what’s the likelihood of me doing that?”

PAGE 6, Friday, September 7, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

MAJOR HOTELS GIVING PANIC BUTTONS TO STAFF NATIONWIDE

By DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press TENS of thousands of employees at more than 18,000 US hotels will soon carry panic buttons to help protect them from harassment and assault in an era of heightened awareness around the #MeToo movement.

More than a dozen big hotel chains — including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Wyndham — said yesterday that they will provide personal safety devices by 2020 to all employees who deal one-on-one with guests. The companies will also train staff to identify and report harassment and publish anti-sexual harassment policies in multiple languages.

The devices will vary by hotel. In a new, Wi-Fi enabled hotel, for example, companies may give out devices that automatically send the employee’s location to security officers. In an older or smaller hotel, they might distribute devices that emit a loud shriek.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association,

RANI ACCETTOLA, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighbourhood, poses for a photo while holding a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working in Seattle.

Photo: Ted S Warren/AP which is backing the effort, says around three-fourths of its 25,000 member hotels are participating right now.

It is working with harassment and human trafficking organisations to develop training and testing devices to help hotels figure out what works best.

This isn’t the first time hotels are giving panic buttons to staff. New York has

required them since 2012, after a hotel maid there accused French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in his suite. Chicago and Seattle began requiring them more recently.

But increasing public discussion about harassment and the #MeToo movement has given the effort a new sense of urgency. Red

Roof Inn, Best Western, AccorHotels, Four Seasons and Caesar’s are other participants in the rare display of unity from a fiercely competitive industry.

“The cultural conversations have changed, and we have gotten smarter,” said Erika Alexander, Marriott’s chief lodging officer for the Americas. Marriott plans to make the devices standard

at all of its nearly 5,000 hotels in North America by 2020. Eventually it hopes to expand the devices globally.

Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, has a safety fob clipped to the front of her uniform at all times. If she presses a button, hotel managers and security are immediately notified of her location. Accettola said the system gives her an added feeling of security, especially when she works late.

“At any moment, help is there if you should need it,” she said.

It’s unclear how often the devices will be used, but harassment of hotel staff is an ongoing issue. In a 2016 survey of 500 housekeepers in Chicago, 49 percent said guests had flashed them, exposed themselves or opened the door naked.

The rollout of the devices will be messy. Hotel companies only manage some of their properties; others are managed by franchisees. Some companies may require franchisees to add the devices; others may not. Properties vary widely, from sprawling 2,500room resorts to 65-room,

cookie-cutter hotels by the highway.

Some hotels have already begun the process. Hyatt mandated electronic safety devices last fall and has already distributed them to 4,500 employees at 120 hotels in the Americas, Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said. Hyatt has also strongly recommended the devices for franchisees, and expects to expand the programme globally, Hoplamazian said.

He said the cost of the devices is easily absorbed by the company. Shrieking alarms — the kind most widely used at Hyatt right now — cost around $25 each. A React mobile device, like the one Accettola wears, retails for $70, but big hotel chains will likely be able to get bulk discounts.

Hoplamazian said there haven’t been many reported usages. In one instance, a guest was acting strangely so a housekeeper summoned help. It turned out there was no threat, but Hoplamazian is glad the system worked.

“While the frequency may not by high, the importance of it is really, really high,” he said.

Trump poised to tax an additional $200B in Chinese imports WASHINGTON Associated Press THE Trump administration may be about to slap tariffs of up to 25 percent on an additional $200bn in Chinese goods, escalating a confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies and likely squeezing US companies that import everything from handbags to bicycle tires.

The administration could decide to begin taxing the imports — equal to nearly 40 percent of all the goods China sold the United States last year — after a

public comment period ended yesterday.

China said it is ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60bn worth of US goods if that happens.

“China will have to take necessary countermeasures if the US side ignores the opposition of the overwhelming majority of its enterprises and adopts new tariff measures,” Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said yesterday.

The US has already imposed tariffs on $50bn in Chinese products, and Beijing has punched back with tariffs on $50bn in

MARKET REPORT THURSDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2018

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

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE 1,953.45 | CHG -5.54 | %CHG -0.28 | YTD -110.12 | YTD% -5.34 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.50 19.17 7.50 4.46 1.26 0.19 3.92 9.17 6.60 5.30 12.50 2.71 1.77 8.21 6.21 13.00 7.00 4.50 13.50

52WK LOW 3.50 19.17 7.50 3.32 0.90 0.12 2.50 8.55 6.09 3.49 9.00 2.30 1.40 7.25 6.00 9.50 5.67 3.25 12.50

1050.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 103.00 100.00 106.00 105.00 103.00 100.00 10.00 1.01

1.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 10.00 1.00

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Bank of Bahamas Benchmark Cable Bahamas CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Colina Holdings Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Brewery Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Finco Focol J. S. Johnson Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Commonwealth Bank Class E Commonwealth Bank Class J Commonwealth Bank Class K Commonwealth Bank Class L Commonwealth Bank Class M Commonwealth Bank Class N Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 ##########

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

SYMBOL AML APD BPF BWL BOB BBL CAB CIB CHL CBL CBB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FIN FCL JSJ CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA CBLE CBLJ CBLK CBLL CBLM CBLN FBBA FCLB

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2015-1-3Y BGS: 2014-12-5Y BGS: 2015-1-5Y BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-3Y BGS: 2015-6-5Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-3Y BGS: 2015-10-5Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y

BAH29 BG0203 BG0105 BG0205 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0303 BG0305 BG0307 BG0330 BG0403 BG0405 BG0407

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing)

LAST CLOSE 3.89 17.43 9.09 4.45 1.01 0.18 2.60 9.17 6.15 3.68 12.40 2.68 1.75 7.63 6.21 13.00 6.31 3.65 13.01

CLOSE 3.89 17.43 9.09 4.45 1.01 0.18 2.50 9.17 6.15 3.65 12.40 2.84 1.75 7.67 6.21 13.00 6.31 3.65 13.01

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.10 0.00 0.00 -0.03 0.00 0.16 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

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

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

107.77 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

-0.62 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00 108.39 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

VOLUME

8,000 1,000 5,000

12,154 50

VOLUME

EPS$ 0.268 0.932 -0.306 0.317 0.059 0.000 -0.996 0.700 0.441 0.171 0.627 0.102 0.231 0.000 0.670 0.679 0.719 0.277 0.631

DIV$ 0.100 1.130 0.000 0.230 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.710 0.220 0.120 0.620 0.060 0.070 0.084 0.280 0.500 0.200 0.120 0.590

P/E 14.5 18.7 N/M 14.0 N/M N/M -2.5 13.1 13.9 21.3 19.8 27.8 7.6 N/M 9.3 19.1 8.8 13.2 20.6

YIELD 2.57% 6.48% 0.00% 5.17% 0.00% 5.56% 0.00% 7.74% 3.58% 3.29% 5.00% 2.11% 4.00% 1.10% 4.51% 3.85% 3.17% 3.29% 4.53%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

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

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 4.25%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022 ############### 30-Jul-2018 16-Dec-2019 30-Jul-2020 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2018 26-Jun-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.17 4.16 2.01 180.30 157.58 1.57 1.70 1.65 1.10 6.99 8.54 6.15 10.52 11.46 10.46 10.00 8.45 11.20

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.51 1.62 1.59 1.08 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 FG Financial Preferred Income Fund FG Financial Growth Fund FG Financial Diversified Fund FG Financial Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.17 4.14 2.01 180.30 155.10 1.57 1.68 1.65 1.09 7.27 8.32 6.48 11.32 11.71 10.31 9.93 8.45 11.20

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.24% 4.15% 0.03% 4.59% 1.23% 2.26% 0.90% 3.44% 1.11% 6.05% 2.50% 4.38% -0.75% 3.51% 1.75% 4.07% -0.52% 1.03% -1.08% 1.77% -5.96% -3.05% 1.90% 4.59% 7.24% 11.96% 2.77% 3.88% 3.94% 4.69% -0.61% 0.75% 1.13% N/A 2.95% N/A

NAV Date 31-Jul-2018 31-Jul-2018 27-Jul-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 31-Jul-2018 31-Jul-2018 31-Jul-2018 31-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jul-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2018

MARKET TERMS BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00 52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks 52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume Change - Change in closing price from day to day Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths NAV - Net Asset Value N/M - Not Meaningful

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | FG CAPITAL MARKETS 242-396-4000 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225

American goods. These US goods include soybeans and beef — a direct shot at supporters of President Donald Trump in the US farm belt.

Trump initiated the trade war to punish Beijing for what it says are China’s predatory tactics to try to supplant US technological supremacy.

Those tactics, the Office of the US Trade Representative has alleged, include stealing trade secrets through computer hacking and forcing US companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

In the early rounds of the hostilities, the administration targeted Chinese industrial imports to try to spare American consumers from higher import costs. But if Trump adds the $200bn in Chinese products to the target list, American consumers would likely feel the pinch directly. And China has vowed to hit $60bn in US products in retaliation.

Many American companies that rely on targeted Chinese imports are bracing for the next round of tariffs to hit, with some wondering whether they can absorb the higher costs

or instead will need to pass them along to their customers — or find alternatives suppliers outside China.

“An escalation of the tariff war could start to sever or disrupt supply chains, bringing about diminished production efficiency, higher costs and lost competitiveness — ultimately leading to a lower potential growth rate for both countries,” analysts at S&P Global Ratings wrote on Wednesday.

They say a full-blown trade war by 2021 could shrink America’s annual economic output by an average of one-third of a percentage point and China’s by two-tenths of a percentage point from 2019 through 2021. The trade war could inflict further damage if it rattles financial markets, thereby hurting business confidence and potentially discouraging investment.

Sherill Mosee, founder of MinkeeBlue, a Philadelphia company that makes travel and work bags, said that her 4-year-old business will probably have to suspend operations if the tariffs hit and the administration starts taxing imported Chinese luggage and handbags.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ELISSA JUNIOR GERVE of Marsh Harbour, Abaco Bahamas of Clark Alley #12, St. James Road, Nassau, Bahamasis applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 30th day of August, 2018 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE MAESTRIA CORPORATION LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation) Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 31st day of May, 2018. Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar.

The liquidator is AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, of Nassau, Bahamas.

Dated this 3rd day of July, 2018 AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED LIQUIDATOR

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, September 7, 2018, PAGE 7

Disney workers vote on new contract raising minimum wage ORLANDO, FLORIDA Associated Press THOUSANDS of Walt Disney World workers voted yesterday on whether to approve a new contract that increases the starting minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next three years while enabling Disney to use more parttime workers and require new workers to stay in their positions longer before transferring.

If approved, union officials said the contract would have an impact outside of Walt Disney World as other non-unionized businesses in central Florida’s low-wage service economy compete for tourism workers in a tight job market. The contract would cover more than half of the 70,000 workers at Disney World, the largest single-site employer in the United States.

Those workers include costumed characters, bus drivers, launderers, retail workers, monorail drivers, custodians, housekeepers, servers, cooks, florists, makeup artists and lifeguards.

“The way I feel is we won this for our members at Disney but we also won this for the ride operator at Universal Studios who doesn’t have a union,” said Eric Clinton, president of Unite HERE Local 362, one of the six unions that represents 38,000 workers covered by the contract.

“This affects Hyatt, Hilton. They are going to have to raise wages to compete with others. This is 38,000 people. This isn’t a small amount.”

Besides raising the starting minimum wage almost 50 percent to $15 an hour in three years, the proposed four-year contract would raise wages for existing workers by at least $4.75 an hour by October 2021. If the contract is ratified, each Florida worker will

receive a $1,000 bonus that Disney had paid to other employees after last year’s tax cut by Congress.

Those bonuses were withheld during the contract negotiations.

The new contract expands anti-discrimination protections to include gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, military or veteran status and genetic information.

In return for the higher wages, the coalition of unions, known as the Service Trades Council Union, agreed to allow Disney to use more parttime workers. Under the old contract, 35 percent of the union workforce can be part-timers, but that was raised to 38 percent in the new deal, although Disney doesn’t currently reach its limit on part-timers.

New hires also would have to wait longer to switch jobs under the new deal. The old contract allowed for a transfer after six months, but that would change to a year under the new contract. The contract also allows Disney the ability to expand the probationary period for some new workers from three months to six months.

The new contract expanded the types of workers who could be subject to random drug tests.

It also added extra language giving managers the right to “supervise, and control the manner, means and details by which employees perform their work duties as well as the ends to be accomplished.”

“The focus was about how Disney workers need a raise — current workers and those coming into the workforce,” said Matt Hollis, the new president of the Service Trades Council Union. “These are historic raises, not just entry level but for every hourly cast member.”

US stocks slip again as technology companies extend slump NEW YORK Associated Press TECHNOLOGY companies suffered another day of sharp losses yesterday and emerging markets slid on trade fears, although the broader US market didn’t fare as badly.

Chipmakers sank after an executive from KLATencor said business in the fourth quarter looks weaker than the company expected.

Apple also fell, and social media companies continued to sink after Congressional hearings weighed on the stocks the day before.

“They have a target on their back,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist at Voya Investment Management.

The S&P 500 index shed 10.55 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,878.05. The Nasdaq composite fell 72.45 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,922.73.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks declined 13.18 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,714.47.

Industrial companies and high-dividend stocks rose, which limited the market’s losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,995.87 as Boeing, 3M and United Technologies headed higher.

Apple fell 1.7 percent to $222.10 and KLA-Tencor lost 9.7 percent to $107.28.

Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, all fell again.

The Nasdaq, which has a high concentration of technology companies, is down 2.3 percent this week. But for the second day in a row, big losses for technology companies and for Amazon, the second-largest US company, were partly cancelled out by gains elsewhere.

Cavanaugh, of Voya Investment Management, said investors are still optimistic about the US

economy, which has helped other stocks.

“They know the underlying fundamentals are good,” she said. “Company earnings are not turning tail (and running away) because of the trade wars and all of the political drama.”

Technology companies outperformed the broader S&P 500 in each of the past four years and they are doing it again this year.

Cavanaugh said the companies have posted very strong profits at a time global economic growth has been slow, and investors will probably continue to find that appealing.

Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note fell to 2.87 percent from 2.90 percent. That made big dividend payers including utilities and household goods makers more appealing, and their stocks rose.

The US and Canada continued negotiations to keep Canada in an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Meanwhile, media reports say the US could soon put a 25 percent tax on $200bn in Chinese goods. China has vowed to retaliate.

The US and China have put taxes on $50bn in imports in the last few months, but larger tariffs would represent a major escalation in their dispute.

The trade spat is one reason

the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong has dropped 18 percent since its peak in late January. It fell one percent Thursday.

That’s one of a number of problems for emerging markets stocks in recent months. While the US economy has gained strength this year, other parts of the globe have weakened, and investors are worried that rising interest rates in the US and trade disputes will harm fast-growing, but often fragile, economies elsewhere.

An index that tracks emerging market stocks, the MSCI Emerging Market Index, has fallen nearly 20 percent since its January high, and the currencies of Argentina, Turkey and Iran have all hit record lows.

While those countries face different problems, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases affect all of them by driving up their debt costs and making US assets more attractive.

Investors are pulling money out of emerging markets, and that’s exposed financial vulnerabilities.

Some investors fear that big losses in developing markets could ripple out into the global financial system, as they did in the late 1990s, when several Asian countries eventually required financial rescue.

CBS jumped after the Wall Street Journal reported that the media

company and its parent company are in talks to settle a lawsuit. As part of that settlement, National Amusements would give up on its bid to merge CBS with Viacom, which it also controls.

CBS’s board and shareholders opposed the merger, and its stock gained 3.2 percent to $54.62.

Viacom dipped 0.6 percent to $29.25.

The Journal also reported that Les Moonves, CBS’ longtime CEO, is negotiating with the board of directors about a possible exit. In July, he was accused in a New Yorker article of sexually harassing six women.

Moonves acknowledged he made advances that may have made some women uncomfortable, but he denied allegations he threatened the careers of some of the women afterward.

Oil prices fell for the second day in a row. Benchmark US crude shed 1.4 percent to $67.77 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost one percent to $76.50 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline slid 0.7 percent to $1.95 a gallon. Heating oil slumped 1.1 percent to $2.21 a gallon. Natural gas gave up 0.8 percent to $2.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,204.30 an ounce. Silver fell 0.3 percent to $14.18 an ounce. Copper gained one percent to $2.64 a pound.

The dollar dipped to 110.83 yen from 111.51 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1625 from $1.1623.

Germany’s DAX fell 0.7 percent and in Britain the FTSE 100 lost 0.9 percent.

The CAC 40 in France gave up an early gain finished 0.3 percent lower.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 percent and the Kospi in South Korea dropped 0.2 percent.

PAGE 8, Friday, September 7, 2018 NEW YORK Associated Press EVER since he stepped into his role as CEO a year ago, Dara Khosrowshahi has had to deal with wave after wave of major scandals and bad press, much of which he inherited from his predecessor, Travis Kalanick.

About two weeks after Khosrowshahi started his job, London’s transport regulator decided to revoke Uber’s license to operate, jeopardising the regional business with 3.5 million passengers. A court eventually gave Uber a license, although much shorter than normal.

Later that year Uber was forced to come clean about covering up a major computer attack that stole personal information about more than 57 million customers and drivers. In February, Uber agreed to pay $245m to Google’s selfdriving car spinoff to end a legal brawl that aired out allegations that Uber stole technology.

Perhaps the biggest problem came in March when an Uber self-driving test vehicle ran down and killed a pedestrian in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

Later it was disclosed that the human backup driver in the Uber SUV was streaming the television show “The Voice” on her phone and looking downward just before the crash.

Under Khosrowshahi, Uber has been trying to shore up its reputation. It has made safety a top priority and on Wednesday, it revealed a suite of safety features for both drivers and passengers. Uber is also teaming up with Toyota to build self-driving cars for its ride-hailing service and will receive a $500m investment from the Japanese automaker.

Khosrowshahi sat down with The Associated Press to talk about his first year as CEO and how he plans to steer the company. Answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Q: Aside from improving

A year in, Uber CEO works to rebuild company’s reputation

THE TRIBUNE

being profitable?

A: We’re looking at the second half of next year toward the end of the year.

There are very few companies of our size that have the kind of growth rate or exciting new businesses like Uber Eats within the portfolio, and we’re showing progress toward profitability. We have to show a path to profitability.

Q: What about the driverless car program? Is Toyota going to run it, and what are the plans for Toyota’s $500m investment?

A: We have an incredibly talented in-house team of engineers who are building hardware, software and operations to make self-driving cars a reality in a safe manner. An advantage we have now is we’re building self-driving technology while we have a live network in place, and ultimately we think there’s going to be a hybrid of self-driving technology and human-driven technology. We wanted to bring Toyota in as My a valuable partner.

Toyota predecessor is bringing made mistakes. in special I’m going to make cars that mistakes as well. The are going to be elecfact is I’ve inherited an tric and that incredible company are built for ride sharwith incredible ing in urban talent. destinations.

Their expertise in self-driving and car manufacturing and our expertise with advanced technologies and our network will be an unbeatable combination.

Q: Do you think that UBER CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks during the company’s unveiling of the new features, in New York on Wednesday. Uber is aimToyota will help in terms ing to boost driver and passenger safety in an effort to rebuild trust in the brand.

Photo: Richard Drew/AP of rebuilding the trust in Uber’s self-driving program safety features, where and if you want to get from repairing the damage of a lot that we’ve undertaken after what happened in do you see the company point A to point B, we want your predecessor and are to fix. We have rebuilt the Phoenix? headed? you to think about Uber. really making your mark on culture of the company, we A: I think Toyota’s A: Uber was a ride-hail- We ultimately want to be the company? have reprioritised safety as investment in us and their ing service, but really we your one-stop shop for A: My predecessor made a number one priority for partnership with us speaks want to think about Uber transportation. mistakes. I’m going to make the company...I can tell you volumes about our efforts as a broad transportation Q: You’ve been at Uber a mistakes as well. The fact that a year in, I’m thrilled and their efforts. We have platform which includes year, and from the moment is that I’ve inherited an to be here and I’ve got a a lot to learn from Toyota ride-hailing, Uber Eats, you walked through the incredible company with ton of work to do. in terms of manufacture-bikes, scooters — and door there have been prob- incredible talent. My preQ: What’s the timeline ing, technology, brand and eventually we’re going to lems. When do you feel decessor and his team built for taking the company safety. We’re here to learn, integrate with mass tran- like you’ve reached the a company that’s a verb. So public, and do you think and the partnership is off to sit. So if you work in a city point where you’ve stopped no one’s perfect and there’s you can do it without a great start.