By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE company taking over New Providence’s electricity grid appears to be valuing it at more than double the Government’s price in an offering document promoting its new $100m bond issue.
Bahamas Grid Company, the newly-formed entity charged with controlling and overhauling the island’s transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure, has placed a $220m valuation on its property, plant and equipment (PPE) assets during its first year in existence according to the bond offering’s private placement memorandum (PPM).
That valuation is 120 percent higher, or more than double, the $100m “book valuation” placed on the New Providence
bond document
• Bahamas Grid Company pegs PPE assets at $220m
• But Gov’t/BPL took $100m ‘book value’ for
• Pintard in ‘giveaway’ fears; calls
energy grid assets being transferred to Bahamas Grid Company by the Government and Bahamas Power & Light (BPL). Given that Bahamas Grid Company has just been incorporated, it is almost certain that most - if not all - its PPE assets will be those it is inheriting from BPL.
Michael Pintard, the Opposition’s leader, last night told this newspaper that he and his party “are very much concerned” about the discrepancy between the PPM
valuation and that provided by the Government and BPL. He added that it reinforced their concerns that the Government was engaged in “a giveaway” of BPL assets, which are ultimately owned by the Bahamian people, as part of its energy reform drive.
Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of energy and transport, is according to her social media pages on vacation and could not be reached for comment. However, the Bahamas Grid Company bond offering document, a copy of
which has been obtained by Tribune Business, confirmed the $100m “book valuation” placed on the New Providence energy grid assets that are being transferred to majority private investor control.
“Bahamas Grid Company will be a 40 percent BPL/government, 60 percent private partnership,” the $100m bond offering document stipulates. “For
60,000 water meter switch boost to Water Corp clients
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE Water & Sewerage Corporation will today launch a $15m-plus initiative to replace more than 60,000 residential water meters as part of an $87.5m capital improvement drive.
Robert Deal, the stateowned water supplier’s general manager, in written replies to Tribune Business questions revealed that installation of the first “smart meters” will begin today with the improved technology able to “more rapidly detect” leaks and prevent customers from
running up high water bills as a result.
“The Water & Sewerage Corporation has received our first shipment
Ex-BEST chief loses appeal on $1.75m missed payment
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY,
‘Brazen attempt’ to avoid Bahamas court on $370m FTX claim
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
FTX’s Bahamas liquidators are slamming “a brazen attempt” by a failed crypto lender “to circumvent” this nation’s Supreme Court in pursuing $370m worth of claims.
Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) accountant duo, Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, are asserting that efforts by Celsius Network’s administrator to lift US legal protections for the crypto exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary will cause “extraordinary hardship” at an especially sensitive time in its liquidation.
The trio, who are overseeing FTX Digital Markets’ winding-up on the Supreme Court’s behalf, argue in recently-filed court documents that Celsius’ late intervention and threat of new litigation will cause a massive “distraction” - and cost both money and time - just as they need to pay “full attention” to receiving
and settling claims from the crypto exchange’s creditors. They slammed the move by Celsius and its litigation administrator, Mohsin Meghji, to persuade the Delaware Bankruptcy Court to lift the US Chapter 15 stay - which protects FTX Digital Markets and its US-based assets from lawsuits filed by creditors - as “futile, wasteful and premature”. Celsius, which effectively functioned as a digital assets bank, allowed customers to deposit crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum with it. They were then able to pledge
THE Bahamas’ former top environmental regulator can no longer prevent his Shirley Street gas station’s seizure by the Bank of The Bahamas’ bail-out vehicle because he failed to pay a $1.75m security. Court of Appeal president, Jon Isaacs, revealed in a July 4, 2024, oral ruling that Dr Donald Cooper, the ex-Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission chief, failed to pay the required sum “into court” within the 28 days stipulated by an earlier ruling on May 2029. Referring to Dr Cooper and his company, DLC Investments, he said: “The intended appellants were given the opportunity to meet the requirements stipulated by the court. They have failed to do so. The court indicated the consequence of failure, which is that the proposed appeal would be dismissed.
“In the circumstances that counsel has admitted that the $1.75m was not paid within the 28 days stipulated by the court, the appeal stands dismissed.” Dr Cooper and his firm had originally sought extra time in which to appeal a Supreme Court order granting Bahamas Resolve “vacant possession” of the Rubis-branded gas station
BRIAN SIMMS KC
MICHAEL PINTARD
ROBERT DEAL
BUSY ELECTION YEAR
By Chris Illing CCO @ ActivTrades Corp
Investors worldwide are nervously looking forward to the numerous trend-setting elections this year. This year is set to be a recordbreaking one for elections, with more than two billion voters going to the polls in 50 countries. We have entered a new age of political extremes, culture and trade wars, cold and actually shooting wars.
The first major event was the European elections a few weeks ago, in which right-wing and populist forces made strong gains. As a result, the stock markets came under pressure throughout Europe. This was also because French
president, Emmanuel Macron, had announced new elections on the same day. They have run in the meantime, and did not produce a clear winner in the second and last round of voting. However, a shift to the right was observed in France, especially in the first round of voting, and in the second, extreme left-wing forces were also among the winners. In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer was confirmed as Britain’s new prime minister after the Labour Party’s
decisive win that ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Next up is the US, which will vote for a president in November, and the election campaign is already turbulent (this article was written before the attempted assassination of former president, Donald Trump).
The questions now are how investors should deal with the unsettled situation at the political level. Will this affect the financial markets and the stock markets in the long-term? Where
are the investment opportunities on the stock and bond market right now?
Basically, the time before the election is always much more dangerous for the markets than the time after the election. This is because the markets find it very difficult to live with uncertainty. When the uncertainty is
gone, you can plan better.
But, historically, investors can expect higher volatility and lower returns.
Yet after the election is over, and the markets are non-partisan, business often continues as normal.
Fundamental factors such as monetary policy, fiscal policy, economic growth,
‘BRAZEN ATTEMPT’ TO AVOID BAHAMAS COURT ON $370M FTX CLAIM
these assets as security for loans but Celsius, which in May 2022 had lent a collective $8bn to clients and had $12bn in assets under management, collapsed just two months later and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that July.
After emerging from Chapter 11 in January 2024, Mr Meghji is now pursuing former Celsius customers who enjoyed a ‘voidable’ or fraudulent preference through being able to withdraw their assets 90 days or less before the bankruptcy filing. He is asserting that some 538 of these withdrawals were made to accounts
in the name of FTX Digital Markets.
However, Mr Simms and the PwC duo urged the Delaware court to deny Celsius’ bid to lift the Chapter 15 stay so that it can initiate legal action against FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary in the southern New York federal bankruptcy court. They are arguing that it should instead bring claims, and any litigation, before the Bahamian Supreme Court which has oversight of FTX Digital Markets’ winding-up.
Noting that this would prevent any jurisdictional conflict between the US and Bahamian legal systems, the trio asserted that Celsius has made no effort to
appear before the Supreme Court. And they warned that the late emergence of its demands threatens to disrupt their ability to process creditor claims with August 16, 2024, now set as the deadline for ex-customers to submit proof they are owed money by FTX.
“At its core, the motion seeks to subvert the jurisdiction of the Bahamas Supreme Court by asking this court - and not the Bahamas Supreme Courtfor permission to commence and prosecute an adversary proceeding against FTX Digital Markets in Celsius’ Chapter 11 cases in the US Bankruptcy Court for the southern district of New
York,” the Bahamian liquidators said in July 8, 2024, legal filings.
Arguing that the New York court has no authority to order that Celsius’ litigation administrator receive distributions from FTX’s Bahamas liquidation, as only the Supreme Court has the power to do this, Mr Simms and his PwC colleagues added that lifting their Chapter 15 protection would significantly disrupt the liquidation’s progress.
“It is inappropriate to proceed with the proposed FTX Digital Markets preference adversary and pursue approximately $370m worth of avoidance actions at this juncture,” they argued.
“Instead, the Celsius litigation administrator first should seek permission from the Bahamas Supreme Court, the sole arbiter of whether the Celsius litigation administrator may pursue the causes of action in the proposed complaint....
“As of the date hereof, the Celsius litigation administrator has not sought leave from the Bahamas Supreme Court to prosecute either this motion or the causes of action asserted in the proposed complaint. The motion is a brazen attempt to use FTX Digital Markets’ chapter 15 case to circumvent the Bahamas official liquidation and to shortcut any procedural hurdles that might be inconvenient for the Celsius litigation administrator.”
Mr Simms and the PwC duo added that, even if Celsius were to succeed, FTX Digital Markets has no US assets to claim against because its $150m in cash was seized in late 2022 by the US Justice Department. They argued that, “at worst”, lifting the Chapter 15 protection would “risk giving rise to competing orders from this Court and the Bahamas Supreme Court”.
“This is precisely the type of harmful conflict that Chapter 15 was designed to prevent,” the trio said. They also questioned the Celsius’ administrator’s need to target FTX Digital Markets, as opposed to those responsible for the transfers, given that Mr Meghji has in recent days filed thousands of lawsuits seeking to recover what he alleges to be voidable preferences.
“The Celsius litigation administrator has not alleged that FTX Digital Markets had any involvement in the underlying 538 customer transfers that are the subject of these complaints,” the Bahamas liquidators said. “In sum, the motion, if granted, would impose an extraordinary hardship on FTX Digital Markets and the [liquidators] with no discernible benefit to the Celsius litigation administrator.”
Mr Greaves, in an affidavit, sought to highlight the disruptive impact that Celsius’ litigation will have on the FTX claims process if the Chapter 15 stay is lifted. Should it succeed, the Bahamian liquidation would be forced to further investigate the 538 accounts allegedly involved, and “divert necessary resources away” from verifying creditor complaints at “a critical juncture in the process”.
The PwC partner explained that the Bahamas liquidators have been working closely with their US counterpart, John Ray, who heads the FTX entities
labour markets and corporate profits become the focus for investors once again.
The savvy investor will keep a close eye on the election race between Mr Biden and Mr Trump, and who could influence markets after the results are in.
currently in Chapter 11 protection in Delaware, to develop a joint plan for returning assets and funds to their rightful owners.
“Time is of the essence in both the Bahamas official liquidation and Chapter 11 cases,” Mr Greaves warned. “The co-ordinated distribution arrangement between FTX Digital Markets and the debtors will ensure that FTX.com exchange customers receive substantially identical relative distributions at substantially identical times in the Bahamas official liquidation and the Chapter 11 cases.
“FTX Digital Markets anticipates this process will require significant resources and attention in the coming months. Thus futile, wasteful and premature litigation sought to be commenced by the Celsius litigation administrator is an unnecessary distraction on the eve of the commencement of solicitation in the Bahamas official liquidation and the Chapter 11 cases.
“Lifting the Chapter 15 stay at this critical stage in the Bahamas official liquidation would result in wasteful, premature and duplicative litigation at a time when FTX Digital Markets is focused on the solicitation and confirmation process, the implementation and facilitation of the Bahamas opt-in election, and the finalising of the dual-venue joint distribution and claims process with the Chapter 11 debtors,” he added.
“Upon mailing of the solicitation packages on or about July 10, 2024, and continuing for the next several months, the [liquidators] anticipate their full attention and resources, and the full attention and resources of FTX Digital Markets and its professionals, will be required to finalise the mechanics of the Bahamas opt-in election and administer the proof of debt reconciliation and distribution process in the Bahamas official liquidation.”
Should the Chapter 15 stay be lifted, Mr Greaves asserted that this “would greatly prejudice FTX Digital Markets’ ability to administer the Bahamas official liquidation in a timely and efficient manner that comports with the Chapter 11 debtors’ confirmation timeline.
“Furthermore, the outcome of the proposed FTX Digital Markets’ preference adversary may affect the FTX Digital Markets estate in the Bahamas official liquidation by purporting to require FTX Digital Markets to make distributions to the Celsius litigation administrator”. Mr Greaves added that, at present, Celsius cannot receive any payouts in the Bahamian liquidation because it was never an FTX customer itself.
STRAW VENDORS DISAPPOINTED ON CRUISE PORT MARKETING DEAL
By FAY SIMMONS
STRAW Market vendors are voicing “disappointment” that the Nassau Cruise Port has not made more of an effort to restart stalled talks on marketing their products to its thousands of visitors.
Rebecca Small, Straw Business Persons Society president, questioned why promotional talks between the Straw Market Authority’s Board and the cruise port have come to a “standstill” because the latter has not received a list of crafts people and artisans producing authentically Bahamian products.
She said: “I’m disappointed with the cruise port because the Straw Market just didn’t come on the map
all of a sudden. I am a third generation straw vendor, so for me to be a third generation straw vendor we are no ‘Johnny Come Lately’. “For them to state that they cannot promote the Straw Market because they have not heard back from the Straw Market Authority, that’s baloney in my opinion.”
Ms Small said that if Nassau Cruise Port was experiencing difficulties obtaining a list of artisans and crafts people it could have consulted the Ministry of Works, which is responsible for the Straw Market, or the Ministry of Tourism. She added that the delay in promoting the Straw Market is a “disservice” to the vendors and the tourism industry.
She said: “The Straw Market Authority came into play in 2011. They could have consulted with the Ministry of Works, who
we sit under, so I don’t buy that. They could have called tourism. I think it’s a disservice to this tourism industry, and it’s a disservice to us as straw vendors. I don’t buy that at all.”
Speaking to Tribune Business, another straw vendor said the Nassau Cruise Port is “full of excuses” and shared doubts that it will follow through on the promised promotion of the Straw Market. She described this as the “tip of the iceberg”, as it seemed the cruise port was only interested in promoting the vendors on its property. She said: “They want all the tourists to stay in the port and shop. I mean, for years, right, people could wander around and see different things and make up their mind what they want to buy, but now by the time they come out they already have what they want.
“I mean all these tourists every day and it’s harder now to make a dollar. I don’t understand it. It’s like they trying to cut us out and always have an excuse of why we are in the wrong, but we just want them to be fair.”
When asked if she thinks Nassau Cruise Port is hesitant to promote their wares because they are not “authentically Bahamian”, she defended the right of vendors decision to sell t-shirts and other souvenirs that are not locally crafted.
She said: “I can speak for myself and other vendors. We have authentic goods. I have straw works that I did myself, but what are we supposed to do if the people say it’s too expensive?
“We sell other things to make up because sometimes people only want to spend a couple dollars and get a key chain or t-shirt,
so we have those things as well. We have to make a living, too. “I can’t say I won’t sell them any more because then I won’t make no money. I thought that was why they was promoting the Straw Market; so we could get more attention for our local products and then we could sell more. I’m telling you, it’s hard work to make all these things and then nothing sell, but this our livelihood so of course we have to make other things available.”
Last week, Mike Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, told Tribune Business it had offered from last year to promote and advertise straw vendors who made authenticallyBahamian products for free within the revamped $330m port facility. However, he asserted that the project has not moved forward because
60,000 WATER METER SWITCH BOOST TO WATER CORP CLIENTS
of smart meters and installation will commence tomorrow [today],” he said. “We expect to eventually replace over 60,000 domestic meters across The Bahamas.
“These smart meters will improve our customer experience as they will permit us to more rapidly detect that our customer has an internal leak and to alert them to prevent high water bills due to internal leakage, which is perhaps our single greatest challenge with our customers who are presently billed on a quarterly basis and therefore any internal leakage is detected long after it commenced.
“Also, in parallel and as a part of our corporate business plan, it is proposed that we will transition from quarterly billing to monthly billing, and these smart meters will facilitate this process as these meters can be read by drive-by reading,” Mr Deal added.
“Eventually it is proposed that a fixed network will be installed that will permit us to read all meters from our head office as frequently as we wish, thus eliminating labour-intensive meter reading. The initial smart meter installation programme is budgeted at $15m-plus, and this will increase as we eventually add the fixed network.” He pledged that further details will be provided to the
public on the monthly billing switch.
Mr Deal confirmed that the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s 2024-2028 business plan has now received Cabinet approval, as well as that of its Board, with $72.5m worth of infrastructure upgrades taking place across multiple Family Islands as part of a drive to put the utility “on the path to becoming a world-class water and sanitation utility that meets and exceeds its customers’ expectations”.
“As part of our Corporate Business Plan 2024-2028, the Corporation has identified a substantial capital development plan required to modernise and expand our water and sanitation systems across The Bahamas.” the Water & Sewerage Corporation general manager said.
“This is compliance with the Government’s mandate to Water & Sewerage Corporation that we must put Water & Sewerage Corporation on the path to becoming a world-class water and sanitation utility that meets and exceeds its customers’ expectations, is financially viable and operates in full compliance with all environmental and regulatory standards.
“Some of the work is already in progress and substantially more work is in the planning stage.... As part of the Cat Island public-private partnership (PPP) road paving and public infrastructure
programme, over $30m of water infrastructure works is presently in progress. This is the Corporation’s largest ever project on any Family Island,” Mr Deal continued.
“At the end of the project, it is anticipated that over 98 percent of the homes and businesses on Cat Island will have access to piped, potable water for the first time. In parallel with this project, the Corporation has awarded contracts for two desalination plants for Cat Island - one to be located at Bennett’s Harbour and the other at New Bight. These plants will provide a reliable supply of high quality potable water to the residents of Cat Island.”
Mr Deal described Eleuthera as “perhaps our most active island” with $27m total projects either underway, about to start or planned. He added that these will bring “improvements to our water supply system across the island to meet the challenges we have experienced over the last several months”.
“Presently, the Corporation has over $7m of works in progress and a further over $20m in works is projected to commence shortly as part of the Eleuthera public-private partnership (PPP) road paving and public infrastructure programme,” he said, referring to Bahamas Striping’s road upgrade project.
The works already underway include1.5m imperial gallons of new potable water storage at the Bogue water supply facility compared to the 250,000 imperial gallons previously in place. A further 1.5m imperial gallon storage tank is also being installed at the Naval Base facility to replace the previous “old leaking tank” with 200,000gallon capacity.
A pumping station with high efficiency pumps and full stand-by generator capacity is also being developed at the Naval Base site, while 500,000 imperial gallons of potable water storage is being installed on Harbour Island to replace another 200,000 gallon tank that was also beset with leaks.
Mr Deal said “substantial repairs” to the Spanish Wells storage tank have been completed, and new high efficiency pumps are being procured for the island. Improvements will also be effected to the Bogue wellfield “to increase the quality and quantity of our groundwater production, which augments our Bogue desalination plant”.
Generators have already been installed at the Cistern pumping station, he added, with work planned for the Hatchet Bay booster station “in the coming weeks”. Mr Deal said the Waterford water supply facility is now in place, with the Spanish Wells pumping station also set for upgrades and improvements to the Current Island stand-by generator now in progress.
“The $20m-plus of water infrastructure works as part of the PPP project will
include extensive improvements to the existing water transmission and distribution network to upgrade our systems, replacing old, high leak frequency mains and connecting our various systems to provide increased system redundancy and resiliency,” Mr Deal added of Eleuthera.
“Over $10m of water transmission and distribution works are in progress across mainland Exuma to extend piped water access to the communities of Little Exuma and Harts/Barraterre, and to improve the existing water distribution network in the Georgetown area.
“In addition to the water mains works, booster stations are being planned for both the Steventon area to reinforce our water supply for western Exuma and for Little Exuma to improve the reliability of our supply for that area.”
Turning to south Andros, Mr Deal said: “Over $5.5m in works are in the pipeline to upgrade and expand the water distribution system on Mangrove Cay, and to install a new water transmission main to connect the Kemp’s Bay and Bluff water supply systems.
“A Long Island PPP road paving and public infrastructure programme is in the planning stage and, as a part of those planning works, Water & Sewerage Corporation is finalising the scope of works to complete the required water infrastructure for north (north of Millerton) and south Long Island (south of Clarence Town), and to connect the existing Simms and Central Long Island water supply systems by
the Straw Market Authority has yet to supply a list of artisans and crafts people who produce products that meet this criteria.
Mr Maura said that, while the cruise port “remains very sincere in our desire” to execute the agreement with the Authority, it cannot proceed to execute this commitment until it knows who to interview and feature.
Straw vendors have recently been complaining that they receive fewer customers following the renovation of the Nassau Cruise Port, but Mr Maura maintained that the country seeing record cruise passengers for the first half of 2024 creates a “bigger piece of the tourism pie that people are able to take a bit out of”.
installing a transmission main from Wemyss and Mount Thompson.”
The Water & Sewerage Corporation chief added that “planning is actively underway for a new desalination facility to serve the communities of Chesters and Lovely Bay, Acklins”, while “works are presently in progress to improve the reliability of the water supply systems on” Moore’s Island and Grand Cay in the Abacos.
“Cabinet approval of the corporate business plan will now assist Water & Sewerage Corporation in advancing very active discussions with the Ministry of Finance and multi-lateral funding agencies to fund our capital development plan,” Mr Deal said.
“These agencies include the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund. These discussions are in the very advanced stages and we expect further public announcements in due course.
“As part of our corporate business plan, it is envisioned that the Water & Sewerage Corporation will implement a comprehensive Family Islands non-revenue water programme similar to what has been successfully implemented on New Providence,” he added.
“The request for expressions of interest for consulting firms to assist in the initial preparation of this programme will commence shortly. Similarly, request for expressions of interest for firms to assist with our legal and regulatory reforms will also commence shortly.”
BPL grid’s value doubles in $100m bond document
40 percent of the company [Bahamas Grid Company] ownership, BPL and the Governmen will contribute the existing New Providence T&D System, which BPL has assigned a value of approximately $100m along with its related facilities, properties and equipment,” it said.
“The 60 percent private contribution will come from a mix of debt and equity investors funding the foundational upgrades, as well as the partnership raising the financing and leading the T&D upgrade and maintenance work.”
The $220m valuation attached to Bahamas Grid Company’s property, plant and equipment assets, which will likely include substations, transformers, poles and overhead wires, accounts for 90.6 percent of its projected total assets during its first year of operations.
“We always argued that the transmission and distribution was much further north of what the Government listed as book value,” Mr Pintard argued. “Our position has not changed
with regard to that. We would not at all be surprised at what their internal documents would say versus what the value floated in advance by the Government as the book value for infrastructure is.
“We’re not at all surprised that there would be this great appreciation..... We don’t find it at all surprising, the figures. We felt the Government intentionally declared the PPE value in advance of this deal in order to permit this company coming in with a small amount of money from these investors to transform the transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“They allowed these investors to come in at $30m by devaluing the assets. Now, all of a sudden, they are seeking to amplify or in a substantial way raise the value of these assets to better support the company to execute the agreements it needs to raise the capital on the front end while getting way beyond what they stated.”
Mr Pintard said Bahamas Grid Company and its private shareholders/investors are now leveraging the assets
set to be transferred to their majority 60 percent control by BPL and the Government through using them as security for debt financing. The bond offering document also reveals that Bahamas Grid Company fully raised its $30m equity financing by end-June 2024, and the Opposition leader urged that the identity of these shareholders/investors be disclosed publicly. “$30m in equity was raised in the 2024 second quarter,” the document said. “The equity contribution was completed in June 2024.”
“The Government, since they have single-sourced this, they should be very transparent in identifying who put up the $30m for Bahamas Grid Company. Who are the shareholders for this majority 60 percent? That would be useful to know,” Mr Pintard told Tribune Business
Bahamas Grid Company’s ownership split has already aroused controversy given that the Government/BPL are getting the minority interest despite seemingly contributing more via the $100m “book valuation” of
New Providence grid assets. By contrast, the private investors are gaining a collective 60 percent majority stake via just a $30m equity investment.
Equity means that investors are contributing their own money to a project. However, several Cabinet ministers have valued the private sector’s 60 percent at $130m by adding the $100m bond raise to the $30m equity capital. Given that bonds are a form of debt, since capital is being borrowed from investors and lenders, several sources have privately told this newspaper the $100m cannot be treated as equity.
As a result, they have suggested that the Government/ BPL interest is really $20m, not $100m, so as to produce the 40/60 ownership split at Bahamas Grid Company in favour of the private sector.
“Our view has not changed on this subject one iota,” Mr Pintard added, “when we raised the lack of transparency and competitive bidding by the Government. We’re most disappointed in how they’re proceeding.”
The first Titanic voyage in 14 years is happening in the wake of submersible tragedy. Hopes are high
By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press
THE company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is undertaking its
first expedition to the ship’s wreckage in years, and those involved in the mission said they have both heavy hearts and lofty goals for a trip happening a year
after a submersible disaster involving another firm killed five people.
RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based firm, holds the legal rights to salvage
The $100m Bahamas Grid Company bond issue will carry an 8 percent interest rate coupon, with dividends paid semi-annually in January and July every year until they finally mature - and the principal becomes due for repayment - in some 20 years’ time on July 31, 2044.
The first interest payment is due on January 31, 2026, and Bahamas Grid Company cannot redeem the bonds for seven years or 84 months. The funds raised will account for the majority of the $130m New Providence electricity grid’s initial overhaul, which is targeted for completion in the 2025 second quarter provided work begins now.
Some $58m and $55m will be invested in transmission and substations, respectively, with a further $7m allocated to distribution upgrades and $5m to each of engineering and training and education.
“The New Providence T&D public-private partnership (PPP) will be structured as a new organisation working alongside and in partnership with BPL to serve utility customers in the Bahamas,” the bond document said.
Titanic” by many, RMST Inc. president Jessica Sanders said.
the wreck of the ship, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The company’s first expedition to the site since 2010 launched Friday from Providence, Rhode Island.
The voyage arrives as the worldwide community of undersea explorers is still reeling from the deadly implosion of an experimental submersible en route to the Titanic in June 2023. The Titan submersible disaster killed all five people on board, including PaulHenri Nargeolet, who was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic.
This summer’s mission to the Titanic “means even more with the passing” of Nargeolet, known as “Mr.
The expedition will use modern imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles to capture detailed images of the Titanic, the wreckage site and the debris field, RMST Inc. representatives said.
“This monumental undertaking will allow us to document the Titanic in unprecedented detail and share new discoveries from the wreck site with the public, continuing the extraordinary work and passion of PH,” Sanders said.
The ship headed to the site, the Dino Chouest, will take several days to reach the site and is slated to return around Aug. 13, said Jon Hammond, a spokesperson for RMST Inc.
The work will allow the company to provide a
“BPL will continue to maintain customer relationships and billing, as well as its owned power generation assets. To ensure that the electricity cost in The Bahamas will continue to become more affordable as time goes on, each organisation will use best efforts to limit costs on a going forward basis and collect revenues accordingly.”
Bahamas Grid Company is forecasting that it will earn $75.161m in revenue annually from receiving 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh) from all customer billings during the first five years. This is scheduled to fall to 4.8 cents per KWh “provided certain demand hurdles are achieved over the next 25 years in accordance with the waterfall payment schedule in the Heads of Agreement”. The Heads of Agreement remains to be negotiated and agreed with the Davis administration, but it will feature a 25-year agreement for Bahamas Grid Company to overhaul and manage New Providence’s electricity grid with an option to extend for ten years that would ultimately take this to 35.
comprehensive analysis of the current condition of the Titanic wreckage site and a detailed assessment of artifacts that can be safely targeted for future recovery, RMST Inc. representatives said. Nargeolet made more than 35 dives to the Titanic in his lifetime. The implosion also killed Titan operator Stockton Rush; two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood; and British adventurer Hamish Harding.
OceanGate, a company co-founded by Rush that owned the submersible, suspended operations a year ago. The U.S. Coast Guard convened a high-level investigation into what happened, but it has taken longer than expected and it’s unclear when the investigation will conclude.
Ex-BEST chief loses appeal on $1.75m missed payment
on Shirley Street, which had been pledged as security for a delinquent loan.
The gas station in question, located just west of the Mackey Street and Shirley Street junction, was fenced in and secured by workmen just prior to the Christmas holidays and is now a construction site. The loan to Dr Cooper and DLC Investments was among the 13 ‘bad borrowers’ transferred to Bahamas Resolve as part of the first $100m taxpayer-funded Bank of The Bahamas bail-out in 2014.
The Court of Appeal, in its May 29, 2024, ruling requiring that Dr Cooper and his company lodge the $1.75m as security, noted that this sum was less than half the $4.6m that Bahamas Resolve claimed to be owed on the delinquent loan.
The unanimous verdict, written by appeal justice Indra Charles, noted that the gas station was initially mortgaged to Bank of The Bahamas on July 26, 2005, with Mr Cooper acting as guarantor. It was transferred to Bahamas Resolve on August 30, 2017, and the Court of Appeal affirmed: “The mortgage loans were defaulted on.” This led to Bahamas Resolve initiating legal proceedings for vacant possession so that it could exercise its power of sale to dispose of the property and recover the mortgage debt. The necessary Order was granted by Supreme Court justice, Loren Klein, who delayed its implementation by 21 days to enable Mr Cooper and his company to satisfy the $4.955m debt.
This was never done, and the Order was perfected on May 11, 2021. “Since the date of the Order, the intended appellants have not paid the mortgage debt or any part thereof,” the Court of Appeal added. Mr Cooper and his company sought to explain the “significant delay” in filing the
appeal through the death of their former attorney and delays in obtaining the Supreme Court transcripts.
However, Bahamas Resolve argued that the appeal should not move forward unless a sum equal to the mortgage debt was paid into court as a security - something that is a standard practice in such disputes. Mr Cooper’s attorney, Jairam Mangra, argued before the Court of Appeal that there had been “serious irregularity” with accounting for the mortgage sum and what was owed.
However, appeal justice Charles wrote: “In our opinion, the arrangement with Bank of The Bahamas is no different from the bank providing a mortgage to a mortgagor of a commercial property. The bank takes an assignment of the rent as security, so that in the event of default by the mortgagor, the rent is then paid over to them as mortgagee.
“In similar vein is the licence which DLC had from Rubis Bahamas to operate a gas station. In the event of default, the licence, assigned to the mortgagee, can be executed upon. As counsel for Bahamas Resolve properly alluded to, this is normal everyday practice in banking and mortgage lending.
“There is therefore nothing special or magical in this case about the assignment of the lease and the assignment of rents. Moreover, the fact that these assignments were in place did not mean that the bank was collecting monies directly from the oil or gasoline supplier,” she added.
“It was simply there to protect the mortgagee in the event of a default by the mortgagor. And, to the extent that there is an assignment of a payment, it does not mean that the bank steps into the shoes of the mortgagor at all.”
The Court of Appeal also rejected Mr Mangra’s argument that it would be
The Public is hereby advised that I, WILLIAM KYLE ANDREW SMITH of Hampshire Drive, Cable Beach, New Providence, The Bahamas, intend to change my name to WILLIAM KYLE ANDREW MILLS. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than Thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice. INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL
NOTICE is hereby given that SHAVINE ANNA-LEE MURRAY-HALL of Bailou Hill South, Mars 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 whyregistration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
“unfair and draconian” to require Mr Cooper and DLC Investments to pay a $1.75m security due to “the gross irregularity that they assert has occurred”. They had offered Bahamas Resolve some $1.75m to settle the debt on April 15, 2021, but appeal justice Charles found this argument “devoid of merit”.
“If the intended appellants believed that there was discrepancy in the accounting and they owe less or no money on the mortgage debt, they ought to have counter-claimed or proceed with their writ action in a timely manner. To date, it has not been progressed very far,” appeal justice Charles found.
“If a mortgagor seeks to challenge the mortgagee’s security or his right to exercise his remedies under the mortgage document, the mortgagor must first tender to the court the amount of the mortgage debt or otherwise secure it.
“The intended appellants have not done so and Bahamas Resolve is out of pocket in a sum in excess of $4.6m, excluding interest and costs, which continue to accrue as they continue to launch applications in the Supreme Court and this court,” she said.
“In the circumstances, we accede to Bahamas Resolve’s application that the intended appellants pay into court the sum of $1.75m, noting that this is not the entire claim but an amount that they were willing to put forward, within 28 days hereof failing which the application for extension of time and, consequently, the proposed appeal will stand dismissed. We will deal with the issue of costs on the adjourned date.”
Mr Cooper and DLC Investments failed to make the payment by the required date. John Wilson KC, the McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes attorney and partner, represented Bahamas Resolve.
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Venice nets $2.2 million in day-tripper tax pilot. Opponents say it failed to deter visitors
By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press
VENICE on Sunday wrapped up a pilot program charging day-trippers an entrance fee, more than 2 million euros ($2.2 million) richer and determined to extend the levy, but opponents in the fragile lagoon city called the experiment a failure.
Several dozen activists gathered outside the Santa Lucia train station overlooking a teeming canal on Saturday to protest the 5-euro ($5.45) levy that they say did little to dissuade visitors from arriving on peak days, as envisioned.
"The ticket is a failure, as demonstrated by city data," said Giovanni Andrea Martini, an opposition city council member.
Over the first 11 days of the trial period, an average of 75,000 visitors were recorded in the city. Martini said that is 10,000 more each day than on three indicative holidays in 2023, citing figures provided by the city based on cell phone data that tracks arrivals in the city.
Venice imposed the longdiscussed day-tripper tax on 29 days this year, mostly weekends and holidays, from April 25 through mid-July. The project, delayed by the pandemic,
was heralded by UNESCO member states when they decided against a recommendation to place the city on its list of world heritage sites in danger. Over the last 2 1/2 months, nearly 450,000 tourists have paid the tax, raising revenues of some 2.2 million euros ($2.4 million), according to AP calculations based on data supplied by the city. Officials said the money would be used for essential services, which cost more in a city traversed by canals, including trash removal and maintenance.
The levy was not applied to people staying in hotels in Venice, who are already charged a lodging tax.
Exemptions also applied to children under 14, residents of the region, students, workers and people visiting relatives, among others.
The city's top tourism official, Simone Venturini, has indicated that the levy will be continued and reinforced. A proposal to double the fee to 10 euros is being considered for next year, a city spokesman said.
Officials promised steep fines for scofflaws, but in the end none was given during checks at entry points, which varied from a low of 8,500 to a high 20,800 a day over the period. City officials say that is because they wanted a soft launch.
Critics say it resulted in a downward trend in payments as visitors understood there was no risk in avoiding the payment.
Opponents of the plan say it failed to make the city more liveable for residents, as intended, with the narrow walkways and water taxis as crowded as ever. They want policies that encourage repopulation of Venice's historic center, which has been losing residents to the more convenient mainland for decades, including placing limits on short-term rentals. There are now more tourist beds in the canaled historic center than official residents, whose numbers stand at an all-time low of 50,000.
"Wanting to raise this to 10 euros, is absolute useless. It makes Venice a museum," Martini, the city council member, said.
Many of the banners at Saturday's protest also indicated growing concern about the system of electronic and video surveillance that the city introduced in 2020 to monitor cell phone data of people arriving in the city, which is the backbone of the system to control tourism. Placards included warnings about use of personal data and a lack of data privacy.
STEWARDS check tourists QR code access outside the main train station in Venice, Italy, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Venice on Sunday July 14, 2024 wraps up a pilot program charging daytrippers an entrance fee, more than 2 million euros ($2.2 million) richer and determined to extend the levy, but opponents in the fragile lagoon city called the experiment a failure.
Photo:Luca Bruno/AP
Booming Turkish TV drama industry captures hearts and minds worldwide and boosts tourism
By ROBERT BADENDIECK
Associated Press
UNDER the sweltering Turkish sun, tourists wander through sets that recreate Ottoman and Byzantine-era castles, take selfies with actors in traditional Ottoman costumes and watch horseback stunt performances. Among them is Riia Toivanen, 22, a devoted fan of Turkish television drama who traveled to Istanbul from Finland with her mother to delve into the realm of her beloved shows.
Some 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometers) across the globe in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina, 66-year-old retired teacher Raquel Greco watches an episode of a Turkish romantic comedy, surrounded by memorabilia from her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Istanbul where she visited landmarks she knew from years of watching Turkish shows.
"It seemed to me that I was dreaming, I couldn't believe I was living what I saw every day in the series," she said of her visit in April this year.
The global popularity of Turkish TV dramas -- or dizi in Turkish -- has thrust Turkey into the position of a leading exporter of television, greatly bolstering the nation's international image and drawing millions of viewers and tourists worldwide to its historical and cultural sites which are backdrops to many of the shows.
The success of television shows has fueled a burgeoning billion-dollar industry that continues to expand into new markets, experts say. The popularity of these shows is also greatly enhancing Turkey's soft power on a global scale. Between 2020 and 2023, the global demand for Turkish series increased by 184%, positioning Turkey as one of the biggest exporters of TV shows around the world, according to Parrot Analytics, a research company.
"We reach over 400 million viewers every night around the world," said Izzet Pinto, CEO of Global Agency, which exports Turkish dramas to world markets. "The soft power we create with Turkish dramas cannot be even compared to what could be done in politics."
Although "Deli Yurek" was the first Turkish series to be exported — to Kazakhstan in 2001 — it was the 2005 romantic series "Gumus" that catapulted Turkish dizis to global fame. The series, which revolves around a woman from a traditional background adapting to urban life, became immensely popular in the Middle East.
"A Thousand and One Nights," a 2006 romantic drama loosely based on the collection of Middle Eastern folktales and set in modern-day Istanbul, captivated audiences in the Balkans. "Magnificent Century," based on the 16th-century Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the
Magnificent, led the way for historical fiction.
Once an importer of Latin American telenovelas, Turkey is now exporting its dramas to the region.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro visited the set of the historical drama series "Resurrection: Ertugrul" in 2018, highlighting the appeal of the dizi in his nation.
Haley Uganadi, the founder of the Turkish TV series fan platform "Dizilah," says the popularity of the dramas comes from themes that focus on family, friendship, and love, usually set against the backdrop of luxurious lifestyles in Istanbul or Turkey's rich history.
"They offer something for everyone, regardless of where you are from. Watching Turkish dramas, I see reflections of my mom, myself, and my siblings," Uganadi said.
Her platform receives about 1.5 million viewers monthly, with fans from the United States, Canada, Greece, India, and Pakistan.
Pinto points to the family-oriented nature of Turkish dramas. "There's no nudity, no cursing or bad words, not much hate. So, this becomes watchable by the family," he explains.
As the industry grows, it is expanding the themes of its series, such as "Red Roses," which explores the dynamics between a staunchly secular Western-oriented family and a fictional Islamic brotherhood.
During a lull in filming, actor Ozcan Deniz, who previously starred in series such as "The Mansion with Vines" and "Bride of Istanbul," said this diversification was essential if the industry is to flourish.
"Countries that were not able to transform (into) a different genre are now lagging behind in the export of series," Deniz said. "Turkey has now caught this momentum, but if it cannot diversify, if it cannot
also tell different things, it will end somewhere."
Toivanen and her mother were touring Bozdag Film Studios, a vast complex in northern Istanbul, where historical Ottoman-era blockbusters like "Resurrection: Ertugrul" and "Foundation: Osman" were shot.
Toivanen says her love of the romantic dramas "Black Money Love" and "Endless Love" brought her to Istanbul. "I like Turkish culture very much," she said. "(The
series are) very friendly and warm, and there is a lot of drama going on."
The first episode of "Resurrection: Ertugrul" had over 157 million views on the Urdu-language YouTube channel of Turkish state broadcaster TRT, said producer and screenwriter Mehmet Bozdag, who created the popular historical dramas that fictionalize the lives of Ottoman leaders and heroes. "Foundation: Osman" was broadcast in over 110 countries, he said.
Data of nearly all AT&T customers downloaded from a third-party platform in security breach
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer
The data of nearly all customers of the telecommunications giant AT&T was downloaded from a third-party platform in a security breach, the company said Friday, as cyberattacks against businesses, schools and health systems continue to spread globally.
The breach, which took place in April of this year but mostly involved data from 2022, hit AT&T's cellular customers and customers of mobile virtual network operators using AT&T's wireless network, as well as landline customers who interacted with those cellular numbers.
Approximately 109 million customer accounts were impacted, according to AT&T, which said that it currently doesn't believe
that the data is publicly available.
"The data does not contain the content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information," AT&T said Friday. The compromised data also doesn't include some information typically seen in usage details, such as the time stamp of calls or texts, the company said, or customer names. AT&T, however, said that there are often ways of using publicly available online tools to find the name associated with a specific telephone number.
Cybersecurity experts concurred, saying that such data can be used to trace users.
"While the information that was exposed doesn't directly have sensitive information, it can be used
to piece together events and who may be calling who. This could impact people's private lives as private calls and connections could be exposed," Thomas Richards, principal consultant at Synopsys Software Integrity Group, said in an emailed statement. "The business phone numbers will be easy to identify and private numbers can be matched to names with public record searches."
An internal investigation determined that compromised data includes AT&T records of calls and texts between May 1, 2022 and Oct. 31, 2022. AT&T identified the third-party platform as Snowflake and said that the incident was limited to an AT&T workspace on that cloud company's platform and did not impact its network.
Cybersecurity experts say the sheer volume of data
of mobile virtual network operators using
who interacted with those cellular
launched an investigation and engaged cybersecurity
of the criminal activity.
held by companies on cloud platforms can create its own perils.
"The AT&T data breach underscores the growing risks associated with the vast amounts of data companies now store on cloud and SaaS platforms," said Roei Sherman, Field Chief Technology Officer at Mitiga, a threat detection and investigation company that focuses on cloud technology. "As organizations increasingly rely on these technologies, the complexity of detecting and investigating breaches has risen sharply."
AT&T's investigation is ongoing and it has engaged
with cybersecurity experts to understand the nature and scope of the criminal breach. At least one person has been apprehended so far, according to the company.
Compromised data also includes records from Jan. 2, 2023, for a very small number of customers. The records identify the telephone numbers an AT&T or MVNO cellular number interacted with during these periods. For a subset of records, one or more cell site identification number(s) associated with the interactions are also included.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said that it has worked collaboratively with AT&T and the Justice Department "through the first and second delay process, all while sharing key threat intelligence to bolster FBI investigative equities and to assist AT&T's incident response work."
The Department of Justice said Friday that it became aware of the breach early this year, but that it met the security standard for a delayed filing by AT&T with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, a filing that was made public Friday.
THE AT&T logo is positioned above one of its retail stores in New York, Oct. 24, 2016. A security breach in 2022 compromised the data of nearly all of AT&T’s cellular customers, customers
AT&T’s wireless network, as well landline customers
numbers. The company said Friday, July 23, 2024, that it has
experts to understand the nature and scope
Photo:Mark Lennihan/AP
Wall Street rolls to the edge of records as hopes remain for cuts to rates
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
U.S. STOCKS rose Friday after some mixed signals on big banks’ profits and inflation did little to dent Wall Street’s belief that easier interest rates are on the way.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to close its fifth winning week in the last six.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 247 points, or 0.6%, and Nasdaq composite added 0.6%. All three indexes had been on track to set all-time highs in afternoon trading but finished shy of them.
Bank of New York Mellon climbed 5.2% for one of the market’s bigger gains after it reported better profit for the spring
than analysts expected. Nvidia and other highly influential Big Tech stocks also helped lift the market after a slide the prior day, which interrupted their rocket ride higher amid a frenzy around artificialintelligence technology. They helped offset a drop for Wells Fargo, which sank 6% even though the San Francisco-based bank reported stronger profit than analysts expected. It said a key underlying measure of profit fell from a year ago and that its net interest income could remain in the bottom half of the range it had forecast for the full year. In the bond market, which has been home to some of Wall Street’s strongest action this week,
Treasury yields yo-yoed after the release of the latest update on inflation. It said prices rose more at the wholesale level last month than economists expected, which was a letdown after data on Thursday said inflation at the consumer level was better than expected.
But after a couple initial swings, Treasury yields calmed and remained lower than they were late Thursday.
“It’s still going to take some time before we know whether yesterday’s number or today’s was the aberration,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.
Some of the acceleration in Friday’s data could be the
result of higher profit margins for businesses, which can swing sharply and some analysts called irrelevant to the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve.
Also helping to keep yields anchored was a report suggesting U.S. households aren’t as fearful about inflation staying so high in the future. Over the coming year, U.S. consumers are forecasting inflation of 2.9%, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan. It’s the second straight month such expectations have eased. That helps calm worries about a potential spiral where expectations for high inflation could drive U.S. consumers toward behavior that would push inflation even higher. That in turn could give the Federal Reserve more of the evidence of slowing inflation that it says it needs to begin cutting its main interest rate, which is at its highest level in more than two decades.
After climbing as high as 4.23% following the wholesale inflation report’s release, the 10-year Treasury yield settled back down to 4.18% from 4.21% late Thursday. It’s down from 4.70% in April as hopes
have risen that inflation is lowing enough momentum to convince the Fed to cut short-term rates.
Traders are banking on a 94% probability that the Federal Reserve will start easing rates in September, according to data from CME Group. Lower interest rates would release pressure that’s built up on the economy because of how expensive it’s become to borrow money to buy houses, cars, or anything on credit cards. Fed officials,
though, have been saying they want to see “more good data” on inflation before making a move. Easier interest rates would help all types of businesses, and smaller companies could see particularly big benefits because of their borrowings to grow. The smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 rose more than the S&P 500 index on Thursday, breaking a longstanding trend, and that continued on Friday.
THE FEARLESS Girl statues faces the New York Stock Exchange on July 2, 2024, in New York. Global stocks are mixed on Friday, July 12, 2024, with the Japanese yen losing some of its gains after the latest U.S. update on inflation bolstered Wall Street’s belief that relief on interest rates may come as soon as September.
Photo:Peter Morgan/AP
WORLD’S FIRST HYDROGEN-POWERED COMMERCIAL FERRY TO RUN ON SAN FRANCISCO BAY,
AND
IT’S FREE TO RIDE
By TERRY CHEA Associated Press
THE world's first hydrogen-powered commercial passenger ferry will start operating on San Francisco Bay as part of plans to phase out diesel-powered vessels and reduce planetwarming carbon emissions, California officials said Friday, demonstrating the ship.
The 70-foot (21-meter) catamaran called the MV Sea Change will transport up to 75 passengers along the waterfront between Pier 41 and the downtown San Francisco ferry terminal starting July 19, officials said. The service will be free for six months while it's being run as part of a pilot program.
"The implications for this are huge because this isn't its last stop," said Jim Wunderman, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, which runs commuter ferries across the bay. "If we can operate this successfully, there are going to be more of these vessels in our fleet and in other folks'
fleets in the United States and we think in the world."
Sea Change can travel about 300 nautical miles and operate for 16 hours before it needs to refuel.
The fuel cells produce electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen in an electrochemical reaction that emits water as a byproduct.
The technology could help clean up the shipping industry, which produces nearly 3% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions, officials said. That's less than from cars, trucks, rail or aviation but still a lot — and it's rising.
Frank Wolak, president and CEO of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, said the ferry is meaningful because it's hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vessels.
"The real value of this is when you multiply out by the number of ferries operating around the world," he said. "There's great potential here. This is how you can start chipping away at the carbon intensity of your ports."
Backers also hope hydrogen fuel cells could
eventually power container ships.
The International Maritime Organization, which regulates commercial shipping, wants to halve its greenhouse gas releases by midcentury.
As fossil fuel emissions continue warming Earth's atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity. It has been offering $8 billion to entice the nation's industries, engineers and planners to figure out how to produce and deliver clean hydrogen.
Environmental groups say hydrogen presents its own pollution and climate risks.
For now, the hydrogen that is produced globally each year, mainly for refineries and fertilizer manufacturing, is made using natural gas. That process warms the planet rather than saving it. Indeed, a new study by researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities found that most hydrogen production emits carbon dioxide, which means that hydrogen-fueled transportation cannot yet be considered clean energy.
Yet proponents of hydrogen-powered transportation say that in the long run, hydrogen production is destined to become more environmentally safe.
ARGENTINA'S INFLATION EDGES UP IN JUNE, BREAKING A MONTHS-LONG STREAK IN A BLOW TO PRESIDENT MILEI
By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press
A CLOSELY watched measure of inflation in Argentina was stronger than the libertarian government of President Javier Milei would have hoped on Friday, as the official statistics agency reported prices edging up in June and breaking a months-long streak of declines.
Argentina's consumer price index rose 4.6% in June, slightly up from the rate of 4.2% in May, ending a five-month trend of cooling inflation that experts had attributed to a deepening recession brought about by Milei's harsh austerity. The International Monetary Fund predicts a 2.8% contraction this year.
President Milei has touted the falling prices over recent months as a victory in his fight against Argentina's worst economic crisis in over two decades.
After Milei took office in December, monthly inflation peaked at 25%. But the price drop since hasn't offered much relief to ordinary Argentines as Milei presses on with a radical economic overhaul that involves slashing generous energy subsidies, scrapping price controls and devaluing the Argentine peso.
"The world that the government lives in, with all
these numbers saying the economy is great, it's a fantasy," said 34-year-old taxi driver Jose Rafael in Buenos Aires. "In the real world, this economy makes it really hard to feed my son."
Friday's government report showed Argentina's annual inflation slowing a bit to just over 271% — still among the highest rates in the world.
Surging electricity and gas prices accounted for most of June's inflationary spike, the statistics agency said. Argentines have reported eye-watering utility bills after years of paying highly subsidized rates under left-leaning governments. In stark contrast to Milei's program, those past Peronist administrations fixed prices and printed billions of dollars' worth of pesos to fund a large deficit — fueling chronically high inflation.
Under Milei, Argentina's energy ministry reported in June that low-income households that previously paid just 5% of the real cost of electricity have started paying a third of it while middle-income households now cover at least half following Milei's removal of subsidies.
The government has also capped electricity consumption to qualify for subsidies,
squeezing families as a cold front sweeps Argentina during the Southern Hemisphere's winter.
The country's cost of living surged nearly 80% in the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, the report also said. Prices in Buenos Aires shops and restaurants have reached levels comparable to the United States, even as the country offers just a fraction of the wages.
In another warning sign, the peso fell Friday to another record low against the dollar, hitting 1,500 on the black market and capping another week of volatility after holding steady in the first few months of the year.
The steep fall in Argentina's currency means the closely watched gap between the black market rate and the official exchange rate, currently 919 pesos to the dollar, has widened to over 60%. That complicates Milei's goal of eventually lifting Argentina's strict currency controls to restore investor confidence.
Milei wants the IMF — to which Argentina already owes a staggering $44 billion — to step in with a new loan to support his plans to remove capital controls, which cause major distortions in Argentina's economy.
ARGENTINE President Javier Milei walks arm-in-arm with Vice President Victoria Villarruel during Independence Day celebrations, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 9, 2024. Argentina’s consumer price index report released Friday, July 12, 2024, showed Argentina’s annual inflation slowing a bit to just over 271% — still among the highest rates in the world. Photo:Natacha Pisarenko/AP
Delta Air Lines adopts new rules for flight attendant uniforms after Palestinian pin flap
ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines is changing its employee uniform policy following a turbulent ride through a social media storm started by an X user's outrage over two flight attendants who were photographed wearing Palestinian flag pins.
The uproar over the July 10 post on X, which described the Palestinian pins as "Hamas badges," led Delta to ban its employees from wearing pins representing any country or nationality besides the U.S. The rule will take effect Monday.
NOTICE
DREAM MAKER TRADING LTD.
In Voluntary Liquidation
Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, DREAM MAKER TRADING LTD. is in dissolution as of July 4, 2024.
International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at 3rd Floor Whitfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator. L I Q U I D A T O R
NOTICE
DUNDAS VALLEY LTD.
In Voluntary Liquidation
Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, DUNDAS VALLEY LTD. is in dissolution as of July 5, 2024.
International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at 3rd Floor Whitfield Tower, 4792 Coney Drive, Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.
L I Q U I D A T O R
"We are proud of our diverse base of employees and customers and the foundation of our brand, which is to connect the world and provide a premium experience," the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement "We are taking this step to help
ensure a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment for all."
Delta's policy shift reflects the ongoing tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, which has triggered high-profile protests that, among other
Pursuant to the Provision of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000 notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 26th day of June 2024.
AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED LIQUIDATOR Of ALPACA INVESTMENTS LIMITED
things, have roiled college campuses. Both attendants pictured wearing the pins were in compliance with Delta's previous policy giving employees more flexibility with uniform accessories. Before Delta announced its new policy, one of its employees escalated the situation by posting a reply on X asserting the attendants wearing the Palestinian pins were violating company rules and sympathizing
with passengers who might be "terrified" by it. That post has since been deleted but was captured in a screenshot shared by the American Muslim rights group CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Delta apologized in a post and said the employee responsible for the reply had been removed from handling its social media communications.
NOTICE is hereby given that PERRY FRANCOIS of Baillou Hill 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 whyregistration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE POSEIDON WORLDWIDE LTD.
Pursuant to the Provision of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000 notice is hereby given that the above-named Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register pursuant to a Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 26th day of June 2024.
AMICORP BAHAMAS MANAGEMENT LIMITED LIQUIDATOR Of POSEIDON WORLDWIDE LTD.
Henrique De Magalhães Costa LIQUIDATOR
NOTICE is hereby given that CAMELIN NOTERA PALMER-ROX of P. O. Box FH-14104, #16 Barbara Street, 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 whyregistration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that GIFTON ALPHONSO LEWIS of Yamacraw Hill Road, Yamacraw Estates, P.O. Box CB-12739, 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 whyregistration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that RODGUNO VALBRUN of Lazaretto Road, Carmichael Road, Nassau, The Bahamas 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 8th day of July, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
Drive, Golden Gates #2, 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 whyregistration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of
CHINA’S COMMUNIST PARTY WILL SIGNAL ITS APPROACH TO THE COUNTRY’S CHALLENGES AT A MEETING THIS WEEK
By KEN MORITSUGU and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press
CHINA’S ruling Communist Party is starting a four-day meeting Monday that is expected to lay out a strategy for self-sufficient economic growth in an era of heightened national security concerns and restrictions on access to American technology.
While the meeting typically focuses on such long-term issues, business owners and investors will also be watching to see if the party announces any immediate measures to try to counter a prolonged real estate downturn and persistent malaise that has suppressed China’s postCOVID-19 recovery.
“There’s a lot of unclarity of policy direction in China,” which is weighing on consumer and investor confidence, said Bert Hofman, the former World Bank country director for China and a professor at the National University of Singapore. “This is a point in time where China needs to show its cards.”
The outcome of the meeting will send a message to local government officials and others about the future direction of policy. The general expectation is that it will confirm a path laid out by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though some hope for some fine-tuning to address concerns that increasing government control over business and society is stifling economic growth.
What is the “third plenum” and why does it matter?
The Communist Party’s 205-member Central Committee is holding its third plenum, or the third plenary session of a five-year term that started in 2022. This year’s meeting was expected to be held last year, but was delayed.
Historically, this third meeting has emerged as one at which major economic and policy decisions have been set, though not every time. Analysts say the plenum often sets longer-term directions impacting the economy.
1. In 1978, the meeting endorsed the “reform and opening up” of former leader Deng Xiaoping, the transformation from a planned economy to a more market-based economy that propelled China’s growth in the ensuing decades.
2. In 1993, it endorsed a “socialist market economy” that sealed the victory of reformers battling against conservatives warning about the dangers of economic liberalization.
3. In 2013, in another endorsement of reform, it said that the market would become the decisive force in the allocation of resources.
The last pronouncement, made a year after Xi became leader, didn’t come to be. Within a couple of years, the party began backtracking before setting off in a new direction in 2017, Hofman said.
What issues are at stake?
Under Xi, the Communist Party has decided that the party needs to be at the center of efforts to take China to the next level of development. China is now the world’s second largest economy, but with a population of 1.4 million people, it is also still a middle-income country.
The government has reined in China’s high-flying tech giants, such as Alibaba, the fintech and e-commerce giant. As the United States became more adversarial, Xi pushed Chinese companies and universities to try to develop the high-end semiconductors and other technology that is being blocked by U.S. restrictions on exports to China.
Free-market advocates are concerned this
government-led approach is discouraging the entrepreneurial spirit. Another worry is that the rising importance of national security will take a toll on economic growth.
The government has investigated companies that transferred economic data overseas in what appears to be a widening definition of what constitutes a breach of the law.
A major change in direction is not expected and would be momentous if it were to happen. Instead, the degree to which the meeting acknowledges concerns about the business environment and national security could signal whether there will be some policy adjustments.
What policy shifts might happen?
Further support for hightech industries that are considered vital for national security and future growth is all but certain, along with related industrial policies.
But the party faces demands on other fronts.
Alexander Davey, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Germany, said they are watching how the government will balance two major prerogatives: economic growth and social equity.
Local governments are heavily in debt, with multiple cities suspending transit services because they could not afford to keep running them.
In February last year, the city of Shangqiu, home to more than 7 million people, temporarily shut down bus lines.
“There may be a bit of a shift, does the central government issue more debt to local government so they can run their services?” Davey said. The trade off will be between vast resources poured into science and tech development, areas deemed vital to national security, and social services.
