10212024 BUSINESS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHA Mar’s main contractor perpetrated “an absolute sham and shakedown” on Sarkis Izmirlian while providing “phony” completion dates that ultimately cost his family $845m and ousted them from the project.

Justice Andrew Borrok, in a scathing judgment released by the New York State Supreme Court on Friday, comprehensively demolished China Construction America’s (CCA) defence in awarding Baha Mar’s original developer the full value of his lost investment plus more than a decade’s worth of pre-judgment interest that will likely equal or exceed his $845m equity contribution to the development.

Unveiling his findings just over two months after a 14-day trial, the judge found that Mr Izmirlian’s fraud claim against CCA was “established beyond doubt” as the contractor “knowingly and falsely” promised it would meet the revised March 27, 2015, opening date for Baha Mar while concealing from the developer this was unlikely to be achieved.

Judge Borrok’s verdict identified six different contractual breaches by CCA, or violations of the investors’

agreement that governed the relationship between the two sides, while also citing what he described as “at least four instances of fraud” in awarding what Mr Izmirlian and his team said is a total $1.6bn in damages (the $845m plus interest).

The New York judge found that Baha Mar’s financial crisis, which resulted in the liquidity crunch sparking Mr Izmirlian’s ultimately unsuccessful Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing in Delaware, would have been avoided if CCA had spent the $54m it demanded in November 2014 on paying the project’s

sub-contractors rather than acquiring downtown Nassau’s British Colonial resort (see other article on Page 1B). And he concluded that CCA “ordered or condoned the slowing or stopping” of construction work at Baha Mar in the months leading up to the fatal missed opening in March 2015 to “further its commercial interests”, finding that one of its senior executives admitted to this before then-prime minster Perry Christie.

CCA also “actively worked to curry favour with the Bahamian government” behind Mr Izmirlian’s back, justice Borrok ruled, finding that “the record evidence establishes” it made $2.3m in payments to Notarc Management Group, an entity run by Leslie Bethel, to help “gain access” to his father, Sir Baltron Bethel, who was Mr Christie’s senior policy adviser and ‘point man’ in dealing with the Baha Mar dispute.

Baha Mar crisis ‘averted’ if CCA didn’t purchase

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

BAHA Mar’s financial crisis would have been “averted” if its main contractor had properly used $54m to pay the project’s sub-contractors rather than fund the British Colonial’s purchase, a US judge has ruled.

Justice Andrew Borrok, in a verdict unveiled by the New York State Supreme Court on Friday, branded as “simply incredible” assertions by Tiger Wu, China Construction America’s (CCA) executive vice-president, that the sum required to acquire the downtown Nassau resort was identical

to what the company had demanded from Sarkis Izmirlian just weeks before in November 2014. The Chinese stateowned company, which is controlled by the Beijing government, said the $54m was needed to both compensate its sub-contractors and cover the costs of construction changes. But Judge Borrok described this as an “absolute sham and shakedown” designed to “induce” Baha Mar’s original developer and his BML Properties vehicle to part with this sum while CCA had other plans for its use.

Probe demanded over $2.3m

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Opposition yesterday demanded an “immediate investigation” after a New York judge ruled Baha Mar’s contractor sought to “curry favour” by paying $2.3m to a firm run by the son of Perry Christie’s top adviser.

The Free National Movement (FNM) inexplicably called no names in its statement but Judge Andrew Borrok, in awarding Sarkis Izmirlian some $1.6bn in damages over his fraud and breach of contract claim, said the “evidence establishes” that the payments by China Construction

America (CCA) were designed to “gain access” to Sir Baltron Bethel and the final Christie administration’s decision-making core. Sir Baltron was not at home when Tribune Business sought to contact him

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SMALL Bahamian retail investors will have the chance in early 2025 to invest up to $20m in the facility that will supply vessels at Nassau Cruise Port with 60 mega watts (MW) of power, it was revealed yesterday. Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, told Tribune Business that the planned offering’s structure will likely be similar to that employed for the cruise port where individual Bahamian investors will be able to invest a minimum

$1,000 in an entity called the Bahamas Energy Fund. This vehicle, an investment fund, will hold the collective equity ownership that the retail investors will acquire in the shore power project. Mr Ferguson, who sits on the advisory Board for Island Power Producers, the entity that won the bid to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled energy to the docked cruise ships, said the offering is presently being targeted for the 2025 first quarter. Explaining that the retail investor offering’s timing is connected to Island Power Producers’ efforts

SARKIS IZMIRLIAN

BETHEL

NASSAU CRUISE PORT

Breaking the cycle of workplace conflicts

Sometimes you get stuck in a rut with a colleague at work — a boss, a cow-worker, a direct report. Perhaps there is bad blood between you or you simply have not been getting on.

The good news is that even some of the most strained relationships can be repaired. In fact, a negative relationship turned positive can be a very strong one. Going through difficult experiences can be the making of the strongest,

most resilient relationships, according to researchers. The bad news is that fixing a relationship takes serious effort, but the hard work is often worth it, especially in an environment where productivity and performance are at stake.

This week’s column focuses on how to improve relationships at work that have gone wrong, detailing nine steps to do this successfully.

1. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes Empathy becomes crucial in resolving issues at work. Narcissistic behaviour only fuels discontent in the workplace. Soften your approach and try to understand where the other person is coming from.

2. Break the negative thinking cycle. The temptation is always to think negatively and to entertain negative thoughts from others. If relationships

are going to be repaired, a deliberate effort to remain positive is needed.

3. Identify the smallest step you are prepared to make. Sometimes we have delusions of grandeur in repairing relationships that have been sour for extended periods of time. My suggestion is to take baby steps. One conversation at a time, and one kind gesture at a time.

4. Get outside support Sometimes it becomes necessary to seek external support in resolving serious issues. A mediator with the mindset of bringing harmony to a situation becomes necessary, but not someone who will side with any one party.

5. Look for things in common rather than differences. Basic negotiation and mediation support requires that we collate and emphasise those things that bring us together rather

than focusing on what has torn us apart.

6. Recognise what is happening. It is always necessary to see the bigger picture when conflicts arise. Think about what is being lost when we stay angry in our small corners. Perhaps it is the visitor experience or profits that are being adversely impacted.

7. Give up being right Far too often we are more concerned with being right and making a villain out of the person on the other side. Considering our contribution to the breach is always helpful in the reconciliation process.

8. Look forward, not back. Seventy-five percent of the conversation should be not where we have been but where we are going. We all know how we got here, so let us talk about how to get away from here.

9. Re-establish trust and reciprocity. Do not try to convince the other person

FERGUSON

that you are trustworthy with rational arguments. Show it instead.

a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organisations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@ coralwave.com.

Korean chicken franchise to open first Bahamas location

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A KOREAN chicken franchise is set to open its first location in The Bahamas at the Carmichael Village Plaza next Tuesday, October 22, at 11am.

bb.q Chicken Bahamas, in a statement, said the venture will introduce Korean cuisine to this nation and create a new dining

experience for locals and visitors alike.

“We saw an opportunity to bring something different to Nassau. Korean cuisine has become a global sensation, and we wanted to merge that with the Bahamian love for bold flavours and vibrant food experiences,” said Sean Davis, bb.q Chicken Bahamas partner. “This grand opening is just the beginning of how we aim to introduce a fusion of these two rich cultures, creating

something truly special for our community.

“Beyond the food, we plan to bring both cultures together through events and community initiatives, including Korean festivals and Bahamian traditions like Junkanoo. By working with local suppliers and employing Bahamians, we aim to create an inclusive and exciting atmosphere that reflects the spirit of Nassau while bringing something fresh and innovative to the table.”

Ocean Club golf course to host top tour kick-off

THE Bahamas has agreed a three-year contract extension through 2027 with a major golfing tour that will next year result in two locally-held tournaments being televised for the first time sine 2020.

The Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, in a statement, said the deal with the Korn Ferry Tour, a development tour for golf professionals aspiring to join the elite PGA event, will result in it beginning 2025 at a new venue, the 7,100-yard Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

It will host the seasonopening, The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis,

Paradise Island. The tour will then head to The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, which will be played for the eighth time this coming season.

The Golf Channel is set to televise both events, marking the first time since 2020 that both tournaments in The Bahamas will be televised.

“This extension of our partnership with the Korn Ferry Tour reinforces the growing impact of sports tourism in The Bahamas,” said Latia Duncombe, the tourism director-general.

“By hosting these premier events and welcoming back Golf Channel’s coverage, we continue to elevate The Bahamas on the global stage, showcasing our capability to deliver top-tier experiences for golfers and sports fans.”

The 2025 schedule marks the first time since 2017 that the Korn Ferry Tour will open its season at a new venue, with The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island replacing The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. That resort, which is now closed for conversion into a Beaches brand, has served as the opening event for the last seven seasons.

“On behalf of Atlantis, Paradise Island, and the

Ocean Club Golf Course, we are delighted to welcome the return of the Korn Ferry Tour to Nassau,” said Audrey Oswell, Atlantis president and managing director. “The Ocean Club Golf Course is beloved for its challenging design, pristine condition and breathtaking panoramic views.

“We look forward to showcasing the best of Bahamas’ golf to the competitors, fans and community.” bdG Sports, an international sports marketing and event management firm, will continue to serve as the host organisation for both Korn Ferry Tour events in The Bahamas.

“We are grateful to continue our long-standing partnership with The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, in addition to welcoming Golf Channel back to The Bahamas,” said Korn Ferry tour president Alex Baldwin.

“The Bahamas continue to be an amazing seasonopening location for our membership, and we are excited to welcome Atlantis Paradise Island and Ocean Club Golf Course to the Korn Ferry Tour family as we begin the next chapter of these great tournaments.” The dates for both Bahamas tournaments are due to be unveiled this week.

CCA ADMITTED BAHA MAR SLOWDOWN BEFORE CHRISTIE

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

BAHA Mar’s contractor did not dispute that a senior executive admitted before then-prime minister Perry Christie that it was deliberately slowing work down to force payment from the project’s original developer.

Judge Andrew Borrok, in a New York State Supreme Court verdict that awarded Sarkis Izmirlian $1.6bn in combined damages and interest over his fraud and breach of contract claim against China Construction America (CCA), ruled that the evidence before him was “replete with numerous other examples” of the Chinese state-owned contractor “threatening work stoppages” over disputed payments.

However, he zeroed on a April 7, 2015, meeting when Tiger Wu, CCA’s

‘Sudden’

most senior Bahamas-based executive, allegedly admitted in the presence of Mr Christie, Mr Izmirlian and the Chinese ambassador to this country that the contractor was “deliberately slowing the work”. This “shocking statement” sparked a letter from Mr Izmirlian to Ning Yuan, CCA’s president, which was among the documents tabled as evidence during the two-week New York trial. He noted that the comments had been made before a “broad audience, including the Prime Minister, numerous government ministers and representatives, Ambassador Yuan and Baha Mar that CCA has been deliberately slowing down construction at the Baha Mar project. “Tiger repeatedly confirmed to the Prime Minister that CCA is delaying works on purpose,” Mr Izmirlian added, noting

Oscar leads to rush at Morton Salt

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Morton Salt plant was closed and secured on Saturday ahead of Hurricane Oscar’s “sudden” landfall as a category one hurricane, according to Jennifer Brown, head of the Bahamas Industrial, Manufacturers & Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU) which represents line staff there.

Speaking to Tribune Business yesterday, Ms Brown said Inagua had not been given the all-clear by the Department of Meteorology as yet so officials have not assessed the site for any potential damages from the storm.

“It just came so sudden,” said Ms Brown.

“They secured the plant on Saturday after the decision was made to close. We are still going through it, everyone is still indoors so I haven’t spoken to anyone from Morton’s yet, but officials will go around to check and do an assessment of everything once they can.”

Ms Brown said residents rushed to secure their properties once the hurricane warning was put in effect for the islands of the Southeast Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday. Hurricane Oscar made landfall on Inagua early Sunday morning with winds of up to 75mph.

She said the electricity was cut off due to the wind and several trees were uprooted.

“There was a lot of activity yesterday, everyone was trying to batten their houses and do last minute things because everything just happened so quickly,” said Ms Brown.

“There was a lot of breeze, a lot of trees are down, I think there’s some damage in the electricity I saw a tree up a pole, its uprooted a lot of trees. Around 4am, they turned off the electricity. At the moment, its still off but they turned it off because of how much breeze it was.”

In a statement, BPL said the power supply in Inagua remains off and the utility has received reports of broken pole insulators.

“Supplies were restored in Mayaguana around noon. There are no reports of damage to our network. Supply remains off in Inagua. We have initial reports of broken pole insulators. Repairs and restoration will commence when it is safe for our teams,” said BPL. Aliv notified consumers that they are experiencing outages in Inagua, Ragged Island and Mayaguana due to electricity issues.

The Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Authority’s latest update on the storm noted that residents in Inagua are also experiencing a disruption in their water supply due to the storm but there were no reports of injuries or significant infrastructure damages.

“BPL has reported that the power station was shut down at 4:08 a.m. as the weather deteriorated,

that CCA’s failure to meet the mega resort’s March 27, 2015, construction completion deadline had already cost the original developer some $165m at that stage. Asked about his reaction to this confession during his testimony, Mr Izmirlian said: “It was one of those moments you felt like you were in a movie. It was dead silence in the room. The Prime Minister is looking at me. The ambassador is looking at me.

“I’m looking at them, going ‘did he just say what we think he said?’ So, the Prime Minister asked him again and he admitted they had been deliberately slowing down the project for their commercial benefit.” This did not escape Judge Borrok’s attention in a withering conclusion on both CCA and its parent, China State Construction and Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Their teams are waiting for the opportunity to assess the station and report their findings. Additional updates related to power restoration will follow,” said the DRM.

“Residents in Inagua are also experiencing a disruption in their water supply, and teams from the Water and Sewerage Corporation are working to bring the reverse osmosis plants back online and restore service. Currently, there are no reports of injuries on the island or significant damage to infrastructure in Inagua. The DRM Authority plans to begin assessments as soon as the all-clear is given, possibly as early as tomorrow. As a precautionary measure, The DRM Authority has sent supplementary food items and relief supplies to Inagua.”

Bahamasair suspended flights to Inagua today and Cabinet advised that all Government offices on the island of Inagua, except for essential services, will be closed.

Last night, Hurricane Oscar was moving toward the west-southwest at a speed near 7 MPH. It was expected to continue a west-south-westward motion at a slower forward speed, followed by a turn toward the northwest and north on Monday and Tuesday.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the islands of the Southeast Bahamas, including Mayaguana, Crooked Island, Acklins, Long Cay, Ragged Island, and Inagua.

A tropical storm watch is now in effect for the central Bahamas, including Exuma, Long Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay, and Cat Island.

“If there were any doubt as to whether CSCEC Bahamas caused CCA Bahamas to deliberately slow its work against the interests of Baha Mar, Mr Izmirlian gave unrebutted testimony that Mr Wu admitted during an April 7, 2015, meeting attended by the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Ambassador Yuan and Mr Izmirlian himself that CCA Bahamas was deliberately slowing the work,” the judge wrote.

“Slowing down the work was a breach of [CCA’s and Mr Wu’s obligation to act in Baha Mar’s best interests. Mr Wu himself admitted this at trial. The trial record was replete with numerous other examples of CCA Bahamas’ employees threatening or suggesting work stoppages.

“On November 10, 2014, CCA Bahamas employee Pengfei Yu suggested that CCA Bahamas should slow

down the work in order to pressure Baha Mar to pay disputed change orders because CCA Bahamas wouldn’t have as much negotiating leverage after the project was completed.”

Referring to Mr Izmirlian’s corporate vehicle, Judge Borrok added: “BML Properties adduced evidence of several instances in which CCA Bahamas recommended delaying or did purposefully delay work on the project, often in connection with attempts to resolve socalled ‘commercial issues’.

“On November 14, 2014, just days before the November 2014 Beijing meeting at which the parties would discuss and resolve pending disagreements about the scope of the work, the new opening date and commercial issues”, Baha Mar protested against CCA Bahamas “deliberately turning off the lights on the project work site, which both stopped all work after dark and presented an immediate danger to the safety of workers”.

This, Mr Izmirlian’s team alleged, was done “to pressure Baha Mar to yield on a disputed commercial issue”. And, on February 5, 2015, CCA Bahamas “ordered its workmen not to allow

Rough weather impacts food store perishables

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ROUGH weather and stormy seas have sparked a temporary shortage of perishable foods that should “certainly” ease by today, Super Value’s principal said yesterday.

Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that rough seas around Arawak Cay and Nassau harbour delayed Tropical Shipping’s vessel from docking at the Nassau Container Port until yesterday. This,

he explained, had resulted in a temporary shortage of fresh fruits and vegetables at some of the supermarket chain’s 13 stores.

“The port opened for us from 1pm to 5pm,” he explained. “What we did is go down and pull off 10 perishable containers outside the Customs area but still in the port area. We can get in the port gate but not the Customs because it’s out of hours. We are working them as we speak.

“We were short of perishables. The last time this happened the ship couldn’t come because of the

hurricane. This time they got here but there was too much surge so they could not dock. It has to be bad to affect Arawak Cay. Unfortunately, these perishables have to go to the warehouse to be inspected by Customs or go directly to the stores. Customs is involved. Some we will get out tonight and some tomorrow morning.

“I think Tropical have another boat coming in Monday. Our regular shipment should be in on Monday [today]. I’m not certain about that but the schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”

BAHA MAR RESORT

BUSINESSES SAY ELECTRIC BILL REDUCTION ‘MINIMAL’

SMALL businesses saw “minimal” decrease in electricity bills last month, according to a local consultant.

Mark A Turnquest, president of the 242 Small Business Association and Resource Centre, as well as a consultant to many companies, told Tribune Business that electricity bills for his members saw a “marginal” decrease in the electricity bills for September.

Mr Turnquest said the majority of the small businesses he works with had a ten percent decrease in their electricity bills last month and once the bills for October are issued the association will conduct a four-month comparison to last year.

“The majority said they had a ten percent reduction, but it’s minimal in scale and it’s not that noticeable,” said Mr Turnquest.

“It’s minimum, very minimum. We are now waiting

for the October bill to come out so we can see the four months, July, August, September, October and compare the rates year over year from last year.

Mr Turnquest shared that his electricity bill decreased by 15 percent last month and members have been undertaking energy conservation measures for the past three years to combat their high electricity rates.

“A lot of our members really did a lot of conservative measures, in reference to LED lights, eco-friendly air condition and other machinery.

“Our members are conserving and even putting in preventative measures. A lot of our members also bought generators because we saw the problems BPL was facing long time ago. We’ve been doing our work to maintain a good status quo. They saw some decrease recently, but its marginal and once we compare the numbers with last year’s we’ll be able to see if it is really being felt.”

Minister of Energy and Transport, JoBeth

Coleby-Davis said at the Office of the Prime Minister’s Weekly press briefing last week the cost of electricity was reduced over the past three months due to the new Equity Rate Adjustment (ERA).

She explained the ERA was designed to make bills more affordable and yielded a reduction in the base tariff rate for residential clients and the adjustment created a “more equitable balance” to the tariff structure.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said over 81,000 residential customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bills for September.

“The adjustment creates a more equitable balance to the current tariff structure and encourages energy conservation,” said Mrs Coleby- Davis.

“All residential consumers with low and moderate electricity usage will benefit as the base rate tariff for the first zero, to 200 kilowatt hours will be reduced to zero. In July, over 79,000 residential customers saw a

five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under the ERA compared to pre ERA tariff. In August, over 78,000 residential customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under ERA compared to pre ERA tariff. In September, over 81,000 residential customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under the ERA compared to pre ERA tariff.”

She said the ERA also caused a reduction in the bills of temporary supply consumers with over 2,180 seeing a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their bills for September.

“To spur economic growth and, by extension, support home ownership and construction, the ERA also saw the base tariff being reduced for temporary supply customers,” said Mrs Coleby-Davis.

“In July, over 2,100 temporary supply customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under the ERA compared to pre

ERA tariff. In August, over 2,140 temporary supply customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under the ERA compared to pre ERA tariff. In September, over 2,180 temporary supply customers saw a five percent to 50 percent reduction in their monthly bill under the ERA compared to pre-ERA tariff.”

Mrs Coleby-Davis said large commercial consumers saw an increase in their bills due to the ERA but projected that their costs will decrease over time due to the efficiency upgrades at BPL.

“We understand that large commercial customers would have seen an increase in their bills due to the base tariff of that segment of customers being adjusted,” said Mrs Coleby-Davis.

“However, it is our projection that the cost of energy should fall over time as a result of the efficiency upgrades at BPL, which include the installation of a new HFO boiler equipment here to save over $35m per year in fuel costs, and

Tour operators welcome increased Exuma airlift

By ANNELIA NIXON

TOUR operators in Exuma are pleased to hear that airlines are ramping up in time for the holiday season beginning in November.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper at the Exuma Business Outlook last week, airline seat capacity for the upcoming season has increased by two percent compared to 2023. This news comes after many Exumians expressed concern that the closure of the Sandals resort would result in a tourism downfall.

Robert Thompson, owner of Robert’s Island Adventures, told Tribune Business that August through October is always typically slower in terms of guests visiting the island and sales in his business but this year was the slowest in a while.

Khrisanique Cunnigham, manager Four C’s Adventures said the same.

“Personally, since I’ve been working with the company this year per se, I would say that it’s been the slowest,” Ms Cunnigham said. “Normally this time of year is slow, but it’s definitely one of the slowest seasons that I’ve ever experienced since working with the company. We would have one or two bookings here and there, and then sometimes we’ll go for weeks without bookings. We’ll have calls, but

we won’t make it to the confirmed amount to build a tour, per se.”

However, they both said they are now experiencing advanced bookings for their tours and excursions.

“I’m starting to get some reservations for Thanksgiving and Christmas is really starting to look good,” Mr Thompson said. “I’m just trying to get my boats together right now. From here until November, I have four boats that I have to do maintenance for. One boat a month. I have my fingers crossed. You know, you got election over there in the United States, so you don’t know what’s gonna happen there. You know, everybody’s waiting to see what’s

gonna happen there. So that’s probably got people just waiting, you know.”

Ms Cunnigham added:

“I can definitely say that we have confirmed tours already going into the new month for next month. I definitely think that there will be more persons coming in. Personally from the calls and queries that we’ve been receiving from guests, it looks like the island is going to be booming for the winter season.”

Ms Cunnigham said she believes a Beaches resort is needed. She noted that Sandals was a couple’s resort, whereas the Beaches brand caters more to families, which Exuma tends to see

the installation of two new LNG burning units, which will save over $29m per year in fuel costs.”

She said the decrease in electricity bills will be a “gradual process” as the utility must implement energy efficient machinery and BPL will schedule and design which engines will be

“first out the gate” by their efficiency.

“Our present generators are very old. They have outlived their actual lifespan, and so they are working extremely, extremely hard to produce the energy that we are presently demanding,” said Mrs Coleby- Davis.

“While they are still providing that service for BPL, they are working overtime, and they’re probably using more fuel. And so all of what we are trying to do is put efficiencies in place and improvements. You will see deductions gradually, because we’re going to be now able to put a more efficient engine first out the gate as opposed to the ones that we are heavily dependent on.”

a lot of in terms of tourists coming to the islands.

“A Beaches brand, personally, I think it was ever needed just because I know when Sandals was open, it was for adults only. But seeing that this is a family island and you do have persons that are looking to do things and places to stay with their family, I think it’s going to be a great addition, not just for tourists itself, but for locals. You know, even if they were to bring like a little water park addition, that would be great for the kids here on the island, you know, give them something to do.”

Mr Thompson noted that an upgraded airport may also help with raising tourism numbers adding “anywhere you go with a nice airport, people are going to come”.

And the hunt continues

By CHRIS ILLING CCO @ ActivTrades Corp

THE record hunt on the global stock markets continued last week. It was driven by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate cut and the price rally in the chip sector. There was also good news from the Eastern markets. The Chinese central bank is backing the domestic stock market with two support programmes. Large investors can obtain money from it cheaply to

buy shares. Prices in Asia were rising noticeably. Last Thursday, the ECB lowered its key interest rate again and pointed out that it wanted to wait and see how the economy developed with a view to possible future steps.

However, growth and inflation risks remain on the downside.

The big winner during the last trading day of the week was the world’s most popular streaming service, Netflix. Supported by the success of the crime series,

‘The Perfect Couple’, and the romantic comedy ‘Nobody Wants This’, Netflix has once again gained a surprising number of new customers. Netflix shares rose by around 10.3 percent, reaching a new record high of $758. At the end of the week, the report on the third quarter provided a tailwind with a convincing development in the streaming provider’s subscriber numbers. Also, Apple’s share certificates were

able to add to their recent record high. The company’s new iPhones seem to be in demand again in China. With a price increase of 1.2 percent, Apple could catch up with its record. Shares of chipmaker and stock market darling, Nvidia, were highly sought after by investors in late US trading on Friday. In the midst of a rally in chip stocks, the shares of the provider of high-performance AI chips have risen to near-record highs and

Probe demanded over $2.3m for son of top Christie adviser

FROM PAGE B1

yesterday, and a message detailing the nature of this newspaper’s inquiry was not returned before press time. However, he nearly two years ago denied any impropriety when Tribune Business first exclusively revealed on November 8, 2022, that CCA had paid $2.3m to Notarc Management Group, where his son, Leslie Bethel, was chief executive.

The payments were made between December 2014 and January 2016, when the dispute between Mr Izmirlian and CCA was at its peak, but both Sir Baltron and his son denied they influenced the former’s stance towards the dispute and its participants, or his advice to the Government and its actions.

Sir Baltron, who was the Government’s ‘point person’ in dealing with the Baha Mar controversy, said he had acted “with complete integrity and objectivity” on the Government’s behalf and there was no connection or interaction between himself and Notarc “at that time”. Leslie Bethel, meanwhile, asserted that claims of anything untoward over the $2.3m payments were “political mischief”, and they were “unrelated” to Baha Mar.

However, Judge Borrok appeared to reach a slightly different conclusion. “The defendants actively worked to curry favour with the Bahamian government and behind the back of Baha Mar,” he ruled in reference to CCA, adding that this was another way in which they had breached their investors’ agreement with Mr Izmirlian.

“Through the end of 2014 to the beginning of 2016, the CSCEC Bahamas Board member had CCA Bahamas pay the consulting company, Notarc, belonging to Leslie Bethel, son of Sir Baltron Bethel, a senior advisor to the Bahamian Prime Minister, approximately $2.3m, purportedly for consulting services related to business opportunities in Panama,” the judge confirmed.

CSCEC is China State Construction and Engineering Corporation, CCA’s parent which is also owned by the Beijing government.

“The record evidence establishes, at the very least, that the defendants relied on their business relationship with Leslie Bethel to gain access to Sir Baltron Bethel and, by extension, the Bahamian government,” Judge Borrok concluded.

Pointing out that Sir Baltron and the Christie administration “co-ordinated” with CCA during the unsuccessful negotiations to resolve the Baha Mar dispute, the judge added: “For example, while CCA Bahamas was in negotiations with the Bahamian government over a Head Of Agreement in relation to the British Colonial development, Mr Liu forwarded an e-mail communication from Sir Baltron Bethel to his son, Leslie Bethel.

“Mr Liu confirmed in his deposition testimony that he did so because he was ‘looking for help’ from Leslie Bethel, and wanted Leslie Bethel to speak with his father, Sir Baltron Bethel, about proposed edits made by Sir Baltron Bethel to the Heads of Agreement.

“Leslie Bethel reassured Mr Liu that ‘Sir B is one of CCA’s biggest supporters’ and promised to provide further help with the defendants’ interactions with the Bahamian government. Mr Liu reciprocated the sentiment, saying: ‘I am sure about Sir Baltron and yourself as our best friend’.”

Judge Borrok also picked up on e-mail exchanges between Daniel Liu, CCA’s

senior vice-president, and Sir Baltron over how Baha Mar’s financier, the Chinese state-owned China ExportImport Bank, could push for a new “equity partner” to be brought into the project. Sir Baltron urged that this idea come from the bank as the Government did not want to be seen as forcing Mr Izmirlian out.

“Later on, after the March 27, 2015 deadline had been missed and in advance of a planned negotiation meeting with Baha Mar, Sir Baltron Bethel asked Mr Liu for advice as to the ‘[m]anner in which you would wish negotiations to proceed’,” the judge said.

“Later, in a July 22, 2015, e-mail, apparently inadvertently copying representatives of Mr Izmirlian, Sir Baltron Bethel proposed ‘[o]ne way of making up the equity shortfall of Baha Mar would be for the bank to advance the idea of an additional equity partner with hotel and casino experience being brought in within say 90 days’.

“He was careful to add that ‘[s]uch a suggestion should preferably come from bank and not Gov’t to prevent Baha Mar taking the position Gov’t is trying to push lzmirlian out’.” Tom Dunlap, Baha Mar’s former president, told the twoweek New York trial over Mr Izmirlian’s claim that he found Sir Baltron’s e-mail “ghastly” when he inadvertently received it.

“I think the polite reaction is I don’t think I am supposed to be copied on this. But it is a pretty ghastly thought because it appears exactly as what he is saying

he is trying not to appear. It looks like they are trying to work up a back room deal to replace the developer with another hotel and casino operator,” Mr Dunlap testified.

Probing further, Judge Borrok noted how Mr Liu recommended to his CCA colleagues that the Chinese contractor ‘take advantage of The Bahamas government. If the Government, the Export-Import Bank of China and CCA join forces, that can turn passive into active’.

“This e-mail chain also references apparently bilateral meetings between the defendants and the ‘Prime Minister’s Senior Advisor’,” Judge Borrok said. “This e-mail chain is a clear endorsement of the strategy of pushing BML Properties and Baha Mar out of the project, and contemplates having the Bahamian government’s assistance in doing so.”

Michael Pintard, the FNM leader, in a statement, while not naming Sir Baltron, said: “This court document presents a compelling case for an immediate investigation by the Bahamian government into payments made by foreign actors to Bahamian officials to influence government policy and decisions. Such allegations tarnish the

reputation of The Bahamas as a credible and legitimate place to conduct business.”

Voicing doubt that this will happen, he added:

“Nonetheless, the gravity of this situation demands that the Prime Minister act responsibly and ensure an immediate investigation by credible and independent parties into the claims that officials of the administration - where he served as Deputy Prime Ministermay have been influenced in their decisions and recommendations regarding the Baha Mar matter.

“The Prime Minister must rise above his instincts to protect members of the PLP and demonstrate that The Bahamas is a country of laws, where no one is above justice.” The Prime Minister’s Office, for its part, said Philip Davis KC had instructed Ryan Pinder KC, the Attorney General, to review the judgment’s findings but declined to comment beyond that.

“Prime Minister Davis directed Attorney General Ryan Pinder to conduct a review of the recent ruling issued by the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the case of BML Properties versus China Construction America,” it added.

“The Prime Minister has stated that the Government

were trading at around $138.

Gold jumped to an alltime high of $2,716 per troy ounce on Friday. Given the uncertain trajectory of the US election and geopolitical uncertainties, gold could continue to gain traction. Gold prices have been rising since the end of 2022, continuously reaching new all-time highs as inflation and geopolitical uncertainty have increased demand for the precious metal.

will await the advice of the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs before making any further comments or decisions regarding the findings of the ruling.” Judge Borrok, meanwhile, also referred to the minutes of a September 28, 2015, meeting between CCA and China ExportImport Bank officials in Beijing, where they discussed ousting Mr Izmirlian by placing Baha Mar into liquidation and finding a new owner that was preferably Chinese - which is exactly what happened.

“After the US bankruptcy case was dismissed in favour of a liquidation proceeding filed by the Bahamian Government, BML Properties [Mr Izmirlian] offered to ‘match the price’ of any other offer to buy the project’s assets out of liquidation, but did not receive a response,” Judge Borrok said.

“The project was sold out of liquidation to Perfect Luck, a subsidiary of China Export-Import Bank, and then subsequently bought by another Chinese entity, Chow Tai Fook. Thus, the failure to get the project back on track after the March 27, 2015, deadline was missed was due to the defendants’ (CCA’s) conduct.”

‘Absolute sham and shakedown’: Sarkis has $1.6bn Baha Mar win

The ruling, and the manner in which it dismisses CCA’s case by finding for Mr Izmirlian and his BML Properties vehicle on all the key points, will again renew questions, scrutiny and doubts over the then-Christie administration’s handling of the Baha Mar dispute and why it so eagerly went all-in to support CCA and the Chinese position while opposing the original developer’s Chapter 11 protection bid.

Senior government ministers and officials from the time were quiet yesterday.

Mr Christie did not respond to phone calls and messages seeking comment on Mr Izmirlian’s victory and the verdict’s findings, as did Allyson Maynard-Gibson KC, the then-attorney general, who also played a key role in the Government’s response. Sir Baltron was said to be out when Tribune Business called, and its message was not returned.

Mr Izmirlian, though, in a statement hailing Justice Borrok’s verdict, slammed the former Christie administration while also appearing to take a thinly-veiled swipe at the Bahamian judicial system which oversaw his ousting, Baha Mar’s placement into receivership and its ultimate sale to current owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE), which played no part in the events that impacted the former developer.

“I first conceived of Baha Mar more than 20 years ago, only to see it ripped out of my hands at the brink of opening by CCA,”

Mr Izmirlian said. “We are grateful to have finally had our day in the US

judicial system and thank Justice Borrok for his fair and thoughtful approach to the case. And we intend to proceed with the enforcement of the judgment in an equally thoughtful and prudent manner.”

The original developer, who filed his New York action against CCA and its affiliates almost seven years ago in December 2017, added: “The size of the verdict not only demonstrates the scale of the loss to the Izmirlian family but the extent of the wrongdoing by CCA.

“The decision once and for all sheds light on the true events of Baha Mar and how the actions of CCA, and the then-Bahamian government, ousted Sarkis Izmirlian and the Baha Mar management team to the detriment of The Bahamas.

“Justice Borrok ruled that CCA, the US business unit of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), China’s largest construction group, defrauded BML Properties as well as breached the parties’ investment agreement, directly resulting in the complete loss of BML Properties’ $845m investment in Baha Mar.”

CCA, in its own statement issued yesterday, blasted Judge Borrok’s verdict as “deeply flawed” on the basis that it ignored “indisputable evidence” Mr Izmirlian and Baha Mar’s troubles were of their own making. The Chinese stateowned contractor, which is controlled by the Beijing government, also pledged to appeal the judgment.

“The court’s decision is deeply flawed under

well-settled principles of New York law, and we intend to appeal,” CCA said. “The decision ignores indisputable evidence that BML Properties overborrowed, overspent and overextended itself, and then drove the project into a wrongful, secret bankruptcy - without first seeking the contractually required consent of minority investor CSCEC Bahamas - to eliminate its obligations at the expense of other stakeholders, including not only CSCEC Bahamas and construction manager CCA Bahamas, which made tireless efforts to complete the Baha Mar project on time and within budget, but the Bahamian government, sub-contractors and workers.”

Much of Judge Borrok’s verdict focused on the investors’ agreement between Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties on one side, and CCA and its CSCEC parent on the other. The latter invested $150m in the Cable Beach mega resort via preference shares, and received one seat on Baha Mar’s Board in return with Mr Izmirlian’s representatives holding the other four seats.

“To avoid the effect of any potential conflict of interest between CSCEC Bahamas and BML Properties, the parties agreed in Section 4.7 of the Investors Agreement that the CSCEC Board member was required to ‘at all times act in the best interests’ of Baha Mar and that the CSCEC Bahamas Board member was also required to report to the Board of Baha Ma as to CSCEC Bahamas’ findings,

Indonesia’s new president announces Cabinet. It’s the largest in the country’s history

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press

INDONESIAN Presi-

dent Prabowo Subianto announced his Cabinet late Sunday, hours after he was inaugurated.

The lineup of 109 ministers, vice ministers and head of national agencies was the largest in the country's history, and he named it the "Red and White Cabinet," referring to the colors of Indonesia's national flag. Subianto became the eighth president of Southeast Asia's largest economy on Sunday. The Cabinet of Subianto's predecessor, Joko Widodo, had

34 ministers and head of government agencies. Subianto has said earlier that he needs a strong administration, even though analysts said that his "fat" Cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy. "I want to create a strong government that would unite our multicultural

concerns and recommendations,” he wrote.

However, Judge Borrok found that CCA and CSCEC Bahamas’ Board member routinely failed to meet the obligation to ‘at all times act’ in Baha Mar’s best interests. This problem became especially acute when Tiger Wu, CCA’s executive vice-president and its most senior Bahamas-based official, took over the seat from Ning Yuan, the contractor’s president.

“In perhaps one of the only moments of true candor, and as discussed below, Tiger Wu testified that when he became the CSCEC Bahamas Board Member he was not even aware of the best interests obligation,” Judge Borrok wrote, citing the whole trial exchange where the CCA executive made this admission under crossexamination from Mr Izmirlian’s attorneys.

“Appointing a CSCEC Bahamas Board member who did not even know that he was obligated to act in the best interests of Baha Mar was the first breach of the investors agreement,” Judge Borrok added. “This occurred in May 2014. The breach was further compounded by the fact that Mr Wu was hopelessly conflicted in this role.

“As discussed further below, he was the executive vice-president of CCA Bahamas, the construction manager and general contractor of the project, which was also responsible for the clandestine acquisition of the competing Hilton project.”

CCA argued that its obligation to act in Baha Mar’s

society and diverse political interests," Subianto said before inviting more than 100 people for interviews at his residence last week. "It must be a big coalition, and some will say my Cabinet is fat." The Cabinet features politicians from a coalition of seven parties who supported his victory in the February election, and figures allied with Widodo's Cabinet, who were reappointed to continue their jobs under Subianto's presidency. Analysts said the move was a political reward to Widodo for the latter's tacit support in the election. Subianto was sworn in with his new vice president, 37-year-old Surakarta exMayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He chose Raka, who is Widodo's son, as his running mate, with Widodo favoring Subianto over the candidate of his own former party. The former rivals became tacit allies, even though Indonesian presidents don't typically endorse candidates. Subianto was a longtime rival of

best interests was “not a 24/7 commitment, and that [the investors’ agreement] contemplates that the defendants may wear different hats at different times such that they are not required to always act in the best interests of Baha Mar”. This, though, was rejected by the judge who found Mr Wu did not even know he had this responsibility.

Detailing the CCA’s response, when asked about resources being diverted away from Baha Mar’s construction to both the British Colonial’s purchase and projects in Panama, Judge Borrok wrote: “In sum, Mr Wu’s position was that when he acted in a different role with respect to another company... he could shed and no longer be bound by his best interests obligation.

“Put another way, his testimony amounts to the view that the best interests obligation, which he did not know about and did not consider, could be flipped on and off like a light switch by merely by saying that he was working on a different job. This is the very position this court and the appeal court already rejected.”

Turning to the consequences, Judge Borrok ruled: “Fraud was also established beyond doubt. CCA Bahamas knowingly and falsely told Baha Mar and its representatives that substantial completion would occur by March 27, 2015, and Mr Wu voted to authorise a Baha Mar Board resolution announcing such opening date to the public without any plan place to achieve it.”

He added that Mr Wu, “without telling” the Baha Mar Board, had in

the Widodo, who ran against him for the presidency twice and refused to accept his defeat on both occasions, in 2014 and 2019. But Widodo appointed Subianto as defense chief after his reelection, paving the way for an alliance despite their rival political parties. During the campaign, Subianto ran as the popular outgoing president's heir, vowing to continue signature policies like the construction of a multibillion-dollar new capital city and limits on exporting raw materials intended to boost domestic industry. Backed by Widodo, Subianto swept to a landslide victory in February's direct presidential election on promises of policy continuity. Subianto reappointed nearly half of Widodo's Cabinet members, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, making her the first person to hold the ministry under three different presidents.

Indrawati, 62, who has served as the executive

early 2015 persuaded his superiors to write to the CSCEC parent calling for the immediate dispatch to The Bahamas of an extra 450 workers as without the additional manpower the completion date would not be achieved causing “irreparable and catastrophic losses”.

Yet, at the same time, CCA was reassuring Tom Dunlap, Baha Mar’s president, that all was well with the construction effort. “I think there might be some confusion, all the overhead ceiling inspections, life safety inspections, TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy) pre-inspections are still going well following the schedule,” CCA told him.

“Aside from never telling Baha Mar of the urgent need for more workers, as he was obligated to do as the CSCEC Bahamas Board Member, these assurances by Mr Wu and his subordinates were false and designed to induce reliance by BML Properties and, in Daniel Liu’s words, ultimately ‘turn passive into active’ and cause a liquidity crisis pushing BML Properties out of its $845m investment,” Judge Borrok wrote.

“This is exactly what happened. Additionally, the defendants committed fraud by making the representation that they needed a $54m payment so that they could pay sub-contractors. The evidence adduced at trial established they did not need it or use it for that purpose. They wanted it and used it to buy a competing hotel development down the road.”

director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank, is one of Indonesia's longest-serving finance ministers, having held the post for long stretches under Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo.

She has earned considerable respect in international circles, particularly for her reforms of the chaotic Indonesian taxation system and her role in steering Indonesia through the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We regularly consulted with each other to discuss strategies for strengthening the Finance Ministry and the state finances to support his programs," Indrawati told reporters after meeting with Subianto last week.

Other ministers from Widodo's Cabinet include Interior Minister Tito Karnavian, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

BAHA MAR CRISIS ‘AVERTED’ IF CCA DIDN’T PURCHASE BRITISH COLONIAL

The contractor and its executives, both in written evidence and during August’s two-week trial over Mr Izmirlian’s fraud and breach of contract claim, repeatedly testified that the $54m was used for the purposes stated to the developer. However, the judge simply branded this as “false”.

“Indeed, at trial, Baha Mar established by clear and convincing evidence that the meeting was an absolute sham and shakedown of Mr Izmirlian designed to induce Baha Mar to release $54m of disputed change order money for use to purchase the Hilton rather than to pay sub-contractors or to otherwise advance the project, and that CCA Bahamas had no plan to achieve substantial completion by March 27, 2015 when it promised to do so,” Judge Borrok determined.

The November 2014 meeting in Beijing, which was also attended by executives from the China Export-Import Bank, another entity owned by the Beijing government that provided the $2.45bn debt financing for Baha Mar,

had been called to get the Cable Beach resort’s construction back on track and resolve the growing differences between Mr Izmirlian and CCA. However, one month prior on October 21, 2014, CCA’s Bahamas affiliate had signed a sales agreement to acquire the British Colonial resort “unbeknownst” to Mr Izmirlian. The deal, which ultimately led to The Pointe’s development on adjacent land at a cost of $200m, required the Chinese contractor to pay a $3m deposit with a further $54m due at closing.

“The November meeting minute, signed just some three to four weeks after CCA Bahamas signed the contract of sale for the [British Colonial], memorialise Baha Mar’s agreement, at CCA Bahamas urging, to place an emergency utilisation request from Baha Mar’s credit facility with China Export-Import Bank in the amount of approximately $54m in order to pay this sum to CCA Bahamas,” Judge Borrok wrote. “Baha Mar made this utilisation request on November 21, 2014. CCA

Bahamas represented to Baha Mar that this money was urgently needed to pay sub-contractors. The defendants’ representatives testified repeatedly at trial that this $54m was used to pay subcontractors...... This was false.

“Initially, the court notes that this $54m figure was not the result of a simple addition of unpaid claims. Rather, it was a product of negotiation between the parties at the November 2014 Beijing Meeting , the purpose of which trial revealed was to secure exactly that sum necessary to close on the [British Colonial] hotel down the street.”

Judge Borrok said Mr Izmirlian’s forensic accounting witness, Paul Pocalyko, has “credibly demonstrated” using CCA’s bank statements and other documents “that at least a significant portion of Baha Mar’s $54m payment was used to purchase the [British Colonial] because, but for monies received from Baha Mar, CCA Bahamas’ bank account would have had insufficient funds after CCA Bahamas closed”.

The British Colonial’s sale closed on December 16,

2014, and the verdict added:

“Mr Pocalyko also gave uncontradicted testimony that there was no evidence that CCA Bahamas used the entirety of this $54m payment to pay sub-contractors, as it had promised BML Properties it would do.

“In his expert report, and in his testimony, he also pointed to numerous examples of sub-contractors requesting payment from CCA Bahamas after CCA Bahamas received the $54m payment.” Judge Borrok also dismissed evidence supplied by CCA’s forensic accountant, noting that he had failed to verify the payments his client claimed to have made to the project’s sub-contractors.

And he found that Mr Wu also failed to consider whether he was in compliance with his obligation, as CCA’s representative on Baha Mar’s Board, to act in the project’s best interests at all times when focus and resources were simultaneously being directed to the downtown Nassau resort and its purchase.

“Mr Wu admitted in his testimony that, at the time he was working on the Hilton

transaction, he simply ‘didn’t think about’ whether acquiring the Hilton was in the best interest of Baha Mar,” Judge Borrok added. “This, too, was a breach. He was both required to think about it and also to disclose the acquisition to the Board of Baha Mar. He did neither.

“Lastly, Mr Wu admitted that this $54m could have otherwise been used to pay sub-contractors on the project, which would have alleviated CCA Bahamas’ liquidity problem in March 2015 and likely averted what happened. BML Properties would not have lost its investment.

“Thus, the credible evidence demonstrates that CCA Bahamas requested and used the $54m payment from BML Properties in the November 2014 Beijing meeting to purchase the Hilton, rather than for its stated purpose to pay sub-contractors,” the judge continued.

“Put another way, Mr Wu’s assertion that the $54m payment request from Baha Mar and $54m payment for the Hilton represent merely an ‘exact coincidence’ is simply

incredible.” Judge Borrok said the $54m was not the only asset that the Chinese state-owned contractor switched to the British Colonial purchase.

“CCA Bahamas diverted other project resources to support its acquisition. CCA Bahamas’ head scheduler, Mr Manabat, who served under the direction of Mr Wang and Mr Wu, was also diverted from his work on the project to produce at least one schedule for the [British Colonial] in February 2015,” the verdict added.

And, referring to CCA’s parent, Judge Borrok said: “China State Construction and Engineering Corporation Bahamas breached the best interest obligation both by diverting project funds to purchase the competing [British Colonial] property and by not using those funds for their intended use - to pay sub-contractors.

“Mr Wu, in failing to pay CCA Bahamas’ sub-contractors and permitting the $54m to be used to purchase the British Colonial, was in breach of the best interests obligation to Baha Mar.”

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NEXSON LEONCE, of Treasure Cay, Abaco, 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 21st day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that NICKSENEL MACCENA, of Treasure Cay, Abaco, 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 21st day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ALESSA KENYAKAYE LISCOMBE, of #8 Canary & Australia Avenue, Freeport, Grand Bahama, 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 21st day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that REMY PREVAL , of Pineyard Road, Nassau, 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 21st day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LUCY WENDY GEORGES COOPER, of P.O. Box N9742 Venice Bay, Nassau, 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 21st day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Retail investors gain $20m cruise power opportunity

FROM PAGE B1

to sufficiently de-risk the project, the CFAL chief also confirmed that the consortium is presently “in the market” with a private placement aiming to raise a further $50m in equity capital from targeted institutional investors and high net worth individuals.

Revealing that the total capital investment required for the Arawak Cay-based shore power facility is $150m, Mr Ferguson said the non-equity balance of around $80m or slightly higher will be obtained in debt financing through the likes of bank loans and preference shares.

Tribune Business, which previously revealed that both Nassau Cruise Port and BISX-listed Arawak Port Development Company (APD) are part of the Island Power Producers, can also disclose that the three remaining partners are all overseas and international firms.

Crowley, the shipping company, will be responsible for transporting the LNG fuel to Arawak Cay and its subsequent offloading. Siemens will supply the generation equipment and manage/operate the plant, while Watts Marine,

a specialist in shore power solutions, will deal with the hook-ups for all cruise vessels capable of connecting to it.

“We are in the market,”

Mr Ferguson confirmed to Tribune Business. “We are looking to raise in equity at this point in time around $50m. Then we are looking to do a Bahamas Energy Fund. That will be similar to the Bahamas Investment Fund, where investors will be able to invest a minimum of $1,000 in it. We hope to do that in January when we have done most of the heavy lifting.”

The Bahamas Investment Fund was the vehicle created to hold the collective 49 percent local equity ownership in Nassau Cruise Port. Small retail investors directly acquired an interest in that investment fund, not the Nassau Cruise Port, and a similar structure and terms appear to be being contemplated for the cruise shore power facility.

Mr Ferguson said work is beginning at the proposed generation facility’s site, which is understood to “abut” APD’s container port property. He added that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the necessary environmental studies, are

underway as is the “final design of the system” while the generation engines are already on order.

“We wanted to take out the risk for the smaller investor, and because of the risk of a retail fund here and the Securities Commission needing time to review it, we felt it better to do [the retail offering] in January; the first quarter of 2025,” the CFAL principal said, explaining why the private placement has gone first.

“It’s going very well so far,” he said of the $50m raise. “I think institutional investors see good opportunities to participate in the Government’s energy sector reform. It’s out in the market and we’re hoping to close it at the end of the month.

“The total capital raise is $150m for the facility, and that includes the gasification plant. They are dual, combined cycle engines and we are getting those from Siemens.” Asked how much Island Power Producers anticipates raising from its retail offering, Mr Ferguson replied: “We’re thinking between $12m and $20m depending on the demand.

“A lot of times people suggest going to the small investor, but a lot of times the appetite is not as robust

as the demand for debt because persons like the certainty of a 7-8 percent return that you don’t always get with equity. The goal will be between $12m and $20m for retail investors.” If the latter figure is hit, that would take the total equity raise to $70m.

Mike Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive and APD’s chairman, who is also on Island Power Producers’ advisory Board alongside Mr Ferguson, confirmed the respective roles that Crowley, Siemens and Watts Marine will play in the shore power project.

Watts provides shore power in ports such as San Diego, Seattle, Brooklyn, Long Beach, Vancouver and San Francisco, and Mr Maura said: “Watts will be at the slips interface with the cruise port. Their systems and hardware will plug into the ships. It will be the same for ships that have shore power capability at the Nassau Container Port. Watts operates within 30 feet of the bulkhead.”

He reiterated that the shore power project, which

will not only involve offloading LNG at Nassau Container Port but transporting it to the generation plant via a pipeline running underneath the port’s property, will create a new revenue stream for APD that will help to reduce the need for any tariff increases to be imposed on imported goods and services.

“It’s a new cargo source type for APD,” Mr Maura explained. “The beauty of it is, in my view, that it doesn’t have an operational cost for APD. You have LNG moving off the ship, running on a pipeline underneath and moving through APD’s property. APD will collect a toll on that.”

Confirming that the capital raising effort has started, he added: “There have been meetings with institutional investors. We have an ongoing discussion in terms of what the equity raise is going to contribute. Those discussions are well underway. There’s been meetings with pension fund managers, there’s been meetings with other investors. Those talks are ongoing.”

Island Power Producers’ Board includes Charles Farquharson, the former Morton Salt general manager, as well as Angelo Butler, CFAL’s manager of corporate advisory services. Apart from Erold Farquharson, a contractor, who is the company’s managing director, all other members of the executive and management team appear to expatriates.

Mr Ferguson, though, told Tribune Business that the Board’s composition was likely to change once the equity raises were completed so that it is more representative of investors and their interests. Island Power Producers, on its website confirmed that it aims to develop a 60 MW natural gas combined cycle power plant.

“Island Power Producers was established to build and operate a state-of-theart natural gas power plant to provide shore power to cruise ships docked at the Nassau Cruise Port and to supply any excess power to Bahamas Power & Light,” it added.

Cubans struggle as power not fully restored days after blackout as hurricane nears

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ and MILEXSY DURAN Associated Press

MANY Cubans waited in anguish Sunday as electricity on much of the island had yet to be restored days after an island-wide blackout. Their concerns were also raised as Hurricane Oscar made landfall in the southeastern Bahamas and was heading toward their country.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said in a press conference he hopes the country's electricity grid will be restored on Monday or Tuesday morning.

He also recognized that Oscar, which could hit the island Sunday night, will bring "an additional inconvenience" to Cuba's recovery since it will touch a "strong region of (electricity) generation." Key Cuban power plants, such as Felton in the city of Holguín, and Renté in Santiago de Cuba, are located in the area.

Some neighborhoods had electricity restored in Cuba's capital, where 2 million people live, but most of Havana remained dark. The impact of the blackout goes beyond lighting, as services like water supply also depend on electricity to run pumps.

People resorted to cooking with improvised wood stoves on the streets before the food went bad in refrigerators.

In tears, Ylenis de la Caridad Napoles, mother of a 7-year-old girl, says she is reaching a point of "desperation." The failure of the Antonio Guiteras plant on Friday, which caused the collapse of the island's whole system, was just the latest in a series of problems with energy distribution in a country where electricity has been restricted and rotated to different regions at different times of the day.

People lined up for hours on Sunday morning to buy bread in the few bakeries that could reopen.

Some Cubans like Rosa Rodríguez have been without electricity for four days.

"We have millions of problems, and none of them are solved," said Rodríguez. "We must come to get bread, because the local bakery is closed, and they bring it from somewhere else."

About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Thursday evening, followed by the entire island on Friday morning after one of the plants failed.

Besides the Antonio Guiteras plant, whose

failure on Friday affected the entire national system, Cuba has several others, and it wasn't immediately clear whether they remained functional.

The blackout was considered to be Cuba's worst in two years after Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 3 storm in 2022 and damaged power installations. It took days for the government to fix them. This year, some homes have spent up to eight hours a day without electricity.

Cuba's government said on Saturday that some electricity had been restored after one of the country's major power plants failed. But the 500 megawatts of energy in the island's electricity grid, far short of the usual 3 gigawatts it needs, had quickly decreased to 370 megawatts.

There is no official estimate for when the blackout will end. Even in a country that is used to outages as part of a deepening economic crisis, Friday's collapse was massive.

The Cuban government has announced emergency measures to slash electricity demand, including suspending school and university classes, shutting down some state-owned workplaces and canceling nonessential services.

CCA admitted Baha Mar slowdown before Christie

FROM PAGE B3

any furniture, fixtures and equipment loading or use of elevators for such purpose pending resolution of yet another disputed commercial issue”.

Some 200 workers downed tools over payment issues on February 9, 2015, and Judge Borrok reiterated: “To be clear, the evidence at trial suggested that there would have been no money issues had $54m not been diverted away from the project to buy the British Colonial.”

David Wang, CCA’s vice-president, also wrote on March 3, 2015, that in addition to the contractor’s normal progress payment

Baha Mar “also pay it 70 percent of change orders under review; some $13m of mechanical, electrical and plumbing allowance under review, and 50 percent of withheld retainage”.

Thomas Dunlap, Baha Mar’s then-president, objected to this as “totally improper” as the requirement to release retainage

- substantial completion of Baha Mar - had yet to be met. “Despite this, rather than negotiating in good faith to resolve these disputes, Mr Wang wrote on March 10, 2015, to express disappointment with the amount of money Baha Mar had authorised to be released,” Judge Borrok said.

“He wrote ‘I think it is unacceptable to CCA and will cause significant impact to CCA’s performance’.

After raising the issue of a possible additional equity contribution, Mr. Wang continued ‘[t]he project is at the critical moment, if we couldn’t raise enough fund, there will be no way to timely complete the project’.”

The judge added: “Mr Wang’s tying the progress of the project to Baha Mar’s payment, in full, of disputed amounts of change orders and other funds can only be seen as a veiled threat to slow the work and purposefully endanger the achievement of the March 27, 2015 opening date.”

VAMA PROPERTY LDC. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act. 2000, VAMA PROPERTY LDC. is in dissolution as of October 8, 2024

International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at rd loor hitfeld o er oney ri e Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

L I Q U I D A T O R

Musk offers voters $1 million a petition backing the Constitution.

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X and owner of X who's gone all-in on Republican Donald Trump's candidacy for the White House, has already committed at least $70 million to help the former president. Now he's pledging to give away $1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee's petition backing the Constitution.

The giveaway is raising questions and alarms among some election experts who say it is a violation of the law to link a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be registered to vote.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, the state's former attorney general, expressed concern about the plan on Sunday.

"I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently

now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians. That is deeply concerning," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

A closer look at what's going on:

What is Musk doing?

Musk promised on Saturday that he would give

CHUPAFLOR INC. In Voluntary Liquidation

Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138(4) of the InternationalBusiness Companies Act. 2000, CHUPAFLOR INC. is in dissolution as of October 8, 2024

International Liquidator Services Ltd. situated at rd loor hitfeld o er oney ri e Belize City, Belize is the Liquidator.

L I Q U I D A T O R

away $1 million a day, until the Nov. 5 election, for people signing his PAC's petition supporting the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, and the Second Amendment, with its right "to keep and bear arms." He awarded a check during an event Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to a man identified as John Dreher. A message left with a number listed for Dreher was not returned Sunday. Musk gave out another check Sunday. What's the broader context here?

Musk's America PAC has launched a tour of Pennsylvania, a critical election battleground. He's aiming to register voters in support of Trump, whom Musk has endorsed. The PAC is also pushing to persuade voters in other key states. It's not the first offer of cash the organization has made. Musk has posted on X, the platform he purchased as Twitter before renaming it, that he would offer people $47 — and then $100 — for referring others to register and signing the petition. Trump, who was campaigning Sunday in Pennsylvania, was asked about Musk's giveaway, and said, "I haven't followed that." Trump said he "speaks to Elon a lot. He's a friend of mine" and called him great for the country. What's the issue with that?

Some election law experts are raising red flags about the giveaway. Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer, said the latest iteration of Musk's giveaway approaches a legal boundary. That's because the PAC is requiring registration as a prerequisite to become eligible for the $1 million

check. "There would be few doubts about the legality if every Pennsylvania-based petition signer were eligible, but conditioning the payments on registration arguably violates the law," Fischer said in an email.

Rick Hasen, a UCLA Law School political science professor, went further. He pointed to a law that prohibits paying people for registering to vote or for voting. "If all he was doing was paying people to sign the petition, that might be a waste of money. But there's nothing illegal about it," Hasen said in a telephone interview. "The problem is that the only people eligible to participate in this giveaway are the people who are registered to vote. And that makes it illegal."

Michael Kang, an election law professor at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, said the context of the giveaway so close to Election Day makes it harder to make the case that the effort is anything but a incentivizing people to register to vote.

"It's not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you're getting close enough that we worry about its legality," Kang said.

A message seeking comment was left with the PAC on Sunday, as was a request for comment from the Justice Department.

Can the PAC and Trump's campaign coordinate?

Typically coordination between campaigns and socalled super PACs had been forbidden. But a recent opinion by the Federal Election Commissioner, which regulates federal campaigns, permitted candidates and these groups to work together in certain cases, including getting out the vote efforts.

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GAMBOA LTD. Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 208138 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 18th day of October A.D. 2024.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MR. JOAO PEDRO SANTOS BITTENCOURT, whose address is Rua Bráulio Xavier, 60, Vitória, CEP: 40081400, Salvador, Brazil Any Persons having a Claim against the abovenamed Company are required on or before the 17th day of November A.D. 2024 to send their names, addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to the Liquidator of the Company, or in default thereof they may be excluded from the beneft of any distribution made before such claim is proved.

Dated this 18th day of October A.D. 2024. JOAO PEDRO SANTOS BITTENCOURT LIQUIDATOR

ELON Musk speaks at Life Center Church in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. Photo:Sean Simmers/AP

Will US convenience stores find the secret to selling better food?

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO AP Business Writer

AMERICANS who think of petrified hot dogs, frozen burritos and salty snacks when they imagine getting food at a gas station or truck stop may be pleasantly surprised during their next road trip: U.S. convenience stores are offering them more and better — though not necessarily healthier — choices.

From 7-Eleven to regional chains like QuikTrip, the operators of c-stores, as they're known in the trade, are looking overseas for grab-and-go inspiration, adding sit-down seating at some locations, expanding their coffee menus to rival Starbucks and experimenting with made-to-order meals for busy families.

The moves are happening as convenience stores seek ways to offset slowing sales of cigarettes, maps and soft drinks. By tempting customers' palates with fresh deli sandwiches and

build-your-own burgers, the humble food marts want to become an alternative to fast-food restaurants for busy Americans who crave easy, interesting and less expensive eating options. "It has been a decadeslong journey to go from food that was perceived as desperation to destination," Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives for the National Association of Convenience Stores, said. Once known for breakfast and lunch, convenience chains like Wawa, with more than 1,000 East Coast locations, as well as small operators like York, Pennsylvania-based Rutter's, have moved into dinner time with soup, chicken and fish dishes. Rutter's, which operates 90 stores, plans a new store format with expanded seating as it adds 50 new locations in the next five years.

Casey's General Stores, the nation's third-largest convenience store operator with 2,500 outlets mostly in

the Midwest and the South, introduced warm chicken, pork and hamburger sandwiches on brioche-style buns this year. The company, already known for serving pizza that customers enjoy, created a limitedtime menu that included pies and sliders made with smoked pulled pork, barbecue sauce and pickles.

"We really are approaching this like a restaurant as we always have, but more so now," Carrie Stojack, the Iowa-based chain's vice president of brand and strategic insights, said. "Prices have gotten really high. So what's happening is that convenience stores are becoming a real viable option for guests."

In keeping with their quest, convenience stores are expanding delivery services to build on a customer base they found during the COVID-19 pandemic.

7-Eleven plans to take its 7Now delivery app nationwide, allowing users to have pizza, the chain's signature Slurpees and thousands

of other items brought to their doors. The nation's largest convenience store chain, owned by Japanese company Seven & i Holdings, offers select Japanese items like chicken teriyaki, rice balls, miso ramen and sweet chili crisp wings at some U.S. locations and at its recently acquired Speedway and Stripes stores. Visitors to Japan and Hawaii often respond with envy and astonishment when they taste what's on offer at a 7-Eleven in Tokyo or Honolulu.

The chain's North American subsidiary said it works with some of the same food manufacturers and commissaries that serve Seven-Eleven Japan. That includes Warabeya, which is expanding its U.S operations to help deliver fresh food to stores and provide an assortment of offerings to suit regional tastes.

"Our team draws inspiration from around the world to introduce new items like mangonada donuts with Tajín, barbecue pork sliders, chicken curry bowls and everything breakfast sandwiches," the subsidiary said in a statement after declining interview requests.

Seven & i Holdings disclosed earlier this month plans to close 444 U.S. locations amid slowing sales, inflationary pressures and an accelerated decline in cigarette purchases. The company also is fielding a buyout offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canadian owner of the Circle K convenience stores.

MARINE FORECAST

CUSTOMERS checkout at a Sheetz convenience store, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Bethlehem, Pa.

Photo:Matt Slocum/AP

Wall Street sets more records and closes a 6th straight winning week

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

U.S. stocks closed their latest winning week with more records on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to squeak past the alltime high it had set early this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 36 points, or 0.1%, to its own record set the day before, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.6%.

Netflix helped drive the market with a leap of 11.1% after the streaming giant reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. That was despite a slowdown in subscriber growth.

It helped offset a 5.2% drop for CVS Health, which said it's likely to report a profit for the latest quarter that's well below what analysts had been expecting. The company also said David Joyner, an executive vice president, is taking over as president and CEO for Karen Lynch.

Trading overall on Wall Street remained relatively calm, as the S&P 500 closed its sixth straight winning week. That's its longest such winning streak of 2024.

Solid economic data has boosted hopes the U.S. economy can make a perfect escape from the worst inflation in generations, one that ends without a painful recession that many investors had seen as nearly

inevitable. And with the Federal Reserve now cutting interest rates to keep the economy humming, the expectation among optimists is that stocks can rise even further.

But critics are warning that stock prices look too expensive given how much faster they've climbed than corporate profits.

David Lefkowitz, head of U.S. equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, sees both sides. But while stock prices are indeed high relative to profits, he says they're "reasonable" when considering the Fed is cutting interest rates and other factors.

He's also expecting growth in corporate profits to continue, and he raised his forecast for where the S&P 500 could be in June to 6,300 from 6,200. On Wall Street, American Express fell 3.1% despite reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and it said its revenue for the full year of 2024 will likely come in at the lower end of the forecasted range it gave at the start of the year. The credit-card company's drop was the biggest reason the Dow lagged behind other stock indexes.

A VIEW of a 1/10 model of a nextgeneration combat jet Japan to be jointly developed with the UK and Italy for deployment in 2035, on display at a booth of their joint Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP, at the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition, in Tokyo, Oct. 16, 2024.

Photo:Mari Yamaguchi/AP

Japan, UK and Italy to expedite next-generation fighter jet to replace F-2s and Eurofighter Typhoons

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

THE defense ministers of Japan, the U.K. and Italy agreed to accelerate the joint development of a nextgeneration fighter jet, and announced that a trilateral government organization would be established by the end of this year to work with the parties producing the aircraft, Japanese officials said Sunday.

The three countries agreed in 2022 to jointly produce a new combat aircraft that will be ready for deployment in 2035, under the Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP, to strengthen cooperation in the face of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea.

The next-generation stealth fighter jet would replace Japan's retiring F-2s that it jointly developed with the U.S., and Eurofighter Typhoons, which were produced in partnership with the U.K, Italy, Spain and Germany.

On Sunday, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, after meeting with his U.K. and Italian counterparts, John Healey and Guido Crosetto, said a joint body called the GCAP International Government

Organization, or GIGO, will be set up by the end of this year to oversee the aircraft's development.

The ministers met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven defense ministers meeting in Naples, Italy.

Several private sector companies, including Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Britain's BAE Systems PLC and Italy's Leonardo, are taking part in the project.

GIGO, to be based in the U.K. and headed by a Japanese official, will oversee the aircraft's development.

"We now see the launch of GIGO and a joint venture on track" toward signing their first contract next year, Nakatani said.

Sunday's agreement addresses concerns over the progress of the project despite changes of leadership in both Japan and the U.K.

Mitsubishi Heavy and their U.K. and Italian counterparts had a 1/10th model of the joint fighter jet on display at their GCAP booth for the first time in Japan at a major aerospace exhibit in Tokyo last week.

Akira Sugimoto, MHI's Japan program senior representative for GCAP, said that the joint fighter jet development will be

meaningful for Japanese suppliers and for the country's industrial base.

"Our basic position is to bring our strengths together to develop a high quality fighter jet. I believe Japanese suppliers have outstanding technologies and I do hope as many of them as possible would join (GCAP)," Sugimoto said.

"I think it will also help Japanese suppliers to enhance their capacity to develop equipment and contribute to provide a better outlook and business environment and stability," he said.

Japan, which is rapidly building up its military, hopes to have greater capability to counter China's rising assertiveness, and the joint fighter jet project would help strengthen Japan's mostly domestic and underdeveloped defense industry.

Japan has significantly eased its arms export restrictions to allow foreign sales of the future fighter jet and licensing back of weapons, such as surface-to-air PAC-3 missile interceptors produced in Japan to complement U.S. inventory, which has decreased because of its support for Ukraine.

SLB, the giant that helps companies extract oil and natural gas, fell 4.7% after delivering a mixed earnings report. Its profit edged past analysts' expectations, but its revenue fell short as lower crude prices pushed some international producers to be cautious with their spending. CEO Olivier Le Peuch said revenue grew in the Middle East and Asia, along with offshore North America, but declined in Latin America. Oil prices tumbled this week as worries receded

that Israel will attack Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation for Iran's missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere. Concerns about the strength of demand from China have also hit oil prices. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell another 1.9% Friday for a 7.5% decline for the week. It's back to $73.06 after topping $80 early last week.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuitive Surgical, which climbed 10% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. The company, whose roboticassisted systems allow for less invasive surgery, also delivered better revenue than expected.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 23.20 points to 5,864.67.

The Dow added 36.86 to 43,275.91, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 115.94 to 18,489.55. In the bond market, Treasury yields eased. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.07% from 4.10% late Thursday.

Traders are coalescing around the idea that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its next meeting in November. Expectations had been high earlier for the Fed to deliver another larger-than-usual cut of half a percentage point, but strong updates on the economy have eliminated those. The federal funds rate is currently sitting in a range of 4.75% to 5%.

In stock markets abroad, Chinese indexes jumped in their latest sharp swing. Stocks rose 2.9% in Shanghai and 3.6% in Hong Kong after a report showed growth slowed during the summer for the world's second-largest economy.

The slowdown, exacerbated by a weak real-estate market, has raised expectations for big stimulus from the Chinese government and central bank, though doubts are still prevalent about how much effect they will have. Stock indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

A MAN approaches an entrance to the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 26, 2024, in New York.

Photo:Peter Morgan/AP