NASSAU Cruise Port is aiming “within the next 60 days” to launch a project that will generate 100 percent of its energy needs from solar as it targets six million passenger arrivals for 2025.
Michael Maura, the cruise port’s chief executive, yesterday confirmed to Tribune Business that the initiative - which is now only awaiting a Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority ((URCA) permit to proceed - will result in the downtown Nassau tourism “gateway” producing 1.5 mega watts (MW) of energy from renewable sources once completed.
volumes will breach the six million mark next year and provide an even bigger “launch pad” for tourism-reliant businesses and entrepreneurs.
Global Ports Holding, in its recently-released annual report for the year to end-March 2024, revealed that Nassau Cruise Port is its greatest revenue driver by contributing almost 29 percent of the $193.577m total top-line produced by its 31 ports that span 18 countries.
Explaining that the energy generated will be “specific and exclusive” to Nassau Cruise Port’s operations, with no excess sold back to Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) grid or its own retail and food and beverage vendors, he added that the project will “cut out any carbon emissions and footprint.
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
A SENIOR pharmacist yesterday argued “we have to reconsider putting VAT on medicines” amid industry concerns over how reforms to a plan impacting more than 37,000 Bahamians could affect pricing.
Dr Marvin Smith, the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association’s (BPA) president, told Tribune Business the sector is closely watching how moving the National Prescription Drug Plan from the National Insurance Board’s (NIB) care to Ministry of Health and Wellness overnight will work in practice and what changes will result.
Mr Maura did not give any details on the likely investment or cost savings that will result by eliminating the annual BPL light bill, but told this newspaper the
cruise port’s $320m overhaul has transformed it from the “diamond in the rough” first identified its now-controlling shareholder, Global Ports Holding (GPH), in 2016. He reiterated that the expansion to six berths, with two capable of accommodating the world’s largest cruise ships, has
resulted in annual vessel calls increasing from 12,006 in preCOVID 2019 to more than 1,450 this year and a forecast 1,500-plus next year.
Disclosing that Nassau Cruise Port will be “close” to 2024 projections, with between 5.2m-5.4m passengers arriving at its facilities, Mr Maura predicted that these
Asserting that it is “too early” to say what alterations will be made, with participating pharmacies at present still being compensated via NIB despite the switch taking effect from July 1, he added that the move was likely tied to the Government’s plan to more closely align - and eventually “amalgamate” - the drug plan with the
National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.
Determined that pharmacists will be involved at “the front end” of any reforms, and not suffer a repeat of what occurred with the recent medical marijuana legislation, Dr Smith said the Association plans to write to Dr
Insurance sector bracing for weekend flood claims
By NEIL HARTNELL
BAHAMIAN insurers yesterday said they are bracing for an unknown number of property and auto claims following the weekend’s heavy rainfall and flooding.
Anton Saunders, Royal Star Assurance’s managing director, told Tribune Business he “expects
ANNELIA NIXON
some” claims from persons whose homes were flooded in Pinewood Gardens as well as areas in western New Providence that are not accustomed to seeing flooding or water-related damage to their assets.
“I just spoke to my people,” he said. “Persons are assessing. There are still those people who have water in their homes and are just trying to deal with that before they reach out
A TRADE union leader yesterday warned it may initiate legal action over the Government’s contractual rehiring of retired public servants aged over 65.
Deron Brooks, the Bahamas Customs Immigration & Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU) president, told Tribune Business
to the insurance companies. It was a lot of water that fell in a lot of places.
“Some of that was in the regular places, and some got a little bit more rain than they are used to. Those that got more rain than they are used to, we expect something from those areas. There was a lot of water in areas out west that are not accustomed to having that water. The Grove is accustomed
he was not giving the Government “an ultimatum” to cease this practice just yet after the union issued a statement pointing to a previous 2021 Supreme Court ruling where it successfully challenged the legality of contractual appointments for retirees. It argued that the latest round of retiree re-hirings
to water but had a lot of rain.
“Pinewood Gardens, we have the history with that. Those are the areas we think something is going to be coming from. We haven’t seen anything yet, but I am expecting some. I think so. I expect some. People in Pinewood must have insurance. It was particularly bad out there.”
In the lead story published in Tribune Business on Monday, September 2, entitled ‘Bank eyes solar after $6.5m expense jump’, the picture accompanying it was incorrectly captioned as Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and energy. It should have been captioned as Tangela Albury, Commonwealth Bank’s chief financial officer. The correct caption and picture are shown here.
The report also disclosed that Nassau Cruise Port, for the 12 months to end-March, generated profits of $4.554m based on $55.877m in total revenues for the period with net cash flow from operations pegged at $3.843m. The profit figure is likely a more realistic indicator of annual investor returns given that 2023’s $19.23m bottom line was boosted
Electric vehicle dealer in ‘no rush’ on new HQ
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMIAN electric vehicle (EV) dealer says it is on target for a 30 percent sales increase in 2024 while revealing there is “no rush” to construct its planned headquarters on the EastWest Highway.
Pia Farmer, partner at Easy Car Sales, told Tribune Business that this weekend’s upcoming “soft opening” of its second location at the same headquarters site could boost sales further by providing clients with a destination more central and accessible than its present Gladstone Road base.
Asserting that the dealership has “come a long way” since it first began selling electric vehicles in October 2020, she added that it has grown from an initial six-strong workforce to 28 staff with another six set to
undergo training this week and take the total to 34.
And, with Easy Car Sales “continuing to hit our targets every year”, Ms Farmer told this newspaper she was confident the “noticeable slowdown” in government purchases of electric vehicles this year is a temporary blip and the administration will resume its previous acquisition place.
Affirming that the dealership with have an official opening of its new location, set to be called EV City and situated at the East-West Highway and Abundant Life Road junction, by September’s end, she added that the initial launch had been delayed a week by last weekend’s bad weather and heavy rainfall. However, “all the signage will go up and we’ll definitely be open by next Saturday”, with Ms Farmer saying customers will be able to access the site via
BAHAMAS LOSING NURSES ‘FASTER THAN WE REPLACE’
By FAY SIMMONS
A CABINET minister yesterday said other nations are hiring Bahamian nurses “faster than we can replace” them as he unveiled plans to recruit 80 from Ghana in west Africa.
Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, speaking at the public consultation for a new clinic to be constructed in Stevenson, Cat Island, said half these nurses 40 will be distrubuted throughout the Family Islands with the remaining 40 split between the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) and the Rand Memorial Hospital.
“When I sit with ministers of health throughout the Caribbean, they’re crying the same. They’re coming into our jurisdiction, they’re training our nurses, and they’re recruiting our nurses faster than we can replace,” Dr Darville said of developed nations such as the US and Canada.
“The short-term strategy is to fill the gaps for those who have left the country, and the only way we can do that is by bringing people in. Our recruitment exercise in Africa is now going up and we already brought in about 16 a couple months ago, and
DR MICHAEL DARVILLE
they’re doing so well in the Family Islands.
“We are back in Africa recruiting, and we’re looking to bring in 80 additional nurses, 40 to fill the gap that exists in the Family Islands and the other 40 will do critical care at our hospitals. So we’re recruiting, and we recruited aggressively.”
The Stevenson Clinic is being funded through a partnership with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) that involves a $43m investment aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery and infrastructure throughout The Bahamas. Of this sum, some $8m will be invested in the
improvement of healthcare delivery, a further $25m in enhancing primary care capacity, and another $10m in the modernisation of health information system.
The plan includes the construction of new clinics on several Family Islands, including Stevenson, Cat Island; Moore’s Island, Abaco; Staniel Cay, Exuma; Black Point Exuma; Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands and Long Cay.
Additionally, several existing clinics will be renovated to improve primary care services. These include Bimini Community Clinic; Fox Town Community Clinic; Deadman’s Cay
Community Clinic; Fox Hill Community Clinic; Simms Clinic and Abaco Health Centre.
Dr Darville said the clinics being renovated in Orange Creek and Old Bight, both on Cat Island, are being funded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and Ministry of Works, not the IDB. He added that the Stevenson Clinic will be an urgent care facility with expanded services, as will the clinics being constructed in Abaco and Exuma.
“This particular facility will be able to handle complicated cases, by way of tele-mediciine programmes, to do some surgical procedures, and to also be able to handle some of the complexities of certain pregnancies that happen before they end up into New Providence,” said Dr Darville of the Stevenson clinic.
“The facility itself will not be a full hospital, but will be able to do much more than we are actually doing here on Cat Island as we speak. There will be expanded services, where we would bring in secondary services, where doctors will be able to come to Cat Island and provide certain types of clinics that will assist individuals and prevent them
from the back and forth to New Providence.
“There will be a lot more that’s being done at the facility itself, but it is not a hospital,” the minister continued. “There is no plan for any hospitals outside New Province and Grand Bahama in this term in office. This particular facility will operate like an urgent care facility, which is the next step between emergency room facility. The clinic in Abaco, the clinic in Exuma, will also be urgent care facilities.
“Along with the clinic in Eight Mile Rock and the South Beach clinic, we are now creating urgent care facilities throughout the country, and this new Stevenson clinic would be classified as urgent care as well.” Dr Darville added that a new ambulance will arrive in Cat Island within the coming weeks and, when patients present with an ailment that requires hospitalisation, they will be airlifted.
“Ultimately, we are putting emergency medical transport systems on the ground that will interface with our airlift for emergency cases that require more in-depth studies and hospitalisation,” said Dr Darville.
“At this particular facility, you will not be hospitalised.
Union warns on rehiring public service retirees
FROM PAGE B1
meant the Government
“was in breach of the industrial agreement [between the parties] and two key enactments of law”.
The BCIAWU first referred to article 108 of the constitution, writing: “Subject to the provisions of this constitution, power to make appointments to public offices - and to remove and to exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices - is hereby vested in the Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission.”
It also referred to “section seven of the Immigration Act”, quoting it as stating: “The Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, shall appoint a person to be the director of Immigration who shall be the executive officer of the Board and who shall, subject to the provisions of
this Act, be charged with the general administration of this Act.
“The Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Public Service Commission, shall appoint such number of persons to be deputy directors of Immigration and Immigration officers for the purposes of this Act as may from time to time be authorised by Parliament.”
Mr Brooks, speaking briefly to Tribune Business, said: “I don’t want to give them an ultimatum just yet.The idea was to speak out on it and to give them, or to remind them of the legal implications, and what the court had ordered. Just to have to say again what they’re doing is wrong speaks volumes.”
Ralph Munroe, Customs comptroller, in a recent interview with Tribune Business confirmed that the agency was seeking to re-employ retirees. “What we have to look at is we are short staffed, still,” he said.
INSURANCE SECTOR BRACING FOR WEEKEND FLOOD CLAIMS
“That’s no secret, that’s no apology. It is what it is.
“Does it make sense for us to allow people who could assist with revenue collection and protection, and could offer good service to this country if they are willing to; does it make sense for us to allow them just to go into retirement when by retaining them we could collect millions more?
“They augment the numbers that we need, plus the knowledge that they have,we could use them. Only in The Bahamas when you get to a certain age we throw you into retirement, and at that time some people could function and could give you what you need, but it doesn’t impede the progress of persons below you.”
One of those recently re-hired contract workers, Greta Knowles, assistant director of Immigration in Grand Bahama, told Tribune Business she moved up the ranks and was promoted from
Mr Saunders, though, said many of the flood-damaged cars, such as Nissan Notes, were only likely covered by third party insurance rather than comprehensive and thus would be unable to make a claim for compensation.
Bruce Ferguson, the Bahamas Insurance Brokers Association’s (BIBA) president, told this newspaper of the weekend’s flooding: “I’m sure there will be claims. Comprehensive cover provides for
superintendent and then acting assistant director. She added she left the department on August 16, the day before her 65th birthday, and accepted the Government’s offer to come. Ms Knowles said her first day as assistant director was yesterday.
“The Government of the Bahamas has the right to make a decision to bring back anyone on a contract, and I am not the only person back on a contract, but I gladly accept the Government’s offer to bring me back on a contract basis,” Ms Knowles said.
The BICAWU, though, in its statement argued: “The employer writes the very laws that we all must abide by. However, it would seem that the employer has chosen to ignore, overlook and in this case disregard the very laws they have sworn to uphold and enforce.”
It asked why “the only answer to filling vacancies amounts to contractually hiring persons outside of
damage to the vehicle by any cause, whether it’s accident damage or flooding damage. Last time this happened a few years ago I saw a number of cars had to be written-off.
“We are expecting claims. I haven’t seen any myself but I am sure they are coming in. We as an industry, and insurance brokers, will stand behind our clients and help them with any claims they have.” The weekend floods forced businesses such as LonBon’s Ice Creams in Pinewood Gardens and Sabrina, a
You will be held in better conditions and better circumstances, and provided the support care. And, if the urgent care facility is not able to provide emergency care, that’s when the emergency transport systems on the ground will activate that connecting with air transport.”
The clinic will be an ecofriendly “green building” that is constructed to withstand natural disasters, and will feature isolation areas to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
Renovations to the Abaco Health Centre are expected to take eight months, while the Fox Town Community Clinic, Deadman’s Cay Community Clinic and Simms Clinic will be completed in four months each. The Bimini Community Clinic is anticipated to take five months, and the Fox Hill Community Clinic will be finished in two months.
For new constructions, the National Reference Laboratory is projected to take nine months. Stevenson’s clinic is expected to take 18 months, Moore’s Island, Great Harbour Cay, Staniel Cay, nd Black Point are estimated at 14 months each, and Albert Town is expected to be completed in six months.
the public service”, and added: “The employer should consider acquiring what they need from within the rank and file of the respective departments.
“The argument or rationale for contractual appointments that the officers in the superintendent rank, who have in excess of 34 years (in both departments) are ‘not yet ready’ or the assertion that ‘the superintendents are not getting along so I need to remain past retirement’ or ‘because of COVID-19’ could not be further from the truth and should not justify anything,” the union added.
“Assuming that their reason has merit the question then has to be asked why weren’t officers in the superintendent rank sufficiently trained, mentored and groomed for the next level by the very ones who are being asked or who are asking to be rehired?
“Moreover, why wasn’t there a succession plan in place to begin with? We
boutique in the Lyford Cay Shopping Plaza, to close. The flood, brought on by heavy rains on early Saturday morning, caught Sabrina Lightbourn offguard. She told Tribune Business she knew it would rain but did not think it would be to that extent. She said due to blocked drains water settled in the area, causing many businesses, including her own, to either shut down for the remainder of the day or not open at all.
“So my shop looks out on to the roundabout as you go into Lyford Cay,” Mrs Lightbourn said of Sabrina’s. “So, we get that water that comes down the hill as you go up to Island House. So all of that water just comes down, and then there’s a couple drains, and I guess what happened was one of the drains was clogged. Not our drains, but the general drain for the area and then, of course, it was also high tide, which we found out later.”
Similarly, LonBon, which is located in one of New Providence’s most flood prone, low lying areas, does not have a drainage system at all, according to owner, Lonna Bethel. The Ministry of Works posted on its Facebook page on Saturday morning a warning to the public to avoid multiple flooded areas, including Pinewood Gardens. Ms Bethel said this further convinced her that opening on Saturday would not have been a good idea.
can respect, celebrate and honour those who have served the country in excess of 40 years. However, the next generation is fully capable.”
The BICWU conceded it is legal for the employer to enlist the services of retirees, “in the capacity of a non-uniformed consultant.” It added that whether a person is a former employee of a specific department or an employee from another department, to engage the services of a person on a contractual basis as a uniformed officer is when problems come about.
“The union is not against or at odds with any government or administration,” the BCIAWU said. “However, the union was created to represent the best interests of the staff in both departments. Subsequently, the union cannot allow or facilitate through silence something that directly affects the persons in the bargaining unit. The union is duty bound to protect and stand on principle for its members.”
Ms Bethel said she applauds the work the Ministry of Works has done to make Pinewood Gardens a driveable area again after the flood. And Mrs Lightbourn said her plaza’s building manager has arranged for the drainage systems in the surrounding area to be cleared
“He’s also organising to clear out our drainage system, even though they’re clear, just to keep things good. I think once the drainage systems are clear, it would have been able to kind of handle it, but because they were blocked, it just caused this whole other thing. We’re going to have to have sandbags as a precaution for next time,” Mrs Lightbourn added.
Both Ms Bethel and Mrs Lightbourn said the water made it close to their doors, but they are grateful it did not enter and damage any goods. Mrs Lightbourn said she knew she could not open her boutique considering cars could barely drive through the flood.
Ms Bethel explained that the Pinewood Gardens community had enough to deal with, noting that some people had damage to their homes and vehicles due to the flooding, and that opening an ice cream parlour did not seem practical or as important at that moment.
“I know at some point on Saturday there was a team from Ministry of Works that were working in the Pinewood area,” Ms Bethel said. “I think they were cleaning some drainage systems, and they were actually advising persons to not come to Pinewood; to not access that area. There’s always a stigma about that area when it comes to flooding, and so automatically we knew persons are going to be so afraid to bring their vehicle to that area.”
ABACO RESORT’S BUSINESS BEATS PRE-DORIAN LEVELS
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business
A WELL-KNOWN
Abaco resort yesterday said business volumes have picked up to a level that now exceeds pre-Dorian trade.
Molly McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina’s owner, told Tribune Business that this year’s bookings have surpassed those from before the Category Five storm struck in September 2019.
“The business is back up,” she said. “We’re actually up from 2019. Our business is a little bit bigger than it was in 2019, and 2019 was the best year we ever had, until the hurricane. People are coming back. A lot of the tourists
that hadn’t been here a while came this year.”
Despite this positive trend, the resort faces ongoing challenges with electricity and water supply.
Ms McIntosh pointed out that recent power outages have caused significant issues for guests.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges, there’s no doubt,” she said. “The electricity is a challenge, having enough water supply is a challenge. Electricity, I think it’s a challenge all over the whole Bahamas. I don’t think that’s any different for me than it is for people that didn’t have the hurricane.”
Ms McIntosh acknowledged the work of BPL technicians but noted they are dealing with outdated infrastructure. “Recently it’s been pretty bad,” she added. “Up until recently, it’s not been too bad. I’m not complaining about the
BPL guys, they work really hard. I think they’re just having to work with infrastructure that needs to be updated and upgraded and maintained, and that takes money.
“The actual people that are doing the work here on the ground are not the ones that decide where and how the money gets spent, or if there is any money spent. It’s been tough. The last week here has been terrible. The electricity is just off and on constantly, and it’s been tough. The guests have not been very happy with that.”
Ms McIntosh said the power outages lead to water supply issues, and suggested that the Water and Sewerage Corporation consider installing more generators at its plants to prevent these disruptions.
“Most of the water problem is when the electricity
goes off,” she explained.
“The pumps don’t work, and then we don’t get water. The water company maybe should have some generators so that they don’t go out of water when the power goes off.”
Ms McIntosh said staffing is another concern, as the majority of local apartment units are used for short-term rentals rather than affordable long-term housing. “Housing is a big problem. We can’t bring any staff in from any other islands because there’s no housing available that’s affordable,” she said.
“Everybody that has anything for rent, they want to do short-term rentals rather than longer term for people that want to come in and move here with their families and get a job at one of the resorts. The demand is here for more trained people, for better service,
for higher end service, and then we can charge more, but we have to have the people to support our staff and have them learn stuff. We bring anyone in right now with the current situation.”
Ms McIntosh said Abaco would benefit from a government scheme that allows Bahamians to lease Crown Land on the condition they construct long-term rentals. “It would be great if the Government were to come up with ways to support a local Bahamian to building some long-term rentals,” she suggested.
“Maybe leasing them land and letting them build some long-term housing here, so that people could have a place to live if they wanted to come to work in one of the Out Islands. That way we would be better able to get some new
staff that has some more training.
“If you get more people in here that are trained, the standards rise up to meet those. That’s what we’re struggling with. I can find somebody to come and work, but I can’t find anywhere for them to live.”
Ms McIntosh also pointed out the financial strain caused by high freight costs for importing goods to remote islands such as Green Turtle Cay, calling for tax concessions to ease these expenses.
“We would appreciate any support from the Government as far as any concessions to help us improve,” she said. “It’s tough with all the duty and freight because we’re on a little Out Island. You’ve got to consider all the freight that takes to get anything here, and it’s very, very expensive.”
TOURISM’S GROWTH PACE ‘UNWINDS’ FROM RAPID POST-COVID REBOUND
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
THE Central Bank yesterday said tourism’s growth continues to “unwind from the rapid recovery” enjoyed post-COVID with July’s increase in higherspending air arrivals “more tempered” than cruise passengers.
The banking regulator, unveiling its report on July’s economic developments, said: “Indications are that the tourism sector recorded healthy growth during the review month, but with moderation that continued to reflect unwinding from the rapid recovery from the pandemic. Gains in the high value-added air category were more tempered, however, than for sea passengers.
According to Ministry of Tourism data, total arrivals expanded to 930,000 visitors in June vis-à-vis 790,000 [increase] in the same 2023 period. Underlying this outturn, sea passengers rose by 20.7 percent to 760,000 visitors, while air arrivals increased by 1.7 percent to 170,000 visitors vis-à-vis the previous year.”
Breaking this down by island, the Central Bank said: “Disaggregated by major port of entry, total arrivals to New Providence grew by 15.8 percent to 430,000 visitors from a year earlier. Contributing, sea passengers expanded by 22.9 percent to 300,000 and air traffic, by 2 percent, to 130,000.
“Likewise, foreign arrivals to the Family Islands advanced by 19.3 percent to 450,000 relative to the comparative period last year, as sea traffic increased by 21.4 percent to 420,000 and the air component by 0.8 percent to 38,120.
“In addition, total arrivals to Grand Bahama rose by 0.8 percent to 43,899, marginally higher than the 43,572 recorded a year earlier, as sea and
air passengers grew by 0.6 percent to 39,271 and by 1.8 percent to 4,628 respectively.”
The Central Bank confirmed that, for the 2024 first-half, total visitor arrivals increased by 14 percent to 5.7m compared to the same period in 2023. This was led by lower-spending sea arrivals, who increased by 16.4 percent to 4.7m, while air arrivals rose by 3.5 percent to one million.
“The most recent data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) indicated that total departures - net of domestic passengers - rose by 3.7 percent to 173,232 in July relative to the same period in 2023,” the regulator said of activity at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).
“ Notably, US departures grew by 4.6 percent to 156,844, while international departures fell by 4.1 percent to 16,388, compared to the corresponding period last year. On a year-to-date basis, total outbound traffic increased by 6.5 percent to 1.1m. Specifically, US departures moved higher by 7 percent to 0.9m, while international departures grew by 3.3 percent to 0.1m relative to the same period a year earlier.”
As for vacation rentals, the Central Bank said: “The short-term vacation rental market mirrored these trends. The latest data provided by AirDNA showed that total room nights sold grew by 2.8 percent to 63,511 in July as compared to the prior year.
“Nevertheless, owing to expanded inventory, occupancy rates for entire place listings decreased to 57.7 percent from 63.3 percent in 2023, and for hotel comparable listings to 49.2 percent from 52.7 percent recorded last year. Meanwhile, price indicators showed that the average daily room rate for entire place listings edged up by 0.3 percent to $701.17, while hotel
comparable listings fell by 0.9 percent to $184.16.”
Looking ahead to 2024’s remaining months, the Central Bank said: “Expectations are that, as the domestic economy converges to its expected medium-term growth potential, the pace of economic expansion will moderate in the remainder of 2024. However, the performance remains supported by strengthening in the tourism industry and other areas of the real sector.
“Further, new and ongoing foreign investment-led projects are anticipated to provide stimulus to the construction sector and, by extension, economic growth.... In the labour market, further improvement in employment conditions are forecasted, with additional job gains concentrated in the construction and tourism sectors.”
The Central Bank said inflation was expected “to continue to trend downward” due mainly to reductions in oil prices, although the ongoing wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East present risks that these could increase once again if supply shortages result.
“In monetary sector developments, banking sector liquidity is expected to stay elevated, as commercial banks retain their conservative lending stance. Moreover, the environment should encourage additional strengthening in lending to the private sector,” the Central Bank added.
“Further, external reserves are forecasted to remain at healthy levels in 2024, staying above international benchmarks, although a decline is likely given the expected rise in domestic credit. Nonetheless, external balances should remain more than sufficient to maintain the Bahamian dollar currency peg.”
Top pharmacist: ‘We must reconsider VAT on drugs’
Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, setting out both its concerns and proposed solutions to issues involving the National Prescription Drug Plan.
“We wanted to see how things progress a little bit first,” he explained. “One of the concerns we have is how this amalgamation is going to impact the products we carry, and what’s going to be interesting for us is what are going to be the price points as everything else is going up.
“Particularly the cost of doing business. The cost of power, the cost of security, all these different things are impacting the cost of pharmacy goods and services. And, when we look at where we are now, many of the pharmacists coming home are highly qualifies so that means salaries are going up.
“We want to give a high level of service, but that’s going to cost you. All these are things we have to look at and find a proper price point that does not jeopardise patient costs and patient access.” This, Dr Smith explained, meant a balance needs to be struck between these factors and the need to ensure pharmacies remain sustainable, profitable businesses over National Prescription Drug Plan prices.
And, directly linked to this, is the issue of whether 10 percent VAT should be levied on medicines. “One of the things we have to discuss again is we have to reconsider putting VAT on medicines,” he told Tribune Business. “We have to reconsider that. We are talking about a 10 percent reduction for the patient. Ten percent can be serious for patients.
“At the end of the day, we have to look at whether charging VAT on medicines makes any sense when we look to move to NHI. In the case of public pharmacies, the Government is going to be paying 10 percent on its own goods that they’re providing to patients. They’re moving it from one pocket to the other at their own end. Does that make sense? We have to look at that.”
VAT’s imposition on medicines has become a political issue. The Minnis administration removed the levy on these products, and so-called ‘breadbasket’ food items, arguing that it would ease the cost burden especially for low income and elderly persons, but the Davis administration restored the 10 percent after being elected to office in September 2021 on the basis it went against the low-rate, broad base VAT model.
Dr Smith yesterday reiterated that the Association and its members “want to
make sure it’s cost effective, patients have access to care” and businesses can generate the necessary income and revenues to ensure their sustainability.
“We intend to write to the minister with not only queries but solutions,” he added. “The concern is not so much that it has moved to the ministry, but it has moved to the ministry in effect to amalgamate the drug plan and NHI. We want to, as stakeholders, know how that happens, the mechanisms with that and how that impacts us.
“We understand this is a step towards what the Government wants to do with NHI. We know what the drug plan’s formulary is, and what’s going to be covered. We’d like to see what happens with NHI’s formulary, and we’d like to be involved in helping them with that.”
Dr Smith said pharmacists, including the Association and its members, will “be the best information source” for the Government as they know what patients can and cannot “tolerate” with respect to medicines and pharmaceutical drugs.
“We want to help the Government with that,” he added. “In our conversation with the minister on the cannabis legislation, we did mention we want to be more involved at the front end rather than come in
when it’s done and we fight back and forth. We’re going to be writing to him to see where it is.”
Responsibility for the National Prescription Drug Plan was rather quietly transferred from NIB to the Ministry of Health and Wellness via reforms that accompanied the Government’s 2024-2025 Budget, with the change taking effect from July 1 to coincide with the start of the new fiscal year.
Dr Gertrude Holder, NIB’s deputy director and chief medical officer, wrote to pharmacies participating in the plan last month to advise of the switch. She said it had been facilitated by reforms to the National Insurance (Chronic Diseases Prescription Drug Fund) (Amendment) Act.
These changes, she wrote in a letter obtained by Tribune Business, “transfer management and operation of the National Prescription Drug Plan from NIB to the ministry responsible for health and wellness with effect from July 1, 2024”.
“Accordingly, please be advised that all agreements must now be forwarded to the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Colin Higgs, for his execution of the certificate and agreements,” Dr Holder added.
NIB’s 2021 annual report showed, when that year closed, that the National
Prescription Drug Plan had some 37.068 active members or beneficiaries - having grown by 3.3 percent, or close to 1,200 persons, compared to the prior year’s 35,897. Some 44 private pharmacies, with 68 locations, and 30 public or governmentowned pharmacies were participating as distributors of medications, along with nine wholesalers. Some 312 medicines, and 20 conditions, were covered by the plan.
Branville McCartney, the former Democratic National Alliance (DNA) leader whose family runs Wilmac’s Pharmacy, yesterday agreed with Dr Smith that it was a “wait and see” as to how the National Prescription Drug Plan may change due to the oversight switch. However, he repeated his assertion that the plan’s introduction by the last Ingraham administration had “done a number on the pharmacy business”.
He explained: “It’s break even. It really did a number on the business of pharmacy. You don’t really make a profit from the National Prescription Drug Plan, and you’re in business to make a profit. You honestly just break even.
“When the Government doesn’t pay in a timely manner, that’s even worse because you end up losing. You have to keep your business fully supplied, fully
Cruise port aims to become 100% solar
by the accounting treatment for its $320m construction overhaul.
“The team is working on a solar power project to help Nassau Cruise Port to generate 100 percent of its electricity needs from sustainable sources,” Global Ports Holding’s annual report stated, details of which were confirmed by Mr Maura yesterday.
“We have imported enough equipment for about 1.5 MW of solar for our operations at the port,” the Nassau Cruise Port chief told Tribune Business. “We have received all of the approvals from the Ministry of Works, and then we had to go through URCA for their review and approval, which we have received. We’re just waiting to finalise the permit and the fee we have to send in this week.
“We are going to be utilising our canopies on the piers. They provide a great footprint for the solar panels. They’ll be placed on the canopies that run along the piers where those passengers are traversing. The
expectation is that once all the solar is installed, it will meet the requirements for our operations - the power needs of the cruise port.
“That does not include, and would not include, the likes of mega yachts coming in that need to plug into power. Those are small hotels and would draw a lot of power. That’s specific to our operations,” Mr Maura explained.
“The stipulation that’s been placed on us, which we are fine with, understand and respect, is that the solar is specifically and exclusively for our needs and we will not be able to, or be in a position to, feed the grid with any of the excess solar power.”
Large energy consumers, such as resorts and food stores, have been increasingly looking at renewable investments as a means to combat BPL’s high costs and unreliability. However, Mr Maura signalled that Nassau Cruise Port was more focused on potential environmental gains from its solar investment rather than cost savings.
“Everyone looks at renewables as an
opportunity to save money,” he added. “We are focused, like many other companies, on cutting out carbon emissions.” Mr Maura said solar installation will commence “as soon as get the final approval, but I would imagine that within the next 60 days we will be starting”.
“It is exclusive and specific to our operations,” he reiterated. “This would not be for our tenants that are consuming a lot of energy for air conditioning because they are using their own meters.”
Global Ports Holding added that Nassau-based environmental initiatives even involve use of a 25-foot boat, Pier Pressure, patrol and remove garbage from Nassau’s harbour.
The port operator, which owns 49 percent of Nassau Cruise Port but enjoys Board and management control, revealed that its Bahamian asset is critical to its financial health by generating more than one out of every four dollars in portbased revenue received in its 2024 financial year.
Only Spain was shown as generating more revenue than The Bahamas, coming
in at $58.227m compared to the latter’s $55.877m, but Global Ports Holding operates no fewer than six ports - BPL, Barcelona, Malaga, Tarragona, Las Palmas and Alicante - in that nation compared to just one here.
“We, as a single destination, are very capably competing with countries that have multiple ports of call,” Mr Maura told this newspaper. “Within those countries there are also home port opportunities as well, which provide those ports with opportunities to earn more money per passenger versus transient ports such as ourselves where our income is derived from passengers here for a day.
“No one handles more passengers than we do in Nassau. We’re the gateway..... The chairman of Global Ports Holding [Mehmet Kutman] was, has and continues to be very strategic in the selection of ports he searches for. He recognised that, in 2016, Nassau was a rough diamond at the time given its location and proximity to those big home ports of
ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEALER IN ‘NO RUSH’ ON NEW HQ
the service road that serves the Solomon’s food store rather than either of the main roads.
stocked with drugs that are not inexpensive. You are usually not paid right away. You are paid a couple of weeks later, and there have been times when we weren’t paid for months, and that really was damaging to the business.
“Most recently, NIB, for the last couple of years, they’ve been about two to three weeks in terms of payment. That still means you have to be a little liquid to support your participation in the programme and, at the end of the day, it’s not profitable.”
Dr Smith, though, told Tribune Business that there has yet to be any change in the National Prescription Drug Plan’s payment mechanisms with compensation still coming from NIB rather than the Ministry of Heath and Wellness. He added that this was confirmed following a recent meeting involving pharmacy owners who are members of the Association.
“It doesn’t impact the pharmacies unless there’s an issue administering the prescription drug plan and payment,” Dr Smith said.
“We’ve not seen any challenges. Requests are being submitted, payment is going through. Nothing has been late. There’s no real difference in the user end for us now, but when they amalgamate that it brings in some other things.”
Miami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades.”
Mr Maura said the “protection” afforded by Nassau Harbour and Paradise Island enables the Bahamian capital, unlike some of its Caribbean competitors, to withstand bad weather when it comes to berthing and accommodating cruise tourism.
“Our harbour lends itself to cruise tourism,” he added. “That’s evident by the six cruise ships we regularly see bringing 28,000-29,000 passengers. That’s why our ability to expand the maritime infrastructure in Nassau Cruise Port has allowed us to increase ship calls from 12,006 in 2019 to well over 1,450 for 2024 and over 1,500 calls in 2025.” Asked whether the cruise port is on target to hit its 5.4m passenger goal for the 2024 full-year, Mr Maura replied: “We’ll be some place between 5.2m and 5.4m. We’ll be close; we’ll be right there. It has everything to do with occupancy numbers on those ships, and occupancy numbers are running very strong.
“With 2025 just around the corner, we expect and anticipate passenger volumes will exceed six million but the numbers are very healthy.... We’re obviously moving in the right direction and the future is bright given the passenger and ship forecasts we have. We’re good. We’re confident.”
Many observers, though, will continue to argue that per capita and total spending by cruise ship passengers, the numbers who actually leave the vessel when docked in port, and whether the sector’s impact is felt by all tourism-reliant businesses and their employees, are more important factors than visitor numbers.
However, Mr Maura said Nassau Cruise Port’s role is to provide the platform and entrance through which Bahamian businesses and entrepreneurs can extract greater economic benefits from the cruise industry. “This investment is very much about being a launch pad as those millions of people arrive,” he argued, “and what opportunities there are to provide a very satisfying and memorable experience to those visitors.”
“We’re ready to go,” she told Tribune Business. “We have outgrown Gladstone Road, need more space and want to make it more accessible to people not able to come to Gladstone Road. You can come there [EastWest Highway] and do a test drive. You can find out more about electric vehicles, and we will shortly start doing more service work in that location.
Gladstone Road or come to Abundant Life Road on the highway. People can see all our models, all our vehicles.”
“The headquarters will be built behind where you see all the cars now. We have it designed now and will take our time to build it. In the meantime, we have two locations. You can come to
With the Ministry of Works and its contractors set to start work on expanding and upgrading Gladstone Road shortly, Ms Farmer voiced fears that access to Easy Car Sales’ inaugural location would also be negatively impacted by roadwork-related diversions and road cut-offs.
As for plans to develop a new “multi-million” headquarters at it new East-West Highway location, she added that much work remains to being this vision to reality including obtaining all the necessary construction and environmental-related permits via the Ministry of Works, Town Planning Committee and Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP).
“We have to do various topography analysis and other things by engineers,” Ms Farmer explained. “Then we have to get the building engineers involved and go out to bid for the steel building. We don’t think we’ll start construction until next year. It all depends on the ease of doing business, but we’re not in a rush.
“We will accommodate more people now at the second location. As we need it, we will build it. We also have to go and find the money. We have to go out and sort the finances out. It’s already designed. It’s going to be great. For now, baby steps. Four years ago, in October 2020, we started with electric vehicles exclusively. We’ve come a long way in those four years, and it takes time to build a headquarters.
“We have grown exponentially in the last four years. We continue to hit our targets every year. I think, though, I could say that the adoption of electric vehicles by the Government has slowed down although I don’t know why. They say they are committed to electric vehicles but it has slowed down this year,” Ms Farmer continued.
“We expect it to pick up again in due course. The only downside has been in adoption of electric vehicles by the Ministry of Finance.
It has to do with finances, I guess. They are committed but there has been a noticeable slowdown this year in the adoption of electric vehicles by the Government.” Ms Farmer, though, said other buyer sources such as businesses and ordinary consumers will more than likely offset this slowdown.
“I think we are a bit over last year,” she added of sales. “I haven’t looked at the figures. I don’t obsess over the figures. I’m not so concerned about counting the numbers. It has grown, and it looks like we are going to hit our targets for this year.
“We are targeting a 30 percent increase from last year. We’ll see where we end up. We have the big auto show in October and we’ll see how the additional location affects sales because we are now much more accessible. We are offering more models with a wide price range at two locations.”
Ms Farmer said Easy Car Sales’ lowest price point is $35,000, and she added that the dealership has sufficient inventory to meet demand. “We’re prepared,” she added. “That was our biggest challenge in the beginning because we had to find money to pay for the vehicles and their importation. When you bring in 100 cars, it’s a lot of money. It took us a lot of time to get ahead of the curve, and we’re there now.”
AI MAY NOT STEAL MANY JOBS AFTER ALL. IT MAY JUST MAKE WORKERS MORE EFFICIENT
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer
IMAGINE a customerservice center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.
Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.
So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn't need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.
Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won't need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn't cutting jobs. It's still hiring aggressively.
The experience at Alorica — and at other companies, including furniture retailer IKEA — suggests that AI may not prove to be the job killer that many people fear. Instead, the technology might turn out to be more like breakthroughs of the past — the steam engine, electricity, the internet: That is, eliminate some jobs while creating others. And probably making workers more productive in general, to the eventual benefit of themselves, their employers and the economy.
Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said he thinks AI "will affect many, many jobs — maybe every job indirectly to some extent. But I don't think it's going to lead to, say, mass unemployment. We have seen other big technological events
in our history, and those didn't lead to a large rise in unemployment. Technology destroys but also creates. There will be new jobs that come about.'' At its core, artificial intelligence empowers machines to perform tasks previously thought to require human intelligence. The technology has existed in early versions for decades, having emerged with a problemsolving computer program, the Logic Theorist, built in the 1950s at what's now Carnegie Mellon University. More recently, think of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. Or IBM's chessplaying computer, Deep Blue, which managed to beat the world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. AI really burst into public consciousness in 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the generative AI tool that can conduct conversations, write computer code, compose music, craft essays and supply endless streams of information. The arrival of generative AI has raised worries that chatbots will replace freelance writers, editors, coders, telemarketers, customer-service reps, paralegals and many more.
"AI is going to eliminate a lot of current jobs, and this is going to change the way that a lot of current jobs function,'' Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said in a discussion at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May.
Yet the widespread assumption that AI chatbots will inevitably replace service workers, the way physical robots took many factory and warehouse jobs, isn't becoming reality in any widespread way — not yet, anyway. And maybe it never will.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers said last month that it found "little evidence that AI will negatively impact overall
employment.'' The advisers noted that history shows technology typically makes companies more productive, speeding economic growth and creating new types of jobs in unexpected ways.
They cited a study this year led by David Autor, a leading MIT economist: It concluded that 60% of the jobs Americans held in 2018 didn't even exist in 1940, having been created by technologies that emerged only later.
The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks job cuts, said it has yet to see much evidence of layoffs that can be attributed to labor-saving AI.
"I don't think we've started seeing companies saying they've saved lots of money or cut jobs they no longer need because of this,'' said Andy Challenger, who leads the firm's sales team. "That may come in the future. But it hasn't played out yet.''
At the same time, the fear that AI poses a serious threat to some categories of jobs isn't unfounded.
Consider Suumit Shah, an Indian entrepreneur who caused a uproar last year by boasting that he had replaced 90% of his customer support staff with a chatbot named Lina. The move at Shah's company, Dukaan, which helps customers set up e-commerce sites, shrank the response time to an inquiry from 1 minute, 44 seconds to "instant." It also cut the typical time needed to resolve problems from more than two hours to just over three minutes.
"It's all about AI's ability to handle complex queries with precision,'' Shah said by email.
The cost of providing customer support, he said, fell by 85%.
UK says it's suspending some arms exports to Israel over the risk of breaking international
By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press
U.K. Prime Minister Keir
Starmer's government said Monday that it's suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law — a move with limited military impact intended to increase pressure by Israel's frustrated allies for an end to the war in Gaza.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the U.K. government had concluded there is a "clear risk" some items could be used to "commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law."
He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 existing export licenses for equipment "that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza," including parts for military planes, helicopters and drones, along with items used for ground targeting.
The decision wasn't "a determination of innocence or guilt" about whether Israel had broken international law, and wasn't an arms embargo, he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on X: "Deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the U.K. Government on export licenses to Israel's defense establishment.
The United Kingdom is among a number of Israel's longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the nearly 11-month-old conflict in Gaza. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians in its toll.
The war broke out on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants and others stormed into Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 people hostage. Roughly 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel compared to major suppliers such as the U.S. and Germany. Earlier this
NOTICE
that DIEUMEME THIMA of Exuma, 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 27th day of August, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
"Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely,'' Shah posted on X.
Dukaan has expanded its use of AI to sales and analytics. The tools, Shah said, keep growing more powerful.
"It's like upgrading from a Corolla to a Tesla,'' he said. "What used to take hours now takes minutes. And the accuracy is on a whole new level.''
Similarly, researchers at Harvard Business School, the German Institute for Economic Research and London's Imperial College Business School found in a study last year that job postings for writers, coders and artists tumbled within eight months of the arrival of ChatGPT.
A 2023 study by researchers at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and New York University concluded that telemarketers and teachers of English and foreign languages held the jobs most exposed to ChatGPT-like language models. But being exposed to AI doesn't necessarily mean losing your job to it. AI can also do the drudge work, freeing up people to do more creative tasks.
The Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, for example, introduced a customer-service chatbot in 2021 to handle simple inquiries. Instead of cutting jobs, IKEA retrained 8,500 customer-service workers to handle such tasks
law
year, the government said military exports to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022.
But the U.K. is one of Israel's closest allies, so the decision carries some symbolic significance. The military affairs correspondent for Israel's Channel 13 TV said that the move could become more serious if other allies follow suit.
Sam Perlo-Freeman, research coordinator for the group Campaign Against Arms Trade, said that the announcement was "a belated, but welcome move." But he said that it was "outrageous and unjustifiable" that parts for F-35 fighter jets weren't among the exports being suspended.
The government move comes after two groups, Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network, filed a legal challenge aimed at forcing the U.K. to stop granting any licenses for arms exports to Israel. The case has yet to go to a full court hearing.
as advising customers on interior design and fielding complicated customer calls. Chatbots can also be deployed to make workers more efficient, complementing their work rather than eliminating it.
A study by Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Danielle Li and Lindsey Raymond of MIT tracked 5,200 customersupport agents at a Fortune 500 company who used a generative AI-based assistant. The AI tool provided valuable suggestions for handling customers. It also supplied links to relevant internal documents.
Those who used the chatbot, the study found, proved 14% more productive than colleagues who didn't. They handled more calls and completed them faster. The biggest productivity gains — 34% — came from the least-experienced, least-skilled workers.
At an Alorica call center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one customer-service rep had been struggling to gain access to the information she needed to quickly handle calls. After Alorica trained her to use AI tools, her "handle time'' — how long it takes to resolve customer calls — fell in four months by an average of 14 minutes a call to just over seven minutes.
Over a period of six months, the AI tools helped one group of 850 Alorica reps reduce their average handle time to six minutes,
from just over eight minutes. They can now field 10 calls an hour instead of eight — an additional 16 calls in an eight-hour day. Alorica agents can use AI tools to quickly access information about the customers who call in — to check their order history, say, or determine whether they had called earlier and hung up in frustration. Suppose, said Mike Clifton, Alorica's co-CEO, a customer complains that she received the wrong product. The agent can "hit replace, and the product will be there tomorrow," he said. " 'Anything else I can help you with? No?' Click. Done. Thirty seconds in and out.'' Now the company is beginning to use its Realtime Voice Language Translation tool, which lets customers and Alorica agents speak and hear each other in their own languages.
"It allows (Alorica reps) to handle every call they get," said Rene Paiz, a vice president of customer service. "I don't have to hire externally'' just to find someone who speaks a specific language.
Yet Alorica isn't cutting jobs. It continues to seek hires — increasingly, those who are comfortable with new technology.
"We are still actively hiring,'' Paiz says. "We have a lot that needs to be done out there.''
Volkswagen aims to cancel a no-layoffs pledge and won’t rule out closing plants in Germany
By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer
GERMANY'S Volkswagen says auto industry headwinds mean it can't rule out plant closings in its home country - and must drop a longstanding job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029.
"The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation," Oliver Blume, Volkswagen Group CEO, said in a statement Monday.
He cited new competitors entering the European markets, Germany's deteriorating position as a manufacturing location and the need to "act decisively."
Thomas Schaefer, the CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars division, said efforts to reduce costs were "yielding results" but that the "headwinds have become significantly stronger."
European automakers are facing increased competition from inexpensive Chinese electric cars. The company's half-year results indicate it will not achieve its target for 10 billion euros in costs savings by 2026, the company said.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that WADLET GUSTAVE of 7th Street, The Grove, 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 27th day of August, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
The discussion around closures and layoffs is for the company's core Volkswagen brand. The core brand saw operating earnings sag to 966 million euros ($1.1 billion) from 1.64 billion euros in the yearearlier period.
The group also includes luxury makes Audi and Porsche, which have higher profit margins than the mass-market vehicles made by Volkswagen, as well as SEAT and Skoda.
The company has sought to cut costs through early retirements and buyouts
that avoid forced layoffs, but is now saying those measures may not be enough. The additional measures affecting plants or job guarantees would be negotiated with worker representatives.
A plant closing would be the first since its U.S. plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania closed in 1988, according to the dpa news agency.
Union officials and worker representatives attacked the idea of closings or layoffs.
NOTICE
NOTICE is hereby given that JEFFERY MCDOUGAL of #19 Bellot Road, South West, New Providence, 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 twentyeight days from the 3rd day of September, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
SENIOR Customer Experience Representative Laura Faubion takes calls at an Alorica center, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in San Antonio.
Photo:Eric Gay/AP
Wall Street climbs as S&P 500 closes out fourth straight winning month
By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer
STOCKS on Wall Street
finished broadly higher Friday as the market closed out its fourth straight winning month with solid gains.
A late-afternoon rally helped stocks bounce back from a midafternoon slide.
The S&P 500 rose 1%, with about 76% of the stocks in the index notching gains.
The benchmark S&P 500 closed August with a 2.3% gain for the month. It's now up 18.4% so far this year and is within 0.4% of the all-time high it set in July.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, setting its fourth all-time high this week.
The Nasdaq composite ended 1.1% higher.
Wall Street spent the day mulling over encouraging reports on inflation, consumer spending and income.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption and expenditures report showed prices rose just 0.2% from June to July, up slightly from the previous month's 0.1% increase. Compared with a
year earlier, inflation was unchanged at 2.5%.
Economists had expected the PCE, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, would to show that inflation edged up to 2.6% in July. It was as high as 7.1% in the middle of 2022.
The report confirms price increases are cooling, keeping the central bank on track to cut rates for the first time in more than four years at its upcoming meeting next month. The market is betting that the Fed will cut its benchmark rate by a full 1% by the end of the year.
"Weakening inflation gives the Fed plenty of room to begin cutting rates, while still resilient household spending is the recipe for a soft landing," said David Alcaly, lead macroeconomic strategist at Lazard Asset Management.
Bond yields were mixed in the Treasury market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.92% from 3.86% late Thursday. Technology stocks led the market. Marvell Technology climbed 9.2% after its latest quarterly results hit Wall Street's sales and profit targets. Other chipmakers also rose.
at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. Photo:Ahn Young-joon/AP
Broadcom added 3.8% and Nvidia gained 1.5%.
Dell also beat analysts' second-quarter forecasts, boosted by record server and networking revenue as companies continue to beef up their artificial intelligence infrastructure. Its shares rose 4.3%.
Mall-based cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty fell 4% after its sales and profit fell short of expectations. Ulta also trimmed its guidance below analysts' forecasts.
Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway revealed it holds a stake in the company earlier this month, All told, the S&P 500 rose 56.44 points to 5,648.40. The Dow rose 228.03 points to close at 41,563.08. The Nasdaq gained 197.19 points to 17,713.62.
Mostly solid U.S. earnings and economic growth updates capped off a month of encouraging reports for the broader economy. Data from various reports in August have shown that
Labor Day hotel strikes reflect the frustrations of a workforce largely made up of women of color
By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer
MORE than 10,000 workers at 25 U.S. hotels were on strike Monday after choosing Labor Day weekend to amplify their demands for higher pay, fairer workloads and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. The UNITE HERE union, which represents the striking housekeepers and other hospitality workers, said 200 workers at the Hilton Baltimore Inner
Harbor were the latest to walk off the job. Nearly half of the striking workers – or 5,000 – are in Honolulu. That includes Briana Canencia, a food server for over a decade at a Marriott property who said she was on the picket line fighting for not only higher wages, but also respect amid reduced hours and increased workloads. Canencia, who is Native Hawaiian, said she works a second job in order to provide for her two kids,
and yet they live paycheckto-paycheck. She said she worries that her family will soon be “priced out of paradise.”
“It’s very important to me to be able to raise my children here and get them familiar with their ancestral home, because our blood is here, our family is here,” she said. “We deserve to be here.” Thousands of workers are also on strike in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego and San Jose, California. The strikes
targeting Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt hotels were set to last one to three days.
UNITE HERE said a total of 15,000 workers have voted to authorize strikes, which could soon spread to other cities, including New Haven, Connecticut; Oakland, California; and Providence, Rhode Island.
Union President Gwen Mills says the strikes are part of long-standing battle to secure family-sustaining compensation for service workers on par with more
retail sales, employment and consumer confidence remain strong.
Friday's Commerce Department report also showed that Americans stepped up their spending by a vigorous 0.5% from June to July, up from 0.3% the previous month, and incomes rose 0.3%, faster in July than in the previous month. The trends have encouraged Wall Street. Still, stocks have historically done poorly in September.
Since 1950, the S&P 500 has finished higher in September only 43% of the time, making it the worst month for stocks, said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.
"During the month, the index tends to trade sideways during the first half, with losses beginning to accumulate into month end," Turnquist said.
Investors will be looking for clues on the Fed's next
traditionally male-dominated industries.
“Hospitality work overall is undervalued, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s disproportionately women and people of color doing the work,” Mills said.
Unionized housekeepers want to reinstate automatic daily room cleaning at major hotel chains, saying they have been saddled with unmanageable workloads, or in many cases, fewer hours and a decline in income. Many hotels cut services during the coronavirus pandemic and never restored them. But hotels say guests are no longer asking for daily room cleaning and some other services.
Hyatt and Hilton both said Monday that they have contingency plans in place to minimize the impact of the strikes at their hotels.
move next Friday, when the government serves up its latest monthly jobs report. Economists polled by FactSet are expecting the economy added 155,000 jobs in August. That would follow a gain of 114,000 the previous month.
"The payroll data next week is incredibly important," said Liz Young Thomas, head of investment strategy at SoFi.
Markets in Europe rose initially following a report showing inflation fell sharply in the European Union this month. The report sets up the European Central Bank to cut interest rates next month. Major stock indexes in the region turned red by late afternoon. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1%, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 were essentially flat. Markets in Asia rose. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.7% to finish at 38,647.75 after data on the world's fourth largest economy came in mostly positive.
U.S. stock exchanges will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Marriott didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Michael D’Angelo, the head of labor relations for Hyatt in the Americas, said in a statement Monday that the chain offers competitive wages and benefits, including in the markets where workers are striking.
“We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” D’Angelo said. “We look forward to continuing to negotiate fair contracts and recognize the contributions of Hyatt employees.” Hilton said through a spokesperson that it remains “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements that are beneficial to both our valued team members and to our hotels.”
NOTICE
IN THE ESTATE of MARCEL JOHN JUSTIN MAURY IV late of the Township of Marsh Harbour Abaco, 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 certifed in writing to the undersigned on or before the 23rd day of September A.D., 2024, 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 Executor 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.
MICHAEL A. DEAN & CO., Attorneys for the Executor Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas
Legal Notice
NOTICE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT (No.45 of 2000) In Voluntary Liquidation
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act, (No.45 of 2000), Andremi Holdings Ltd (the “Company”) is in dissolution. The date of commencement of the dissolution is 30th August 2024 CONTINENTAL
CURRENCY traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left,
