By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A LEADING real estate brokerage yesterday joined the bid to dismiss an “improper” lawsuit stemming from a dispute that “The Bahamas has a national interest” in resolving through the Supreme Court because of the potential consequences for this country’s investment policies.
• CA Christie blasts ‘improper’ inclusion in Briland dispute
• Investment policy, IP mean Bahamas must resolve claim
to show they “directly participated” in the Conch & Coconut business or any of the conduct complained of. Instead, they argued that they were only included because of relationships or connections to Mr Gibson.
intellectual property - rights which Mr Conde claims he owns - because the operations are located in this nation.
Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas has teamed with Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson, its Harbour Island agent and operator of the Conch & Coconut tourism business, in an effort to dismiss claims by the latter’s ex-US partner that the real estate firm was “unjustly enriched” and benefited from violations of his trademarks.
customer lists” to generate real estate business for the firm.
Pablo Conde, in his original complaint lodged with the south Florida federal court, claimed that Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas gained financially from Mr Gibson using Conch & Coconut’s “trade secret
However, the Bahamian realtor has hit back by asserting - along with other defendants named by Mr Conde - that their inclusion as parties in his September 5, 2025, lawsuit is “improper” because no evidence has been provided
Together with the Bahamian Conch & Coconut operator, all defendants are arguing that the Florida lawsuit should be dismissed in favour of litigating the dispute in The Bahamas through the separate actions already filed in the Supreme Court by Mr Gibson and Mr Conde against the other. They said the fact that the subject business and assets are located in The Bahamas, along with most witnesses, makes this nation the best judicial forum,
And Mr Gibson, Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas and others also asserted that The Bahamas “has a national interest” in resolving the dispute with Mr Conde through its own judicial system because it involves a National Investment Policy that reserves businesses such as Conch & Coconut for 100 percent exclusive ownership only.
Mr Gibson’s ex-US partner is non-Bahamian, which would violate this policy, and the former has previously admitted to ‘fronting’ for Mr Conde. Now, in the defendants’ joint dismissal bid, they also argue that The Bahamas has “a paramount interest” in safeguarding Conch & Coconut’s trademarks, patents and
The joint Florida dismissal motion, which was filed this week and been obtained by Tribune Business, asserts: “This dispute stems from the messy break-up of a working relationship between plaintiffs Conch & Coconut LLC and Pink Sand Spirits Company (owned by Mr Conde) on the one hand, and defendants Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson and his company, Conch & Coconut, and, collectively, the defendants, on the other.
• Multi-million exports exposed to Trump tariffs
• Alliance chief says: ‘We should be first in line’
• Commission chair: Ministry trade unit in lead
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN fisheries group is voicing concerns that the “wide disconnect” between itself and the country’s Trade Commission is leaving multi-million dollar crawfish exports exposed to Donald Trump’s US import tariffs and potential loss of access to other markets.
Adrian LaRoda, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance’s president, told Tribune Business that efforts by himself and other fisheries executives to “reach out” to the Bahamas Trade Commission and collaborate on a strategy to protect the industry’s exports have so far produced no results and ended in frustration.
Arguing that fisheries should be the priority, as it is now The Bahamas’ most valuable physical goods export (Polymers International excepted), he asserted that the sector “should be first in line” over trade-related consultations and expressed fears about
the impact once Mr Trump’s take effect “full force”. Mr LaRoda told this newspaper that, while no Bahamian fisheries exporter has reported any negative fall-out thus far from the US tariff uncertainty, collaboration with the Bahamas Trade Commission is vital “to get ahead of it” and “ensure we can buffer against the headwinds that are going to come” so as to protect a lucrative source of local jobs and foreign exchange earnings.
“I’m going to say this,” he told Tribune Business. “The disconnect between the industry, the fisheries sector, and the Bahamas Trade Commission, the disconnect and gap is wide.
“I’ve reached out. I’ve tried. There seems to be no willingness to consult on what should happen on the US tariffs and the potential effect on Bahamian industries. We’ve been trying to work with the Trade Commission to try and get an understanding on how, or
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
BAHA Mar’s anticipated “close to capacity” finish for 2025 will recover some but not all of ground lost to the Trump tariffs and Hurricane Melissa “headwinds”, it was disclosed yesterday, with the mega resort set to come in “slightly behind” its full-year targets and 2024 performance.
Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president of government and external affairs, told Tribune Business that the economic uncertainty created by the US president’s constantly-changing tariff
policies, as well as Melissa’s temporary impact on travel confidence, had “created a drag on the booking pace” that the multi-billion dollar Cable Beach development will be unable to completely make-up from a “strong” Christmas and New Year period.
However, he asserted that finishing close to 2024’s full-year numbers will “not be a disrespectable feat for us”, adding that the anticipated robust Thanksgiving start to the peak winter tourism season, as well as the festive period, will leave Baha Mar well-placed for the 2026 first quarter.
“This should be a very robust time period for
most of the hotels in The Bahamas, including ourselves, and I think we should end the year with a strong festive season as well,” Mr Sands told this newspaper. “Forward bookings for the first quarter of 2026 are very positive and that is holding firm.”
Baha Mar, together with Atlantis, typically use sporting and other events to drive bookings, occupancies and tourism demand around Thanksgiving to ensure a strong start to the peak winter period. “We have Baha Mar Hoops, we have a special golf tournament going on for a foundation, the Baha Mar Tennis Cup from December 11-14, we have the Derek Jeter event later in the year,
and a headliner confirmed for New Year,” the Baha Mar senior vice-president added.
“We have a pretty solid set of events that will assist in driving business in the last quarter of the year. During this particular period, especially New Year and more so than Christmas, I think we are very, very high [for occupancy]; close to capacity during this period. There’s no question that we should match
with almost no space between them, making it difficult to add the separation, exits, fire buffers or other safety features that the code requires.
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
GOVERNMENT
regulators yesterday confirmed that Arawak Cay restaurants destroyed by Sunday’s fire will have to comply with strict Bahamas Building Code requirements in rebuilding their properties to ensure safety standards are met.
Craig Delancey, building controls officer at the Ministry of Works, told Tribune Business that the Government will ensure all businesses impacted by the blaze adhere to Building Code requirements during reconstruction.
He confirmed that while no definite decisions have been made on the timeline for reconstruction, any new structures must meet updated safety standards. “We will be looking at the building codes for any future reconstruction,” said Mr Delancey. “No definite decisions have been made on how or when it's going to happen. But we definitely will be looking at how any new structures are rebuilt.”
Mr Delancey said while the reconstructed structures will meet Building Code requirements, it is “a bit impossible” to upgrade the remaining businesses that were not damaged by the fire to meet modern
building or fire-safety codes.
He explained that the layout of Arawak Cay vendors makes proper improvements practically unworkable, as the structures are tightly packed
“It's a bit impossible to bring the others up to code or to improve what they have now because they're so close to each other,” said Mr Delancey.
ROBERT SANDS
Shipyard graduates ten crane operators
TEN Bahamian crane operators at Grand Bahama Shipyard have graduated from an intensive 12-week training programme.
The initiative, conducted in partnership with Industrial Training International (ITI), an interplay learning company and global leader in crane, rigging and load-handling education, comes as the Shipyard readies for the arrival of two floating docks - the foundation of a $600 million modernisation drive designed to transform it into one of the world’s largest and most advanced ship repair facilities.
The graduation ceremony for the ten tower crane Bahamian trainees was held on October 30, 2025. Each graduate is now certified and ready to take on critical roles in operating the new high-capacity cranes that will support Grand Bahama Shipyard’s expanded operations.
“It’s a privilege for ITI to support Grand Bahama Shipyard in elevating their workforce through a fully integrated training solution, combining instructor-led training, ITI VR crane simulators and digital learning modules,” said Amanda Long, ITI’s senior
vice-president for industrial training.
“Seeing the new tower crane team complete this comprehensive programme is a testament to Grand Bahama Shipyard’s commitment to investing in their people, and making safety and skill a top priority. This milestone reflects what can be achieved when an organisation invests deeply in its workforce, and seeing these graduates step confidently into their new roles is what makes partnerships like this so meaningful to us at ITI.”
The 12-week initiative was designed to
meet international safety and operational standards, blending classroom instruction, virtual reality simulations and practical crane operating experience. Topics covered included rigging fundamentals, hardware selection, load handling, overhead crane troubleshooting and lockout/tagout procedures - all critical areas in industrial safety and precision lifting.
“The Tower Crane course I completed with ITI was an exceptional experience that far exceeded my expectations,” said one of the programme’s graduates, Virgil Stuart. ”This training
Freeport tour operator in 12-bus fleet growth
Ltd. celebrated the arrival of twelve new buses to the island of Grand Bahama last Friday.
On hand for the blessing ceremony were (left to right); Mr. Zhang Hongliang, Chargé d’Affaires, Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy Senator James Turner, Mrs. Renee Forbes, Mr. Hadley Forbes, Ms. Sarah St. George, Co-Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Mr. Dillion Knowles, President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.
A PROMINENT Free-
port tour operator has expanded its vehicle fleet with the arrival of 12 Chinese-manufactured buses.
H. Forbes Charter Services last week held a ‘Blessing of the Buses’ ceremony to welcome the new Zhongtong coaches. The event, held at Jubilee Cathedral, was attended by government officials, Chinese diplomats, Zhongtong representatives, community partners and H. Forbes staff. The new vehicles will strengthen tour operations
was so much more than just learning how to operate a tower crane; it was a comprehensive educational journey that equipped both new and experienced operators like myself with the knowledge and skills to work safely and efficiently.
“This training didn’t just build technical competence; it prepared us to be leaders in driving cultural change at the Grand Bahama Shipyard. I now feel more confident and empowered to contribute meaningfully to a safer, more efficient and forward-thinking work environment.”
and charter services, and expand capacity for local partners, supporting the continued recovery and diversification of Grand Bahama’s tourism product.
John Bridgewater, grandson of the company’s founder, Hadley Forbes, welcomed guests before the latter’s son, Hadley Forbes II, told the story of a company that was founded on May 16, 1966, by his father. H. Forbes Charter Services began with one 30-seat school bus driven by Mr Forbes himself.
Today, the company is Grand Bahama’s largest ground transportation provider, employing over 45
Established in 1999, Grand Bahama Shipyard has grown into a key industrial anchor for the island, employing hundreds of Bahamians and servicing a global client base of cruise lines and commercial shipping companies. The ‘East End’ dock, the first of its two new floating docks, is set to arrive this month, with the larger ‘Lucayan’ dock expected in 2026. The new docks will provide increased lifting capacity, enabling Grand Bahama Shipyard to service
team members and operating a fleet of 25 vehicles. These range from standard shuttles and VIP coaches to the well-known ‘Big Red’ enclosed double-decker and open-top sightseeing buses. Zhang Hongliang, charge d’affaires at the Chinese Embassy, said: “It is an honour for me to fly here from Nassau to the beautiful Grand Bahama, and it is quite important for the embassy to be part of this grand ceremony because this is a ceremony between two distinguished companies, China’s Zhongtong
PICTURED L to R are David Foster, industrial training officer at ITI, and Virgil Stuart, Grand Bahama Shipyard tower crane operator. Photos: Alfred Anderson/Barefoot Marketing
PICTURED L to R are Alvin Hendfireld, Grand Bahama Shipyard tower crane operator, and David Foster, industrial training officer at ITI.
PICTURED at the graduation ceremony for the tower crane training were David Foster, industrial training officer at ITI, and Nathan Russell, Grand Bahama Shipyard tower crane operator.
H. FORBES Charter Services
Photo:Mark DaCuhna/Barefoot Marketing
PM ‘REASSURING’ BUT NO FIRM PLEDGES ON ARAWAK CAY FIRE
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter
THE Prime Minister yesterday gave no specific promises of compensation or government assistance to the seven Arawak Cay restaurants destroyed in Sunday’s blaze as recovery efforts progressed with site clean-up expected to be completed by week’s end.
Rodney Russell, president of the Arawak Cay Conch, Fish, Vegetable and Food Vendors Association, told Tribune Business that the impacted vendors had an “introductory” meeting
with Philip Davis KC on Monday to familiarise him with the assets, structures and income lost due to the fire.
He said that while the Prime Minister gave an “assuring talk”, he did not make any promises of compensation or specific assistance. Instead, the responsibility for working with the affected vendors has been delegated to the Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, and Clay Sweeting, minister of works and Family Island affairs.
Mr Russell said a follow-up meeting with Mr
Grants up to $10,000 for ‘men in business’
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business
THE Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) will award participants up to $10,000 in grant funding for the upcoming Men in Business programme which, in partnership with the National Training Agency (NTA), will emphasise soft skills training.
The SBDC yesterday held its ‘Groundbreaking: A trade show for men in business’, which also served as the registration drive and official launch of the initiative for 2026. While partnered with the NTA, the SBDC will continue to onboard and announce new programme partners in early 2026. It will include training, mentorship and grant funding which, this year, is set at up to $10,000. No total grant-funding amount has been provided, and new to the programme will be soft skills training.
“We realise that that's an important set of skills for business owners, but I think sometimes it's often left behind when it comes to men,” Alexia Johnson, SBDC’s marketing and communications head, said.
Ahmad Young, business analyst at the SBDC, while unable to disclose the exact amount said there is cap on registration and encouraged persons to sign-up as soon as possible to ensure they make the cut. “So in order to be eligible, obviously you have to be male to apply for the men in business programme. But you want to make sure that you have a Bahamian-owned business, at least 51 percent Bahamian-owned, and you fall within the MSME (micro, small and medium-sized enterprise) guidelines,” he said.
“So in order to be a micro, small and medium-sized business, you can't make more than $5m in revenue. You can't employ any more than 50 people. And once you go over that threshold of employee numbers, or revenue threshold, you're officially not a small or medium-sized business any more. So once you fall under the revenue threshold, and under that employee threshold, and once your business is something that's sustainable and helping the society and environment as a whole, you're eligible to apply and join through the initiative.”
Andre Kelly, an NTA spokesperson, said participants can expect soft skills trainings, job readiness programmes and initiatives through the Institute of Leadership and Management. “While we support all genders, male, females, we understand that men in business, their success is not only linked to profits and their services, but it's also linked to people. And at the National Training Agency we specialise in empowering people through soft skills accreditations to deliver productivity, enhance service on the job,” he said.
“And so we definitely saw that there was a need for us to partner to ensure when persons come into this space, into this room, they're not just being equipped with the products and the services, but they're also being equipped with the skills to transform those encounters with customers, clients, but also those workforce experiences as well.”
Ms Johnson said that, this year, the SBDC wanted to promote diversity in maleowned businesses, adding that there was a misconception at the last ‘Men in Business’ programme that “it had to be something that was really buttoned up, suit and tie”.
“So the difference between last year and this year is that we're highlighting the different types of businesses that men can run,” Ms Johnson said. “So whether that's construction, or if it's something that is more formal that needs a suit and tie, we wanted to show the diversity of male-owned businesses in the Bahamas.”
The Trade Show included financial institutions such as Fidelity Bank, Kanoo Pays and Cash N’ Go. Insurance, construction and plumbing businesses were also present.
“So maybe if they need the infrastructure for their business set-up, that's something that would be able to help them, or maybe if they need just some of that inspiration on ways that they can partner with these different businesses,” Ms Johnson said. “So although there wasn't any hard set criteria for the vendors that are reflected here today, it's just businesses and vendors that we believe can be helpful to men who are starting or have existing businesses.”
Campbell is expected to discuss whether the Government will provide any further support or financial assistance to help vendors recover from the fire.
“There were no promises, real promises, made for compensation or how they'll go about trying to assist us. The Prime Minister gave that responsibility to the minister of agriculture and marine resources, and so I guess a meeting with the minister of agriculture and marine resources is pending to speak further to whether the Government will assist or not with this
catastrophe here at the Fish Fry,” said Mr Russell.
He added, though, that recovery efforts are “progressing positively” with site clean-up expected to be finished by the end of the week.
Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Russell said vendors are optimistic about the future and are now awaiting the Government’s new criteria or regulations so they can decide how to reopen and operate their businesses safely and in compliance with official standards.
“The clean-up is almost completed. I figure by
Friday or so, this place will be immaculate. I believe some time next week or week after next, electricity will be restored to this area,” said Mr Russell.
“They are progressing positively; everyone has high hopes. I'm looking forward to the future, and we're looking forward to see what the new criteria will be so that we could all decide to get our business up and running.”
Mr Russell said despite the losses, the affected businesses have the ability to recover and rebuild. He said government action is needed to facilitate
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
ARAWAK Cay businesses destroyed in Sunday’s fire likely did not have insurance, property underwriters asserted yesterday, as they urged entrepreneurs to invest in material damage and business interruption policies.
With at least seven restaurants destroyed during Sunday’s blaze, Anthon Bowleg, Nagico Insurance (Bahamas) territory head, said the use of propane tanks - which are highly flammable - and the close proximity of multiple wooden structures would made obtaining insurance for those buildings difficult. He added: “I cannot say for certain, but I strongly doubt anyone would have accepted a fire risk bill.
“Because if there is a fire like you see, for example, the fire would have started in one unit, but because all of the units are so close, even though it started in one unit it's easier to spread to the neighbouring units. So that's the challenge that
they would face in Arawak Cay.
“One solution that may help is if they had a centralised propane tank that tied into all of those units somehow, so they don't have individual tanks behind each unit. That may decrease the chance or likelihood of fires. And also in their kitchen, [if] they put fire suppression systems and other fire fighting measures inside the kitchen to kind of suppress a fire quickly, even before the fire gets there, those kind of things will help them out. But as it was, it’s difficult for an insurer to accept a risk, typically a fire risk.”
Mr Bowleg said business owners should have a material damage policy, like a fire policy, which would cover their buildings. He also recommended a business interruption or consequential loss policy.
“You can't have the business interruption without having the material loss, material damage, covered,” he added. “So if they were able to insure the building for fire, all of those businesses that now burnt down, for lack of a better
Bahamian firms must have ‘mitigation’ plan
CONTINUITY - from page B1
significant revenue from an inability to function in the digital economy and connect with customers.
“I would have seen that issue happen today,” he said of Cloudfare. “It happened some time early this morning. Cloudfare had an outage and people couldn’t access certain websites like Twitter and ChatGPT. Pretty much the significance was major. A lot of websites use Cloudfare, a major backbone player in security.
“I would say it was definitely a major impact for businesses that rely on revenue generated over the Internet. Downtown with a website and e-commerce platform means losing
revenue until they have been able to restored.”
As for the lessons to be heeded, Mr Roye added: “One of the things I would remind businesses of is to make sure they have a business continuity plan. These things happen, but the most important thing is to have some sort of mitigation plan where you have some sort of built-in oversight set up on different infrastructure so, if the main site goes down, you will have a path to back-up infrastructure to use so that operations can run as normal.
“That would be the main thing for businesses that operate digitally. These things happen, but to ensure there’s some sort of continuity or mitigation plan when they do. AWS went down a few weeks ago. All these cloud systems are not
the recovery, specifically by clearing the area and ensuring it is safe. Once these steps are completed, vendors can begin planning how to rebuild and move forward with their businesses.
“The vendors who were grossly affected, we are very resilient, and I'm quite sure, with that resilience, we all have a ball in our hands that we can always bounce back,” said Mr Russell.
“All we need is the Government to clear the area and make sure it is safe for us to look at, and how to bounce back and to assist us in the way forward.”
equipment or supplies inside it.
term, the insurance policy would have actually paid whatever expenses and lost income they will have for a period until they rebuild.
“But they can have an indemnity period for, say three months, six months or 12 months. So for three months, all of their lost revenue, salaries that they would have to continue to pay out, bills… because they may still have bills that they have to pay. For example, if they borrowed money from the bank just because the building burned down, they still would have that expense. But insurance would cover those expenses that they have to incur while they're out of business, until the business is up and running. For businesses, those are key for them to have.”
Even if a business owner cannot obtain material damage, a business interruption or consequential loss policy, Ray-Don Poitier, sales manager at Colina Insurance, said some other level of coverage could help in the rebuilding. He pointed to liability insurance, adding that it covers the structure and the
perfect. As a business, you need to make sure you have a strategy to mitigate this as much as possible to prevent operations being shut down because of system outages with one of these cloud platforms.
“If you have a business continuity plan just focusing on one provider of infrastructure, look at setting up a back-up using alternative companies so, for whatever reason you have to fall back on them, an alternative path is set up,” Mr Roye added. “You are ready to go instead of relying on one set up where, if it goes down, you are out of business until it gets back online.
“That would be my biggest take on it. You cannot prevent these from happening. The only thing you can do is prepare for them to happen so you can continue to operate if your main provider goes down or some kind of ‘black swan’ event like this occurs.”
“Liability insurance covers the building and all the equipment or supplies that are in the building. So, in an instance where fire destroyed at least three or four of those [buildings], if they had some level of liability insurance it could definitely help them to rebuild,” he said.
“Like we saw in Hurricane Dorian, most of the people that were able to rebound rebounded because they had either homeowners insurance or liability insurance that covered the business. And so they were able to rebuild.”
Mr Poitier said more Bahamian entrepreneurs need insurance.
“The most pressing [insurance] is the one that will help your dream to become a reality, even in your absence,” he added. “If you started a business and you want your business to survive past your life, then you should find some coverage that will provide that for you.
“Let's say, for instance, you have a partnership. If you have a partnership and one of the partners dies, the other partner should be able to still carry on the business. And sometimes that safety net comes from a life insurance policy that both partners would have.”
The Cloudfare outage was reported at 6.48am US east coast time and, by 9.48am, the company said: “A fix has been implemented and we believe the incident is now resolved. We are continuing to monitor for errors to ensure all services are back to normal.”
A spokesperson for Cloudflare apologised to its customers “and the internet in general for letting you down today”. They said: “We will learn from today’s incident and improve…
“To be clear, there is no evidence that this was the result of an attack or caused by malicious activity. We expect that some Cloudflare services will be briefly degraded as traffic naturally spikes post-incident but we expect all services to return to normal in the next few hours.”
Realty firm: No proof we were ‘unjustly enriched’
JUDICIAL - from page B1
“At its core, this is a Bahamian business dispute involving business operations conducted in The Bahamas - a point underscored by Conch & Coconut LLC’s decision to file a nearly-identical lawsuit in The Bahamas over a month before filing this case. In addition, the Gibson defendants have filed suit in The Bahamas against plaintiffs, again based on the parties’ past dealings and the dissolution of their working relationship.
“And, in each case, the Bahamian courts have issued orders enjoining the parties. Therefore, this court should dismiss this lawsuit… as The Bahamas is an adequate alternative forum already chosen by Conch & Coconut LLC. Litigation is ongoing there, with relevant witnesses and evidence located in The Bahamas,” the defendants’ dismissal motion argued.
“Moreover, The Bahamas has a strong interest in resolving disputes related
to its business activities and citizens, especially when these operations are designated for Bahamian citizens and companies, and local courts are already engaged in related litigation with the same parties and issues.”
Expanding on the argument that The Bahamas should be the preferred litigation jurisdiction, Mr Gibson, Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas and the other defendants argued:
“In this case, The Bahamas has a national interest in that it has reserved the services being offered by the Gibson defendants for Bahamian citizens.
“Specifically, The Bahamas has implemented robust national policies through the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) reserving certain critical industries exclusively for Bahamian citizens and 100 percent Bahamian-owned businesses, including domestic advertising, real estate and domestic property management agencies, commercial fishing and transportation.
Vendors pledge to abide over building standards
CODE - from page B1
He added that while there are special fire-resistant coatings or liquid fire-rated products that could offer some level of protection, those materials are not easily available in The Bahamas. Vendors would have to source them on their own and, even then, applying those products would not solve the larger structural and spacing problems.
“There might be some way to help mitigate against fires with some fire-rated products that can be in liquid form to assist, but that’s not readily available. The vendors will have to look into that themselves, so it’s sort
of impossible to do much more at this point,” said Mr Delancey. Rodney Russell, president of the Arawak Cay Conch, Fish, Vegetable and Food Vendors Association, said many different ideas and opinions are circulating about how businesses on Arawak Cay should be rebuilt and what changes might be required, but vendors are prepared to meet whatever standards are necessary.
Speaking to Tribune Business, Mr Russell said vendors intend to follow the law and any new regulations that come with reconstruction. “There’s a lot of ideas around. A lot of people have theories on what has to
“Moreover, The Bahamas has a paramount interest in protecting the intellectual property rights associated with businesses operating within its borders. To that end, the Gibson defendants have filed trademark applications for Conch & Coconut (and related) marks in The Bahamas. The validity, scope and ownership of these Bahamian trademark rights - and their relationship to any US trademark claims - are questions best resolved by Bahamian courts applying Bahamian law.”
The bid to obtain Bahamian trademarks is a direct attack on Mr Conde’s claim to own the Conch & Coconut brand and intellectual property rights through his US-domiciled companies. Meanwhile, the defendants’ joint dismissal bid discloses that Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas is also arguing that the Florida court has no jurisdiction over it and that it lacks “sufficient contacts” with the US state.
“CA Christie is a company organised and located in The Bahamas that is connected to this case only because defendant Gibson is purportedly a real estate agent affiliated with CA
happen. But I can assure you all the pre-requisites that are required for the utilities that we need to function, we would comply,” said Mr Russell. “All we can do is follow the law; whatever the law requires. We will follow that.”
Both men spoke out after Leonard Sands, the Bahamian Contractors Association’s (BCA) president, told Tribune Business that Building Code violations and non-existent enforcement “contributed to the entirety of the catastrophe” that Arawak Cay suffered on Sunday, adding that regulatory agencies had “breached their duty of care”.
Speaking out after the early morning blaze destroyed seven Fish Fry eateries, causing an estimated $1.5m in total damage and threatening several hundred livelihoods, he said it
IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
IN THE SUPREME COURT
Common Law and Equity Division
Claim No. 00471of 2025
IN THE MATTER OF ALL THOSE Ten (10) pieces parcels or lots of land comprising a total area of Twenty-Four Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-six (24,866) square feet being Lots numbered 5-8 in Block 17 AND Lots 34-39 in Block 17 situate on the eastern side of Williams Street in the Nassau Village Subdivision in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and shown on a plan on record in the Department of Lands and Surveys as Plan numbered 6515 NP AND IN THE MATTER of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959 AND
IN THE MATTER of the Petition of GODFREY SANDS NOTICE
THE PETITION OF GODFREY SANDS in respect of:-
“ALL THOSE ten (10) pieces, parcels, or lots of land comprising a total area of twenty-four thousand eight hundred and sixty-six (24,866) square feet, being Lots numbered 5–8 in Block 17 and Lots 34–39 in Block 17, situate on the eastern side of Williams Street in the Nassau Village Subdivision in the Eastern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and shown on a plan on record in the Department of Lands and Surveys as Plan Numbered 6515 NP.”
THE PETITIONER claims to be the owner of the fee simple estate in possession of the parcel of land hereinbefore described, free from encumbrances, and has made application to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under Section 3 of the Quieting Titles Act, 1959, in the above action, to have his title to the said land investigated and the nature and extent thereof determined and declared in a Certificate of Title to be granted in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.
NOTICE is hereby given that any person having a dower or a right to dower, or an Adverse Claim, or a claim not recognized in the Petition shall, on or before the expiration of Thirty (30) days after the final publication of these presents, file in the Registry of the Supreme Court and serve on the Petitioner or the undersigned a Statement of his claim in the prescribed form, verified by an Affidavit to be filed therewith. Failure of any such person to file and serve a Statement of his Claim on or before the expiration of Thirty (30) days after the final publication of these presents will operate as a bar to such claims.
Copies of the Petition and Plan of the said land may be inspected during normal office hours in the following places: the Registry of the Supreme Court, First Floor, British American Building, George Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, and the Chambers of the Petitioner’s Attorneys, NORWOOD A. ROLLE & CO., Duffus House Annex, 36B Sears Road, in the City of Nassau, The Bahamas. Tel: 242 361 0467.
Christie. Plaintiffs have not
alleged general jurisdiction over… CA Christie,” the dismissal motion added, noting that the Bahamian real estate firm was not named as a defendant party in Mr Conde’s similar Supreme Court lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs fail to allege any direct business activities by CA Christie in Florida or the US. The sole allegation connecting CA Christie to Florida or the US. is that it ‘employs Gibson as a real estate agent to rent and sell properties in the Bahamas to consumers in the US and Florida’.
“Accordingly, plaintiffs’ only allegations regarding personal jurisdiction are that CA Christie is located in, and operates in, The Bahamas. Plaintiffs’ allegations regarding CA Christie’s Florida or US contacts are merely derivative of Gibson’s alleged conduct… There’s no indication that CA Christie has any connection with the US or Florida, aside from Gibson occasionally renting or selling homes to US residents while they are in The Bahamas.”
Conch & Coconut’s ex-US partner, in his original Florida lawsuit, had
was “amazing” that former “shacks” had been allowed to evolve into fully-fledged restaurants without having to meet Building Code requirements to operate the latter.
Pointing out that the law mandates restaurants seating more than 20-25 guests must install water sprinkler and fire suppressor systems, he asserted that the failure to enforce these measures at the Arawak Cay Fish Fry not only aided the spread and scale of Sunday’s blaze but potentially placed the Bahamian public “at risk”.
alleged: “On information and belief, Gibson, as a real estate agent for Corcoran CA Christie, uses the Conch & Cocnout marks to rent, sell or offer to sell or rent real estate properties in The Bahamas to consumers in the United States and Florida.
“Gibson infringed the Conch & Coconut marks and counterfeited the Conch & Coconut services in furtherance of his job at Corcoran CA Christie, and to the benefit of Corcoran CA Christie and Corcoran Group. Moreover, Gibson displays and uses the Conch & Coconut and Pink Sand marks, together with the Corcoran Group’s marks with permission and license from Corcoran CA Christie and Corcoran Group…..
“Corcoran CA Christie is vicariously liable for the tortious and unlawful actions, including Gibson’s trademark infringement [as] its agent and/or employee. On information and belief, Corcoran CA Christie has been unjustly enriched as a result of Gibson’s actions described above, as on information and belief, Gibson has used Conch & Coconut’s trade secret customer lists and
Mr Sands said the fire had again exposed the inability of government regulatory agencies to “enforce anything”, and said the blame lay with successive FNM and PLP administrations given that Arawak Cay has been in existence for more than 30 years as both a tourist attraction and destination for Bahamians and residents.
Noting that Arawak Cay is continuing to expand, especially to the east, the BCA chief challenged whether any regulatory agency has taken responsibility for controlling this. He added that the inability of many Fish
infringed Conch & Coco-
nut’s marks to generate real estate business and leads for his employe, Corcoran CA Christie.”
But, arguing that the claim against Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas should be thrown out, the dismissal motion countered:
“The complaint fails to allege facts showing that these entities exercised control over Gibson’s actions, directed the alleged infringement or received any direct benefit from it.
“Moreover, the complaint does not allege any facts showing that CA Christie or Corcoran Group personally participated in the alleged infringing conduct, nor does it allege facts sufficient to establish aiding and abetting liability…. The complaint simply incorporates all prior allegations without providing any specific facts as to how CA Christie or Corcoran Group engaged in unfair competition or were unjustly enriched.
“In sum, the complaint fails to plead specific facts establishing agency, control or benefit sufficient to support vicarious liability against CA Christie and Corcoran Group.”
Fry restaurants and building owners to obtain insurance for their properties highlighted the location’s “high risk” nature.
And, citing comments by both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and Sebas Bastian, the PLP’s Fort Charlotte general election candidate, that the fire provides an “opportunity to start with a clean slate”, Mr Sands urged the Government to work with the BCA on Building Code-compliant plans that would redevelop Arawak Cay’s western end in a sustainable way
Crane operators boost for arrival of dry docks
EXPAND - from page B2
the largest cruise vessels in operation today.
“We appreciate the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of these young Bahamian professionals,” said Maybell Bridgewater, president of the Grand Bahama Port Authority Workers Union. “The
Grand Bahama Shipyard’s investment in developing trade skills and prioritising employee safety demonstrates a commitment to the growth and well-being of Bahamian workers.”
Grand Bahama Shipyard said the training not only strengthens the technical capabilities of its workforce but also reinforces a culture of safety and excellence - an essential element of
Industry needs ‘buffer’ on Trump headwinds
EXPORT - from page B1
where, we stand in terms of these tariffs - the US tariffs.
“We’ve been getting no co-operation from them on it because they should be speaking to the fishing industry. They should be speaking to us first as we’re the largest exporter, but we’re getting no consideration, no traction, and things are being done ‘by the way’,” Mr LaRoda added.
“They are not consulting us on strategy for how we move forward and protect the industry from the fallout of the tariffs. I’ve been trying to speak to these folks for a while.”
However, Senator Barry Griffin, the Bahamas Trade Commission’s chairman, yesterday said he is always open to speaking with Mr LaRoda and the Alliance to address their concerns, and told this newspaper to provide it with his number.
He added that consultations between the Government and private sector over the potential US tariff fall-out for Bahamian exports were headed
by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ trade unit, headed by Brickell Pinder, rather than the Trade Commission and hinted that Mr LaRoda may be confusing the two entities.
Asserting that he is “pretty sure” the Alliance would have dealt directly with the ministry’s trade unit and the Office of the Prime Minister over the Trump tariffs, Mr Griffin said: “I do remember around the time of January they [the trade unit] did have some discussions with any number of industries. They brought me and the Trade Commission in on some of the calls, but by and large the tariff discussions happened with the trade unit.”
Considerable uncertainty continues to surround the trade and economic disruption caused by the US president’s tariff policies that were unveiled with much publicity earlier this year. Mr Trump initially said he planned to impose a 10 percent tariff, or tax at the border, on all Bahamian exports to the US, only to
‘Cannot under-estimate’ US shutdown end boost
TRAVEL - from page B1
the same level that we had for last year. A number of things really happen at this time. We’re very encouraged by the end of the year and the build-up to the first quarter in 2026.”
its international health and safety standard certifications. Christopher Earl, Grand Bahama Shipyard’s chief executive, said: “At Grand Bahama Shipyard, our success depends on the expertise and dedication of our people. By investing in world class training, we’re ensuring that Bahamians continue to be at the forefront of our operations as we expand. This programme represents both an investment in our team and in the future of Grand Bahama’s industrial sector.”
state in July that the figure may be raised to “a little over” that number come August.
The Bahamas exports up to $60m worth of spiny lobster (crawfish) to the US annually. This was being sold in some US supermarkets at between $45 and $48 a pound last year, and the Bahamian fisheries industry fears any further significant increase in tariffs will likely make this nation’s product uncompetitive on price versus domestic US catches.
Mr LaRoda told Tribune Business that, as far as US tariffs on Bahamian crawfish and other fisheries exports, it remains unclear to what extent they have been implemened and “there’s no indication as to whether they are set in stone. I haven’t seen any official document saying the tariffs are 10 percent or 20 percent”.
But amid the prevailing uncertainty, with Bahamian fisheries exporters and the wider industry yet to feel the full impact, the Alliance president asserted that this nation needs to rapidly develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure US and other overseas markets remain open.
“At this point, I don’t know yet. It’s too early to
conducted in partnership with
crane and rigging training based in the United States. The Tower Crane Training Graduation Ceremony, held in October, recognised the achievements of the ten Bahamian trainees who completed the course. Pictured are the graduates with the ITI training team at the GB Shipyard.
say,” Mr LaRoda said of the US tariff impact. “We’re having conversations with our exporters; so far none have said the tariffs are affecting them. For us, it’s a bit too early to tell the effects of the tariffs at this point.
“But once the tariffs come into effect, it will impact the buyer population in the US. It will take a while to affect them and The Bahamas, until they tell us to lower our export prices or they will not buy from us.
“There needs to be wider consultation with industry from the Trade Commission. I suggest they’re not simply dealing with the fisheries sector but, fishing being the number one export, we should be the first in line when it comes to consultation and there has been no consultation.”
The Alliance president contrasted this with the level of consultation and involvement of the fisheries sector when The Bahamas negotiated, and signed on to, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) in 2007 - a move that “primarily protected exports of fisheries to Europe.
“I’m worried, because Bahamian fisheries are not
getting the value for the product that we should, and once the tariffs come into effect full force who knows what will happen,” Mr LaRoda told this newspaper. “We are really fearful that buyers of our exports will not be able to sell their products. That means there will be no need for us to export more product.
“We’re still harvesting as many pounds per year as we can. There’s no difficulty with Bahamian exports; we need the markets to stay open and maintain those markets. If there’s some collaboration between us and The Bahamas Trade Commission, and we’ve been seeing in the press that they have some clout, they should be working with us to maintain our export markets.
“We were looking to get ahead of it [the Trump tariffs], but it takes collaboration and the Bahamas Trade Commission should be working with us to ensure we can buffer any headwinds that are going to come. It’s not potential headwinds; we know they are coming.”
Mr Griffin last week told the Bahamas Association of Compliance Officers (BACO) that the Government is doing exactly what
the Alliance is requesting by targeting alternative markets, such as Europe and China, for the multi-million dollar seafood exports threatened by the10 percent US tariffs.
“In terms of real sort of fiscal impact, there’s a 10 percent tariff on Bahamian exports into the United States,” Mr Griffin said. “We don’t export many physical goods to the United States. So it’s had minimal impact.
“One industry that has been severely impacted is fisheries. So we do export a lot of fisheries, lobster, for example, to the United States. And so now many in that industry are looking for alternative markets. And so we’re working very closely with that industry to look at Europe, for example.
“So Europe is a big market for our spiny lobster, and so guiding them toward that, while we’re still trying to negotiate with the United States behind the scenes. We’re also looking toward China as a potential market for our fisheries. So that’s one industry that has been impacted by the numbers.”
“I would say that we may finish the year slightly behind in occupancy due to some of the headwinds we faced two or three times’ this year,” Mr Sands said of Baha Mar’s full-year performance. “We had Hurricane Melissa and, in the second quarter, we had the announcement of [US] tariffs which put a drag on the booking pace.
“Melissa, even though it was during the shoulder season, off season and latter part of the tourism year,
However, Mr Sands confirmed that Baha Mar was likely to miss matching both its 2024 full-year performance and 2025 targets. The Bahamian hotel and tourism industry had previously confirmed that the September-October period, traditionally the slowest part in the sector’s annual cycle, was slower than 2024 with many front-line service area staff placed on two-three day work weeks. Atlantis, for example, closed its Coral Towers for much of the period.
Charter operator blesses new fleet
COACH - from page B2
Company and the H. Forbes Company.
“This kind of co-operation is the symbol of the friendship of China and The Bahamas. I think, in the future, China will do more, try to help our Bahamian friends to develop with our technology and also with our sincerity. That is our hope. Maybe in the future we will have more and more events like this to show that the friendship and co-operation between China and
The Bahamas is deepening all the time.” Senator James Turner-Rolle, the keynote speaker, also voiced optimism about what the new fleet means for the island.
“This is a wonderful day for Grand Bahama because we continue to be optimistic, but we have seen the manifestation of the optimism and the work today,” he said. “With Forbes Charter Services presenting 12 state-of-the-art new pieces of equipment to Grand Bahama, it can only be good for us.”
impacted the booking pace for a short period of time. We’re going to end fairly close to last year; a not disrespectable feat for us. We’d hoped to be better, but it positions us for a strong 2026 and we remain confident and optimistic that the first quarter should be fairly strong….
“I don’t think we will get back to where we maybe had set our targets for this year. I think we’re going to end slightly behind our numbers for 2024, which was a very strong and robust year for us, but we’re still satisfied with our results for 2025.”
Mr Sands, who said other major Bahamian resorts will likely “mirror” Baha Mar’s outlook for the remainder of 2025, added that the industry will not see the significant year-over-year
Bishop Godfrey Williams, who delivered the blessing over the buses, said:
“Twelve buses is such a significant investment and shows what Forbes Charter means to this nation of ours and, indeed, Freeport, Grand Bahama.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there is no people, the vision perishes. And what we see here today is a vision, a great vision that will expand even to the next generation, and so for this we say congratulations for the work that Forbes Charter is doing in this community, and we give God thanks and praise for it.”
growth it enjoyed in emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic when it was rebuilding business volumes following the lockdowns and travel shutdowns.
However, he added that the industry expects to see a winter tourism airlift boost with the number of weekly flights to The Bahamas from Canada more than doubling - or increasing by 100 percent - from 19 to 39. US flight routes and frequencies are also poised to increase. “That also helps to create the momentum,” Mr Sands added.
The Baha Mar chief said the end to the US government shutdown, with pay cheques flowing to federal workers again, and domestic aviation in the US returning to normal, will provide a timely boost to travel confidence and
aviation connectivity just as The Bahamas goes into its winter season with more than 90 percent of visitors originating from the US.
“That’s going to drive some business as well,” Mr Sands said. “I think that is very significant, and it happened certainly at a time when a number of decisions are being made as to whether to travel. I think we cannot under-estimate the timing as an impact for Bahamian tourism, and for the future - short-term and long-term. We are very happy that has been resolved. We wish it didn’t happen at all, but we are encouraged that bookings will continue to grow.”
Ben Simmons, proprietor of the Ocean View, The Farm and The Other Side properties on Harbour Island and mainland
Eleuthera, which come under the Little Island Hotels brand, told Tribune Business that bookings for Thanksgiving, Christmas and early winter season started off slowly but have now picked up.
“I think it was definitely a slow start, but bookings have started to come in a little bit more aggressively,” he disclosed. “The Christmas period, it was slower than normal, but it’s picked up in terms of bookings. Christmas is always a bit of a slow starter. Thanksgiving is pretty busy as I recall. We’ve done well with the weddings, but the transient market is a bit slow. That’s generally a trend for the transient market, where people book less far out.”
THE GRAND Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) recently celebrated the graduation of ten Bahamian crane operators following an intensive 12-week Tower Crane Training Program. The training was
Industrial Training International (ITI), a leading industry provider of
Photos: Alfred Anderson/Barefoot Marketing
SENATOR James Turner Rolle, the keynote speaker, also expressed optimism about what the new fleet means for the island. “This is a wonderful day for Grand Bahama because we continue to be optimistic, but we have seen the manifestation of the optimism and the work today,” he said.
Photos:Mark DaCuhna/ Barefoot Marketing
SHARING the official duties of cutting the ribbon were Li Guangsheng, Zhongtong Overseas Sales Manager, and Hadley Forbes II, pictured are (left to right); Li Guangsheng, Mr. Zhang Hongliang, Chargé d’Affaires, Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy, Mr and Mrs. Hadley Forbes, Sr. and Mr. Hadley Forbes II.
FlyDubai orders 150 Airbus A321neo aircraft, expanding its fleet beyond Boeing for the first time
By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press
FLYDUBAI, the lower-cost sister airline to long-haul carrier Emirates, announced an initial order Tuesday for 150 Airbus A321neo aircraft at the Dubai Air Show — an estimated $24 billion purchase that will see the carrier for the first time expand its fleet beyond Boeing.
The deal would more than double FlyDubai's current fleet of aircraft and the airline said it had options to buy another 100 A321neos. It also represents a major purchase for the airline as Dubai prepares across both carriers to expand as it builds a five-runway airport in this desert sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates.
The A321neo is a mid-range, two-engine, single-aisle aircraft, matching the style of the Boeing 737s that FlyDubai has relied on since launching flights back in 2009. The airline currently has a fleet of 95 aircraft.
Airbus and FlyDubai declined to take questions from journalists at the announcement. Both firms referred to the order as a memorandum of understanding, signaling more negotiation are likely ahead before a firm deal.
"It's an exciting step in expanding and diversifying our fleet and strengthening our longterm expansion plans," said Sheikh Ahmed
bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates and chairman of FlyDubai.
Airbus also praised FlyDubai in the announcement.
"We're very impressed with FlyDubai as an efficiency minded carrier that's also offering a premium product," said Christian Scherer, Airbus' CEO of commercial aircraft.
At the last Dubai Air Show in 2023, FlyDubai made an $11 billion order of 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which will be the first wide-body aircraft in its
fleet when the airline takes delivery.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad also makes an Airbus purchase
Earlier Tuesday, Etihad put in an order for 16 Airbus aircraft, part of expansion efforts as its economic fortunes improve.
Etihad's order includes six A330-900s, seven A3501000s and three A350F freighters, the two firms said at a news conference. They did not offer a cost for the deal. Airlines often negotiate lower prices in major orders.
Etihad made a record $476 million profit in 2024, part of a financial rebound
for the Abu Dhabi-based airline. While still a slender profit compared to rival Emirates' record profits of $5.2 billion in the last fiscal year, it continues a major turnaround for Etihad.
Abu Dhabi's rulers launched Etihad in 2003, rivaling the established Dubai government-owned carrier Emirates, which boasts a larger fleet and a far-flung network.
Etihad struggled with its business plan and underwent cost-cutting measures even before the coronavirus pandemic. Since 2016, Etihad has lost some $6
SHEIKH Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates and chairman of FlyDubai speaks as Airbus’ CEO of commercial aircraft Christian Scherer, right, looks on at a press conference to announce an order for 150 Airbus A321neo aircraft at the Dubai Air Show, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025.
billion as it has aggressively bought up stakes in airlines from Europe to Asia to compete against Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Emirates goes with Boeing 777-9
On Monday, Emirates ordered 65 of Boeing's upcoming 777-9 aircraft worth at $38 billion at list prices. Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, again acknowledged to journalists on Tuesday the delays that have plagued Boeing in getting the 777-9 to customers. However, he said he believed Emirates' large purchase could see even President Donald Trump's White House take note and push the manufacturer to finish the plane.
"I'm sure the White House will be leaning on Boeing to make sure it all works and they can get the things out of the doors quickly as they can, because it does mean jobs for everyone," Clark said. "Particularly the 9X is going to be Seattle constructed, so all that sort of workforce in the northwest is almost secured now for decades."
Boeing has faced billions in losses in recent years, as well as a slowdown in manufacturing off the back
of the coronavirus pandemic, worker strikes and increased government scrutiny following two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia in 2019. A Boeing 787-8 passenger jet in India crashed in June, killing at least 260 people. At Monday's announcement from Emirates, Sheikh Ahmed said the airline expected to receive its 777-9 aircraft from Boeing beginning in "the second quarter of 2027." Asked whether he thought Boeing would get the planes to Emirates then, Clark said: "We'll see." Clark has been repeatedly critical of Boeing's delays.
Clark also acknowledged Emirates and FlyDubai would be able to rapidly expand its routes with new aircraft once the sheikhdom drastically expands Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, where the air show takes place.
Dubai plans a $35 billion project to expand to five parallel runways and 400 aircraft gates, to be completed within the next decade.
"We'll be able to reach any point on the planet," Clark said.
By JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT
AP Transportation and Airlines Writers
THE flight disruptions during the record government shutdown that ended last week inspired a rare act of bipartisanship in Washington on Tuesday, when congressional representatives from both parties introduced legislation that would allow air traffic controllers to get paid during future shutdowns.
The bill proposes funding salaries, operating expenses and other Federal Aviation
Administration programs by tapping into a little-used flight insurance fund that was created after the Sept. 11 attacks and currently has $2.6 billion dollars sitting in it. The bill's sponsors, which include four of the top Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, hope that relying on the fund might make their bill more attractive than other proposals because it would limit the potential cost of dolling out paychecks.
Pursuant to the Provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000 notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 30th day of October 2025.
Brian Selvadurai Liquidator of
GOP Rep. Sam Graves, chairman of the committee, said in a statement that the bill would help keep the traveling public safe during future shutdowns. The other sponsors include Democrats Rick Larsen and Andre Carson along with Republican Troy Nehls, who leads the aviation subcommittee.
"We all saw that the system can be vulnerable when Congress can't get its job done," Graves said. "This bill guarantees that controllers, who have one of the most high-pressure jobs in the nation, will get paid during any future funding lapses and that air traffic control, aviation safety, and the traveling public will never again be negatively impacted by shutdowns."
The bill's introduction comes ahead of a scheduled hearing Wednesday by a Senate subcommittee to examine the impacts of the 43-day shutdown on aviation.
But it's not clear whether this bill — or any similar proposals that have been floating around Congress since the 2019 shutdown — will have a chance to get approved before the next
government funding deadline at the end of January.
Nearly all the other proposals, including one from U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, would rely on the aviation trust fund that collects money from fees the airlines pay, and the Congressional Budget Office has given those bills a much higher price tag.
Fixes have been proposed, but none approved
Over the years, lawmakers have tried a handful of fixes for a long-term solution to keep air traffic controllers and other essential aviation workers paid during funding lapses. The proposals often gained bipartisan attention, especially after the 35-day shutdown that ended in 2019 during Trump's first term, but none made it over the finish line.
Moran's bill, known as the Aviation Funding Stability Act, for example, is a recurring proposal in Congress that would allow the FAA to tap into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Lawmakers in both chambers have reintroduced
International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of AAA Management Limited has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the Dissolution was the 26th day of October, 2021.
versions of it over the years, including in 2019 and 2021.
The legislation resurfaced in March when Moran, the Republican chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, put it forward. It came up again in September, weeks before the shutdown began, when Reps. Andre Carson and Steve Cohen, both Democrats, introduced it in the House.
The new bill introduced Tuesday would cut off the money if the insurance fund dips below $1 billion. But Transportation Committee staffers estimate that would still provide enough funding to keep FAA operating for four to six weeks.
Air traffic controllers stretched thin during shutdown
The issue gets so much attention because of all the flight delays and cancellations that happen during a shutdown when more air traffic controllers call out of work. The existing shortage of controllers is so severe that just a few absences in an airport tower or other
Joaquin Antonio Russo Liquidator LEGAL
AN AMERICAN Airlines aircraft takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FAA radar facility can cause problems.
The controllers — and the FAA technicians who maintain the equipment they rely on — are expected to continue working without pay during a shutdown to keep flights operating. But as the financial pressure mounted, some controllers picked up second jobs and may have taken time off to make some cash driving for Uber or DoorDash.
The delays got so bad during this fall's shutdown that the government ordered airlines to cut some of their flights at 40 busy airports nationwide, in what the FAA said was a move to relieve pressure on the system and controllers. Thousands of flights were canceled before the FAA lifted the order entirely and airlines were able to resume normal operations Monday. Why the insurance fund was created
The insurance fund the bill introduced Tuesday would use was created at a time when airlines were having trouble getting any insurance coverage after 9/11. For years, airlines paid into the fund regularly to get coverage from the government.
But by the early 2010s the insurance market for airlines had stabilized. Congress let the insurance program expire at the end of 2014. The fund still exists today to pay for claims an airline might file if the government commandeers one of its planes for a military operation or other use.
International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000) KDP Management Limited. (the “Company”)
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, No.45 of 2000, the Dissolution of KDP Management Limited. has been completed, a Certificate of Dissolution has been issued and the Company has therefore been struck off the Register. The date of completion of the Dissolution was the 26th day of October, 2021.
Bronson Alexander Davila Medina Liquidator
Photo:Altaf Qadri/AP
Photo:Lynne Sladky/AP
HOST BRAZIL PUSHES FOR PROGRESS ON BIG ISSUES AT COP30 AND SOME SEE CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM
By MELINA WALLING, SETH BORENSTEIN and ANTON L. DELGADO Associated Press
AS United Nations cli-
mate talks bubble to a critical point, negotiators on Tuesday were pressured to ensure that oil — along with fossil fuels coal and natural gas — won't be burned in the future.
Although the conference, known as COP30, is scheduled to run through Friday, the Brazilian presidency is pushing for an interconnected decision sooner on four issues that weren't originally on the agenda. Meanwhile, dozens of nations — rich and poor — banded together in a concerted call to deliver a detailed road map for the world to phase out or transition away from fossil fuels.
Former Ireland President Mary Robinson, a fierce climate advocate, was unusually optimistic Tuesday, comparing the talks in Belem, on the edge of the Amazon, to the climate talks that produced the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement that set a target for limiting Earth's warming.
"This COP reminds me of Paris very much," Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "I'm hoping for as good an outcome out of this difficult environment as possible. We can get it, you know, we can get it."
Wednesday is the big day
Much of it will come to a head on Wednesday, the deadline set by COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago for a decision on four issues that were initially excluded from the official agenda: whether countries should be told to toughen their new climate plans; details on handing out $300 billion in pledged climate aid; dealing with trade barriers over climate and improving reporting on transparency and climate progress.
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will return to the talks on Wednesday and meet with some of the negotiating teams, do Lago said. The issue that's getting talked about by more than 80 nations is weaning the world from fossil fuels.
Two years ago, after much debate, the U.N. climate
MICROSOFT PARTNERS WITH ANTHROPIC AND NVIDIA IN CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL
By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer
MICROSOFT said Tuesday it is partnering with artificial intelligence company Anthropic and chipmaker Nvidia as part of an AI infrastructure deal that moves the software giant further away from its longtime alliance with OpenAI.
Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude that competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT, said it is committed to buying $30 billion in computing capacity from Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform.
As part of the partnership, Nvidia will also invest up to $10 billion in Anthropic, and Microsoft will invest up to $5 billion in the San Francisco-based startup.
The joint announcements by CEOs Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia came just ahead of the opening of Microsoft's annual Ignite developer conference.
"This is all about deepening our commitment to bringing the best infrastructure, model choice and applications to our customers," Nadella said on a video call with the other two executives, adding that it builds on the "critical" partnership Microsoft still has with OpenAI.
Microsoft was, until earlier this year, the exclusive cloud provider for OpenAI and made the technology behind ChatGPT the foundation for its own AI assistant, Copilot. But the two companies moved farther apart and their business agreements were amended as OpenAI increasingly sought to secure its own cloud capacity through big
deals with Oracle, SoftBank and other data center developers and chipmakers.
Asked in September if OpenAI could do more with those new computing partnerships than it could with Microsoft, OpenAI
CEO Sam Altman told The Associated Press his company was "severely limited for the value we can offer to people."
At the same time, Microsoft holds a roughly 27% stake in the new for-profit corporation that OpenAI, founded as a nonprofit, is forming to advance its commercial ambitions as the world's most valuable startup.
Anthropic, founded by ex-OpenAI leaders in 2021, said Claude will now be the "only frontier model" available to customers of the three biggest cloud computing providers: Amazon, which remains Anthropic's primary cloud provider, and Google and Microsoft.
AI products like Claude, ChatGPT, Copilotand Google's Gemini are reshaping how many people work but take huge amounts of energy and computing power to build and operate. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic has yet reported turning a profit, amplifying concerns about an AI bubble if their products don't meet investors' high expectations and justify the expenditures. As part of the deal, Nvidia said Anthropic will have access to up to a gigawatt of capacity from its specialized AI chips.
Huang said he's "admired the work of Anthropic and Dario for a long time, and this is the first time we are going to deeply partner with Anthropic to accelerate Claude."
NOTICE
PAUL of Boatswain, Hill, New Providence, The 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 12th day of November 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
talks in Dubai agreed on language for a "transition away from fossil fuels."
But the following year the issue disappeared from view. Now, many — but not all — countries are pushing for a detailed road map that would essentially give directions on how to phase out fossil fuels.
"People around the world are mobilizing on a massive scale, demanding concrete action for climate justice, particularly against the expansion of fossil fuel," said Colombia's Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres. "Our categorical decision backed by science and by people has been to phase out fossil fuels. Despite being a producer country of oil and coal, we have chosen not to grant any new oil exploration contracts, nor any new coal mining titles."
"We have to leave here with a call for a road map," she said Tuesday. "There's no other way."
Ed Miliband, the United Kingdom's top official for energy and climate change, said the issue has united the Global South and North, "saying with one voice that this is an issue that cannot
be ignored, cannot be swept under the carpet, and this is where the momentum is."
The COP presidency's draft language on the phaseout road map caused strong positive and negative reactions, with perhaps more negative reactions than strong, said COP30 CEO Ana Toni. She said not only were fossil fuel nations against it, but other countries didn't want something that would be seen as added requirements. U.S. President Donald Trump, who didn't send anyone to the conference, has called climate change a scam.
But do Lago raised one interesting possibility. Usually agreements coming out of COPs have to be by consensus and near unanimous. But he said since the idea of a fossil fuel transition was already approved by
SHARP DISAGREEMENTS OVER ECONOMY THREATEN FEDERAL RESERVE INTEREST RATE CUT
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WHAT was once seen as a near-certain cut in interest rates next month now looks more like a coin flip as Federal Reserve officials sharply disagree over the economy's health and whether stubborn inflation or weak hiring represent a bigger threat.
In several speeches in the past week, some policymakers have registered greater concern over persistent inflation in an echo of the "affordability" concerns that played a large role in elections earlier this month.
At the same time, another camp is much more concerned about meager hiring and the threat that the "low-hire, low-fire" job market could worsen into one where layoffs become more widespread.
The turmoil on the Fed's 19-member interest-rate setting committee reflects a deeply uncertain economic
outlook brought about by multiple factors, including tariffs, artificial intelligence, and changes in immigration and tax policies.
"It's reflective of a ton of uncertainty," said Luke Tilley, chief economist at M&T Bank. "It's not surprising at all that there's a wide divergence of opinions."
Fewer rate cuts by the Fed could leave borrowing costs for homes and cars elevated. More expensive mortgages and auto loans contribute to the widespread view, according to polls, that the cost of living is too high.
Some Fed watchers say that an unusually high number of dissents are possible at the December 9-10 meeting, regardless of whether the central bank reduces rates or not. Krishna Guha, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said a decision to cut could lead to as many as four or five dissents, while a decision to
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consensus in 2023, the road map may not need such a high bar for adoption.
A draft to work from Do Lago kicked off Tuesday's action with a proposal that had 21 options for negotiators on four sticky and interrelated issues.
While the options in the draft text "are a first step, what's required now is to eliminate the options that add to delay and ignore the urgency of action," said Jasper Inventor, deputy program director of Greenpeace International.
Tuesday was also a day for speeches from highlevel ministers.
Sophie Hermans, the Netherlands' deputy prime minister, said "the transition is no longer about setting targets. It is about executing them. And
execution requires realism, planning and the ability to adjust when circumstances change."
Pressure grows to reach an agreement
The documents ask leaders to hash out many aspects of a potential agreement by Wednesday so that much is out of the way before the final set of decisions Friday, when the conference is scheduled to end. Climate summits routinely go past their last day as nations have to balance domestic concerns with the major shifts needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Lula was scheduled to return to Belem on Wednesday and the deadline may be timed for him to push parties together or celebrate some kind of draft agreement, observers said.
keep rates unchanged could produce three.
Four dissenting votes would be highly unusual, given the Fed's history of seeking consensus. The last time four officials dissented was in 1992, under thenChair Alan Greenspan.
Fed governor Christopher Waller on Monday noted that critics of the Fed often accuse it of "group think," since many of its decisions are made unanimously.
"People who are accusing us of this, get ready," Waller said Monday in remarks in London. "You might see
the least group think you've seen ... in a long time." The differences have been exacerbated by the government shutdown's interruption of economic data, a particular challenge for a Fed that Chair Jerome Powell has often described as "data dependent." The government's last jobs report was for August, and inflation for September. September jobs data will finally be published Thursday, and are expected to show a small gain of 50,000 jobs that month and an unchanged unemployment rate at a still-low 4.3%.
NOTICE is hereby given that DECAENEL PIERRE of Colony Village, Nassau, The 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
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NOTICE is hereby given that ORLANDO RENARDO MARTIN of #18 Mount Royal, Avenue Hawkins Hill, Nassau, The 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 November 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
SECURITY personnel monitor as attendees arrive to the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Belem, Brazil.
Photo:Andre Penner/AP
PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during a visit to the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington.
Photo:Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
MIXED QUARTER AT HOME DEPOT WITH LESS STORM DAMAGE TO HOMES AND A MORE ANXIOUS SHOPPER
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer
HOME Depot’s third-quarter was mixed with fewer violent storms reaching shore, more anxiety among U.S. consumers and a housing market that is in a deep funk.
The company lowered its fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings forecast but raised its expectations for sales growth.
For the three months ended Nov. 2, Home Depot earned $3.6 billion, or $3.62 per share. A year earlier it earned $3.65 billion, or $3.67 per share.
Removing one-time charges and benefits, earnings were $3.74 per share, a dime short of Wall Street expectations, according to a poll by FactSet.
It is the third consecutive quarter that Home Depot, an overperformer in recent years, has missed profit expectations.
Home Depot’s stock declined 3% in early morning trading on Tuesday. Shares of rival Lowe’s, which will report quarterly results Wednesday, fell slightly.
“Our results missed our expectations primarily due to the lack of storms in the third quarter, which resulted in greater than expected pressure in certain categories,” CEO Ted Decker said in a statement.
“Additionally, while underlying demand in the business remained relatively stable sequentially, an expected increase in demand in the third quarter did not materialize. We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand.”
Revenue for the Atlanta company rose to $41.35 billion from $40.22 billion, topping Wall Street projections of $41.15 billion.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, increased 0.2%. In the U.S., comparable store sales edged up 0.1%.
Customer transactions fell 1.4% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent rose to $90.39 per average receipt from $88.65 in the year-ago period.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said that Home Depot’s quarter was negatively impacted by external factors, not missteps made by the company.
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Americans who have grown more anxious over the economy were definitely a contributor, he said.
“The summer months were particularly challenging in this regard as consumers were actively making choices over how to spend their money, and home improvement took something of a back seat to experiences, travel, and personal indulgences,” he said.
David Silverman, senior director at Fitch Ratings, thinks Home Depot is in
THE HOME Depot improvement store is seen in Philadelphia, Feb. 22, 2022.
position to ride out today’s adverse conditions.
“Home Depot has the appropriate scale, operating strategy and business mix to successfully navigate the current environment and fortify its position in the market,” he said in a statement.
Silverman thinks Home Depot can use supply chain shifts and vendor negotiations to mitigate the impact of tariffs and that it will benefit from diversifying its business mix toward professional customers and the maintenance and repair sectors and reducing its exposure to discretionary consumer projects.
Home Depot now anticipates fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings will decline approximately 5% from fiscal 2024’s $15.24 per share. It previously expected adjusted earnings would fall about 2% from its results in the prior fiscal year.
The chain now foresees fiscal 2025 sales growth of about 3%. Its prior forecast was for sales growth of approximately 2.8%. The company predicts comparable sales growth will be slightly positive. Previously, it predicted comparable sales growth of about 1%.
In August Home Depot said that shoppers should expect modest price increases in some categories as a result of rising tariff costs, though they wouldn’t be broad-based. Company executives told analysts during its earnings call then that more than 50% of its products are sourced domestically and wouldn’t be subject to any tariffs.
Home Depot’s results come as the U.S. housing slump drags on, with the country’s home turnover rate at the lowest level in decades. About 28 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands between January and September, the lowest U.S. home turnover rate going back to at least the 1990s, according to an analysis by Redfin.
The home turnover rate represents the number of homes sold, divided by the total number of existing sellable properties. While sales data show whether more or fewer homes are selling in a given period, the home turnover rate helps illustrate how homeowners are staying put longer.
The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows that fueled a homebuying frenzy at the start of this decade.
MACARTHUR FOUNDATION AWARDS $100M TO OUTBREAK SURVEILLANCE NETWORK, A BOOST AMID GLOBAL HEALTH CUTS
By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press
THE MacArthur Foundation is awarding $100 million to a private pandemic prevention network across Africa, offering critical support to infectious disease surveillance at a time when governments are reducing global health spending.
It was announced Tuesday that Sentinel — a project that creates cost-effective pathogen detection tests, monitors outbreaks with real-time tracking tools and trains local scientists to carry out community-led responses — won the MacArthur Foundation's 100&Change competition. Sentinel reports training more than 3,000 public health workers from 53 of Africa's 54 countries. The award money will help expand its geographic reach
over the next five years, creating a more robust system that can better alert local communities — and, in turn, the world — to previously undetected diseases.
"This investment affirms that solutions to global health challenges can be led from Africa," Sentinel co-director Christian Happi, who leads the Institute of Genomics and Global Health at Redeemer's University in Nigeria, said in a statement. "Sentinel is about trust, collaboration, and building the systems that allow every country to respond swiftly and confidently to disease threats."
With the MacArthur Foundation's recognition of an African initiative that is empowering public health officials from the bottom up, the heavyweight American philanthropy hopes to encourage similar investments from its peers.
In the ten years since starting 100&Change with the issue-agnostic goal of driving philanthropy to pursue bolder endeavors and larger grants, an official said they've seen just that — as well as more concern for global health.
"This grant is further wind in those sails, I'd say" said Chris Cardona, the managing director of Exploration, Discovery and Programs at the MacArthur Foundation. "But given the scale of the challenge and the size of the funding gaps, there's much more to be done."
"We are glad to shine that spotlight and to show the value for U.S. donors of funding internationally — especially to projects that are bridging and building capacity across countries like Sentinel is doing," he added.
Meanwhile, global health programs are contending with fewer funds and less cooperation as major donor countries deprioritize multilateral efforts.
Gavi, a public-private alliance that has paid for more than 1 billion children to be vaccinated, faces a replenishment shortfall as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration cut the country's support. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff were told earlier this year to stop working with the World Health Organization, a move that experts warn will impede work on stopping outbreaks such as mpox in Africa.
The Trump administration has vowed to prioritize disease surveillance as it turns sharply from traditional U.S. foreign assistance. But it has also sought to cancel $500 million for activities related to infectious diseases and child and maternal health and another $400 million to address the global HIV epidemic.
So uncertain is the state of global development commitments that the Gates Foundation, one of the most powerful institutions in global health, delayed its annual report on the progress toward those goals.
"This work in Africa would be important because, as the U.S. and European nations pull out from support globally, we will have less visibility of what's going on overseas," said Dr. Ali S. Khan, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health.
Sentinel began as a collaboration between Happi's lab and Dr. Pardis Sabeti's lab at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Lassa fever. Traveling into villages where the virus was spreading provided key insights they wouldn't have had without deeply embedding in the community, according to Sabeti. They've now set out to provide those communities with the diagnostic technologies and professional connections necessary to identify, control and send early warnings about new threats.
Sabeti said the award is "transformative" considering that public health is being "decimated" and the field faces "existential crises." When the United States no longer supports other countries' efforts to stop pandemics like it used to, she said, local frontline responders must be empowered.
"By giving people in communities the information that they need, they end up becoming sentinels for an emerging outbreak," Sabeti said. "And it's really allowing every person on the planet to participate in stopping the next pandemic."
Former USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health Nidhi Bouri said governments' budget cuts have highlighted the need for diversified funding streams.
Photo:Matt Rourke/AP
DR Christian Happi poses for a photo inside the laboratory at the Institute of Genomics and Global Health, in Ede Southwestern, Nigeria, Nov. 17, 2025. Photo:Ajayi Oluwapelumi/AP
AMAZON'S ZOOX ROBOTAXIS SERVICE TO GIVE FREE RIDES IN SAN FRANCISCO AS ITS EXPANSION ACCELERATES
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer
AMAZON'S Zoox will start giving free robotaxi rides through parts of San Francisco as it accelerates its attempt to challenge Waymo's early lead in the race to transport passengers in self-driving vehicles.
The expansion announced Tuesday will be confined to a few major San Francisco neighborhoods and limited to people who signed up on a waiting list to ride in Zoox's gondola-shaped robotaxis, which have no steering wheel. The San Francisco launch comes less than three months after the Amazon-owned robotaxi company launched its first ride-hailing service along the Las Vegas strip.
But Zoox still doesn't charge people to ride in its robotaxis, something Waymo has been doing since its debut in Phoenix five years ago. The free rides are the next major milestone before charging fares like Waymo and traditional ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, as Amazon tried to make inroads in autonomous driving — a journey that began in 2020 when the e-commerce Goliath bought Zoox for $1.2 billion.
California regulators still have to approve Zoox's application to charge for rides in San Francisco — a clearance that Waymo received in August 2023 after overcoming safety concerns raised by city officials. Since then, Waymo's
robotaxis have become a familiar sight throughout San Francisco, where some tourists now make a point of hitching a ride in a self-driving car along with hopping on one of the city's fabled cable cars that have been operating for 152 years.
Waymo, which started as a secret project within Google in 2009. also operates its robotaxis in San Jose, California, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin, Texas, with plans to expand into several other U.S. cities next year.
In another sign of Waymo's accelerating growth, its robotaxis began extending their routes beyond city streets and onto highways in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. And on Tuesday announced plans to expand into five more U.S. cities: Miami; Dallas; San Antonio, Texas; Houston and Orlando, Florida. However, passengers won't be able to ask for rides in those five cities until next year.
Just as Waymo has already been doing, Amazon is gearing up to bring Zoox's robotaxis to other major cities, including Austin and Miami. To help Zoox realize its ambitions, Amazon converted a former bus factory into a high-tech robotaxi plant in Hayward, California — about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Zoox eventually hopes to make as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually at the plant.
Kroger closing automated fulfillment centers as it tries to make delivery faster and cheaper
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
KROGER said Tuesday it's closing three automated fulfillment centers as part of an effort to make its delivery operations faster and more profitable. The nation's largest grocer said it will close facilities in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin; Frederick, Maryland; and Groveland, Florida, in January. The company said it will monitor the performance of its five remaining facilities.
"We are taking decisive action to make shopping easier, offer faster delivery times, provide more options to our customers, and we expect to deliver profitable sales growth as a result," Kroger Chairman and CEO Ron Sargent said in a statement.
Kroger partnered with British grocery technology company Ocado Group in 2018 to build warehouses where robots would pick and pack grocery delivery orders. Initially, the companies planned 20 locations, but only eight have been built so far.
Kroger said it will incur a $2.6 billion charge in its fiscal third quarter related to the closure of its operations. The company said it expects the closures will improve its e-commerce operating profit by $400 million in 2026.
Ocado shares fell 16% Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange. Kroger shares were up 1% Tuesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.
STOCKS DROP AFTER ANOTHER JARRING DAY AS WORRIES ABOUT TOO-HIGH PRICES KEEP DOGGING NVIDIA, BITCOIN
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
THE U.S. stock market fell following another jarring day on Tuesday, as worries keep dogging Nvidia, bitcoin and other Wall Street stars that their prices shot too high.
After quickly sliding to a morning loss of 1.5%, the S&P 500 clawed back nearly all of it before sinking again. It finished with a fall of 0.8% and pulled further from its all-time high set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 498 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2%.
Nvidia was again the heaviest weight on the market, and its drop of 2.8% brought its loss for the month so far to more than 10%. That's a steep enough fall that Wall Street has a name for it: a correction.
What Nvidia does matters disproportionately to savers' 401(k) accounts because its immense size means it's the most influential stock on Wall Street. It single-handedly steers the direction of the S&P 500 some days, after fervent demand for its artificial-intelligence chips helped it briefly top $5 trillion in total value.
The U.S. stock market's recent struggles are a sharp turnaround from its nearly relentless rally since April, when Wall Street last sold off after President Donald Trump shocked the world with stiff tariffs. That rally was so strong that critics say it may have carried prices too high, too fast and left the market at risk of a sharp drop. They point in particular to stocks swept up in the AI mania, which have been surging at spectacular speeds for years. Nvidia's price more than doubled in four of the last five years, for example,
while Palantir Technologies' stock more than doubled in the first six and a half months of this year.
Many big investors still seem to expect stock prices to rise further, according to the latest monthly survey of global fund managers by Bank of America Global Research. But when asked what the No. 1 risk for the market is, one with a lower probability of happening but a chance of very big damage, 45% pointed to an AI bubble. That beat out potential trouble in the bond market, inflation and trade wars.
A record percentage of investors is also saying companies are "overinvesting," according to the survey. The worry is that all the dollars pouring into AI chips and data centers worldwide may not produce the kind of revolution that AI proponents have been predicting, or at least not as profitable a one.
Other high-flying areas of the market with their own
evangelists have also been struggling lately. Bitcoin's price briefly fell below $90,000 in the morning, down from nearly $125,000 last month. It later recovered some of its losses and climbed back toward $93,000.
Home Depot also helped drag the market lower after falling 6%. It reported a weaker profit for the summer than analysts expected and cited a variety of reasons. Chief among them was a lack of storms, which would have driven customers to buy more home-improvement supplies. CEO Ted Decker also pointed to "consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing" for preventing an expected increase in demand.
Reporting stronger profits is one of the ways a company can make its stock price look less expensive, because stock prices tend to track with earnings over the long term. That's raising
the stakes for Wednesday's profit report from Nvidia, which could either help halt its stock's slide or worsen it. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Cloudflare fell 2.8% after an earlier issue at the internet infrastructure provider caused global outages for ChatGPT and other services.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 55.09 points to 6,617.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 498.50 to 46,091.74, and the Nasdaq composite sank 275.23 to 22,432.85. In the bond market, Treasury yields likewise oscillated through the day. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eventually eased to 4.11% from 4.13% late Monday.
Yields have been swinging amid doubts about whether the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December, something that traders had earlier seen as very likely.
During a conference call with investors in September, Sargent said that in most locations, it makes sense to use stores to fulfill delivery orders instead of centralized warehouses.
Stores are closer to customers, so orders can be delivered more quickly and cheaply, Sargent said. He said Kroger is capable of delivering orders in less than two hours from 97% of its 2,700 U.S. stores. "Stores are our most important asset," Sargent said.
Sargent said that in some high-density areas with strong delivery demand, automated fulfillment facilities are delivering better results.
At the same time, Kroger is also leaning more heavily into partnerships with third-party providers. In September, the company said it was expanding its partnership with DoorDash. DoorDash offered delivery of sushi, flowers and prepared meals from Kroger starting in 2022, but it now offers delivery of Kroger's full assortment of products. Last month, Kroger announced a similar expanded partnership with Uber Eats. And earlier this month, Kroger said it was working with Instacart to expand express delivery from its stores. Kroger will also be one of the first retailers to offer access to Instacart's AI assistant, which builds delivery orders automatically based on customers' preferences and provides meal ideas.
PEOPLE view a Zoox self-driving vehicle at the Zoox booth during the CES tech show, Jan. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. Photo:John Locher/AP
TRADER NIALL PAWA, left, and specialist Patrick King work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025.
Photo:Richard Drew/AP
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GOOGLE UNVEILS GEMINI’S NEXT GENERATION, AIMING TO TURN ITS SEARCH ENGINE INTO A ‘THOUGHT PARTNER’
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer
GOOGLE is unleashing its Gemini 3 artificial intelligence model on its dominant search engine and other popular online services in the high-stakes battle to create technology that people can trust to enlighten them and manage tedious tasks.
The next-generation model unveiled Tuesday comes nearly two years after Google took the wraps off its first iteration of the technology. Google designed Gemini in response to a competitive threat posed by OpenAI's ChatGPT that came out in late 2022, triggering the biggest technological shift since Apple released the iPhone in 2007.
Google's latest AI features initially will be rolled out to Gemini Pro and Ultra subscribers in the United States before coming to a wider, global audience. Gemini 3's advances include a new AI "thinking" feature within Google's search engine that company executives believe will become an
indispensable tool that will help make people more productive and creative.
"We like to think this will help anyone bring any idea to life," Koray Kavukcuoglu, a Google executive overseeing Gemini's technology, told reporters. As AI models have become increasingly sophisticated, the advances have raised worries that the technology is more prone to behave in ways that jumble people's feelings and thoughts while feeding them misleading information and fawning flattery. In some of the most egregious interactions, AI chatbots have faced accusations of becoming suicide coaches for emotionally vulnerable teenagers.
The various problems have spurred a flurry of negligence lawsuits against the makers of AI chatbots, although none have targeted Gemini yet.
Google executives believe they have built in guardrails that will prevent Gemini 3 from hallucinating or be deployed for sinister purposes such as hacking into websites and computing devices.
Gemini 3 's responses are designed to be "smart, concise and direct, trading cliche and flatter for insight — telling you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. It acts as a true thought partner," Kavukcuoglu and Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google's DeepMind division, wrote in a blog post. Besides providing consumers with more AI tools, Gemini 3 is also likely to be scrutinized as a barometer that investors may use to get a better sense about whether the massive torrent of spending on the technology will pay off.
After starting the year expecting to spend $75 billion, Google's corporate parent Alphabet recently raised its capital expenditure budget from $91 billion to $93 billion, with most of the money earmarked for AI. Other Big Tech powerhouses such as Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta Platforms are spending nearly as much — or even more — on their AI initiatives this year.
Investors so far have been mostly enthusiastic about the AI spending and the breakthroughs they have spawned, helping propel the values of Alphabet and its
peers to new highs. Alphabet's market value is now hovering around $3.4 trillion, more than doubling in value since the initial version of Gemini came out in late 2023. Alphabet's shares edged up slightly Tuesday after the Gemni 3 news came out.
But the sky-high values also have amplified fears of a potential investment bubble that will eventually burst and drag down the entire stock market.
For now, AI technology is speeding ahead.
OpenAI released its fifth generation of the AI technology powering ChatGPT in August, around the same time the next version of Claude came out from Anthropic.
Like Gemini, both ChatGPT and Claude are capable of responding rapidly to conversational questions involving complex topics — a skill that has turned them into the equivalent of "answer engines" that could lessen
THE WEATHER REPORT
people's dependence on Google search.
Google quickly countered that threat by implanting Gemini's technology into its search engine to begin creating detailed summaries called "AI Overviews" in 2023, and then introducing an even more conversational search tool called "AI mode" earlier this year. Those innovations have prompted Google to de-emphasize the rankings of relevant websites in its search results — a shift that online publishers have complained is diminishing the visitor traffic that helps them finance their operations through digital ad sales.
The changes have been mostly successful for Google so far, with AI Overviews now being used by more than 2 billion people every month, according to the company. The Gemini app, by comparison, has about 650 million monthly users.
