10182019 BUSINESS

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2019

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Wells LOI battle: ‘It’s finished now’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A $727.364M DAMAGES claim against Renward Wells and others was yesterday branded as “finished” after the firm at the centre of the Letter of Intent (LOI) controversy withdrew its appeal.

Gregory Moss, the nowCabinet minister’s attorney, told Tribune Business there was little prospect that Stellar Energy would be able to revive its action against his client and the co-defendants, Algernon Allen and Frank Forbes, who the company alleged had acted as government “agents” in its bid to develop a wasteto-energy plant at the New

further grounds of appeal.”

Mr Moss said Stellar Energy’s attorneys had indicated they would look to re-file an appeal, but he argued it was difficult to see how there could be any “substance” to such a move.

Tribune Business was unable to contact Stellar Energy’s attorneys, Osman and Rengin Johnson, and their firm, Ayse Rengin Dengizer Johnson, for comment prior to press time last night.

However, legal documents obtained by Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net RENWARD WELLS

Business show Mr Wells and his attorney arguing that the case be dismissed on technical grounds because Stellar Energy had failed to follow the correct legal procedures for getting permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The appeal’s meek withdrawal is a marked change from the bullish April 2019 statement issued by Stellar Energy’s attorneys, in which they pledged to appeal on

SEE PAGE 4

‘Music to my ears’ WTO 95% unlikely

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Value’s principal yesterday said it was “music to my ears” to hear the government’s WTO chief negotiator state The Bahamas is almost certainly not joining under this administration.

Rupert Roberts, who has vehemently opposed becoming a full World Trade Organisation (WTO) member, told Tribune Business it “comes as a welcome relief” after Zhivargo Laing told an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) organised seminar that The Bahamas was “95 percent unlikely” to join under the Minnis administration.

He added that whether The Bahamas signs on to the global rules-based trading

• SuperValue boss: ‘Welcome relief’ to hear • Fears ‘loss of Bahamian identity, sovereignty’ • Anti-WTO activist: ‘Dorian’s put this to rest’

RUPERT ROBERTS regime’s overseer should “be an election issue”, giving the electorate the ultimate say on whether this nation embraces or rejects the WTO. Mr Roberts, though, voiced doubts that any

Govt targets ‘best in class’ over aviation

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE government’s aircraft registry ambitions are critical to developing a “best in class aviation sector”, a Cabinet minister telling Tribune Business yesterday: “Now the journey begins.”

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he was aiming to implement the necessary legislative and regulatory changes to facilitate the registry’s creation within the next 12 to 18 months.

He disclosed that the

DIONISIO D’AGUILAR government is also seeking to conclude a final agreement with Aviation Registry Group (ARG), the company responsible for developing aircraft registries in Aruba and San

SEE PAGE 5

Ex-Atlantis staffer loses appeal over $300,000 fraud

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A FORMER Atlantis employee who masterminded a $300,000 fraud against the Paradise Island resort has seen her wrongful dismissal counterclaim dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

It also upheld the hotel’s “breach of fiduciary duty” against Monteigne Cunningham, a former administrative assistant in its security administration office, finding that she was in a position of trust that required her to act

honestly as the last person to send cheque payment requests to the Atlantis accounts department.

The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous verdict, detailed how Ms Cunningham was responsible for approving and authorising payment to third party investigators who carried out due diligence and background checks on prospective Atlantis employees.

She also had to prepare and submit cheques for these vendors to Atlantis’ accounts department for final signature and payment, and the verdict detailed how she was

SEE PAGE 5

political party would win if it included full WTO membership in its campaign platform, arguing that “it would be defeated” in either a general election or referendum on the matter.

Reiterating his opposition to joining, the Super Value chief argued that fully opening up this country’s economy to foreign competition would result in a “loss of Bahamian identity and sovereignty” as the world rushed in.

“That’s music to my ears,” Mr Roberts told Tribune Business of Mr Laing’s pessimistic prediction. “I think that the government will

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Appeal justice raises ‘judicial activism’ fear

• Stellar withdraws $727m claim appeal • Minister’s attorney: Should be ‘end of the matter’ • ‘Can’t see any further grounds for appeal’

Providence landfill.

Mr Moss, also a former PLP MP, said Stellar Energy’s attorneys filed the “notice of withdrawal of appeal” this Tuesday just prior to the case’s scheduled hearing that same day. He said the move came after they realised Mr Wells and his co-defendants had a strong case for why the dispute should be dismissed.

“I regard that as being effectively the end of the matter,” he told Tribune Business. “I don’t see how there could possibly be any

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make the right decision if it has chosen not to pursue it [WTO accession] in these terms.

“Let it come up as an election issue and see where it stands with the people. I think if we had a referendum on it, it would be defeated. I don’t think the government could win on joining the WTO. They wouldn’t win an election on it, and they wouldn’t win a referendum on it. Nobody seems to be for it.’

Mr Roberts was reacting after Mr Laing, in a presentation to the IDB’s forum

SEE PAGE 4

A COURT of Appeal judge has seemingly cautioned a colleague for straying into “judicial activism” in a case involving the termination of a 14-year veteran John Bull store manager.

Appeal justice Stella Crane-Scott said “courts should avoid” straying into making law, as opposed to interpreting the law, as she expressed concerns over how fellow justice, Sir Michael Barnett, had arrived at the same conclusion as herself and appeal justice Jon Isaacs in finding that Helena McCardy was unfairly dismissed by the luxury goods retailer.

Emphasising that “any perceived inadequacies or shortcomings” in the Employment Act had to be addressed by Parliament as the law-making body, appeal justice Scott-Crane wrote that Sir Michael, a former chief justice, had “imported” tests and rulings from UK law that were not applicable to Bahamian law.

She argued that this approach would ultimately result in the “conflating” of claims for wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal, which have traditionally been separate under Bahamian law even though the Industrial Tribunal and judicial system have dealt with both in the same case.

“In my view, given the limitations of our [Employment] Act as presently drafted and the existing local jurisprudence, wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal claims are completely separate claims, each with their own principles which cannot be conflated in the manner proposed in the absence of statutory intervention,” Appeal justice Scott-Crane wrote.

“As I see it, unless and until Parliament sees fit to

amend the Employment Act to import or adopt the criteria set out in section 98 of the UK Act, any reliance on UK Employment Tribunal cases must be viewed with extreme care.”

While Ms McCardy’s case was based on unfair dismissal, appeal justice Scott-Crane said Sir Michael’s ruling started from the premise that there was nothing in the Employment Act to prevent the Industrial Tribunal from treating it as matter where she was improperly dismissed for gross misconduct.

The former chief justice said there were no legal limits on an “unfair dismissal” claim, and the ways in which employees can be treated as such, as it was not defined in the Employment Act. Bahamian law, as it currently stands, only says that “unfair dismissal” be determined on “the substantial merits of the case”.

Sir Michael, though, used section 98 of the UK’s Employment Rights Act, which defines the criteria for what is “wrongful dismissal”, to find that this includes cases involving alleged misconduct where the employer was purported not to have acted reasonably in terminating a worker.

Appeal justice CraneScott, noting that he had “imported” UK law and judicial tests to help him reach a verdict, wrote: “With respect, this approach may fairly be characterised as judicial activism which courts should avoid.

“Any perceived inadequacies or shortcomings of the current Employment Act vis-à-vis its English counterpart should be addressed by Parliament, not by the courts. To do otherwise is essentially to incorporate into the clear words of our Employment Act, criteria and concepts

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PAGE 2, Friday, October 18, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

GB resort DPM PUSHES COMMONWEALTH TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE fully restores marina OLD Bahama Bay Resort & Yacht Harbour yesterday said its marina has been restored to full capacity following more than a month of postDorian clean-up.

“It has been a month that has truly shown the strength of our staff and stakeholders here at Old Bahama Bay,” said John MacDonald, its president. “Everyone worked together to meet today’s goal.

“In addition to hurricane clean-up, reinstallation of the marina power pedestals and recoating the docks, Old Bahama Bay has been ground zero for the distribution of humanitarian supplies. With over one million pounds (600 tons) of supplies being delivered and distributed throughout the islands, our organisational skills were put to task and I am proud to say that throughout all of this, we have shined.”

Besides the marina re-opening, the West Endbased resort said that its Teasers Beach Side Bar & Grill, Banana Hammocks Harbour Side Bar and beachside pool will be fully operational as of today.

It added that it is working to re-open its condominium hotel, dockside restaurant and bar, gym, massage room and all other amenities on November 1.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE deputy prime minister yesterday pressed Commonwealth finance ministers to address the challenges climate change poses to vulnerable nations such as The Bahamas.

K Peter Turnquest, attending the group’s annual meeting in Washington DC, pushed the Commonwealth Secretariat to extend its work in this area as he called for the international community to reassess its approach to small island developing states (SIDS).

“In this regard the promotion of green bonds, social bonds and other financing options to address climate resilience, in particular, is critical and useful, as is the need to reassess the categorisation of high income/highly vulnerable small island developing states,” said Mr Turnquest.

“It is also critical to address in a real way the challenges posed by risk evaluations of SIDS and offshore financial centres. The effects of which

DEPUTY Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest during his attendance of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting in Washington, DC. go further than just tax transparency and tax competition to real risk to financial stability of member states, and access to correspondent bank relationships and crossborder trade on which we depend.

“Adjustments must be made to protocols to ensure that unfair and negative risk assessments that cannot be reasonably mitigated without creating another more predictive disaster, one of financial collapse due to uncompetitiveness

of otherwise stable countries, is minimised,” added Mr Turnquest.

“Climate refugees and internal and external migration is also an area that requires urgent attention and thought. Our recent experience shows that quite apart from economic migration, which we are familiar with in our region, disasters are posing a new risk and burden on neighbouring states.

“Protocols and who, what and where considerations must now make its

way on to the front page of climate risk considerations as these realities become more and more relevant.”

Mr Turnquest also expressed gratitude for the empathy and support The Bahamas has received from the Commonwealth Secretariat and member nations in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

Several member countries provided in-kind and cash donations to the relief effort, which Minister Turnquest emphasised were being “utilised strictly

to provide relief to those now homeless and jobless, and as a result vulnerable to many social and financial risks”.

“It is the government’s commitment to ensure continued accountability and transparency in this regard as we reach out for further global support to address this recovery challenge, and to face the daunting task of making tangible steps to implement the resilience lessons learned from this experience,” said Mr Turnquest.

Water Corp chair at Caribbean summit THE Water and Sewerage Corporation’s executive chairman and senior executives this week participated in a Caribbean industry conference in St Kitts and Nevis.

Adrian Gibson, the Long Island MP, attended the 15th annual high level forum of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association’s (CWWA) annual conference and exhibition, where Hurricane Dorian’s impact on the water sector in Grand Bahama and Abaco was discussed.

Mr Gibson received a pledge from the CWWA for $10,000 towards the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s relief, recovery and restoration efforts in Abaco.

Conference discussions also focused on areas such

as achieving water security in small island developing states (SIDS), and implementation of a regional strategic action plan on climate change resiliency.

ADRIAN GIBSON, the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s executive chairman, is seen with St Kitts and Nevis prime minister Timothy Harris (centre) and various Caribbean ministers of water.

Photos: Adrian Gibson and Elwood Donaldson

ADRIAN GIBSON, left, meets St Kitts and Nevis governorgeneral, Sir Tapley Seaton.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 18, 2019, PAGE 3

‘We’ll have to make one-cent end work’

By YOURI KEMP

SUPER Value’s principal yesterday said his Abaco interests had coped well after eliminating the onecent coin last year, and added: “We’ll have to make it work here.”

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that the retail industry and consumers will have to go through a period of adjustment given the Central Bank’s plans to eliminate the one-cent as legal tender by end-2020, but acknowledged concerns that it was to costly to continue producing.

“It’s going to be a hardship to us and our customers, but we knew it was coming. We knew it was just too expensive to continue to keep the penny,” he said, revealing that his Maxwell’s Supermarket had gone through a trial run last year when one-cent coins were

in short supply on Abaco.

“We faced this with our store in Abaco last year where we could not get access to pennies due to lack of supply,” Mr Roberts revealed. “We had to put $1,000 worth of American one-cent coins on our trailers in order to ensure our stores had them on hand.

“For the past year we were not able to get onecent coins for our stores in Abaco, so what we did was revise prices upwards and downwards when we had to. As far as I know it worked well in Abaco so we are going to have to make it work here. Rounding our prices to five solved the problem, both upwards or downwards.”

Chad Sawyer, Mr Roberts’ business partner in Maxwell’s, added: “We first ran into issues like variable weight produce, like meat and other produce that needed to be weighed,

and then we also had price control issues. I think we can programme our scales to round to the nearest five cents again if we have to.”

He suggested the government may have to alter price control regulations “because goods may be marked at a certain price level that would require it to be sold at a certain, set price, and two or three cents difference will be the difference in a profit or allout loss on the controlled product if we have to keep prices within their price control range”.

Mr Roberts added that the one-cent’s elimination as legal payment tender was based on “a common understanding that the Central Bank just could not supply the Family Islands with pennies. We have even had problems with getting access to pennies in our New Providence stores”.

He said his business had

experienced similar challenges in dealing with the switch to value added tax (VAT), and said: “We had an issue with the transfer over to VAT, which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars in revenue lost, and that was just because of pennies.

“What this may do is this may [throw] the VAT out of hundreds of thousands of dollars or it may [throw] us as merchants out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The merchants may be the ones to suffer in the end.”

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, has repeatedly said the one-cent coin’s elimination will not impact price levels or VAT. The regulator has already reached out to the government’s consumer protection and price control agencies to determine if the legislative and regulatory changes foreshadowed by Mr Sawyer are required.

BAHA MAR’S $300M SPEND AIDS NASSAU ‘RENAISSANCE’

By YOURI KEMP A TOP tourism executive yesterday described Baha Mar’s $300m water park as the latest element in Nassau/Paradise Island’s “renaissance” as a tourism destination.

Fred Lounsberry, president of the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board, told Tribune Business that the mega resort’s latest investment was “nothing but great news” for The Bahamas since it would refresh the tourism product with a new, exciting attraction.

“Overall it’s great news and very exciting for the destination,” he said of the Heads of Agreement signed between Baha Mar and the government. “It represents incremental business for all types of businesses. Along with them adding a whole a new attraction, Baha Bay, and the other added features for dining, it’s nothing but great news for the destination.

“You can look at the numbers on arrivals and occupancy, and we have had a steady incline for the last few years along with the addition of Baha Mar. But the early fears expressed by other hotel operators were that it would have affected all of the resorts, and that Baha Mar would have taken visitors away from the other properties.

This has not been the case at all. Everyone has had great business for the last few years.”

Mr Lounsberry reiterated tourism industry optimism that the recent Hurricane Dorian-related fall-off in bookings was a temporary dip “Hopefully we will regain what we lost in October and September, and get back on our steady incline upwards in all visitor statistics, once we get past the negative feedback, that is.

“But now this Baha Mar announcement is good,

ARTIST RENDERING OF BAHA MAR’S WATER PARK. and gives us good news to talk about over the next few years. All of this, and the renovations said to take place at the Melia as a part of this new announcement from Baha Mar, I would have to say the destination has gone though a renaissance.”

Mr Lounsberry explained that Baha Mar had been one element in New Providence’s transformation as a tourism destination, pointing to its contribution alongside other investments such as The Pointe and its Margaritaville-branded resort that is due to open next summer.

“But it really all started with the opening of the new airport, along with the roadwork repairs and other infrastructural upgrades, along with all of the changes and additions at Atlantis, especially in them bringing in all of the Bahamian restaurants on property,” Mr Lounsberry said. “There was just a lot of things over the past few years that has brought the destination new improvements.”

He rejected concerns that Baha Mar’s development of a water park would reduce differentiation between Nassau’s two mega resorts, given that Atlantis already has such a facility. “Not at all,” Mr Lounsberry said.

“If anything it’s going to bring people back. These amenities are primarily for the resort guests. It’s just an addition to Baha Mar that will give visitors yet another

reason to come to Baha Mar as well as broaden their options when thinking about coming to The Bahamas.

Repeat visitors are a big part of any destination.”

Recalling his experience of working in Orlando, he said water parks were “very popular features for resorts” with Disney having three to four such venues alone.

Carlton Russell, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s president, praised Baha Mar’s expansion as “yet another example of the faith and value investors place in The Bahamas as a premier tourism destination”.

“Our tourism product continues to improve thanks to the substantive investments of tourism stakeholders such as Baha Mar,” he said, “product enhancement such as infrastructure improvements; the transformation of our cruise port; imminent build of new marinas and ancillary developments on Paradise Island; new developments along Cable Beach and downtown Nassau.

“Hotel property upgrades and refurbishments in New Providence and many Family Islands continue to propel this destination to new heights of quality product delivery. The injection of investor dollars, and the creation of a substantial number of new jobs, is particularly exciting and necessary at this time with many income streams adversely affected postDorian. We welcome and

applaud the continued enrichment of our overarching tourism offering with this Baha Mar expansion.”

Arinthia Komolafe, the Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader, yesterday said Baha Mar’s expansion “gives hope to many unemployed or underemployed Bahamians, and the potential to boost the economy of The Bahamas is always positive news”.

“On the heels of the International Monetary Fund’s downward revision of its projected GDP growth for The Bahamas to 0.9 percent from 1.8 percent, and to -0.6 percent from 1.7 percent (for 2020), we need as much economic stimuli as possible,” she added.

ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND

ATLANTIS IN TOP TRAVEL HONOUR ATLANTIS, and its The Cove and The Reef properties, have been recognised in the Top 25 Resorts in the Atlantic category by Condé Nast Traveler.

“It is an honour to accept this prestigious award on behalf of our magical Bahamian resort,” said Audrey Oswell, president and managing director of Atlantis.

“The success of Atlantis, Paradise Island, is a team effort and we are extremely blessed to have a staff of over 7,300 people who maintain passion, integrity and commitment in creating life-long memories for guests and showcasing

‘Bahamas at Heart’ to the world. We are looking forward to introducing our guests to a variety of new experiences and programming in 2020.”

Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards obtained responses from more than 600,000 readers rating their travel experiences to provide a full insight into where and how they travel.

The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry, and are known as “the best of the best of travel”.

UNBELIEVABLE The first THREE (3) persons to book ONLINE will get (1+) Acre of waterfront land for under 40K Log Onto

www.turnkeybahamas.com For further details

PAGE 4, Friday, October 18, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

‘Music to my ears’ WTO 95% unlikely Wells LOI battle: ‘It’s finished now’ FROM PAGE ONE

on private sector competitiveness, said it was “95 percent unlikely there will be any movement toward joining WTO in this term” under the Minnis administration after the government became nervous about the negative reaction from significant segments of the private sector and wider civil society.

The former Cabinet minister added that if The Bahamas did not become a full WTO member under this government it was unlikely to do so for another decade something that would extend the accession process to 28 years from when this nation first indicated its interest in joining in 2001.

However, it was unclear last night whether the government shares Mr Laing’s pessimistic assessment about The Bahamas’ accession prospects and if it accords with the current policy direction.

Elsworth Johnson, minister of financial services, trade and industry and Immigration, who has ministerial responsibility for the WTO accession, declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business about Mr Laing’s comments on the grounds that he was in Brazil and had not seen/heard them.

However, another government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Mr Laing: “He’s the chief negotiator, he’s been employed by the government, and has not made mention of it to us.”

The Minnis administration had originally set end-2019 as the date to complete negotiations for The Bahamas’

accession to the WTO, with the move ultimately set to be ratified by the latter’s members at their June 2020 forum.

That deadline will inevitably be missed, but Mr Johnson told this newspaper in July that such targets were “purely aspirational” and did not have to be met at all costs. He said he had been advised even the WTO itself felt the accession timeline set by The Bahamas was “extremely rigid”.

Mr Johnson also pledged that The Bahamas would not become a full member if the terms “are not in the best interests” of the country, reiterating the position set out by his ministerial predecessor, Brent Symonette, while adding that accession negotiations will continue “at a pace that benefits the Bahamian populace” rather than being wedded to a concrete date.

Mr Roberts, meanwhile, said he remained unconvinced about the merits of joining WTO despite helping to finance the Oxford Economics study that was produced for The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC).

That report suggested full WTO membership would produce a net economic benefit for The Bahamas, but was no panacea or cure-all for this nation’s economic ills, and needed to be combined with internal reforms that remove structural bottlenecks to growth/competitiveness and improve this nation’s “ease of doing business”.

“I’m still not convinced it’s in The Bahamas’ best interests to join WTO even after that study,” Mr Roberts told

Tribune Business. “I just don’t see the advantages, and there could be more disadvantages than advantages.

There was no real advantage that I saw from that.

“If was to our advantage to join WTO, why didn’t we join 18 years ago? Are we dumb, stupid or what? Why did we hesitate then? I’m going to ask the question: Why did we hesitate now?

Because it’s not in our best interests.

“Maybe the government has seen the majority of people don’t think it’s in our best interest to join. I think it will come as welcome relief to the nation that they’re not joining this term. Then it can become an election issue.

If this [joining WTO] was pending it should have been an issue last election, and I don’t remember that coming up.”

Suggesting that WTO should be decided at a general election, not a referendum, Mr Roberts cited several reasons for why The Bahamas should not sign on.

“I think the world would march in, labour would march in, and The Bahamas would lose our identity, The Bahamas would lose our sovereignty, and then The Bahamas would become just another part of the world,” he told Tribune Business.

“There’s other people saying that won’t happen, but I think it will. The outsiders that talk about joining talk so freely without any Bahamian identity. It’s worrisome that we lose our identity, we lose our sovereignty.”

The government, though, has frequently argued that WTO membership will not facilitate the free movement of labour, meaning the ability of foreign nationals

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to enter The Bahamas to live and work. Such a concept was associated with the CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME), which The Bahamas has not signed on to, whereas WTO is concerned with free trade in goods and services.

And Mr Symonette, the former minister, and others in the administration have also frequently asserted that WTO membership will not result in an influx of foreign companies and multinationals, pointing out that the Bahamian economy is already greatly liberalised especially on the service side - and that the government will still be able to approve who comes in via its “horizontal commitments”.

Meanwhile Paul Moss, the long-time anti-WTO activist, told Tribune Business that Hurricane Dorian’s devastation had also helped “put to rest” any possibility that The Bahamas will become a full WTO member before the government has to seek reelection in 2022.

Given the mammoth task of rebuilding post-Dorian, he argued that all the government’s energies will be devoted to this because it has not shown an ability to multi-task and can only focus on one major issue at a time.

“They don’t have the time to focus on WTO, amend laws, educate the people and negotiate,” Mr Moss told Tribune Business. “That’s not happening. It’s quite difficult to do all these things.

The hurricane has certainly put that to rest simply because it’s so devastating.

It’s something they’ve never seen before, and they’re trying to get their arms around it.

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N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

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JOYFUL HEART LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a)

PINE ORIGIN LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

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The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

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The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

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The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

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Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

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FROM PAGE ONE the company’s behalf and “shed light on all that has transpired” under the former Christie administration - including Mr Wells’ resignation from his then-post as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Works.

Stellar Energy’s appeal had sought to challenge a ruling by Carol Misiewicz, the Supreme Court’s deputy registrar, who found that the company and its affiliates were “from any angle unable to sustain an action” against Mr Wells, Mr Allen and his law firm, and Mr Forbes’ firm, Sigma Management, “on the basis of the LOI”.

She determined that the LOI, the signing of which forced Mr Wells’ from the Christie administration, “was not binding in law” and represented “a discussion document” rather than a completed contract.

The deputy registrar also branded Stellar Energy’s claims against Mr Allen, himself a former Cabinet minister, and Mr Forbes, a businessman and accountant, as “bad” given that they were not parties to the now-notorious LOI. Ruling that Stellar Energy had “not been able to overcome the hurdles presented by the LOI”, Ms Misiewicz said Mr Wells - despite signing it was not a party to its terms.

“In any event the LOI, for whatever it was worth, automatically expired one year from the date of its execution, which was on July 3, 2015,” the deputy registrar found. “It was a discussion document, subject to contract and was not binding in law. Approached from any angle, the plaintiffs [Stellar] are unable to sustain an action on the basis of the LOI.” Turning to Stellar’s claim against Messrs Allen and Forbes, Ms Misiewicz agreed with their attorney, Damien Gomez QC, that the allegations against the duo were “contradictory” and they were also not parties to the LOI. “I am satisfied that [Stellar] does not gave a good arguable case against any of the defendants, but in particular does not have a case against” them,” she said.

Mr Wells, who is currently minister of transport and local government, became embroiled in controversy in mid-July 2014 when the Stellar LOI was leaked to the media and he was accused of signing it on the Government’s behalf without

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the proper authorisation.

He eventually departed his parliamentary secretary post some 80-90 days later, but Tribune Business later obtained evidence suggesting that - as indicated by Mr Wells’ close colleague, former MP Dr Andre Rollins said - the whole affair was a “manufactured political controversy”.

This newspaper obtained a May 26, 2014, letter written by Michael Halkitis, then-minister of state for finance, to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Bahamas country representative stating that “the government has issued an initial LOI” to Stellar Energy.

That letter was dated some five to six weeks BEFORE Mr Wells signed the LOI, suggesting key members of the Christie Cabinet knew of its existence in advance and of the government’s intentions at least at that point - to sign it. There is nothing, though, to suggest Mr Halkitis did anything wrong.

All involved with the Stellar LOI and subsequent court case, along with both major political parties, are likely to welcome the latest legal developments given their eagerness to put the matter behind them.

The FNM took “ownership” of the matter when Mr Wells swapped sides to join it, yet to this day neither he nor anyone else involved has explained to the Bahamian people exactly what happened.

Stellar Energy’s original statement of claim laid out multiple allegations.

It described Messrs Allen and Forbes as government “agents” who promised thenprime minister Perry Christie would arrange a $40m guarantee for the project, and bragged: “We hold the key to the kingdom.”

The waste-to-energy group’s allegations placed Mr Christie and now-PLP leader, Philip Davis, at the centre of events leading up to the LOI’s disclosure and subsequent political firestorm although nothing has emerged to suggest they were guilty of any wrongdoing.

Arguing that the LOI’s leaking showed “clear intent at the government level to sabotage” the $600m project, Stellar claimed Mr Allen, the former Urban Renewal co-chair, and Mr Forbes were “two of the private individuals who claimed to be representatives of the Bahamas government and/or agents acting for and on behalf of The Bahamas government”.

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SPLENDEOUR DESIGN LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a)

BASILTON LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a)

RKG HOLDINGS LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

GOLDEN SAW FAMILY INC.

PADACHINH LIMITED

NOTICE PAMILAKAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows: (a)

PAMILAKAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019 _________________________________ Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

NOTICE

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

NOTICE

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a)

GOLDEN SAW FAMILY INC is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(a)

PADACHINH LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(b)

The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 16th October, 2019 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

(c)

The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

Dated this 18th day of October, A. D. 2019

_________________________________

_________________________________

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 18, 2019, PAGE 5

Govt targets ‘best in class’ over aviation FROM PAGE ONE Marino, “as soon as possible” so it can take the lead in performing a similar role for The Bahamas.

Besides creating a potential multi-million dollar revenue stream for the government, and enhancing The Bahamas’ attraction as a “jurisdiction of choice” for high net worth individuals, Mr D’Aguilar said an international aircraft registry will also force improvements that will make the civil aviation regulatory regime “top of class”.

Describing his ministry as “very motivated indeed” to realise its aviation registry ambitions, he added that its economic impact would “span the entire aviation sector” through new and increased revenue streams plus the creation of additional jobs.

While the development of a Bahamian aircraft registry has been discussed for years, Mr D’Aguilar said moves were finally “underway” to turn this into action through the contracting of ARG and legal upgrades essential to ensuring its competitiveness.

The government has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ARG, and the minister added that it was now seeking to convert this into a full agreement “as soon as possible”.

“We’ve agreed to conclude an agreement with

ARG, the company that has rolled out a number of aircraft registries in other jurisdictions, and then the process will commence to ensure our laws and regulations are geared towards the enhancement and launch of an aircraft registry,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“There are certain adjustments that we’re going to have to make, and certain enhancements we will have to make to our Civil Aviation Authority to make our jurisdiction attractive for an aircraft registry. That process is now underway.

We’ve selected the company, and now the journey begins in conjunction with Civil Aviation.”

Mr D’Aguilar added that ARG will be tasked with “putting in place the necessary infrastructure, both regulatory and commercial” so that a Bahamian aircraft registry can start attracting business and flourish. He said the legal and regulatory upgrades will likely be implemented “over the next 12-18 months” as Parliament’s legislative schedule allows.

Leading these reforms will likely be the creation of an aircraft mortgages register, and signing on to the Cape Town Treaty (Aircraft Convention), as both will show The Bahamas is serious and to complement the aircraft registry’s creation.

The Cape Town Treaty

Ex-Atlantis staffer loses appeal over $300,000 fraud FROM PAGE ONE able to defraud the resort of some $298,178 by working with a family member.

“The respondent [Atlantis] uncovered invoices put in

by Franklyn Moss, who was not an approved vendor, with cheque requests for payment to him for services given,” the Court of Appeal said.

“The appellant’s [Ms Cunningham’s] actions resulted in the respondent approving and paying $298,178 to Franklyn Moss without proper authorisation. The appellant gave a statement admitting the fraudulent scheme, and said that Franklyn Moss was a relative who she asked to cash the cheques and pay the money to her.

“The appellant said, however, that she gave the written statement by duress.

Franklyn Moss admitted he cashed the cheques and paid the money to the appellant.”

Criminal charges brought against Ms Cunningham in the Magistrate’s Court, including 15 counts of forgery, 15 counts of uttering a forged document and 14 counts of fraud by false pretences, were dismissed.

However, Atlantis subsequently was more successful with a civil claim it brought against her.

Supreme Court justice, Rhonda Bain, branded Ms Cunningham as “not a credible witness” and preferred the evidence of Mr Moss.

She found that the former employee breached her fiduciary duty to the resort via a scheme where she used information from legitimate vendors, had the cheque requests approved, and then changed the name on the cheques.

Justice Bain described Mr

Moss as “an innocent party and not part of the fraudulent scheme”, and ruled that Ms Cunningham needed to return the $298,178 to Atlantis with interest at 4 percent from the day the action was filed.

Ms Cunningham appealed the breach of fiduciary duty finding, as well as the dismissal of her counter-claim for wrongful dismissal. However, the Court of Appeal found there was no evidence to support her claims that she signed her written admission of fraud under duress from the “use of threats and oppression”.

“In this case, the appellant contends that she did not owe a fiduciary duty to the respondent as she was not a manager, shareholder or director, but simply an administrative assistant,” it added.

“She also contends the respondent supervised her duties. On this basis, she argues the trial judge’s finding that she was a fiduciary was an error on the facts.”

This was rejected by the Court of Appeal, which found: “We are of the view that the duties of the appellant imposed a fiduciary duty on her to act honestly and for the respondent.

“On her admission the appellant abused this duty by creating a false cheque request and fraudulent invoice in the name of Franklyn Moss; enabling cashing the fraudulent cheque; and keeping the money for her own use.”

The Court of Appeal found that summary dismissal of Ms Cunningham was warranted because her conduct “amounted to a fundamental breach of contract”. It dismissed all her other grounds of appeal.

CONSULTANT RADIOLOGIST NEEDED A well establish local Radiology Center is seeking to fill the position of Consultant Radiologist.

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(Aircraft Convention) is particularly important because it gives financiers and leasing companies confidence that their liens and charges over planes - and plane parts - will be recognised and secure whatever jurisdiction the craft is in.

Bahamas-based companies and residents typically have to pay more when leasing aircraft from US companies because this nation is not a Cape Town Convention signatory, and the owner wants extra compensation for the extra risk.

While unable to quantify an aircraft registry’s likely economic impact, Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business: “I want the Bahamian people to think of it in much the same way as the Bahamas Maritime Authority. That has been in

operation much longer, and has greater traction, but this is another attempt to build a revenue stream for the Government of The Bahamas.

“We are pursuing it as a potential revenue stream.

We’re not sure how much revenue, but all indications are this is quite significant.

And the biggest advantage will be our competitiveness. This will be another tool in our chest that makes The Bahamas an attractive jurisdiction for the world’s affluent millionaires and billionaires to choose The Bahamas as a jurisdiction of choice.”

A competitive Bahamian aircraft registry has been viewed as a value-added complement to the financial services industry’s high-end clients, many of whom own or lease planes. It also fits

in with the shipping registry and other efforts to expand and diversify the economy.

Virtually all the Bahamas’ international financial centre (IFC) rivals possess their own aircraft registries, too, meaning that this nation is again lagging the competition when it comes to products and services demanded by its target market.

“Another advantage is that it will cause focus to be brought to the civil aviation regulatory environment, enhancing it and making it top of class; world class in order to attract aircraft to our registry,” Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper.

“It will create jobs in terms of inspections, maintenance and repairs. People will come here to have their planes inspected. It creates

hangar storage, businesses for aircraft maintenance, inspections and the like, and has the advantage of creating employment opportunities. The benefits span the entire aviation sector.

“It’s important to pursue this for the reasons mentioned, but also to create this best in class sector that becomes a flag of choice.”

Mr D’Aguilar said responsibility for closing the ARG contract lay with the Air Transport Advisory Board, which is chaired by Higgs & Johnson attorney and partner, Michael Allen.

Other Board members include Callenders & Co attorneys, Carey Leonard and Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright, the latter of whom has championed the aircraft registry’s development.

PAGE 6, Friday, October 18, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Appeal justice raises ‘judicial activism’ fear FROM PAGE ONE which Parliament never intended to adopt.”

She added: “Over the years, even in spite of the minimal criteria provided in section 35, the Industrial Tribunal and our courts have had no difficulty determining whether in any given case a dismissal was fair or unfair.

“Case law in this jurisdiction is replete with instances

in which our courts at various levels have, applying the statutory test, conducted the necessary factual inquiry required by the section and either found a dismissal to have been fair or unfair.

“As I see it, the approach advocated by [Sir Michael] would see a court or the Tribunal (irrespective of an employee’s pleaded case) undertaking a factual inquiry, inter alia, into whether the conduct for which the employee was

dismissed was or was not so extreme as would warrant dismissal and making a finding as to whether the dismissal was both wrongful and unfair,” appeal justice Crane-Scott continued.

“With all due respect, such an approach would lead to a conclusion which impermissibly conflates the existing boundaries of wrongful dismissal and unfair dismissal which, in this jurisdiction, have traditionally operated as separate claims.”

MEXICO BREAKS GROUND ON NEW AIRPORT PROJECT OUTSIDE CAPITAL MEXICO CITY Associated Press

YOUR

MEXICO broke ground yesterday on a project to supplement the capital’s overtaxed international airport, finally making headway on a controversial alternative to another, equally controversial one that was scrapped last year after being about a third built.

Bulldozers cleared earth at the site of the Santa Lucia air base north of Mexico

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that JENNIFER ELAINE WILLIAMS RODGERS of Fox Hill Road #2 Yamacraw, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twentyeight days from the 18thday of October, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that GRACIEUSE ELZERA LOUIS of #15 Rolle Avenue off Montrose Avenue, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of October, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

(242) 323-2330

THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2019

(242) 323-2320

ALL SHARE INDEX: CLOSE: 2,171.76 | CHG: -0.03 | %CHG: 0.00 | YTD: 62.31 | YTD%: 2.95 BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.45 22.65 7.00 5.92 2.60 2.00 5.47 11.75 6.17 4.64 12.40 2.81 3.50 10.21 7.51 16.50 9.30 3.64 14.20

52WK LOW 3.50 20.91 4.90 4.46 1.01 0.22 2.00 9.25 6.15 3.86 6.75 2.35 1.76 7.51 6.10 12.10 6.20 3.01 13.01

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

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

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Class A Focol Class B

CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

PREFERENCE SHARES

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

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

52WK HI 2.26 4.31 2.07 191.61 158.55 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.21 8.01 9.60 6.83 11.39 12.30 10.68 10.00 8.69 11.79

52WK LOW 1.67 3.04 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.58 1.69 1.66 1.09 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

SECURITY Fidelity Bank Note 22 (Series B) +

SYMBOL FBB22

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

MUTUAL FUNDS

MARKET TERMS

LAST CLOSE 4.10 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 4.51 11.06 6.16 3.98 7.26 3.23 3.50 10.49 7.51 16.50 9.27 3.54 14.20

CLOSE 4.10 17.43 6.00 5.92 2.46 1.80 4.51 11.06 6.16 3.98 7.26 3.25 3.50 10.43 7.51 16.50 9.27 3.54 14.20

CHANGE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 -0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

LAST SALE 100.00

CLOSE 100.00

CHANGE 0.00

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

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 0.00 0.00

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

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

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

VOLUME

565 100 13,945

273

300

VOLUME

NAV 2.26 4.29 2.07 191.61 158.33 1.65 1.82 1.74 1.19 8.01 9.60 6.83 11.30 12.30 10.68 9.92 8.68 11.38

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

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.020 0.000 0.720 0.220 0.120 0.000 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.200 0.120 0.610

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

P/E 17.2 18.7 N/M 16.0 N/M N/M -10.3 15.3 13.7 21.6 51.9 31.9 7.5 16.1 10.3 20.2 9.9 17.4 22.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

YIELD 4.15% 7.23% 0.00% 4.22% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 6.51% 3.57% 3.02% 0.00% 13.35% 1.71% 3.14% 3.20% 3.27% 2.16% 3.39% 4.30% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75%

MATURITY 19-Oct-2022

6.95% 4.00% 4.25% 4.25% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.00% 4.25% 4.50% 6.25% 3.50% 3.88% 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-2020 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2018 15-Oct-2020 15-Oct-2022

YTD% 12 MTH% 2.46% 3.85% 1.61% 3.28% 1.78% 2.75% 3.85% 6.28% 7.12% 2.08% 2.88% 3.80% 4.56% 6.50% 3.35% 4.17% 5.77% 7.89% 7.17% 8.76% 11.07% 12.58% 3.50% 4.96% 8.92% -0.97% 5.22% 5.44% 2.95% 2.64% -0.71% 0.16% 7.40% 2.70% 10.20% 1.30%

NAV Date 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 30-Aug-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Jun-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 30-Sep-2019 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 31-Aug-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019 30-Mar-2019

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 | COLONIAL 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

City, and a backhoe scooped the soil into the backs of military-green trucks as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, top government officials and armed forces brass looked on.

A video showed a rendering of the envisioned facility, which involves converting Santa Lucia for civilian use and building two additional landing strips and which the president vowed to inaugurate in spring 2022.

The project “must be considered a work of national security,” the president said in remarks at the groundbreaking, saying there would be “complete transparency”.

López Obrador campaigned for president last year on promises to cancel the planned new megaairport at Texcoco, closer to central Mexico City, and work on that project halted as he took office in December.

López Obrador instead pushed what he called yesterday a “metropolitan airport system” that involves constructing the new airport named after Felipe Angeles, a Mexican general who served with Pancho Villa and was executed during the Mexican Revolution; preserving the current Benito Juarez International airport instead of decommissioning it as called for by the Texcoco plan; and expanding the airport in Toluca west of the capital.

Benito Juarez International, plagued by overcrowded terminals and delays, is surrounded by urban development with no

room for runway expansion.

Under his plan, López Obrador said, there will be seven runways serving the metropolitan area: the two existing ones at Benito Juarez, three at Felipe Angeles and two at Toluca, compared with six under the Texcoco plan.

“We are going to solve the problem for the long term,” López Obrador said, “for 80 years going forward according to the specialists.”

The president has been criticized by some for canceling Texcoco, whose partially built crisscross foundations can be seen by passengers landing at and taking off from Benito Juarez. And local groups argue that Santa Lucia has environmental risks and was pushed through without consulting indigenous people.

“We still have time to protect the rights, traditions, way of life ... of those peoples upon whom this country was built,” José Antonio Lara Duque, president of the Zeferino Ladrillero Human Rights Center, said in a statement.

“Otherwise you condemn us to the destruction our relationship with Mother Earth and that is what has other people destroying the planet,” Lara Duque added.

“Let us not do that, Mr. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.”

The groundbreaking took place a day after a court cleared the last of over 100 appeals that had delayed the onset of the project - something the president likened to “legal sabotage”.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The public is hereby advised that I, ADREAN WILLIAMS of Wellington Drive 117A, Freeport Grand Bahama intend to change my name by Deed Poll to ADREAN PALACIOUS. If there are any objections to the change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O.Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this publication notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that APRIL NOEL of P.O.Box N10043 Palm Beach Street, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18th day of October, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NELSON JEAN-LOUIS of, Abaco, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 18thday of October, 2019 to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 18, 2019, PAGE 7

After some GM WORKERS TO STAY ON PICKET wobbling, LINE UNTIL VOTE ON NEW CONTRACT stocks close higher on solid earnings DETROIT Associated Press

By ALEX VEIGA Associated Press STOCKS closed broadly higher on Wall Street yesterday as investors welcomed another batch of encouraging quarterly results from big companies.

A breakthrough in negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union also helped put traders in a buying mood.

The gains erased the market’s modest losses from the day before. Despite a choppy week of trading, the benchmark S&P 500 index is on track for its second straight weekly gain.

Health care, communication services and industrial stocks drove much of the market’s gains. Technology was the only laggard.

Smaller-company stocks outdid the rest of the market.

Investors have shifted their focus this week to the latest round of corporate earnings after weeks of turbulence on Wall Street as the market reacted to developments in the trade war between the US and China.

Several companies have turned in surprisingly good third-quarter results and outlooks. That’s helped to ease some investors’ concerns over the economy, though red flags remain over the trade war.

“About 76% of those that have reported have beat on earnings,” said Adam Taback, deputy chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

The forecasts from companies haven’t been as negative as many expected, Taback said, but many have raised concerns about “slowing global growth and risk of trade wars”.

The S&P 500 index gained 8.26 points, or 0.3%, to 2,997.95. The index is within 0.1% of its all-time high set in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly slipped into the red, but managed to add 23.90 points, or 0.1, to 27,025.88. The Nasdaq rose 32.67 points, or 0.4%, to 8,156.85.

Traders favoured smallercompany stocks.

The Russell 2000 index climbed 16.79, or 1.1%, to 1,541.84.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the ten-year Treasury note rose to 1.75% from 1.74% late on Wednesday.

The market climbed in the early going as investors reviewed earnings reports from several companies, including Netflix, CSX and Morgan Stanley.

Traders bid up shares in Netflix 2.5% a day after the video streaming giant reported earnings that blew past analysts’ forecasts. The profit beat came even as revenue and subscriber growth fell short of forecasts, though some investors had been bracing for an even bigger letdown.

Netflix is facing major threats to its video streaming service from Apple and Disney, among others. That, and investors’ concerns about subscriber growth, have been weighing on the stock recently, pulling it down 23% from a recent peak in early July.

Honeywell International also served up earnings that topped analysts’ forecasts.

The stock added 2.4%.

Railroad operator CSX also turned in quarterly results that were better than investors were expecting. Its shares finished 1.1% higher.

Morgan Stanley climbed 1.5% after the bank reported solid third-quarter results.

US stocks also got a boost from news that Britain had reached a tentative deal to separate from the European Union. The deal, which faces a potentially tough road to approval in Britain’s Parliament, led to a mixed finish for major European stock indexes.

Despite a midmorning

wobble, US stocks held on, extending their gains for the week.

Health care stocks continued to notch gains yesterday. October has been good month for the sector. It’s up 2.1% for the month so far and 2.4% this week. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up about 0.9% for the week and 0.7% for the month.

Even with the recent gains, health care stocks are well behind most other sectors, with only a 6.4% gain for the year. Most other sectors are up by double digit percentages.

Benchmark crude oil rose 57 cents to settle at $53.93 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 49 cents to close at $59.91 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil climbed one cent to $1.95 per gallon.

Natural gas rose two cents to $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $4.30 to $1,492.30 per ounce, silver rose 19 cents to $17.54 per ounce and copper rose onecent to $2.59 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.68 Japanese yen from 108.77 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1124 from $1.1072.

STRIKING General Motors workers will stay on the picket lines for at least another week until they vote on a tentative contract with the company.

Factory-level officials from the United Auto Workers union voted to recommend the agreement to members at a daylong meeting in Detroit yesterday. But they also voted not to return to factories unless members approve the deal.

About 49,000 workers have been on strike for more than a month, paralysing GM’s US factories and costing the company an estimated $2bn.

On Wednesday, the company and the UAW reached a deal that would give workers a mix of pay raises, lump sum payments and an $11,000 signing bonus. In return, the contract allows GM to proceed with factory closures in Lordstown, Ohio; Warren, Michigan; and near Baltimore.

Details on the four-year pact were posted yesterday on the UAW website as factory level union officials met to decide if they’ll approve the deal. Workers went on strike Sept 16, crippling the company’s US production and costing it an estimated $2bn.

The Detroit Hamtramck plant, which GM wanted to close, will stay open and a new electric pickup truck will be built there. Meanwhile, the Lordstown area

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will get a new battery factory that is expected to employ 1,000 workers. In addition, a company called Lordstown Motors could also set up an electric commercial vehicle factory that would initially employ 400 workers. But neither of those would come close to the shuttered Lordstown assembly plant, which two years ago employed 4,500 people making the Chevrolet Cruze compact car.

The deal shortens the eight years it takes for new hires to reach full wages and gives temporary workers a full-time job after three years of continuous work.

Workers hired after 2007 who are paid a lower wage rate will hit the top wage of $32.32 per hour in four years or less. The deal also provides a $60,000 early retirement incentive for up to 2,000 eligible workers.

The tentative agreement between GM and the UAW now will be used as a template for talks with GM’s crosstown rivals, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Normally the major provisions carry over to the other two companies and cover about 140,000 auto workers nationwide.

The union hasn’t decided yet which company it will bargain with next, and it’s not clear if there will be another strike.

The local union officials met for about six hours Thursday before reaching their decisions. Dan Morgan, the bargaining chairman at the Lordstown assembly plant, made an

unsuccessful plea to hold out so GM would build another vehicle there.

“We’re extremely disappointed that we didn’t get a product out of the contract,” said Tim O’Hara, the Lordstown local’s president.

“I think a lot of people in the room realised what happened to us can happen to anybody.”

But union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said bargainers only could get the company to agree to early retirement and buyout offers for workers from the factories that are closing who didn’t move to other GM plants.

“I think our national negotiators and all of us did everything we could,” he said.

GM has promised $7.7bn worth of investments in US factories, but details of what would be built where were left out of the union’s summary of the contract, unlike in past years. Rothenberg said he would release more information on investments later.

Lordstown is likely to become an issue in the 2020 presidential campaign. At a 2017 rally in nearby Youngstown, President Donald Trump pledged that factory jobs would be coming back to the region. “Don’t move.

Don’t sell your house,” he said at the time.

The strike at GM immediately brought the company’s US factories to a halt, and within a week, started to hamper production in Mexico and Canada.

Analysts at KeyBanc investment services estimated the stoppage cut GM vehicle production by 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles. That’s too much for the company to make up with overtime or increased assembly line speeds.

GM and the union have been negotiating at a time of troubling uncertainty for the US auto industry. Driven by the longest economic expansion in American history, auto sales appear to have peaked and are now heading in the other direction.

GM and other carmakers are also struggling to make the transition to electric and autonomous vehicles.

Meanwhile, Trump’s trade war with China and his tariffs on imported steel and aluminum have raised costs for auto companies. A revamped North American free trade deal is stalled in Congress, raising doubts about the future of America’s trade in autos and auto parts with Canada and Mexico, which last year came to $257bn.

Amid that uncertainty, GM workers wanted to lock in as much as they can before things get ugly. They argue that they had given up pay raises and made other concessions to keep GM afloat during its 2009 trip through bankruptcy protection. Now that GM has been nursed back to health — earning $2.42bn in its latest quarter — they wanted a bigger share.

PAGE 8, Friday, October 18, 2019

H

OUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi is plowing ahead with her bill to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices despite a breakdown in relations with her chief bargaining partner on the issue — President Donald Trump.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the legislation would save Medicare $345bn over seven years, partly because some seniors would no longer have to skimp on costly medicines, and they’d stay healthier.

A separate estimate from nonpartisan analysts at the Department of Health and Human Services found that households would save $158bn over ten years.

But the budget office also cautioned that squeezing drugmakers could mean that some new medications — 3% to 5% — won’t make it to market.

Such trade-offs were front and center Thursday as House committees considered the legislation.

The Education and Labor committee voted along party lines to advance the bill, and the Energy and Commerce panel was deliberating. Ways and Means also held a hearing. Democrats and Republicans say Pelosi is moving quickly to get the bill ready for a floor vote.

“These are jaw-dropping savings,” said Rep Anna Eshoo, D-Calif, who chairs the health subcommittee of Energy and Commerce.

“This is legislation that is going to make a true, tangible difference in the lives of the American people.”

Eshoo said the money could be used to provide dental, vision and hearing benefits for Medicare recipients or could be reinvested in drug research at the National Institutes of Health.

But at another hearing before Ways and Means, Rep Kevin Brady, R-Texas, caustically dubbed the Pelosi bill the “Fewer Cures for Patients Act”. Brady said the budget office finding that one consequence could be fewer drug

THE TRIBUNE

Pelosi moves on drug prices despite falling-out with Trump

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif, gestures while speakings during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday.

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP approvals should be a stop sign for lawmakers.

Although supporters of the legislation note that the CBO said only a small share of new drugs would be affected, Brady said, “One cure lost is one cure too many.”

The legislation from Pelosi, D-Calif, would authorise Medicare to negotiate prices for the costliest drugs — including insulin — using lower prices paid in other economically advanced countries as the reference point. The budget office says that could result in price cuts of 40% to 55%

for pharmacy drugs subject to negotiations. The bill would allow private insurance plans to also get Medicare’s price.

As a hammer to force companies to negotiate, Pelosi would impose steep sales taxes on the medications at issue. Overall, budget analysts estimated the legislation would cut industry revenues by $500bn to $1tn over ten years. The CBO says those numbers are preliminary.

Congressional Republicans are broadly opposed to allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, so the

legislation has no chance in the Senate unless Trump gets behind it.

As a candidate, Trump called for Medicare negotiations and as president he’s repeatedly complained that countries with cheaper medicines are taking advantage of US consumers.

Pelosi’s office has been in communication with top White House officials for months.

Congressional Republicans say negotiations are best left to insurers that administer Medicare’s prescription drug benefit.

If Trump’s anger over the Pelosi-initiated

impeachment probe sinks the effort, lawmakers of both parties would face voters next year with nothing to show on a top consumer issue. The White House had no comment on the budget estimates.

A poll this week found broad public support for Medicare drug negotiations, as well as for Pelosi’s idea of taxing companies that won’t come to the table.

But the survey from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation also showed that support can shift to opposition if people are told there could be limits on

research or access to new medications.

A leading policy expert on drug costs said Pelosi has framed a crucial question: What’s the right balance between fostering innovation and keeping drugs affordable?

“The savings are so large that you can’t pretend for a second we don’t have to look at this,” said Peter Bach, director of the Center for Health Policy and Outcomes at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

CBO hasn’t said what kinds of new drugs could be kept off the market — whether they would be copycat medications or if life-changing medications would be affected, too.

“We reduce average prices by 55%, and we will lose some new drugs — between 2.5% and 5% — that’s the estimate,” said Bach. “Some people will say we want everything.”

Economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, head of the center-right American Action Forum public policy group, said he’s not so sure that only drugs of marginal value will be sacrificed.

He said he’s not worried about major drug companies but rather about smaller research-oriented outfits that have to raise considerable sums from private investors to keep going. Will their money dry up?

“The guys sitting out there in the venture capital world are going to say, ‘We’re not going to do drugs anymore,’” said Holtz-Eakin. “And you can’t get that money back.”

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