11212022 BUSINESS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FIDELITY Bank (Bahamas) has cut its full-year profit forecast by $2m-$2.5m after incurring more upfront costs than anticipated with the ongoing roll-out of its mer chant and card services.

Gowon Bowe, the BISX-listed commercial lender’s chief executive, told Tribune Business these invest ment will pay-off in future years with the bank deciding “take our medi cine now” and unveil a revised 2022 profit forecast of between $22.5m to $23m.

Confirming the revision to the initial $25m target, he added that demand for the ‘Click and Pay’ card services has exceeded all expecta tions with merchant numbers three times’ more than that projected for the full year after just nine months. October was some 30 percent ahead of forecast.

Speaking after Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) unveiled a 12.5 percent year-over-year net income decline, from $17.796m to $15.571, for the nine months to end-September 2022, Mr Bowe told this newspaper that the continued growth in total income reassured that the commer cial lender’s strategy is on the right track despite the temporary increase in costs.

“As it relates to the full year profit target, we are moving that,” he dis closed. “We do not anticipate $25m, but we do expect in the fourth quar ter that we will pick up some of the stagger and be consistent with last year around $22.5m to $23m.”

Explaining the $1.8m year-overyear decrease in net income, which was largely driven by a 27.3 percent

BOB chief: Bahamas ‘long way from default’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BANK of The Bahamas’ top executive says the coun try is “a long way away from a debt default” even though constant sovereign down grades are “taking their toll” on the banking indus try and wider economy.

Kenrick Brathwaite told Tribune Business the fre quent downgrades by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) cut his bank’s profits for the 2023 first quarter by “in excess of $1m” as he voiced concern that these actions were painting a misleading posi tion on the nation’s financial health.

The Bank of The Baha mas managing director expressed optimism that a sovereign debt default “is just not going to happen”, given that the country still has multiple tools it can employ to stave off such an outcome such as new and/ or increased taxes and sell ing-off public assets such as Crown Land and stateowned enterprises (SOEs).

The Government also has access to borrowing at much cheaper rates in the domestic Bahamian capital markets, but Mr Brathwaite told this news paper that gaining access to capital - with system liquid ity standing at $2.254bn at

FTX’s fall ‘won’t ruin’ high-end real estate

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN realtors believe the FTX crypto currency exchange’s implo sion will not “ruin” western New Providence’s high-end property market as bargain hunters start to circle its $74m worth of holdings.

George Damianos, presi dent of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, told Tribune Business that real estate demand in the area was broad enough, and deep enough, to absorb the FTX properties with out a blip whenever they were released to potential buyers.

Pointing out that they were likely to be tied up by FTX’s collapse, and left in the hands of its joint provi sional liquidators for some time, he added of the crypto exchange’s failure: “I would say within reason that I don’t think it will have any effect at all. I think most of this stuff is on Albany, and while people are asking us obviously, I don’t antici pate any fall-out and I don’t think it will have any impact now or in the near future with them hitting the market.

“I think Albany will absorb those apartments... I don’t see any reason to have

FTX’s founder accused on Bahamas court order

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FEARS have been voiced that FTX’s co-founder vio lated a Bahamas Supreme Court Order when he placed some 134 group entities under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

US attorneys represent ing the Bahamian joint provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, the collapsed crypto exchange’s local subsidiary, have raised concerns that Sam Bankman-Fried breached the asset freeze and Order obtained by the Securities Commission on Thursday, November 10, through such actions.

That Order, issued by Chief Justice Ian Winder, also stripped Mr BankmanFried and his fellow FTX Digital Markets directors of all their powers and

transferred control of the company to Brian Simms KC, senior partner at the Lennox Paton law firm. However, the FTX cofounder then signed the documents placing FTX Trading and the group’s non-Bahamian assets into Chapter 11 protection at 4.30am on Friday morning. Warren Gluck, an attor ney with Holland & Knight,

GOWON BOWE

LPIA bracing for up to 52% rise in Thanksgiving travel

NASSAU’S airport is bracing for potential record Thanksgiving passenger volumes that could be up to 52 percent higher than last year, its operator revealed yesterday.

The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), anticipating a yearover-year increase of up to 12,0000 travellers over the US holiday that tradition ally kickstarts the winter tourism season, said it is implementing various strat egies to manage the greater traffic. This includes a new cell phone waiting lot, expected to be made avail able to passengers from today, and a flight tracking app.

Both these devices are designed to manage pas senger flow “from curbside to airside”, with NAD anticipating that Lynden Pindling International Air port (LPIA) will process between 25,000 and 35,000 passengers between this Thursday and Sunday.

During the same period in November 2021, just

under 23,000 passen gers travelled during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Last year’s num bers were 24 percent below the same period in 2019, where pre-pandemic fig ures for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend reached a record high of 30,192.

“As part of our over all preparations for this peak period, we met with key stakeholders includ ing Bahamas Immigration, Bahamas Customs, the Airport Authority, US Customs & Border Pro tection (USCBP), Air Traffic Services (ATS), air line operators, the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Road Traffic Depart ment,” said Jonathan Hanna, NAD’s vice-presi dent of operations.

“This year, in addition to queue management, proper staffing in high traffic areas and monitoring overall movement in terminal, we are implementing new tools to improve the user experience at LPIA. Start ing this week, we will be

introducing a new cell phone waiting lot.

“This lot allows persons picking up passengers from the airport to park free of charge for up to 60 min utes. Having persons park in a designated area while waiting for a call to pick up an arriving passenger will help to reduce congestion on the curbside and allow for a better experience all-around.”

Bahamasair’s Carolina flight boosts GB tourism

MINISTRY of Tourism officials hailed the launch of Bahamasair’s year-round flights between Grand Bahama and North Caro lina as another step towards boosting visitor arrivals to the island.

The national flag car rier’s inaugural non-stop flight to Freeport departed Raleigh-Durham Interna tional Airport at 3.30 pm

on Thursday and arrived in Freeport two hours later.

The service will operate twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays, on a 138-seat Boeing 737-700. Freeport is Raleigh-Durham Inter national Airport’s seventh international destination, and Bahamasair its 14th air line partner.

Ginger Moxey, minis ter for Grand Bahama,

said Bahamasair’s joins the recent return of American Airlines’ direct flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, in increasing airlift to the island. “I am absolutely delighted to welcome all of our Raleigh visitors, friends and families to Grand Bahama,” Mrs Moxey said.

“We are grateful for all our partners and stake holders who we collaborate

The new cell phone wait ing lot will be monitored by NAD’s parking and ground transportation team. Vehi cles must be occupied at all times. Any vehicles left unattended in the lot or parked indiscriminately in non-designated park ing areas, including illegal parking in handicap park ing spots, will be towed at the owner’s expense. Direc tions to the lot can be found on LPIA’s website.

Beyond the curbside, managing gate assignments and predicting airline traf fic patterns will also play a major role in NAD’s holiday travel season man agement. This past summer, the airport’s operations team partnered with avia tion technology company, AeroCloud Systems, to implement a new Intelli gent Airport Management System (IAMS) and new Airport Operating Data base (AODB).

The software uses arti ficial intelligence (AI) to process data and predict trends related to flight cancellations, delays or diversions. “With the new AeroCloud system, we are able to look ahead at our operations and identify the days and times we are likely to face challenges. We are then able to create appropriate strategies in collaboration with our various airport and other partners to mitigate impact to overall operations,” Mr Hanna said.

“From an airport user perspective, the software also has a mobile app where passengers can get the latest flight information not only for LPIA but for a number of airports in the US where they may be travelling to or arriving from.”

NAD said it will also be introducing an initia tive that will allow greater accessibility for persons who might have difficulty while traveling. Details on the new programme will be announced next week.

Airport officials urged passengers travelling between Thanks giving and January 2, 2023, to arrive at LPIA three hours ahead of US-bound flights and two hours prior to international and domestic flights. Pas sengers should expect potential delays when trav elling during busy periods of the day, between 11am and 3pm, due to increased volumes of air traffic from commercial and general aviation due to the busy holiday travel period.

with on these pivotal initia tives. The future truly looks bright for beautiful Grand Bahama, and we encourage

visitors to explore all that this island metropolis has to offer. It is another grand day on Grand Bahama.”

Latia Duncombe, the Ministry of Tourism’s acting director-general, said: “This is an exciting moment, not only for Freeport but also for The Bahamas at large. We are happy to see renewed interest among North Carolinians, with vis itor arrivals doubling since 2021.

“We plan to continue marketing The Bahamas as a picture-perfect geta way for a short haul escape all year-round. The unique experiences travellers from across the world are seeking can be found in abundance across our 16-island destination.

“The Bahamas is the only place you can go in the entire world where there are 16 destinations in just one destination. Today is an amazing day, an excit ing day because there is a direct flight, non-stop from Raleigh, North Caro lina, into Grand Bahama and then on to New Providence.”

Prince Storr, Bahamasair’s deputy man aging director, added: “This

inaugural flight represents a significant boost into the economy of Grand Bahama. Historically, North Carolina and Grand Bahama share a rich history and relationship.”

There are many Bahami ans either living or studying in Raleigh, and the new flight is the first time there is a direct flight between the two cities. “This represents the seventh international route that we are going to enjoy on the island of Grand Bahama. There’s Toronto, Montreal, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Char lotte and now Raleigh. So, we expect a significant boost,” he added.

Michael Landguth, the Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s president and chief execu tive, said: “There’s lots of excitement about this new destination. We look forward to the cultural exchange and the two vibrant communities that it will bring together as a result of this connectivity.”

A NEW cell phone waiting lot at LPIA is slated to be available to the public today.

THE MINISTRY of Tourism’s acting director-general, Latia Duncombe, with the Bahama sair team.

INSURER: HURRICANE SEASON END ‘CAN’T BE SOON ENOUGH’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

A TOP Bahamian insur ance executive says the official end to the 2022 hurricane season “can’t come soon enough” given that Hurricane Ian will fur ther “tie our hands” on premium prices for local consumers.

Alister McKellar, J. S. Johnson’s managing direc tor, told shareholders in a 2022 third quarter report that was written just prior to Tropical Storm Nicole’s arrival: “I pointed out early-season tropical storm activity and the possibil ity that more disturbances could be heading our way into the third quarter.

“I’m happy to say, how ever, that I have been spectacularly wrong. Until now. After two consecutive years without an Atlantic hurricane making landfall in The Bahamas, Mother Nature may yet have the last word on the matter as sub-tropical storm Nicole gains steam on her way to the east coast of Florida. The official end of the season on November 30 cannot come soon enough.”

While Nicole was ulti mately a relative non-event for Bahamian property and casualty insurers, certainly when compared to Hurri cane Dorian and previous weather-related catastro phes, Mr McKellar warned that the multi-billion dollar reinsurance industry losses suffered from Hur ricane Ian’s devastation of Florida’s west coast threat ens to further undermine the will of such companies to continue underwriting business in the Caribbean.

“We all understand that sinking feeling after witnessing the horrible devastation Hurricane Ian wrought upon Fort Myers and south-west Florida in September,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, that event will likely fur ther solidify the reluctance of international reinsurers to assume additional hur ricane risks in our wider region. We continue to search for new avenues of additional coverage capac ity, but our hands remain largely tied for the foresee able future.”

This means that, with reinsurance capacity restricted and that sector demanding higher prices

to continue covering prop erty and other risks in The Bahamas, premium costs paid by Bahamian busi nesses and households will likely both further increase and remain high.

Bahamian property and casualty underwriters must acquire huge amounts of reinsurance annually because their relatively thin capital bases mean they cannot cover the multi-billion dollar assets at risk in this nation. This means premium pricing in The Bahamas is largely dictated by reinsurers, and the cut-back in supply with the global reinsurance market pulling back from the Caribbean due to hur ricane-related losses, means these cost pressures will only further rise.

Mr McKellar, meanwhile, said the absence of stormrelated activity through the first three quarters ensured that J. S. Johnson’s prof its for the nine months to end-September 2022 were 14.54 percent ahead of last year’s comparatives, stand ing at $6.935m compared to $6.054m.

“Other important financial indicators such as outstanding claims

Pintard: ‘It’s too early to tell’ on DARE reform post-FTX

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Opposition’s leader says it is still too early to determine how The Bahamas’ laws and regula tions governing the digital assets industry should be reformed following the FTX crypto exchange’s spectacular implosion.

Michael Pintard, speak ing at a Free National Movement (FNM) protest in front of the Prime Min ister’s Office, asserted that “no government of The Bahamas is responsible” for FTX’s stunning collapse in less that one week. How ever, he argued that it is the Davis administration’s job to fix the reputational damage being inflicted upon The Bahamas as a result.

“The Government also has an obligation to clearly indicate if it has any inti mate relationship with companies that are in The Bahamas, that can give the impression that compa nies were able to operate

with impunity because of the nature of that relation ship… We have been very measured in the state ments that we have made concerning FTX and its implosion, and the negative impact that it’s having on The Bahamas,” he said.

FTX switched its inter national headquarters from Hong Kong to The Bahamas in September/ October 2021, the move coming within weeks of the general election that brought the Davis admin istration to power. Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s co-founder and then-chief executive, said the crypto exchange was attracted to this nation by the Digi tal Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act as it wanted to be in a well-regulated, compliant jurisdiction.

The DARE Act was introduced to Parliament, and passed, by the former Minnis administration, so the Opposition cannot com pletely disassociate itself from the FTX fall-out. The crypto exchange was sup posed to be the flagship

digital assets investor for The Bahamas, and one that would attract other such businesses to this nation. However, its collapse may endanger the country’s digital assets ambitions.

Mr Davis previously said the DARE Act was in the process of being enhanced and upgraded even prior to the FTX collapse. When asked what an FNM admin istration would do about amendments to the DARE Act, Mr Pintard said: “It’s too early to tell. We need a thorough investigation, which is why we ought to look at the period prior to the election and after the election.

“When did they come? Who did they meet with? What was the nature of the discussion? When were the approvals given? Was there a lead time? We know that certainly companies oper ating in this space are not going to get a 14-day or seven-day approval, so the question is how long was the due diligence period and what would we have found during that due dili gence period?

(declined more than 30 per cent) and earnings per share (increased by 11 percent, $0.72 to $0.80) indicate solid, steady business activ ity,” he added.

Elsewhere, FamGuard Corporation saw its net income for the nine months to end-September 2022 fall by 15.5 percent or just over $1m year-overyear, dropping from $8.1m to $7.009m. While total income was relatively flat at $98.491m, total benefits and expenses increased by almost $1m to $91.482m.

Dodridge Miller, chair man for Family Guardian’s BISX-listed parent, told shareholders: “The finan cial results continue to reflect the stability and resilience of the company despite the rising inflation, global interest rates and other external factors which impact our business. The group reported total rev enue of $98.5m for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the $98.8m reported for the comparative prior period.

“Gross premiums exceed the prior year by 1.1 per cent, and totalled $85.2m. Net investment income totalled $11.7m, and was

impacted by the net fair value losses arising from the decline in equity and bond market prices. The unfavourable fair value movements were partially offset by an increase in investment income arising from the group’s increased investment in local debt securities.”

As for benefits, Mr Miller added: “Benefits across all lines of business totalled $61.1m and continue to reflect the net results of a decrease in death benefits over the prior year, which trended higher than normal due to COVID-related deaths. These positive impacts were partially offset by an increase in group and individual health benefits during the period.

“Total expenses, includ ing commissions paid to agents and brokers, reported a negative vari ance of 3.3 percent over the prior year. Consistent with the increase in pre mium income reported for the period, commis sion expenses increased by 4.6 percent year-overyear and total $10.2m. Expenses, excluding com missions, increased mainly

due to costs associated with preparations for the implementation of the new accounting standard International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17.

“The group’s statement of financial position remains strong with total assets of $388.8m, of which invest ment assets comprised $318.5m, representing 82 percent of our total assets. Liabilities amounted to $286.2m, an increase of 2.8 percent over the December 31, 2021, balance mainly due to increases in reserves for future poli cyholder liabilities which comprise obligations to holders of long-term and short-term insurance poli cies,” Mr Miller added.

“Shareholder’s equity stood at $102.6m compared to $97.4m as of Decem ber 31, 2021. The Group’s capital remains strong and continues to measure well in excess of the local minimum requirements established by the Insur ance Commission of the Bahamas.”

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“The broader fight that we have is that there are international regula tory agencies that have, unfortunately, held us to a standard in terms of com pliance to regulatory rules that they themselves have not measured up to. That is a problem.”

$1M SAND DOLLAR HAND OUT AIMS TO BOOST USAGE

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business

THE CENTRAL Bank plans to hand out $1m worth of its Sand Dollar digital currency throughout

the Family Islands next year in a bid to encourage greater adoption by resi dents and businesses.

Shaqueno Porter, assistant manager of the regulator’s currency department, told the Long Island Business Outlook yesterday that the Sand

Dollar is continuing its expansion through Exuma and Eleuthera. It will reach Long Island and the other southern Bahamas islands in 2023.

“As I look at the out look for our Family Island Sand Dollar application, for the remainder of 2022

Long Island mixed on $250m cruise project

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island businesses have given mixed reactions to the island’s proposed $250m cruise port, with some arguing it lacks the capacity to sustain the pro ject and others asserting it is vital to prevent communi ties “dying out”.

Gary Ritchie, owner/ operator of the Max Conch

Bar & Grill, told Tribune Business there is “no way” Long Island has the popu lation and infrastructure to help build-out the Calypso Cove proposal. He added that it has neither the man power nor the lodging capacity to house workers brought in to construct the cruise port, planned resort and other amenities.

“The port will be like the rest of them; it’ll never happen,” said Mr Ritchie. “What they are

talking about is getting a certain percentage of people on Long Island to do it, but I’ve been look ing for a kitchen server or help around here now for three years. There’s nobody here to do that work, and it doesn’t make sense. Then, if you’re talking about giving the other Long Island people who are in the other islands a second chance, well, good luck with that.”

Mr Ritchie said no rep resentative from Calypso

Digital entrepreneurs gain $900,000 grants

TWELVE Baha

mian entrepreneurs have received a collec tive $900,000 in grants funded by the Inter-Amer ican Development Bank (IDB) to pursue digital solu tions that can improve the ease of conducting business with the Government.

The search for such inno vators was launched in August as part of the Gov ernment’s bid to improve its ability to deliver public services using the highest level of information and communications technology (ICT).

Twelve applications were ultimately selected. The proposals represented a cross-section of solutions to address issues in areas such as the public transportation sector, agriculture, the envi ronment and job placement.

The recipients received their awards during a cer emony, held at Baha Mar’s Rosewood property, on Thursday, November 17.

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC gave the keynote address at an event that was hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Jayde Knowles, project leader of the Ministry’s Digital

Transformation Unit, served as the moderator. In attend ance were the ministry’s parliamentary Secretary, Wayde Watson, and IDB country representative, Daniela Carrera Marquis.

“First of all, I wish to rec ognise and congratulate the recipients of these grants for presenting your ideas, and for being successful in receiving funding for your innovations,” said Mr Davis. “I also wish to acknowl edge and thank the IDB for supporting these types of initiatives. Your efforts to assist countries such as ours is a testament to your

we are going to further the engagement with Exuma and Abaco, and begin our outreach to Eleuthera. So right now we’re working on the northern islands,” Mr Porter said.

“We’re going to con tinue to work on more of the northern islands, and

Cove had yet taken time out to meet with anyone from the Long Island Asso ciation on the project. He added that the only infor mation he possesses came from the presentation given by one of Calypso Cove’s principals, Sherif Assal, at the Long Island Business Outlook.

“There were other developments that were supposed to happen on this island that never hap pened,” Mr Ritchie said. “Some of them spanning back 20 years; they all fell apart for the same reason. The people on the island know this. I don’t know why the Government believes they can just pop up with new investors like it will all

continue our engagement with New Providence and Grand Bahama. For 2023, we’re really going to focus on the other Family Islands, which includes Long Island, and continue to support the islands that we’ve already been to into. So we’re also going to begin to give away

fall into place, when it takes more work than that.

“The island can’t even take additional cruise pas sengers. There are no venues on the island for them to go to. Long Island only has about 2,000 people spaced over 100 miles. There is no one to guide the people around even if they wanted to see the island, and no proper place to receive them.”

However, Sharon Cart wright, owner/operator of Sunflower Food Mart, backed the Calypso Cove proposal. She said: “We need the jobs and economic stimulus the cruise port will bring. The island needs it.

“The family structure is messed up here, too. Too many of the children leave

at least $1m to Sand Dollar wallets to encourage the initial use.”

The Sand Dollar was ini tially launched in Exuma in December 2019, and usage and adoption has been growing slowly but steadily.

the island and, in fact, leave the country because there aren’t any opportunities here for them. That, in turn, destroys the small commu nities on the island because no one is coming back to help build and families are dying out.”

The cruise port is pro jected to handle up to 12,000 people daily when completed, which will give businesses on the island an opportunity to make money. Long Island is also suffering from a short age of housing. “As long as we see some type of activ ity that would spur more people on to build, but if there isn’t anything happen ing then there is no use,” Ms Cartwright said.

PRIME Minister Philip Davis KC delivers remarks during a ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs at Baha Mar’s Rose wood resort on November 17. He attended the Digi Innova tors Award ceremony where 12 Bahamian entrepreneurs collectively received $900,000 in grant funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for their proposed public services digital solu tions.

commitment to helping us reach our potential.”

The Prime Minister said the proposals selected will promote transparency in government transactions, reduce costs, improve the way government does business and minimise bureaucracy.

Mr Watson echoed the Prime Minister’s sentiments, adding that the Govern ment’s efforts to improve ICT usage reflects its com mitment to providing the highest level of service to its citizens.

Mrs Carrera-Marquis said: “The innovations presented by these entre preneurs will also reduce bureaucracy when doing business with the Govern ment. They will increase transparency, promote advancement of technology in the public service and increase savings.”

Photos:Anthon Thompson/BIS

Timeless Gold

By

THE fact that gold prices have been subdued over the past year must be one of the most counterintuitive finan cial market dynamics of recent times. The precious metal is known as a safe haven, and a hedge against rising inflation. We certainly have had plenty of both recently, so why are gold prices down by more than 15 percent in relation to the yearly maximum reached in March? The answer is relatively straightforward: Blame the US dollar.

Since March, the Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s performance versus a basket of six major currencies, has gained more than 10 percent. The Fed eral Reserve was quicker off the mark than other central banks, initiating a series of interest rate hikes that supported the dollar and made it the outstand ing performer of the year.

Because gold is priced in US dollars, and the two assets have an inverted cor relation, the dollar price of gold automatically falls when the currency appre ciates in foreign exchange markets.

Another reason capping the upside for gold is the fact that it does not yield any income. This contrasts with treasury notes, for example, which are not just relatively safe reserves of value but also generate a yield. Finally, demand for gold remains soft because, so far, the markets have kept faith in the ability of the Federal Reserve to control inflation. Despite the drop in risk appetite that affected stocks, there has not been a run to gold. That has not always been

the case. In the early 1970s, inflation spiked, and inves tors lost faith in the ability of the US central bank to control it. As a result, the price of an ounce of gold rose from $35 in 1970 to $850 in 1980.

But if we really want to understand the role of gold as an inflation hedge, we must observe a wider period. Over the last 100 years, the value of gold, when measured in dollars, has risen sharply - and at a pace that many will find surprising. Since 1913, when the Federal Reserve was created, the precious metal kept almost all its original purchasing power when measured in US dol lars. Meanwhile, during that same period, the dollar lost

more than 98 percent of its value.

But let us look even fur ther back in time. Records tell us that between 1800 and 2022, the US dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 1.44 per cent, which translates into a cumulative price increase of 2,665 percent. In other words: Today we need almost 23 times more

dollars than in 1800 to buy the same product. Some thing with a price of $100 in 1800 would today cost $2,300. Meanwhile, the pur chasing power of an ounce of gold has hardly changed.

We are living through interesting times, with high inflation, an energy supply shock, geopolitical uncer tainty, China’s economic challenges and the financial

consequences of climate change. Against this back ground, gold should remain the ultimate safe haven. And its inflation-beating power is only one of the reasons why. If a complete collapse of the financial system was to occur, the precious metal would be one of the few assets to retain value.

Payments provider calls for more Sand Dollar adoption

FROM PAGE B1

digital currency, the Sand Dollar, is the best way to digitise currency and finan cial transactions.

“It’s easy, fast and straightforward; no change or excessive overhead or money management policies,” he added. “It’s increasing the ease with which businesses can do business. Sand Dollar

for the Bahamian economy is a way to digitise currency and financial transactions in a safe and easy way.”

SunCash partnered with the Central Bank for the Food, Wine and Arts Fes tival to provide a digital payment environment for attendees and mer chants, where they could transact using Sand Dol lars. Through the use of interoperable QR codes,

US HOME SALES FELL IN OCTOBER FOR NINTH STRAIGHT MONTH

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

SALES of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in October for the ninth consecutive month to the slowest pre-pandemic sales pace in more than 10 years as homebuyers grappled with sharply higher mort gage rates, rising home prices and fewer properties on the market.

Existing home sales fell 5.9% last month from Sep tember to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million, the National Associ ation of Realtors said Friday. The string of monthly sales declines this year is the long est on record going back to 1999, the NAR said. Sales cratered 28.4% from October last year. Excluding

the steep slowdown in sales that occurred in May 2020 near the start of the pan demic, sales are now at the slowest annual pace since December 2011, when the housing market was still mired in a deep slump fol lowing the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s.

Despite the slowdown, home prices continued to climb last month, albeit at a slower pace than earlier this year. The national median home price rose 6.6% in October from a year earlier, to $379,100.

The median home price is down about 8% from its June peak, but remains 40% above October 2019, before the pandemic, said Law rence Yun, the NAR's chief economist.

kiosks and ATMs, SunCash provided the first-ever solu tions to change the way the Sand Dollar is received, converted and accepted in The Bahamas.

SunCash’s ATMs provide for the conversion of physi cal cash into Sand Dollars, and back again into physi cal cash.

Mr Smith said: “Through the use of use of supporting Internet infrastructure, all

"That's really hurt ing affordability," he said. "Most household incomes have not risen by 40%."

The inventory of homes on the market declined for the third month in a row. Some 1.22 million homes were for sale by the end of October, down 0.8% from September, the NAR said.

That amounts to 3.3 months' supply at the current pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 5- to 6-month supply.

The housing market has slowed as U.S. mort gage rates have more than doubled from a year ago, shrinking the buying power of Americans.

The average rate on a 30-year home loan was 6.61% this week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago, the aver age rate was 3.1%. Late last month, the average rate topped 7% for the first time since 2002.

That can add hundreds of dollars to monthly mortgage payments, and also dis courage homeowners who locked in an ultra-low rate

merchants were provided with free Wi-fi without issue. SunCash converted a difficult eight to ten-step process to three easy steps. We’re proud of our contin ued effort to facilitate the acceptance and use of the Sand Dollar throughout The Bahamas.”

SunCash sad it has more than 55,000 active users and over 115,000 uniques, making it the largest mobile

the last couple of years from buying a new home. It's part of the reason that there are fewer homes on the market.

Mortgage rates are likely to remain a significant hurdle for some time as the Federal Reserve has consist ently signaled its intent to keep raising its short-term interest rate in its bid to

wallet /digital platform in The Bahamas. “We have always been committed to the safe transition to digital payments and transfers for clients and their custom ers,” added Mr Smith.

“SunCash was the first, in The Bahamas, to allow cus tomers to send and receive Western Union from their mobile app on the phone. You can send money any where and to anyone in

squash the hottest inflation in decades.

Two weeks ago, the Fed raised its short-term lending rate by another 0.75 percent age points, three times its usual margin, for a fourth time this year. Its key rate now stands in a range of 3.75% to 4%.

the world without leaving home. You can also receive from anywhere in the world and never leave home. Sun Cash has the most products and services offered on one mobile app in The Baha mas and region. We make it simple, safe and secure to use our services.”

While mortgage rates don't necessarily mirror the Fed's rate increases, they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The yield is influenced by a variety of factors, including expectations for future infla tion and global demand for U.S. Treasurys.

Fidelity cuts profits target by $2-$2.5m

FROM

jump in general and admin istrative expenses, Mr Bowe said: “We have done a significant and consistent job in maintaining our net interest income.

“While we have seen some decrease in interest income, which is driven by the loan book decreas ing, we’ve mitigated that from investment securi ties returns and interest expense is on the decline because we redeemed the bonds.” Fidelity Bank (Bahamas), he added, will save some $1.1m per year in interest expenses through repaying some $20m worth of bond principal to inves tors back in May 2022.

The benefits from this will start to emerge as early as the 2022 third and fourth quarters, Mr Bowe said, adding: “While our net interest income is relatively flat, the fee and commission income with card services is on an upward trajectory, and as it relates to total income we’re ahead of the prior year.”

Fee and commission income for the nine months to end-September 2022 was

some 70.5 percent ahead of prior year comparatives, standing at $4.464m and an increase of almost $2m. That, in turn, drove Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) some 3.3 percent higher year-overyear to $44.209m for the period.

As for the surge in expenses, Mr Bowe explained that these largely related to the initial invest ment required in launching the merchant and card ser vices. While these costs will not be “incurred” in future years, or be “recurring”, he added that they were “higher than budgeted for” in 2022.

“It’s in relation to the escalation of the card ser vices business,” he told Tribune Business, “so there are some some additional onboarding costs we are now working through as we take on the additional and new persons. We recognise all these things come at a particular cost. We also do recognise that, ultimately, some of the IT infrastruc ture costs and process support we are incurring certain costs as we maintain them.”

Other cost increases related to ‘chip and pin’ and ‘tap technology’ upgrades sought by MasterCard through its various man dates, “which do blindside you at times”, as well as expenses associated with Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) planned Family Island rollout; a return to pre-COVID levels of charitable dona tions; greater promotional and marketing spend; and increased VAT incurred on all these costs.

“We tend to take them upfront,” Mr Bowe said of the increased expenses. “We try not to defer them over a period of time. We take our medicine upfront. It’s fairly consistent. I wouldn’t say general and administrative expenses numbers have run away from us in any meaningful way; it’s just some of those expenses we take upfront.

“Some of these elements are laying the founda tion for future growth and development, and ulti mately these are costs that are going to benefit us in future. We take all these expenses upfront. As an accountant, I say I take my bad news when it comes so

that it doesn’t linger and hurt my good news in the future.

“We are comfort able that we are on target because total income is ahead of where we were in prior years. Our ini tiatives are generating revenue as expected. Yes, we are replacing some of the interest income decline with fees, and some of the expense increases have a multi-year impact. If there were declining revenues we would be concerned, but it’s easier for us to con trol costs than develop new revenue streams. From that perspective we are satisfied the initiatives are achieving their goals.”

Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) saw its general and adminis trative expenses for the first nine months of 2022 rise by more than $2.6m, growing from $9.677m to $12.32m. Staff salaries and benefits also rose, jumping 9 per cent year-over-year from $9.417m to $10.265m. As a result, total expenses surged by 14.5 percent to $28.616m compared to $24.991m the year before, an increase of more than $3.6m.

Mr Bowe, describing the merchant and card services roll-out as “a tremendous success”, said Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) planned to bring some functions inhouse to enable it to better “keep up with the level of demand we’ve been expe riencing” and better control both costs and processes.

“For the year we have actually onboarded more than three times what we had targeted,” he added of merchant numbers. “We exceeded our growth pro jections for October by 30 percent.” The Fidelity chief explained that the initia tive provides micro, small and medium-sized busi nesses (MSMEs) as well as entrepreneurs with the functionality they need to accept debit/credit card and digital payments from tour ists at reasonable cost.

“While we have a sig nificant number coming on, their spend has not yet reached a steady state. We are extremely excited in that regard, because once they get to their steady state we will see an even higher jump,” Mr Bowe said.

With the bank being “more aggressive in filling

FTX’s fall ‘won’t ruin’ high-end real estate

high hopes it will ruin the market, result in a reduc tion in prices or freeze on our real estate market. It’s going to be a while before any of those properties hit the market and are sold by the joint provisional liqui dators. Hopefully we will go through 2023 without any major issues. We’re fine. We here in the west will be fine. There are no issues.”

Mario Carey, the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate MCR Group Baha mas principal, told this newspaper that realtors are already fielding calls hoping to pick up FTX-related real estate assets on the cheap. “What I’m noticing is there are a lot of inquiries from persons who feel there might be an opportunity to get good real estate at an affordable price,” he said.

“I’m told that everything with the liquidation, which is a difficult conversation to have, everyone is look ing for an opportunity. It’s how the market responds to something like this. I don’t think there will be an impact on the luxury market at all. Any prop erties that come back on the market will be easily

absorbed. It depends on the deal. If it is priced right, it will sell. If not, people may hesitate. The market will determine everything.”

Both Mr Carey and Mr Damianos wondered aloud whether FTX, and its senior executives, had paid or part-paid for their proper ties using crypto currency or even the exchange’s FTT tokens, which have now been deemed virtually worthless. Should that have occurred, sellers of such properties will be out-ofpocket and may struggle to obtain the full sales price.

Tribune Business was previously shown a report, which checks confirmed was genuine and had been wellresearched, disclosing that FTX has acquired some $74.23m in west New Provi dence real estate during 2022 alone. Most of these purchases involved prop erty in the high-end Albany community, along with the acquisition of units in the Veridian Corporate Centre, which was developed by Island Luck gaming tycoon, Sebas Bastian.

The acquisitions by FTX Property Holdings, the crypto exchange’s real estate arm, ranged in value from a high of $30m to

$8.9m, $7.479m, $7.311m, $7m and $6.75m at Albany, according to the report, which was being widely circulated on social media.

Some $4.5m was also spent to acquire the Bayside Executive Park site for its planned $60m headquar ters, which is now almost certain not to proceed.

The report also showed a $2.29m purchase at the Veridian Corporate Centre.

“The corporate offices for FTX are currently housed at the Veridian Corpo rate Centre, which was originally built and sold by Sebas Bastian,” the docu ment said. “These are not rentals or leases. FTX has purchased these units outright.

“Additionally, there is one purchase of a con dominium at One Cable Beach for $2m made by Sam Bankman-Fried directly in late 2021.” It is unclear whether the latter, especially given that it is in the FTX founder’s name, will be included in the pro visional liquidation.

The same applies to the FTX Property Hold ings. While this entity is Bahamian-domiciled, and likely to be affiliated with FTX Digital Markets and

the local provisional liq uidation, this newspaper has also seen documents that appear to include FTX Property Holdings among the entities covered by the Chapter 11 bank ruptcy protection filings in the Delaware courts.

This means that the Chapter 11 proceedings may cover the liquidation and sale of FTX’s Baha mas-based real estate. This will likely be among the assets that the Bahamian provisional liquidators and Chapter 11 proceedings may be fighting for control over, unless a compromise can be reached.

Robert J. Ray, the chief executive for FTX Trading and the entities covered by the Delaware filings, also alleged last week that cor porate funds belonging to the crypto exchange were used to fund Bahamian real estate purchases by its executives who then put the properties in their own, personal names rather than the company’s.

“In The Bahamas, I understand that corporate funds of the FTX group were used to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors. I understand that

there does not appear to be documentation for cer tain of these transactions as loans, and that certain real estate was recorded in the personal name of these employees and advisors on the records of The Baha mas,” Mr Ray asserted.

Meanwhile John Christie, president and managing broker of HG Christie, backed Mr Dami anos and Mr Carey in asserting that FTX’s crash has not impacted western New Providence’s high-end real estate market. “I’ve not seen any effect on the market,” he added. “As far as I understand everything is held up by the provisional liquidation and that could be years.

vacancies than we have in the past”, a move partly responsible for the rise in salary and benefit expenses, he added that The Baha mas’ first ever credit bureau has already improved risk assessment and borrower quality by driving persons to regularise their existing credit facilities before they take on more debt.

“Our view is not to have a race to the bottom where adjustments in interest rates are not reflective of the underlying risk,” Mr Bowe said. “We are losing some clients to other insti tutions because they have been offered lower inter est rates, but we think that is going to be a recipe for pressure, so we are main taining our credit quality and hoping to keep that borrower through customer relationship management.

“If you improve your credit profile we will work with you, but if you have less than a satisfactory profile we will not adjust interest rates to compete in what we believe is a race to the bottom.”

“I haven’t seen any rental properties come back on. I hope it stays that way. There’s certainly a lot of people out there looking to buy the properties. There’s any number of investors out there looking for a deal, so those will sell when they come back on the market. I think we’re OK for now, and will just have to see how it shakes out over the coming months. These things can last for years and years.”

Mike Lightbourn, Cold well Banker Lightbourn Realty’s president, added: “It’s too early to tell what effect it will have. I don’t think it will be too serious, and I hope I’m right.”

end-September 2022 - was not as easy as it appeared.

Pointing out that Baha mian commercial banks, which are major purchasers of public sector debt, already carry significant holdings on their balance sheets that place them close to their reg ulatory and prudential limits, he added that the industry must always guard against the potential “imbalance” caused by the Government’s demand for long-term fund ing with depositors wanting short-term access to their funds.

Speaking after Bank of The Bahamas’ posted a more than 13-fold rise in total comprehensive income for the three months to end-September 2022, hit ting $2.742m compared to $207,859 for the prior year, Mr Brathwaite said the increase would have been even more impressive if not for the Moody’s downgrade of The Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating which occurred during the period.

This forced Bank of The Bahamas, in common with its fellow commercial banks

and other government debt holders, such as insurance companies and pension funds, to take a haircut or provision on the value of these investments as a result.

Tribune Business under stands the impact for the BISX-listed institution could have been close to $1.5m of the $1.6m hit that the BISXlisted institution took on non-loan financial assets.

However, Mr Brathwaite said: “I would just say for the record that it [Moody’s impact] was in excess of $1m. The results could have been better if we didn’t have the downgrade. The entire industry has a lot of govern ment debt. We’re restricted based on our relationship, so we don’t have as government debt as the others.

“But we still have quite a bit, and it’s taking its toll on everybody in the indus try. Moody’s, their timing is always impeccable. Hope fully we can get this thing turned around.” Bank of The Bahamas is collectively owned more than 82 percent by the Public Treasury and National Insurance Board (NIB), meaning that as a

related party with common ownership it is more restricted in the amount of government debt it can acquire.

Moody’s main concern, in its latest downgrade of The Bahamas’ sovereign further into ‘junk’ status, was whether this nation can access the international capi tal markets at reasonable costs (interest rates) should it need to do so for refinanc ing and other purposes.

Mr Brathwaite, while pointing out that the Gov ernment can obtain much cheaper financing in the domestic capital markets, said: “Whether they can is another thing. There’s a lot of liquidity in the system, but that liquidity belongs to our customers - the deposi tors - and not the bank.

There’s always an imbalance between the Government wanting long-term funding and depositors wanting their money short-term.

“All the banks have agreed to do what we can, but we have sovereign risk, debt ceilings. We have large exposure ceilings, we have as a related party ceilings which

the temerity and fortitude to stand up and defend us,” they said.

impact Bank of The Baha mas. I don’t think anyone won’t participate out of fear or lack of confidence in the Government, regardless of which government it is.

“But everybody looks at it, liquid asset ratios of 200 percent, and everybody says the banks have money to lend. Based on that, every body says there is a lot of money in the system, but that money is depositors’ money. We have to make sure we balance the books and not create an imbalance where we have long-term government debt and shortterm depositor monies. That may create issues for you down the line.”

Voicing hope that Stand ard & Poor’s (S&P) will not follow Moody’s lead, and downgrade The Baha mas again when it issues its report before year-end, Mr Brathwaite said the rating agencies’ persistent actions were creating a misleading impression that this nation stands on the brink of a debt default.

“We cannot deal with another downgrade,” the Bank of The Bahamas chief

said. “The overriding factor all economists need to understand is that when you downgrade someone they may be at risk of default, but The Bahamas is very far away from that. There’s a long way before we get to the point of default. When they downgrade you, they anticipate a default. When you analyse what the poten tial of default is in The Bahamas, it’s minimal.

“When you downgrade you increase costs to the Government, you increase costs to the banks as we have to recognise a provision on government debt. You’re not doing what downgrades are supposed to do, which is determine what is the point of default? Most economists will say to you that The Bahamas is not in line for any kind of default. There’s no way any international agencies will allow The Bahamas to default. It’s just not going to happen.”

Despite the jump in total comprehensive income, Mr Brathwaite said Bank of The Bahamas has yet to hit the sustained profitability it is striving for. It will receive

a vital boost towards this ambition if the Central Bank clears it to resume com mercial lending, which was the market segment chiefly responsible for prior woes that resulted in two tax payer-financed bail-outs of the institution - plus a $40m rights issue - that collectively cost over $300m.

“We have not reached the level of sustainability we’ve been targeting in terms of overall profitability, but are working towards that,” Mr Brathwaite told Tribune Business. “The last piece of the puzzle is for the Central Bank to release us, and allow us to engage in the commer cial market and diversify our books. Without that, the numbers are skewed because we really want to participate in all the markets.

“They’ve done their review, we’ve responded to their review, and are just waiting on their decision. Then we can really embark on what we’ve laid out in our strategic plan in terms of full diversification and ensuring that the risk carried is in line with what the risk appetite document says.”

the US law firm acting for Mr Simms and his fellow joint provisional liquidators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accountant duo Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, told a Novem ber 18 court hearing that Mr Bankman-Fried had no authority to place the remainder of the group in Chapter 11 bankruptcy pro tection because he longer had the power to do so.

Chief Justice Winder’s Order was made the day before the Chapter 11 pro ceedings were initiated in Delaware, and Mr Gluck asserted: “For a number of reasons, there is a seri ous question regarding the validity of those Chapter 11 filings, principally because they occurred after the Bahamas Securities Com mission had placed FTX Digital into bankruptcy proceedings; what they call insolvency proceedings.”

Asserting to the southern New York federal bank ruptcy court that his clients “significant and substantial concern” about this, given that Mr Bankman-Fried had been removed as FTX Digi tal Markets’ head, Mr Gluck explained that the Supreme Court “required anyone at FTX Digital to obtain express written instructions prior to taking an act from the provisional liquidator of FTX Digital.

“And whereas no such instruction was issued or authorised in any way, shape, or form, at the time when the purported signa ture of Mr. Bankman-Fried was made from the Baha mas, he was at that time an officer or director or man ager of the foreign debtor.

“It is metaphysically impossible from our view - and again,we have respectfully requested a statement as to how it could be otherwise, but met aphysically impossible [for that] signature to have not also been made by Mr Bank man-Fried in his capacity as employee, manager or direc tor of FTX Digital. And on that basis, there is concern that that act was directly in violation of The Bahamas’ court order at a minimum.”

The revelations over Mr Bankman-Fried’s potential violation of the Supreme Court’s Order came as former prime minister, Dr Hubert Minnis, yesterday told Tribune Business that neither himself nor anyone on his administration had met or come into contact with FTX or its co-founder prior to being voted out of office on September 15, 2022.

“Not to me knowledge,” he replied, when asked if moves for FTX to relo cate to The Bahamas from Hong Kong were initiated under his administration. “I never met the person [Mr Bankman-Fried]; I only

saw them on TV. Not to my knowledge, and I checked with my personnel, and they said they never met him. I checked and asked my people if they had any meet ing I didn’t know about. They told me ‘no’.

“I was not even aware that they were having a groundbreaking [for FTX Digital Markets $60m head quarters] in my constituency. I’ve never met the indi vidual.” That suggests, if accurate, that FTX decided within a few short weeks of the 2021 general election that it would relocate to The Bahamas with breathtaking speed. Allyson MaynardGibson KC, former attorney general and minster of financial services and invest ments, was the company’s attorney.

Observers yesterday warned that The Bahamas is at grave risk of being caught-up in a US politi cal firestorm due to FTX’s well-known political contri butions to Democrats and their party. They warned that this is ripe for investi gation with the Republicans back in control of the House of Representatives, which could lead to increased scru tiny of The Bahamas and the crypto exchange’s dealings here by US law enforcement and tax authorities.

One source, describing FTX as a largely American problem caused by US citi zens, voiced fears that the Government’s near-total silence on the issue exposes The Bahamas to significant reputational damage. “This is an American problem by American citizens, and we are just the venue, but we are going to get the hit for this and no politician has

“There’s a lot of blame to be floated around. Nobody is getting the real problem. The jurisdiction is going to get a black eye here when we were the victim. I think the Government of The Bahamas is making a slip-up here. The jurisdiction will be seen as a possibly rogue jurisdiction, but everybody is missing the boat and not coming out and saying The Bahamas is the actual victim.”

Mr Gluck’s comments, meanwhile, made at a hear ing before bankruptcy court judge, Michael Wiles, shed new light on why the Baha mian provisional liquidators for FTX Digital Markets are questioning the validity of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware.

The transcript was pub lished ahead of tomorrow’s Delaware bankruptcy court hearing on the bid by Robert J. Ray, chief execu tive for the FTX entities covered by the Chapter 11 filing, to switch the Baha mian provisional liquidators’ effort to obtain US legal rec ognition from New York to Delaware.

Judge Wiles effectively backed the transfer, saying: “Everything that you have said convinces me, if I were being asked on the issue, this case belongs in Delaware, not New York, and your arguments that it belongs in New York are extremely weak. I am not going to rule on anything that you have asked me to do.”

Mr Gluck, on behalf of the Bahamian provisional liquidators, had sought to make the case that The Bahamas - not Delawareshould be the primary venue for winding-up or restructur ing the FTX group entities, with control of proceedings based here.

“FTX Digital is a Baha mas entity, which is the

main centre of the FTX platform. All operations are conducted from any large campus in which hundreds of employees work. So it can be thought of as the main or primary operating com pany,” he asserted of the Bahamian subsidiary.

“FTX Digital was abso lutely operated from The Bahamas with all of

these hundreds of employ ees. It’s a large complex.

It was regulated. And therefore, unless the test for recognition is some how not met in a way that we can’t conceive, that the case for setting aside any other issues.... of the Bahamas provisional liq uidation under Chapter 15

ought to be fairly clear and straightforward.”

This, though, was opposed by attorneys for Mr Ray, who charged: “Contrary to Mr Gluck’s representations, it is not the main company by any stretch of the imagi nation in the FTX group of companies, not that it matters.”

VP HARRIS MEETS WITH CHINA’S XI IN BID TO ‘KEEP LINES OPEN’

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke briefly with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Saturday in another step toward keep ing lines of communication open between the two big gest economies.

Harris and Xi exchanged remarks Saturday while heading into a closed-door meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s summit in Bangkok.

“I greeted President Xi before the APEC Lead ers Retreat,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “I noted a key message that President Biden emphasized in his November 14 meeting

with President Xi: we must maintain open lines of com munication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.”

Their exchange closely echoed Biden’s comment to Xi at an meeting between the two leaders earlier in the week about China and the U.S. keeping lines of communication open.

A brief statement from China’s Foreign Ministry also referenced the BidenXi meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indo nesia, which it described as “strategic and constructive” with “major significance in guiding the next stage of China-US relations.” It said it hoped the vice presi dent will play an active role

in working with China to promote the two nations’ relations “to return to a healthy and stable track.”

Relations between Wash ington and Beijing have suffered frictions over trade and technology, China’s claims to the separately governed island of Taiwan, the pandemic and China’s handling of Hong Kong, human rights and other issues.

Harris later took part in a handover ceremony in which Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha handed over chairmanship of APEC to the United States, which will host the group’s meetings next year.

She told the leaders pre sent for the ceremony that the United States would continue to focus APEC on sustainable economic growth, building on the strong foundation Thailand set this year with new ambi tious sustainability goals.

host APEC 2023 than Cali fornia, a state known for economic innovation.”

“Our host year will demonstrate the endur ing economic commitment of the United States to the Indo-Pacific,” said Harris.

IN THE ESTATE of NICHOLAS RAYMOND WARD late of the Western District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demands against the above named Estate are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 21st day of November A.D., 2022, and if required, prove such debts or claims, or in default be excluded from any distribution; after the above date the assets will be distributed having regard only to the proved debts or claims of which the Executrix shall then have had Notice.

And Notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the aforementioned date.

DEAN & CO.,

MICHAEL A.

Attorneys for the Executrix Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas

She also touted her home state, California, saying “there is no better place to

“As I have made clear throughout my time in Bangkok: under our admin istration, the United States is a strong partner for the economies and companies of the Indo-Pacific, and we are working to strengthen our economic relationships throughout the region, including by increasing

two-way trade flows and the free flow of capital, which supports millions of Ameri can jobs.”

On Friday, Harris pitched the U.S. as a reliable eco nomic partner, telling a business conference on APEC’s sidelines, “The United States is here to stay.”

Harris told leaders at the APEC summit that the U.S. is a “proud Pacific power” and has a “vital interest in promoting a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient.”

After receiving news that North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese waters, Harris convened an emergency meeting of the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Aus tralia, New Zealand and Canada in which she slammed the missile test as a “brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security resolutions.”

“It destabilizes security in the region and unneces sarily raises tensions,” she said.

New service union seeks to inspire labor movement in South

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press

OVER 100 service indus try workers gathered Friday in the capital of South Carolina, the state with the country's lowest unioni zation rate, to launch a new union and in turn try to boost labor organizing across the South.

The Union of Southern Service Workers hopes to win remedies for what it sees as a common set of grievances across a region

historically hostile to unions. Its members cut a broad swath across the ser vice industry, working in places like fast food chains, retail stores, warehouses and nursing homes.

"We are all service work ers, no matter what industry you're coming through," said Eshawney Gaston, a Captain D's employee in Durham, North Caro lina who helped plan the union's launch in Columbia. "We have to stand up for each other."

Gaston, a 25-year-old mother, said she has faced the same issues at multi ple service-industry jobs, including wage theft, poor personal protective equip ment and dangerous heat, among others. The problem is greater than any single company and requires a more widespread effort, she said.

Friday's launch comes amid the highest Ameri can approval for unions registered by a Gallup poll since 1965 and at the end of a week teeming with labor organizing activity.

Tens of thousands of aca demic workers across the University of California system walked off the job Monday, demanding better pay and benefits. Starbucks employees seeking better pay and higher staffing went on strike Thursday at more than 100 U.S. stores.

launch. Local groups including the South Caro lina AFL-CIO gave their support. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, was on site. And California activists who fought for the state's nation-leading measure to give fast food workers more power and protections ral lied the crowd.

But the political and legal structure in the South has long hindered such organ izing. Many states adopted laws in the mid-20th century prohibiting labor contracts that require workers to pay dues or fees to the union representing them. That business-friendly reputation has helped Southern politi cians court large employers and add jobs.

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Organizers of USSW seek to supplement, rather than compete with, existing movements like Starbucks Workers United. The group will join the nearly 2 mil lion members of the Service Employees International Union, and its demands include better pay, fair grievance processes, safe workplaces, health care benefits and consistent scheduling.

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, which represents business interests and has opposed a $15 minimum wage, declined to comment when asked for reaction to the union launch.

South Carolina had a 1.7% union membership rate in 2021, compared with 10.3% nationwide, U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics show.

0.6310.61024.63.92%

A broad group of labor organizers attended the

Henry said that environ ment has also made the South home to the lowest pay and weakest protec tions in the U.S.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, meets with Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the Government House, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo:Haiyun Jiang/AP

NOTICE is hereby given that CLINT ALEXANDER GARDINER of Farrington Road, 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 14th day of November, 2022 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

RUSSIAN STRIKES FORCE UKRAINE TO FACE HOURSLONG POWER CUTS

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

UKRAINE'S electric ity grid chief warned of hours-long power outages Friday as Russia zeroed in on Ukraine's energy infrastructure with heavy artillery and missile attacks that have interrupted sup plies to as much as 40% of the country's people at the onset of winter.

Freezing temperatures are putting additional pres sure on energy networks, grid operator Ukrenergo said.

"You always need to prepare for the worst. We understand that the enemy wants to destroy our power system in general, to cause long outages," Ukrenergo's chief executive Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told Ukrainian state television. "We need to prepare for possible long outages, but at the moment we are introducing sched ules that are planned and will do everything to ensure that the outages are not very long."

The capital of Kyiv is already facing a "huge defi cit in electricity," Mayor Vitali Klitschko told The Associated Press. Some 1.5 million to 2 million people — about half of the city's population — are periodi cally plunged into darkness as authorities switch elec tricity from one district to another.

"It's a critical situation," he said.

Klitschko added that Russian President Vladimir Putin's military planners apparently are hoping "to bring us, everyone, to depression," to make people feel unsafe and "to think about, 'Maybe we give up.'" But it won't work, he said.

"It's wrong, it's (a) wrong vision of Putin," he said. "After every rocket attack, I talk to the people, to simple civilians. They (are) not depressed. They were angry, angry and ready to stay and defend our houses, our families and our future."

Kudrytskyi added that the power situation at critical facilities such as

hospitals and schools has been stabilized.

Those facilities were targeted overnight in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where energy equipment was damaged, according to governor Oleh Syniehubov. Eight people including energy crews and police were injured trying to clear up the debris, he said. Moscow's attacks on Ukraine's energy and power facilities have fueled fears of what the dead of winter will bring. Ukraine's energy infrastructure had again been targeted Thurs day, two days after Russia unleashed a nationwide barrage of more than 100 missiles and drones that knocked out power to 10 million people.

Those attacks have also affected neighboring coun tries like Moldova, where a half-dozen cities across that country experienced tem porary blackouts.

In the past 24 hours, Rus sian forces unleashed the breadth of their arsenal to attack Ukraine's southeast, employing drones, rockets, heavy artillery and war planes that killed at least six civilians and wounded six others, the president's office said.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, part of which remains under Russian control, artillery pounded 10 towns and villages. The death toll from a Rus sian rocket attack on a residential building in the city of Vilniansk on Thurs day climbed to 10 people, including three children.

In Nikopol, located across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, 40 Russian missiles damaged several high-rise buildings, homes and a power line.

In the wake of its humili ating retreat from the southern city of Kher son, Moscow intensified its assault on the eastern Donetsk region, where Rus sia's Defense Ministry said Friday its forces took con trol of the village of Opytne and repelled a Ukrain ian counteroffensive to reclaim the settlements of Solodke, Volodymyrivka and Pavlivka.

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Biden says inflation help is coming but ‘will take time’

By CHRIS MEGERIAN AND AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

PRESIDENT Joe Biden cautioned on Friday that “it’s going to take time” for inflation to recede, but he offered fresh assurance that legislation he signed ear lier this year will soon help limit costs for health care and energy.

He made the remarks while meeting with business and labor leaders in his first public event since returning from an around-the-world trip to Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Biden has been encour aged by the Democrats’ stronger-than-expected performance in the mid term elections, but he could be entering a perilous stretch when it comes to the economy.

The White House has emphasized a strong jobs market to try to allay con cerns about a potential recession. However, the Federal Reserve continues to try to slow economic growth by raising interest rates to battle inflation.

It’s a delicate situation that Biden will be navigat ing amid turnover in his economic team. Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist who became the first Black woman to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, will leave the administration in the spring, according to a White House official.

She is expected to return to Princeton University,

where she has been on academic leave. The offi cial was not authorized to publicly discuss personnel changes and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The pending depar ture comes as Biden’s term reaches its halfway point, often a time of tran sition for a presidential administration.

Bloomberg was first to report Rouse’s planned departure, and it said Brian Deese, director of Biden’s National Economic Coun cil, plans to depart next year.

The official said there was no timeline for Deese to leave.

Another key member of Biden’s economic team, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, has said she wants to remain in the administration.

“I plan to stay,” she told MSNBC last month.

“I am very excited about the president’s economic program. There is a lot to implement.”

There was additional turnover in the Biden administration earlier this month when Chris Magnus, head of U.S. Customs and

Border Protection, was forced out of his job.

Immigration authorities have struggled to manage the flow of migrants toward the United States’ border with Mexico, a frequent point of criticism from Republicans.

At Friday’s event, Biden said his trip overseas showed “the United States is as well or better posi tioned as any nation in the world to lead the world on the economy in the years ahead.”

He conceded that “it’s going to take time to get inflation back down to normal levels.”

However, he said that “in six short weeks, Ameri cans are going to start to feel the effects of the Infla tion Reduction Act,” the massive legislation that he signed in August.

receive supplies in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022.

Photo:Bernat Armangue/AP

California recovers pandemic job losses amid economic woes

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press

CALIFORNIA said Friday it had recovered all of the 2.7 million jobs it lost at the start of the pandemic, a moment that normally would celebrate the end of a downturn but instead was tempered by signs of a wobbly economy amid layoffs in the state’s histori cally strong tech industry.

The 56,700 new jobs Cali fornia employers added in October was enough to push the state past the symbolic milestone, led by strong gains in the state’s health care, professional services and leisure and hospitality industries. Cali fornia has now had positive job growth for 13 consecu tive months.

“The pandemic was one of the largest loss of jobs that we have expe rienced in history,” said Sung Won Sohn, a profes sor of economics at Loyola Marymount University who follows California’s job market closely. “The recovery was strong enough that we have regained the lost jobs and then some. So to me, this is a significant milestone.”

Despite the job gains, state officials have been warning of a possible eco nomic recession. Inflation remains stubbornly high,

making everything more expensive. The Federal Reserve has increased a key interest rate, which has had a chilling effect on the rest of the economy. Some of Silicon Valley’s best known companies — Facebook, Lyft, Cisco, Salesforce — have announced layoffs. And California govern ment officials announced Wednesday they are antici pating a $25 billion budget deficit next year.

“California has now fully recovered all jobs that were lost to the pandemicinduced recession, but we know this isn’t the finish line,” Newsom said in a statement.

Those competing mes sages have made it difficult to interpret the health of the state’s economy, which if it were a separate country would be the fifth largest in the world.

California’s pandemic job recovery was notably faster than previous downturns, including the Great Reces sion, when it took six years for the state to recover all of its lost jobs, according to Michael Bernick, a former director of the California Employment Development Department who is now an attorney with Duane Morris.

But California has been slower to recover all of its

lost jobs compared to the rest of the country.

“To some extent, we are lagging behind the U.S. economy,” Sohn said. “The tech sector used to be the workhorse of Califor nia’s economy, generating employment. And now it’s become a drag.”

Zachary Davis, who co-owns four ice cream locations and a café in the

beach town of Santa Cruz, laid off 70 of his 75 employ ees at the start of the pandemic. More than two years later, the shop now has 85 workers.

“Some things are better, some things are worse. Eve rything is different,” Davis said. “I certainly don’t feel like we’re back to where we were.”

On paper, Davis said the company sales are back to normal. But the business looks and feels different. Some of their more experi enced employees chose not to return to work — a trend that contributed to a nation wide labor shortage. It took a while to find their replace ments. Now the company’s workforce is much younger,

mostly college students or recent graduates.

“This was a seismic event for the world. ... It almost feels a little crass to be cel ebrating the fact that we’re still in business when there was tremendous loss of life,” he said. “I feel really luck and I really feel for the people that suffered a lot more than we did.”

Employment also looks different for Jerry Irvin, who before the pandemic owned his own towing company and part of an auto body shop. The pan demic dried up his business overnight, forcing him to sell his trucks and close the body shop. He went two years without work, surviving from unemploy ment benefits while fearful for the future of his young daughter.

While he’s no longer a business owner, he did find another job as the for estry project coordinator for the Fresno Workforce Development Board — a job where he helps other people find work.

“I think that makes me more determined to help as many people as I can, because someone helped me,” Irvin said. “If I can express anything, it’s the fact that for everyone not to give up hope, that there is help out there.”

US bid to kill American-JetBlue partnership goes to judge

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer

AIRLINE lawyers and the Justice Department delivered starkly contrast ing views of an alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue during clos ing arguments Friday in a case that will test the Biden administration's aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws.

The partnership lets American and JetBlue coordinate schedules and share revenue on many routes to and from New York and Boston, which the government argued will cost consumers hundreds of

millions of dollars a year in higher fares.

"It is a very important case to us ... because of those families that need to travel and want affordable tickets and good service," Justice lawyer Bill Jones said in federal district court in Boston.

Lawyers for the airlines said the partnership has spawned new routes that are good for travelers. They argued that during a monthlong trial, the gov ernment failed to show any evidence that the deal has hurt consumers.

"It's all just an idea," said Daniel Wall, a lawyer for American.

When attorneys finished their arguments, U.S. Dis trict Judge Leo Sorokin said he is still reading material hundreds of pages of mate rial submitted this week by both sides. A decision is likely weeks away.

The government's case is intuitive — that two big airlines working together instead of competing will reduce choices for consum ers and lead to higher fares. The lawsuit, joined by six states and the District of Columbia, is also specula tive, however. The case will come down to the judge's reading of antitrust law, and his judgment about whether the government presented

enough evidence to kill the partnership, which the air lines have been rolling out since early 2021.

Looming over the trial is JetBlue's proposal to buy Spirit Airlines, the nation's biggest discount carrier, for $3.8 billion. Spirit Airlines shareholders voted last month to approve the sale despite JetBlue declining Spirit's request to drop its partnership with American in order to reduce regula tory risk.

The trial featured testi mony by current and former airline CEOs and econo mists who differed wildly on the impact that the alliance will have on competition

and ticket prices. The U.S. Transportation Depart ment approved the alliance 10 days before the end of the Trump administration. Soon after President Joe Biden took office, however, there were rumblings that the Justice Department was taking a closer look, and it sued to kill the deal in Sep tember 2021.

The case is a test of the Biden administration's resolve to take on mergers and other business arrange ments that it believes stifle competition and cost con sumers more money.

"The Justice Department has a very good case," said Florian Ederer, an anti trust expert and economics professor at Yale Univer sity who has followed the matter. "The NEA does harm competition, it prob ably harms consumers. (American) has eliminated a disruptive competitor, a maverick."

The stakes are even higher because the Justice Department is coming off two losses in big antitrust cases this fall. It failed to

stop a merger of sugar refiners and couldn't block a major acquisition in the health insurance industry.

Robert Britton, a former American Airlines execu tive who teaches marketing at Georgetown University, said the government was acting too hastily — before any harm from the alliance is clear.

"They're saying, 'You haven't done anything wrong so far, but you might in the future, so we're going to arrest you now,'" Britton said.

American and JetBlue say the alliance is already helping them compete against Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in two criti cal markets. Their experts testified that by taking on entrenched rivals, the American-JetBlue deal will save consumers up to $635 million a year.

American's chief com mercial officer, Vasu Raja, testified that before the alli ance, the company trailed its two big rivals in the Northeast.

THIS May 7, 2020, file photo shows a man wearing a mask while walking under a Now Hiring sign at a CVS Pharmacy in San Francisco. California has officially recovered all of the 2.7 million jobs it lost at the start of the pandemic. State officials said Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, the state added 56,700 new jobs in October.

Photo:Jeff Chiu/AP

Asia-Pacific leaders condemn war, renew calls for open trade

By KRUTIKA PATHI, CHISATO TANAKA Associated Press

LEADERS from around the Asia-Pacific called for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine and pledged to steer the region’s econo mies toward sustainable growth as they wrapped up summit meetings Saturday.

Host Thailand garnered a diplomatic coup in man aging to bridge divisions among the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Eco nomic Cooperation forum by saying that most mem bers had condemned the war. Russia is an APEC member, as is China, which generally has refrained from criticizing Moscow.

The declaration issued by APEC leaders acknowl edged differing views on the war and said the forum, which is devoted largely to promoting trade and closer economic ties, was not a venue for resolving such conflicts.

But it noted that the conflict and other security issues “can have significant consequences for the global economy.”

The leaders’ statement said most members had strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, stressing that it is causing immense human suffering and wors ening inflation, supply chain troubles, food insecurity and financial risks.

Like a statement issued by the Group of 20 leading economies in Bali, Indo nesia, earlier this week, it echoed the wording of a March 2 United Nations General Assembly reso lution that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Rus sian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional

withdrawal from the terri tory of Ukraine.”

The meetings Satur day wrapped up a flurry of events in Southeast Asian countries this week that gave leaders opportuni ties for face-to-face talks that have been rare in the past two years of pandemic precautions.

Much of the activity at such summits occurs on the sidelines and in the inter ludes before and after the formal meetings.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke briefly on Saturday before the final APEC meeting began. Harris reiterated President Joe Biden’s call, made in a meeting with Xi at the G-20, for both sides to keep lines of communi cation open.

Xi said he viewed his talks with Biden as a step toward a “next stage” in ties between the two largest economies, according to a Chinese government sum mary of the meeting.

Relations have deterio rated recently amid friction over trade and technology, Chinese claims on the sepa rately governed island of Taiwan, human rights and other issues. But Harris told Xi the U.S. “does not seek confrontation or conflict with China.”

She received a “hand over” in the form of a symbolic “chalom” bamboo basket from the APEC host, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The U.S. will host next year’s APEC summit in San Fran cisco, with preliminary meetings to be held in other cities throughout the year.

Though summit meet ings are often sidetracked by other more urgent con cerns, APEC’s long-term mission is promoting closer economic ties, and Prayuth

opened Saturday’s meet ing by urging the leaders to push ahead with APEC’s agenda of free trade in the Pacific region.

“We have to give prior ity to turning this plan into action,” he said.

Security risks are not on the formal APEC agenda, but Prayuth said North Korea’s numerous recent missile launches were dis cussed and “everybody shares concern on that issue.”

On Friday, Harris and leaders of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zea land and South Korea met separately to air concerns about the North’s launch earlier in the day of an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Both at APEC in Thai land and at the G-20 meeting in Indonesia, offi cials appear to have chosen to agree to disagree about the war in Ukraine while voicing anguish over its deepening impact. In both Bangkok and Bali, coun tries that have refused to condemn the invasion refrained from blocking the release of statements harshly criticizing Moscow.

APEC members account for nearly four of every 10 people and almost half of world trade. Much of APEC’s work is technical and incremental, carried out by senior officials and ministers, covering areas such as trade, forestry, health, food, security, small- and medium-size enterprises and women’s empowerment.

The leaders’ declara tion released Saturday also called for promoting more use of clean energy and more secure, environ mentally sustainable food systems, among an array

of goals that also address illegal, unregulated and unauthorized fishing, ille gal logging, marine waste, improvements to public health and better access to vaccinations.

Other APEC members include Brunei, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malay sia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philip pines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Cambodian Prime Min ister Hun Sen was to represent the Association of Southeast Asian Nations but did not attend after get ting COVID-19.

The summit venue, at Bangkok’s main convention center near a vast parkland, was cordoned off with some streets closed to traffic. Riot police stood guard behind barricades at major inter sections to keep protesters well away.

On Friday, police clashed in another area of Bangkok with demonstrators who took the opportunity of the APEC meeting to renew calls for democratic reforms in Thailand and accuse the government of promoting policies to APEC that favor big business over ordinary people. Several people were injured and a number of arrests made.

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha hold a Chalom, a bamboo basket symbolizing the “handing over of the baton”, as the U.S. is the next summit host during the closing of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC summit, Satur day, Nov. 19, 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Photo:Haiyun Jiang/AP

EPA orders Ohio power plant to stop dumping toxic coal ash

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

IN a major action to address toxic wastewa ter from coal-fired power plants, the Environmen tal Protection Agency on Friday ordered an Ohio utility to stop dumping dan gerous coal ash into unlined storage ponds and speed cleanup of the site.

The order to the Gen. James Gavin Power Plant in southern Ohio marks the first time the EPA has formally denied a utility’s request to continue dis posing toxic coal ash after a deadline to stop such disposal has passed. The Gavin plant, located along the Ohio River in Cheshire, Ohio, is one of the largest coal-fired electricity plants in the U.S.

At least five other plants, most in the Midwest, face similar action by the EPA under a crackdown pro posed in January.

“For too long, communities already dis proportionately impacted by high levels of pollu tion have been burdened by improper coal ash dis posal,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Friday. “Today’s action reaffirms that surface impoundments or landfills cannot be closed with coal ash in contact with groundwater.’’

The action is intended to ensure that local water resources are safe while protecting the public health and ensuring a reliable

electricity supply, Regan said. Coal ash, the sub stance that remains when coal is burned to generate electricity, contains a toxic mix of mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other heavy metals. It can pollute water ways, poison wildlife and cause respiratory illness among those living near massive ponds where the waste is stored.

The EPA order directs the power plant to stop placing coal ash and other waste streams into an onsite storage pond no later than 135 days after publica tion in the Federal Register, expected next week. As a practical matter, the plant may have have to pause or even cease operations next year in order to comply with the order.

A spokesperson for the plant’s owner, Lightstone Generation LLC, could not be reached for com ment. The company is a joint venture between private-equity firms Arc Light Capital Partners and Blackstone Group. EPA said Friday that its decision recognizes the importance of maintaining grid reliabil ity. The order establishes a process for Gavin to seek additional time, if needed, to address demonstrated grid reliability issues. EPA said it is working with a regional grid operator to prevent unscheduled out ages and protect reliability of the grid. Under rules established by the grid oper ator, PJM Interconnection,

Gavin must request a planned outage at least 30 days in advance, EPA said. The order finalized Friday follows through on a proposal issued in Janu ary that implements a 2015 rule aimed at reducing groundwater pollution from coal-fired power plants. The Trump administration weakened the Obamaera rule in 2020, allowing utilities to use cheaper tech nologies and take longer to comply with guidelines that were less stringent than the initial rule.

The action on coal ash was among dozens of public health and environmen tal mandates that were weakened, rolled back or eliminated under former President Donald Trump.

U.S. coal plants produce about 100 million tons (90 million metric tons) annu ally of ash and other waste.

The EPA has proposed denial of requests for exten sions of coal ash permits by several other power plants, including the Clifty Creek power plant in Madison, Indiana and the Ottumwa Generating Station in Ottumwa, Iowa.

The H.L. Spurlock plant in Maysville, Kentucky, is required to fix groundwater monitoring as a condition for continued operation of its coal ash pond, the EPA said. Lisa Evans, a senior attorney for the environ mental group Earthjustice, called the Gavin plant “a super-polluter” and said EPA’s action was overdue.

Stocks end higher on Wall Street but still fall for the week

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AND ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers

A LATE-afternoon rally on Wall Street helped stocks close higher Friday, though the major indexes still wound up finishing lower for the week after several days of bumpy trading.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% after wavering between small gains and losses for much of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite ended essentially flat after swinging between a 1% gain and an 0.8% drop.

Several big retailers made solid gains after reporting strong quarterly results and gave investors encouraging financial forecasts. Dis count retailer Ross Stores surged 9.9% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks, while clothing retailer Gap rose 7.6% after beating analysts' expectations. Foot Locker climbed 8.7% after raising its profit and rev enue forecast for the year.

The solid earnings from retailers cap off a shaky week for Wall Street as

investors try to get a better sense of inflation's path and its impact on consumers and businesses. Investors have been particularly anxious about the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation and have been looking for signs that might allow the central

bank to shift to less aggres sive interest rate increases. That anxiety was height ened on Thursday after a Fed official suggested U.S. interest rates might have to be raised higher than expected to cool inflation.

"It's all been the same story for a year," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Invest ments. "It's about what inflation is doing, how the Fed responds, and from there how does the con sumer respond."

The S&P 500 rose 18.78 points to 3,965.34. The Dow rose 199.37 points to 33,745.69. The Nasdaq added 1.10 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 11,146.06.

Smaller company stocks also gained ground. The Russell 2000 rose 10.61 points, or 0.6%, to 1,849.73. The major indexes all finished down for the week and remain sharply lower so far this year.

Trading has been choppy this month as investors have weighed company earnings reports, economic data and signals from the Federal Reserve as to what the cen tral bank will do next in its fight to lower inflation.

The central bank has already warned that its short-term interest rate may have to rise to a more painful level than anybody had anticipated, possibly between 5% and 7%. The Fed's benchmark rate cur rently stands at 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March.

The Fed is trying to tame the hottest inflation in dec ades by making borrowing more difficult and curtail ing spending. Several big

measures of inflation have shown that prices are easing a bit, but other economic indicators show that con sumers remain resilient, as does the jobs market.

The central bank's strategy risks sending the economy into a recession if it hits the brakes too hard on economic growth. The latest mix of inflation and economic data has Wall Street trying to gauge whether the Fed needs to keep pushing along with interest rate increases and whether it can achieve its goal without severely crimping consumer spend ing or employment.

The U.S. reported this week that retail sales rose 1.3% in October as Ameri cans increase their spending at stores, restaurants, and auto dealers, a sign of con sumer resilience as the holiday shopping season begins. That's not to say consumer behavior hasn't been affected by inflation.

Major retailers say Ameri cans are holding out for sales, refusing to pay full price, with the cost of gaso line, rent, food and almost everything else much higher than it was last year.

South Africa faces challenges in transition away from coal

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press

LIVING in the shadow of one of South Africa's largest coal-fired power stations, residents of Masakhane fear job losses if the facility is closed as the country moves to cleaner energy.

A significant polluter because it relies on coal to generate about 80% of its electricity, South Africa plans to reduce that to 59% by 2030 by phasing out some of its 15 coal-fired power

stations and increasing its use of renewable energy. Its target is zero carbon emis sions by 2050.

After receiving pledges of $8.5 billion at last year's global climate summit in Scotland, South Africa's plan to transition away from coal was widely endorsed at the COP27 climate con ference in Egypt where officials signed agreements for some parts of the loan funding.

The move from coal will be difficult for the con tinent's most developed

economy. South African homes and businesses are already suffering daily scheduled power cuts — often more than seven hours a day — because the state-owned power utility, Eskom, cannot pro duce adequate supplies of electricity.

But the change has started. The Komati power station in Mpuma langa province has been decommissioned and $497 million will be used to con vert it into a plant using

renewable sources and batteries, according to an announcement this month by the World Bank.

Masakhane township, also in Mpumalanga prov ince, sits dramatically at the base of mountains of coal mined nearby and then burned at the Duvha power station. Residents say they're worried that if the coal-fired plant is closed they'll lose jobs, a serious concern in a country where the unemployment rate is above 30%. The 3,600

megawatts Duvha power station supplies jobs rang ing from contract work at the plant to related employ ment in the transport and food industries. Selby Mahlalela, 38, moved to Masakhane in 2006 and has had various maintenance jobs as a contract worker for the state-owned power utility Eskom.

"It is the one place that the majority of people from here rely on for job oppor tunities, despite them not being permanent workers.

This happens a lot espe cially when there are shutdowns or maintenance work," said Mahlalela.

The transition remains a contentious issue, even within President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet.

This week, Energy Min ister Gwede Mantashe told lawmakers that the tran sition to cleaner energy should not happen at the cost of people's livelihoods and the country's energy security.

TRADERS work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022.

Photo:Seth Wenig/AP

PUBLIC SAFETY ACCOUNTS URGE CAUTION ON TWITTER AFTER CHANGES

By STEPHEN GROVES

AS Twitter became knot ted with parody accounts and turmoil, Rachel Terlep, who runs an account for the Washington State Depart ment of Natural Resources that intersperses cheeky banter with wildfire and weather warnings, watched with equal parts trepidation and fascination.

“It kind of feels like a supernova moment right now — a big, bright flash before it all goes away,” she said.

So the department stepped into the fray, taking advantage of the moment with some of its signature humor. “Update: The Twit ter wildfire is 44 billion acres and 0% contained,” they posted.

But under the joke, it linked to a thread that gave helpful tips about how to review a handle to see if it’s real. Some of the sugges tions included looking at how old the account is and checking to see if the public safety agency’s website links to the profile.

It underscored the chal lenge for the people tasked with getting public safety information out to commu nities. Now, they don’t only have to get information out quickly. On the new Twitter, they also have to convince people they are actually the authorities.

Government agencies, especially those tasked with sending messages during emergencies, have embraced Twitter for its efficiency and scope. Get ting accurate information from authorities during dis asters is often a matter of life or death. For example, the first reports this week of a deadly shooting at the University of Virginia came from the college’s Twitter accounts that urged stu dents to shelter in place.

Disasters also provide fertile ground for false information to spread online. Researchers like Jun Zhuang, a professor at the University of Buf falo who studies how false information spreads during natural disasters, say emer gencies create a “perfect storm” for rumors, but that government accounts have also played a crucial role in batting them down.

During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, for exam ple, an online rumor spread that officials were checking people’s immigration status at storm shelters, poten tially dissuading people from seeking safety there. However, crisis communi cation researchers have also found that the city’s mayor reassured residents and helped the community pull together with a constant stream of Twitter messages.

Amid the slew of changes at one of the world’s most influential social media platforms, the public information officers who operate government Twit ter accounts are cautiously waiting out the turmoil and urging the public to verify that it really is their accounts appearing on timelines. While it’s an issue they’ve always had to contend with, it’s espe cially worrisome now as a proliferation of brand impersonations spreads across the platform and

changes to verification take hold.

Darren Noak, who helps run an account for AustinTravis County emergency medical services in Texas, said Twitter’s blue check mark has often been discussed among those who operate government Twit ter accounts. The badge — up until a week ago — indicated an account was verified as a government entity, corporation, celeb rity or journalist.

The AP reviewed dozens of government agencies responsible for responding to emergencies from the county to the national level, and none had received an official label — denoted by a gray checkmark — by Friday. Spoof accounts are a concern, Noak said, because they create “a real pain and a headache, espe cially in times of crisis and emergency.”

Government accounts have long been a target of copycats. Fairfax County in Virginia had to quash fake school closures tweeted from a fraudulent account during a 2014 winter storm. And both the state of North Carolina and its city of Greensboro have had to compete with accounts appearing to speak for their governments.

It has become even harder in recent days to verify that an account is authentic.

In the span of a week, Twitter granted gray check mark badges to official government accounts — then rescinded them. It next allowed users to receive a blue checkmark through its $8 subscription services — then halted that offering after it spawned an infesta tion of imposter accounts. Over the weekend, Twitter laid off outsourced mod erators who enforced rules against harmful content, further gutting its guardrails against misinformation.

Twitter hasn’t responded to media requests for information since Musk took over, but its support account has posted: “To combat impersonation, we’ve added an ‘Official’ label to some accounts.”

Twitter’s changes could be deadly, warned Juliette Kayyem, a former home land security adviser at the state and national levels who now teaches at Har vard’s Kennedy School.

Twitter has become a go-to source of localized information in emergen cies, she said. But imposter accounts could introduce a new level of misinformation — or disinformation when people intentionally try to cause harm — in urgent situations. When instructing the public how to respond, the right instructions — such as sheltering in place or evacuating a certain area — can be a matter of life or death.

“In a disaster where time is limited, the greatest way to limit harm is to provide accurate and timely infor mation to communities about what they should do,” Kayyem said. “Allow ing others to claim expertise — it will cost lives.”

In the past, Kayyem had worked with Twitter to research how government agencies can communicate in emergencies.

THE TWITTER splash page is seen on a digital device, Monday, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, Twit ter continued to bleed engineers and other workers after new owner Elon Musk gave them a choice to pledge to “hardcore” work or resign with severance pay.

Photo:Gregory Bull/AP

AS BRITISH VOTERS COOL ON BREXIT, UK SOFTENS TONE TOWARDS EU

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

THE British govern ment on Sunday denied a report that it is seeking a "Swiss-style" relationship with the European Union that would remove many of the economic barriers erected by Brexit — even as it tries to improve ties with the bloc after years of acrimony.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay told Sky News "I don't recognize" the Sunday Times report, insisting the U.K. was still determined to "use the Brexit freedoms we have" by diverging from the EU's rules in key areas.

Switzerland has a close economic relationship with the 27-nation EU in return for accepting the bloc's rules and paying into its coffers.

The U.K. government said "Brexit means we will never again have to accept a relationship with Europe that would see a return to freedom of movement, unnecessary payments to the European Union or jeopardize the full benefit of trade deals we are now able to strike around the world."

But despite the deni als, the new Conservative government led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to restore relations with the EU, acknowledging that Brexit has brought an economic cost for Britain. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt last week expressed opti mism that trade barriers between the U.K. and the EU would be removed in the coming years.

The shift comes as public opposition grows to the hard form of Brexit pursued by successive Conservative governments since British voters opted by a 52%-48% margin to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum.

Now, according to polling expert John Curtice, 57% of people would vote to

rejoin the bloc and 43% to stay out.

When the U.K. was nego tiating its divorce from the EU, Conservative gov ernments under Prime Ministers Theresa May and her successor Boris Johnson ruled out remaining inside the EU's borderless single market or its tariff-free customs union. Politicians who wanted closer ties were ignored or pushed aside.

The divorce deal struck by the two sides in 2020 has brought customs checks and other border hurdles for goods, and passport checks and other annoy ances for travelers. Britons can no longer live and work freely across Europe, and EU citizens can't move to the U.K. at will.

The British govern ment's fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Respon sibility, said last week that leaving the EU has had "a significant adverse effect on U.K. trade." Yet only recently have members of the government begun acknowledging Brexit's downsides. Hunt, who last week announced a 55 billion-pound ($65 billion) package of tax increases and spending cuts to shore

Pezzali/AP

up an economy battered by soaring inflation, acknowl edged Brexit had caused "trade barriers" with the U.K.'s nearest neighbors.

"Unfettered trade with our neighbors is very ben eficial to growth," he told the BBC, and predicted that the "vast majority" of barriers would be removed – although it would take years. Any move to rebuild ties with the EU will face opposition from the power ful euroskeptic wing of the Conservative Party. Even the opposition Labour Party — reluctant to reopen a debate that split the coun try in half and poisoned politics — says it won't seek to rejoin the bloc, or even the EU's single market, if it takes power after the next election.

Sunak, who took office last month, is a long-time Brexit supporter, but also a pragmatist who has made repairing the economy his top priority. Russia's inva sion of Ukraine, which has rocked European secu rity and sent energy prices soaring, has put Brexit squabbles into perspective for politicians on both sides of the English Channel.

A UNION flag waves behind a European Union flag, outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. The British government on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 denied a re port it is seeking a “Swiss-style” relationship with the European Union that would remove many of the economic barriers erected by Brexit — even as it tries to repair ties with the bloc after years of acrimony.

Photo:Alberto