By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
A BAHAMAS Flying Ambassador says he “cannot continue to say with a straight face that you are the world’s best private pilot destination” given recent fee hikes, their structure and how they were implemented.
Rick Gardner, director of CST Flight Services, which provides flight co-ordination and trip support services to the private aviation industry, told Tribune Business that recent Customs fee and other increases, as well as developments such as the newly-unveiled schedule of charges by Bimini airport’s new private operator, have “tipped the playing field in favour” of rival destinations.
Acknowledging that The Bahamas has a sovereign right to adjust taxes and fees as it sees fit, he nevertheless said all he and others are trying to do is warn that this will “hurt your people” with the Bahamian economy - especially in the Family Islandslikely to be what “pays the price” from deterring high-spending private pilots and their guests from visiting this nation.
• Pilot: Extra funds ‘negated 20 times’ by
Disclosing the overwhelmingly negative reaction from the general aviation community, after CST Flight Services posted the Customs fee increases and new Bimini airport schedule online on June 26, 2024, Mr Gardner told this newspaper he assembled the comments and other information before sending this to the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation for the first time on September 18.
However, it was only at the third attempt, on October 12, 2024, that his communication received a response that it had “been forwarded” on. Private pilots had responded to CST Flight Services’ post with comments such as: “Have been to the Out Islands 15 times and was thinking of making another trip next year. If these fees do kick in then I am done” or “at these prices we may as well go to the Turks & Caicos”.
Mr Gardner also disclosed that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), which represents between 300,000 to 400,000 private plane owners and pilots worldwide, has received no response to its ‘travel advisory’ on The Bahamas and call for this nation to alter course on the Customs fee increases implemented on July 1, 2024, as part of the 20242025 Budget.
“The Bahamas is a sovereign country, they can do whatever they wish, but I cannot continue to say it is the best destination for general aviation in the world. I cannot say that with a straight face,” he told Tribune Business. “It’s a good one, but there are
Cruise power provider ‘beats’ target at $60m
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE developer seeking to provide clean energy to vessels docked at Nassau Cruise Port has “surpassed” its initial target by raising “close to $60m” in equity capital as its eyes a January 2025 construction start.
Anthony Ferguson, CFAL’s principal, told Tribune Business that Island Power Producers has already beaten the $50m it sought from a private placement targeting specific institutional and high net-worth investors even it has extended the offering by a week from the planned end-October close to allow
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor
A BAHAMIAN family where both adults are earning the minimum wage would have to increase their income four-and-a-half times to reach “middle class living standards” on New Providence, researchers are asserting.
Lesvie Archer, a University of The Bahamas (UoB) researcher, in a 14-page paper published in the International Journal of Bahamian Studies, disclosed that the total $27,040 annual income for such a family is far removed from the estimated $122,400 annual earnings needed to enjoy “a decent middle class life on New Providence”.
all interested parties time to make a decision.
Asserting that the Arawak Cay-based power plant’s development is on schedule, he revealed it is forecast to generate up to $40m in revenues per year along with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around $5m-$7.5m once Island Power Producers takes on the debt portion of its total $150m capital investment.
Given Arawak Cay’s industrial and maritime nature, Mr Ferguson told this newspaper he foresees no environmental-related obstacles to beginning the
For Grand Bahama, the figure was pegged at $121,200.
The study, which did not seem to define what ‘middle class’ is in the Bahamian context, said it focused only on “determining the cost of acquiring and maintaining certain middle class status symbols in The Bahamas” such as food, housing (rental), clothing and footware, recreation, communications, household needs and other items. Inflation was also factored into the calculations.
“The well-being of the middle class typically indicates the overall economic well-being of a nation, but little empirical research exists on financial costs
90% of import economy in ‘clear and present danger’
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
UP to 90 percent of The Bahamas’ import-driven economy faces a “clear and present danger” from the intensifying harbour breakwater disintegration, Nassau Container Port’s operator is warning.
Dion Bethell, BISXlisted Arawak Port Development Company’s (APD) president and chief financial officer, writing in its just-released annual report again reiterated that “the negative effects will reverberate throughout The Bahamas’ import-driven economy” unless the protective barriers protecting its facilities, Nassau Cruise Port and other nearby assets are restored with urgency.
Revealing that operations at APD’s Arawak Caybased container port were impacted on between eight to ten days last summer, with cargo ships either unable to offload or dock because of heavy swells that overwhelmed the deteriorating breakwater defences,
he said such disruption has increased at least four-fold on an annual basis and sounded the alarm that it poses “a serious threat to life and business at the port”.
“Last year the continued disintegration of the breakwater located just to the west of Paradise Island simulated increasing concern. There were incidents of cargo ships impeded in unloading at Nassau Container Port owing to the powerful sea surges and high winds that prevailed some months ago,” Mr Bethell wrote.
“As climate change accelerates, it is bringing stronger hurricanes and sea surges to our archipelago and neighbouring regions. In the past, services might typically have been disrupted twice a year by high seas. However, this phenomenon has escalated to the point where, over summer 2023, cargo operations at Nassau Container Port were impacted on eight to ten days.
LOWER PRICES PLEDGED AT NEWLY-OPENED COST RIGHT
AML Foods has pledged that Cost Right members will enjoy lower prices following the Nassau store’s $12m relocation from the Town Centre Mall to its new East-West Highway home.
Renea Bastian, its vicepresident of marketing and communications, told attendees at Friday’s opening of the new Cost Right Warehouse Club location that - while many businesses raise prices following investment in expansion - the BISX-listed food retail and franchise group had done the reverse and reduced those for members.
She was echoed by Franklyn Butler, AML Foods chairman, who reiterated: “Prices have gone down, not up. Yes, prices have gone down, not up.” He added: “The past few years has been on upgrading our facilities, increasing our product offerings and selection, leveraging technology, driving value, investing in learning and development and growth opportunities for our associates.
“Because our associates are key to that success. The buildings are only the way we do it, but people’s lives are ultimately what we are trying to focus on. Opening this new Cost Right and its upgrades is obviously our
commitment to our team and to our country.”
Mr Butler said the new 55,000 square foot store will offer consumers greater shopping options and an “enhanced overall grocery experience for customers, convenience and shopping in a new, modern spacious facility offering an even greater selection of brand names and private labels and extremely low prices”.
Ms Bastian, meanwhile, said the opening of Cost Right’s new store coincides with its introduction into the Bahamian market of a new private label, Member’s Selection, which she billed as a “well-recognised and trusted” brand
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cost Right will occupy of the former Solomon’s SuperCentre, and will be immediately next door to the remodelled 25,000 square foot Solomon’s Old Trail outlet. AML Foods has invested $22m in acquiring the 80,000 square feet that both its retail formats will occupy, along with the remodel and renovations.
Gavin Watchorn, AML Foods chief executive and president, previously said Cost Right’s new space compares favourably to the 30,000 square feet it occupied at Town Centre Mall. He added that the investment represented “a little
bit of consolidation” for the Solomon’s brand, which will no longer employ the ‘big box’ SuperCentre format but instead focus on its two ‘Fresh Market’ outlets and neighbourhood store concept.
“When we looked at it, Solomon’s SuperCentre and Cost Right, particularly in Nassau, having them so close to each other, a
mile-and-a-half apart and selling the same product, we felt it was not the best use of space,” he explained of the remodel. “The team has done an excellent job of staying best in class with what we’re trying to do and use space more efficiently.
“It’s about creating efficiencies for our team, it’s about creating the right experience for our customers, and we’ve been able to do that with a lesser footprint which means a smaller capital investment upfront.” The new Cost Right store is a complete remodel with a new roof, flooring, shelving, equipment and solar-powered refrigeration and air conditioning systems.
Ms Bastian added: “We are happy to unveil this new and improved experience to our customers. After a long and much anticipated wait, Cost Right members will now experience the joy and convenience of shopping in a new modern, spacious facility, offering an even greater selection
of brand name and private label products at the lowest prices on island.”
The store is a ‘members only club’ so customers will need to own a membership card in order to access the deals offered. “I want to reassure customers that our new all-member pricing structure and expanded assortment offers great savings, and the value in being a member is evident from the minute you step inside the door,” said Ms Bastian. “It is a true US club experience. We have invested millions of dollars to bring our customers this new state-of-the-art club store, and also lowered prices. Along with all of the great brands that we always sold we have introduced a new exclusive private label –Member’s Selection..... For those who are not currently members and wish to test the membership programme, we are currently offering a $5 one-month trial membership.”
NASSAU ARRIVAL FOR CRUISE LINE’S FIRST-EVER LNG SHIP
THE first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered cruise ship operated by Princess Cruise made Nassau its inaugural Caribbean port of call on October 13.
Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, was among those to greet the Sun Princess. The Sphereclass cruise ship is the first vessel operated by Princess Cruises to be fuelled by LNG as part of the commitment by its parent, Carnival
Corporation, to environmental sustainability and a reduced carbon footprint. The outward and suspended Sphere Atrium, from which this new class of ship takes its name, gives guests expansive ocean views and an open concept from the ship’s hub. Like all vessels in this class, it features an architectural element known as The Dome - a glass-enclosed structure at the top of the ship.
Guests were welcomed aboard and treated to tours
Callenders adds senior associate
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
CALLENDERS & Company has announced that attorney I.A. Nicholas Mitchell is joining its ranks as a senior associate.
Mr Mitchell has more than 11 years’ experience practicing both locally and internationally, including in the UK and South Africa, in both the criminal and civil courts, as well as transactional work. With a background in public law, commercial litigation and criminal defence, he graduated from Kent Law School at the University of Kent in England, and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 2012.
Mr Mitchell was called to The Bahamas Bar in 2013, and began his career in the Office of the Attorney General as a crown counsel, where he worked as both a civil litigator and a prosecutor. Transitioning into the private sector, he said: “I am thrilled to join Callenders & Co and contribute to a firm that has such a rich history and commitment to excellence.
“I look forward to working alongside a talented team to serve our clients and uphold the principles of justice and fairness.”
Mr Mitchell holds a constitutional appointment to the Public Disclosure Commission of The Bahamas, and has participated in immersion programmes in Spain and China.
of the vessel, including a sustainability tour demonstrating how the company is promoting positive climate action. From using LNG to deliver immediate greenhouse gas reductions today, to cutting food waste and removing single-use plastic items from its ships and installing energy-efficient technologies and equipment to lower fuel use, the company is making progress towards minimising its environmental footprint.
“Callenders & Co is excited to welcome Nicholas Mitchell to the team,” said R. Dawson Malone, managing partner in Callenders’ Nassau office. “We are confident that his expertise and dedication will greatly benefit our clients and strengthen our already top-class legal team as we continue to grow, evolve and pioneer innovative legal solutions for the 21st century.”
NICHOLAS MITCHELL
SUN Princess docked at the Nassau Cruise Port on October 13 during the next-generation, LNG (liquefied natural gas) powered cruise vessel’s first-ever visit to The Bahamas.
FOUR-DAY WORK WEEK GAINS MIXED REVIEWS
By ANNELIA NIXON
Businesses and trade unions gave mixed opinions on whether The Bahamas should shift to a four-day work week amid concern this will force the Government to pay increasing overtime costs.
“The extra day off will also mean overtime for certain departments,” Deron Brooks, president of the Bahamas Customs, Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BICAWU), said while referring to the fourday work week as “an interesting idea”.
He added: “As it stands now, [the] Government is delinquent in that area in the Customs Department and a few months behind in the Immigration Department.” Mr Brooks’ comments came after Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, said she was closely watching Iceland’s implementation of a four-day work week to assess how it could operate here.
However, Mr Brooks said: “I don’t think the Government will support it because it will mean one less day they will have available to perform certain services and to collect government revenue. I think [the] Government will consider if and how the implementation of a four-day work-week would affect revenue collection and generation.”
The BICAWU, on October 30, voted on a strike after the issue of overdue overtime payments and other issues were not resolved to its satisfaction.
The union is still awaiting the official results of the poll, but Mr Brooks said he is confident that they will be granted the strike certificate.
However, he added that workers could have an added rest day and more time to spend with their family if the four-day work week materialises. But Chef Armin, owner and manager of Original Swiss Sweet Shop, said that with three days off employees may get “bored” and it will also reduce productivity in the workplace.
“I believe the five-day is pretty good,” Chef Armin said. “I mean, I used to work with one day off a week and that was alright. So I don’t know. I’m in management, so we used to work with one day off a week. So two days was like heaven. Three days, people get bored. I mean, if you love your job, it will be hard for you, you know. If you don’t love your job, then it’s fine with you.”
Chef Armin also questioned how the four-day work week would look. He said if a day were to be subtracted from the work week for every staff member, “that means you need 20 percent more employees.” He added: “So where do you get them from?” Mrs Glover-Rolle, speaking to the Bahamas Society for Human Resource Management’s 2024 annual conference and expo last week, signalled that she is open to similar reform while arguing that The Bahamas cannot “become a dinosaur” in its working practices and treatment of employees.
“And, when we talk about remote work, and when we talk about the four-day work week that Iceland has already implemented and they’re in test mode, I’m watching closely because you know the people here say it can’t work,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said.
“But you know how we are. It can’t work until it works, and somebody has to have the fortitude to make it work. But productivity is what is critical for us in our workforce as human resource managers. We want somebody who could get it done even if it takes three hours, if it takes ten hours, as opposed to somebody who is present but isn’t present.
“So we have to prioritise our employee well-being alongside that of organisational productivity. And that’s where the world is headed. Even if The Bahamas isn’t as quick on the uptake all the time, remember that we are competing in a global labour market,” she added.
“You don’t want to allow yourself to become a dinosaur in this environment when the competition may be a high achiever, even though you’re across the globe. Remember that dinosaurs don’t walk the earth any more and that’s for a reason - because they failed to adapt. So as human resources leaders, as experts, do not fear change. It is inevitable and we might as well embrace it.
“But I know I’m speaking to a room of change agents, so I’m not concerned about that. But this is the kicker. It’s not you that I’m concerned about. It’s getting our teams to embrace change. It’s getting our teams to buy into the vision. The more of your organisation that remains responsive to change, the easier your essential change management processes will be as you retool for human resources competitiveness.”
Port operator ‘on track’ to beat EBITDA goal by 7%
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
NASSAU Container Port’s operator says operating income for its current financial year to end-June 2025 is “on track” to beat forecasts by 7 percent based on its performance through August 2024.
BISX-listed Arawak Port Development Company (APD), giving investors an insight into the projected outturn for 2024-2025 in its just-released annual report, said both earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and revenues are on course to beat its initial estimates even though container throughput volumes may miss targets.
Referring to the most common container type, twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), APD said: “Nassau Container Port’s TEU volumes as of August 31, 2024, are projected to finish 5 percent below budget. However, total revenues are anticipated to exceed the budget by approximately 2 percent, and EBITDA is on track to
be 7 percent above budget, with an EBITDA margin of 55 percent.”
Looking to future opportunities, Dion Bethell, APD’s president and chief financial officer, told shareholders that it is still awaiting word from the Government over the outcome of the bidding process to take over operations at the Marsh Harbour port in Abaco. However, the BISX-listed firm remains interested even though this is not anticipated to be a major revenue earner.
“Considering the project’s potential benefits for Family Island development and nation strengthening, APD submitted a proposal. Even though such a project is not viewed as a significant revenue stream for APD, the Board and Nassau Container Port administration are of one accord in the certainty that our expertise and experience could provide Marsh Harbour with the necessary security plan and framework to pass the all-important ISPS (International Ship and Port Security) audits and assessments. As the year ended, the company was
still awaiting a firm word on the results of bidding,” he wrote.
Mr Bethell also provided further details on the ransomware attack that APD suffered in April 2024, and which the company said resulted in only minimal disruption to its operations for around two weeks with no ransom being paid.
“The necessity for promoting a tightly-guarded interface between us, electronic communication, the Internet and the necessity of cloud storage of vital data was starkly evident on April 18, 2024,” he revealed. “We learned that our communication system had been hit by a powerful ransomware attack that had disabled our phones and access to our electronically stored data.
“This breach opened the door to hackers who had been moving in the system for a while bent on disrupting trade. Had they succeeded, the intrusion could have done serious damage to port operation, the all-important supply chain and trade across sectors and the length and breadth of our archipelago.
Affordable housing squeeze from vacation rentals drive
By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net
CAT Island is yet another destination suffering from an affordable housing shortage as landlords increasingly invest in the short-term vacation rental market, a local realtor is warning.
Nikita Shiel-Rolle, a realtor with Christie’s International Real Estate, told last week’s Cat Island Business Outlook that the lack of air connectivity to the island compared with destinations such as Exuma and Eleuthera was also leading to slower growth because potential second home buyers have difficulty accessing the island.
“The majority of the buyers that are coming to Cat Island are buyers looking to invest in vacation rentals,” she said.
“So there’s no surprise that our hotels are struggling with that because the main buyers that I interact with are vacation rentals or people who are looking to invest into a boutique resort.
“And the vacation rental market is, of course, also creating challenges for the local rental market. This is not unique to Cat Island, but there is a need throughout the country, especially in high tourism density areas, that there’s a focus on affordable housing for local communities.”
Ms Shiel-Rolle added that Cat Island is “slower” than other island real estate markets, even as The Bahamas is “moving into a buyer’s market”, because there is “less inventory available” on the island.
She explained that the lack of airlift has contributed heavily to this.
Job Description
“Exacerbating the problem were the fears arising from the attack and the need to keep all our constituents motivated. People tend to rely on doing things by traditional processes. Many fear that machinery and software will replace people, often occasioning job loss. One of our top human relations tasks during the year was to increase system safety and to demonstrate that the modern cyber world and people can co-exist beneficially and profitably.”
Outlining how APD responded to the attack, Mr Bethell said: “On the positive side, the attack proved the worth of what I have come to call our port ecosystem - the synergistic array of Board, the executive, management and staff teams. It was agreed at all levels that we would not pay the ransom demand, and we did not.
“The immediate and urgent goal was to quickly notify and get the co-operation of all port partners and stakeholders and organise a mitigation strategy. We
“This is also one of the realities for people who are looking to buy second homes,” she said. “Cat Island is not a convenient place to get to. You have to want to come to Cat Island. And so this is something that is important for us to take into consideration as we are developing our island.”
Also speaking at the Cat Island Business Outlook, Sarah Swainson, private charters and
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‘No straight face’ over Bahamas top for pilots
other goods ones. Cost wise, Turks & Caicos looks really good, and the Dominican Republic looks even better......
“The Bahamas is not in a vacuum. The Bahamas is in a competitive global general aviation marketplace that other people want a piece of, and they’ve tipped the field in their favour. The Bahamas has enjoyed a privileged reputation in the industry for many decades after a lot of effort, primarily by tourism and people in the industry and AOPA.
“Now, like any sovereign nation, the Government can do what they think is right but we’re trying to explain that may be they are not aware of the repercussions of what they’re doing.
Many of us who have been staunch supporters of The Bahamas have been looking pretty stupid and having to answer pretty difficult questions from pilots that we cannot answer.”
The Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024, which come into effect on July 1 to coincide with the Budget’s passage and start of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, changed the aircraft inbound and outbound fee structure such that a private plane with more than four seats will pay three times’ what a regularly scheduled commercial jet does.
Under the new fee structure, commercial jets pay a $50 “inbound” and $50 “outbound” fee for a total of $100. However, a private plane with four seats or less “including all seats in the cabin” is now faced with paying $75 each way for a total of $150.
Mr Gardner said himself and other Bahamas Flying Ambassadors “cannot answer that, cannot justify it” as to why a Boeing 737 commercial airliner is having to pay a lower fee than a Cessna 182. Commercial jets are paying $100, but private aircraft with more than four seats
“including all seats in the cabin” now face having to pay $150 “inbound” and “outbound” fees to Customs for a total $300.
So-called “recreational” flights only pay $150 “inbound”, but cargo flights will see a $150 fee levied on both “inbound” and “outbound” trips involving The Bahamas. The definition of what constitutes a “recreational flight” has also caused more private pilot uncertainty.
“All of us who have put our reputation on the line for the country, we’re going to have to take a step back,” Mr Gardner added. “What we’re trying to say is it’s hurting your people. The Bahamian economy is the one that pays the price.
“The ultimate losers in this, in my opinion, are the hard-working Bahamians that depend on tourism, most especially those that live and work on the Family Islands and have limited or no commercial airline service. The taxi drivers, the fishermen, the scuba divers. They are the ones that will pay dearly for it.”
The feedback gathered by Mr Gardner and CST Flight Services from private pilots to the fee increases was instant and, in some cases, harsh. Amid the comments, which were shared with the Ministry of Tourism and Bahamian authorities, one pilot posted: “The fees are going through the roof and the Government just keeps sucking the life/money out of Bahamians and the tourist.
“I was dropped off in Marsh Harbor at the FBO (fixed base operation) Cherokee, and it was over $550 in fee’s. Plane was on the ramp for less than 30 minutes. And the Government left Marsh Harbour for dead after the hurricane. Not one thing on the field has been improved since the storm.”
Another added: “Wish I had seen this thread before coming. I’m in Treasure Cay right now and was surprised by the $150 fee. Not cool to
spring that on us with one week’s notice.” To which one pilot replied: “Sure makes the Florida Keys look better. No Customs sticker and no passport”, while another added: “Plan on it... letting them know they won’t be seeing me. Started flying the Bahamas in 1982. Glad to have the memories.”
Other comments were blunter. One pilot said: “For me if I’m going to travel I prefer to go somewhere my money goes further, Mexico, Thailand and so on. Bahamas was always a bit overpriced for how dirty and lowish quality attractions; not somewhere I go unless it’s part of a work trip. Compared to other locations, it just feels like a bad middle ground between conscience and all of the islands in Florida versus the economy of Mexico.”
Another added: “This policy will hurt the Out Islands the most; the ones who can least afford. We pilots know that is where the beauty lies of The Bahamas. I go once a year, sometimes twice a year but this will slow me down big time.”
This sentiment was echoed by other pilots, who told CST: “Have been to the Out Islands 15 times, and was thinking of making another trip next year. If these fees do kick in then I am done. Same reason why I do not go to Mexico.
“The general aviation traffic in the Out Islands has dropped off significantly over the last ten years. Residents on the Out Islands have always been really appreciative of the dollars we spend as there is little to no industry on the islands. This will kill the golden goose.”
Others agreed, with one saying: “With these significantly higher fees coming our Bahamas days are probably over...” Another added: “I would rather spend my time in the Keys and pay their ramp fees than get fleeced in The Bahamas. Granted, while
I do enjoy The Bahamas, Key West and Marathon are just as nice.” One of their colleagues said: “Getting dollar hammered takes the fun out of the trip.”l
The Government, though, has frequently defended the increases in Customs fees and airport charges as consistent with international best practices and standards, which typically see the users of airport infrastructure pay towards its upkeep and maintenance. It has also argued that many of these fees and charges have not been adjusted for years, decades even, and now need to reflect the cost of providing services.
The Government likely perceives the private pilot/ aviation industry as having deep pockets, viewing private plane ownership and use as a sign of wealth, and able to easily absorb the fee increases laid out in the Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2024. They also include a $2,500 fee that will be levied if an aircraft declaration is submitted less than one hour before the plane arrives in The Bahamas.
Thus far, the Davis administration has stuck to its position that the private aviation industry and pilots must “pay their fair share of taxes”, and help finance upkeep of the airport facilities they use, while arguing that there is no justification for the “uproar” over fees that are no higher than $300.
However, Mr Gardner and others have frequently warned that private aviation is a fickle market where plane owners, private pilots and other participants tend to react negatively if they feel they are being exploited, targeted or taken advantage of because they are perceived as rich.
And they simply have the ability to fly elsewhere to lower-cost stopover destinations such as the Dominican Republic, which offsets higher fuel prices. The industry also felt blindsided by the lack of warning over the planned fee increase, and bewildered by a structure that
leaves commercial airlines paying lower charges than many of them. Private pilots also argued they have seen no prior evidence of higher fees, such as the $29 per head departure tax and now $2 tourism enhancement levy, being used to fund airport and aviation infrastructure improvements. And, given that they only require pothole-free runways and the ability to land, they argue that it should only be commercial airlines that finance the terminal upgrades sought by the Government.
Jim Parker, of Caribbean Flying Adventures, told Tribune Business that he had been informed by a tourism official - who he declined to identify - that the increased Customs fees were going into the Government’s consolidated fund rather than specifically funding airport improvements.
He argued that while tripling Customs fees for private planes with four seats or less to $150 may generate an additional $100 per aircraft, this would be offset “20 times” through the loss of visitor spending from each plane that decides to no longer visit The Bahamas, which he estimated at around $2,000 per plane.
“Last week I spoke with a Bahamas tourism official who confirmed that the $100 increase for private aircraft to arrive in The Bahamas, from $50 to $150, is going into the general fund, not the airport improvement fund,” Mr Parker said.
“So, it seems for those of us bringing thousands of dollars on each of our trips to The Bahamas, contributing to the tourist economy as well as government tax revenues, that we are not contributing to airport improvement but instead paying an additional $100 to the general fund to help pay for government salaries and paper clips.”
Acknowledging that all countries have a sovereign right to choose how they finance airport upgrades, Mr Parker said most other nations placed much of the burden for this on
commercial airlines rather than general aviation.
“They don’t shoot themselves in the foot by scaring away private planes,” he told Tribune Business.
“One plane shows up and pays the extra $100; if one doesn’t show up it negates that extra Customs fee by a factor of 20. You can easily check the regulations and see there’s no law or regulation passed for that extra $100 to have anything to do with airport improvements. I don’t know what Customs use it for. No other country asks private pilots coming in for tourism to contribute to general operating expenses. They pay airport fees.”
Mr Parker added: “Airport improvement or security fees – for the airlines, not the small family-owned private aircraft – I can understand. It is done all over the world. Demanding private pilots pay money to The Bahamas to operate basic government services is not done elsewhere in the world and will most likely lead to a sharp decline in arrivals by private aircraft for tourism.
“Does this increase to $150 help or hurt The Bahamas’ economy? The answer is it hurts the economy. It may add $100 more to the general fund but it takes away 20 times that amount from the economy. For the one plane that continues to come to The Bahamas, there is an additional $100 for the general fund.
“For the many planes that opt to take their tourism dollars to the Florida Keys, or the Cayman Islands or the Dominican Republic, each plane that does not come to The Bahamas will cost the economy at least $2,000, completely offsetting the $100 gain in fees by a factor of 20,” he added.
“For every private plane that boycotts The Bahamas, it cancels out the increase in fees paid by 20 aircraft that do arrive. This hurts hotels, resorts, restaurants, local businesses and reduces government tax revenues. This is a policy that hurts the tourism sector and loses government revenue rather than increases revenue. It needs to be reconsidered.”
Bitcoin & Co and the US election
By CHRIS ILLING CCO @ ActivTrades Corp
Global stock markets enjoyed a roller coaster during the final two days of trading last week. On Thursday, the Nasdaq lost almost 2 percent, but experienced a 1 percent increase on Friday and the index closed once more above the 20,000 point mark. The release of new quarterly earnings, and mixed results from some large US technology giants, combined with lower-than-expected job numbers in the US to create higher-than-normal volatility in the western financial markets. This see-saw effect is also being seen in the predictions for who will win the US presidential election. And the outcome of
this election has a direct influence on the price of Bitcoin & Co. As never before in the history of the US, the crypto industry is using campaign donations to advance its cause. With more than $119m, it has spent more in this election
90% OF IMPORT ECONOMY IN ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’
“As I have informed our primary constituents and the press several times, if salutary action is not taken, breakwater disintegration will continue to pose a serious threat to life and business at the port and its environs. It bears repeating that the negative effects will reverberate throughout The Bahamas’ import-driven economy,” the APD chief continued.
“I will again remind decision-makers that 90 percent of international shipping cargo passes through APD’s Arawak Cay facilities. It is grounds for hope that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has already granted The Bahamas a loan of $35m to finance coastal protection and restoration.”
Mr Bethell said the terms of that loan mandate the repair and restoration of the breakwater at Paradise Islands western end, and the breakwater in front of Nassau Container Port’s Arawak Cay facilities. “I reiterate that the current and daily decomposing state of the 56-year-old barrier negatively impacts ship and port operations and personnel, including APD staff, ships crews and stevedores loading and unloading docked vessels,” he added.
“Inclement sea conditions increase danger as the resultant ‘roll’ or ‘pitch’ of cargo vessels being worked can be between six to ten feet up and down. Such occurrences take a significant toll on APD’s cranes and other equipment.” Mr Bethell’s concerns were echoed in the same annual report by his APD chairman, Michael Maura, who was also the port operator’s first-ever chief executive before departing for Nassau Cruise Port.
“As a matter of urgency, we must pay special attention to mitigating factors that have begun to impinge on the quality of port operations from the maritime side,” he added. “Our port partners must seriously address the now continuous degradation of Nassau Harbour’s western breakwater, which poses a clear danger to all port users onshore and offshore, especially the giant cargo carriers and the equally massive cruise ships that carry millions of
dollars in cargo and thousands of passengers.”
Just to ram the issue home, APD’s outlook for its current financial year that is due to close at end-June 30, 2024, pledged that the BISX-listed port operator “must continuously lobby for government’s definitive reply to our proposal regarding remediation” of the Nassau harbour breakwaters.
“The now continuous disintegration of the Nassau Harbour western breakwater that trails from the western end of Paradise Island is an ever-increasing threat to cargo shipping and cruise tourism. The Bahamas leans heavily on an import and tourism-driven economy, with 90 percent of international shipping cargo passing through APD’s Arawak Cay facilities,” the annual report said.
“Imports passing through Nassau Container Port are processed by the Government agencies relevant to inspecting imports for soundness, legal conformity and environmental safety, and are empowered to collect government tariffs.
“Can we risk the disruption to this vital locus in the supply chain, ignoring the potential harm to trade and life? We continually warn of the vulnerability of Potters Cay and the majority of Family Island ports. As urgent for consideration is the great rise in simultaneous calls at Nassau Cruise Port by several of the super vessels engaged in the current boom in cruise tourism, bringing thousands of holiday makers to our shores.
“While this country boasts of the rise in tourism receipts occasioned thereby, dare we risk the safety of these visitors, mariners, ships and port infrastructure? As the degradation of Nassau Harbour’s western breakwater represents a clear and present danger, the rehabilitation of this all-important barrier has become imperative. Can we bear the cost of its neglect?”
APD continued to warn.
“APD has already done what we can in terms of high-level due diligence in securing world class expertise to assess the state of this breakwater, and identifying a highly reputable firm to carry out the necessary rebuilding. Government’s firm commitment
NOTICE
IN THE ESTATE of VERLETA DAVIS late of Dundas Town 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 certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 25th day of November 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
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 Executors
Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas
and timely action are now the only energising factors needed to launch.
“The urgency of progress in this area cannot be oversold; greatly at risk are the many large enterprises, particularly hotels and the small enterprises, along the respective western coasts.
These include the facilities that line namely Junkanoo Beach and the Fish Fry, our city ports and various small harbours.”
Mr Maura, meanwhile, urged the authorities to “fortify” Potter’s Cay and all Family Island shipping ports which he branded “practically wide-open” to
campaign than any other industry.
This is suggested by figures from the transparency platform, open secrets. By comparison, the US company, Koch Industries, the number two on the influencer ranking, known for its massive financial influence, has so far only reached $28m.
According to Public Citizen, the SuperPAC ‘Fairshake’ alone, an organisation that is allowed to collect and distribute unlimited campaign donations, has so far collected around
smuggling, tax avoidance and evasion, and the potential trafficking of firearms and other contraband.
“It is also imperative to expand and fortify countrywide port development, shipping safety and the protection and continuous improvement of the vital supply chain and revenue growth for sustainable people, business and national development,” the APD chairman added. “It is incumbent upon us to contribute to high performance border, port and national revenue protection, collection and expansion.
Port operator ‘on track’ to beat EBITDA goal by 7%
carefully managed our messaging so as not to cause a panic. Simultaneously, we marshalled forces for countering and expelling the invaders and, with great urgency, restoring port data and optimal functioning.
“APD’s IT leadership and staff, and our international IT partners, co-operated admirably for the conduct of a forensic investigation to identify the extent of the problem, its entry point and time in support of tailoring the necessary remedy,” he added.
“Additionally, for reentering the masses of data, we engaged an auxiliary team of young men who were students at the University of The Bahamas in computer science and/ or finance. I can report that all the foregoing did an awesome job, getting everything running in the shortest possible time, averting any irredeemable, harmful effects.”
Michael Maura, APD’s chairman, writing in the same annual report added: “One of the extraordinary challenges of the 20232024 reporting period was the launch of a powerful
NOTICE
IN THE ESTATE of SCOTT NEIL
THOMPSON, late of Marsh Harbour in the Island of 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 certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 25th day of November 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 Executors
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 Executors Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas
$200m in money or equivalent pledges. The money comes primarily from billionaires who have invested their funds in crypto and crypto ventures. They feel over-regulated and attacked by the Biden administration and, in particular, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to Public Citizen, around 53 percent of Fairshake’s $200m comes directly from companies that would benefit from a policy shift. The current US government is waging a “war on crypto”, complain
“In this context, all port partners must make consistent contributions towards enforcing regulations regarding Customs, licensing and revenue collection. We need a more supple mechanism to guard against the smuggling of people, weapons and such taxable commodities as alcohol and tobacco to underwrite safer, more profitable port development.
“This is a challenge which increases annually at practically wide-open ports of entry in the Family Islands and at Potter’s Cay. We must make concerted efforts to balance
ransomware attack on APD’s information and technology system (IT).
“If this criminal invasion had not been discovered and controlled with admirable leadership, professionalism and teamwork, it could have produced a dangerous disruption of our country’s vital supply chain of food, medicine and other consumables and durable goods as well as the range of construction materials, technology and services.
“I can say with confidence that the timely and successful response to that critical event reflects the unprecedented partnerships from which APD was forged and prospers. APD has since taken necessary steps to further fortify its IT defences to include increased systems
industry representatives. The government, on the other hand, emphasises that its regulation only wants to protect investors from fraud and rip-offs.
The recent price losses in Bitcoin are reflecting the lesser chances of victory for Republican candidate, Donald Trump, in tomorrow’s US presidential election. The ex-president is considered crypto-friendly. The savvy investor will monitor the election results tomorrow.
the benefits accruing to participating trade sectors, investors and the workforce who are the drivers of development,” Mr Maura continued. “At the same time, the challenge is to counter inflation for the benefit of all who call The Bahamas home. For this reason, APD celebrated the launch in July 2023 of the Ministry of Finance’s Maritime Revenue Enhancement Task Force. Its optimal and nonpartisan functioning should go far in addressing revenue issues and balance.”
of monitoring, penetration testing and training,” he added.
“The Bahamas shipping industry would likely have suffered greatly from such a vicious intrusion before the development of APD and its ever-modernising Nassau Container Port and its Gladstone Freight Terminal inland terminal, which emerged from the infusion of talents, knowledge and experiences contributed by founding partners and, later, by the ready co-operation of port clients.”
NOTICE TAG CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. (In Voluntary Liquidation)
NOTICE is hereby given in pursuance of Section 228 of the Companies Act that the Members of the above-named Company by Resolution passed on the 24th day of October A.D., 2024 that the Company be wound up voluntarily and that the Liquidator be Michael C. Miller, of Nassau, Bahamas. All persons having claims against the above-named Company are requested to submit particulars of such claims and proof thereof in writing to the Liquidator, Michael C. Miller, c/o P.O. Box EE-17971, Nassau, Bahamas not later than the 25th day of November A.D., 2024 after which the books will be closed and assets of the Company will be distributed.
NOTICE is hereby given in pursuance of Section 252 of the Companies Act that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of the above-named Company will be held at #10 Lookout Hill, Winton Heights, Nassau, Bahamas on the 26th day of November, A.D., 2024 for the purpose of having an account laid before them showing the manner in which the winding up has been conducted and the property of the Company disposed of and hearing any explanation that may be given by the Liquidator, and also of determining by Extraordinary Resolution the manner in which the books, accounts and documents of the Company, and of the Liquidator, shall be disposed of.
DATED this 24th day of October A.D., 2024. Attorneys for the above-named Company
MINIMUM WAGE FAMILY NEEDING 350% BOOST TO HIT MIDDLE CLASS
associated with living a ‘decent’ middle-class life in The Bahamas,” the study added, seemingly seeking to build on the findings of a 2020 UoB paper that sought to estimate what was required for ‘a living wage’.]
That paper estimated the net living wage to be $2,500 per month for New Providence and $3,400 for Grand Bahama, but Ms Archer said narrowing what she described as a “gap” on how much it costs to sustain a middle class life in The Bahamas was vital to allowing policymakers to make better informed decisions on labour and economicrelated issues.
“The study reveals that, as of March 2024, a middle class family of four requires an income of $10,200 monthly if living in New Providence, and $10,100 monthly if living in Grand Bahama. These estimates are higher than the updated
estimates generated for lower-income families by 104 percent in New Providence and by 53 percent in Grand Bahama,” Ms Archer wrote.
Multiplying these figures by 12 gave the annual earnings required by such families to attain middle class status on both islands.
And, given that working class families were “assumed” to be minimum wage earners, the study said persons in this income group would need to more than quadruple their earnings to achieve middle class status - a goal that, for many, may be well out of reach.
“This means that a reference-sized family where both adults are employed full-time earning minimum wage ($260 per week per person, or $27,040 per family per year) would have to increase their income by an estimated 350 percent to meet the living standards that characterise the New
Providence middle-income household profile determined in this study,” Ms Archer wrote.
“A family of four should earn an estimated $122,400 per year to afford a decent middle class life on New Providence, and $121,200 if desiring to have a middle class life on Grand Bahama..... This brief report may be a starting point for informing policies related to living costs and standards in The Bahamas. It also offers insight into economic loss associated with quality of life debates.”
The report is likely to revive debate about income inequalities in Bahamian society as well as renew calls, in some quarters at least, for greater progress towards the so-called ‘livable wage’ promised by the Davis administration although such a concept has yet to be clearly defined.
Peter Goudie, head of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers
Confederation’s (BCCEC) labour division, told Tribune Business yesterday after reading the study that the findings are “no surprise” but questioned what the study’s true purpose was.
“The whole thing from Archer didn’t prove anything,” he said. “It says if you want to live at that level this is how much it will cost you. I don’t know what it’s trying to prove. I really don’t know what the purpose of the study was other than to find out if you want to at a certain level, this is how much it costs.
“That doesn’t surprise me. If you want to live at a certain standard it’s going to cost you. I don’t know what the point is. You and I live at a certain standard because we’ve worked hard for it.” Ms Archer’s study said the data that informed her research was collected from areas located on New Providence’s western,
northern and eastern shores. This included communities that Mr Goudie described as higher income, or at least “upper middle class”, such as Lyford Cay, Cable Beach, Paradise Island and Eastern Road. On Grand Bahama, the areas targeted were Freeport, Eight Mile Rock and West End. Housing costs focused on the rental, rather than mortgage, market. Using a sample of 55 rental units on New Providence, Ms Archer wrote: “On New Providence, prices range from $800 for an unfurnished unit in Stapleton and several eastern communities to $3,000 in Cable Beach.
“Upper middle income rental homes were distinguished as ranging in cost from $3,000 to $8,000 per month and included areas such as Cable Beach, Westridge, Sandyport and Paradise Island. On Grand
Cruise power provider ‘beats’ target at $60m
FROM PAGE B1
facility’s construction in early January 2025 with the ambition to begin delivering up to 60 mega watts (MW) of power to the docked cruise ships by the end of next year or the 2026 first quarter.
The CFAL chief also disclosed that Island Power Producers also plans to sell its liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelled electricity to Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) at night when it has no cruise ship customer base in port, thereby lowering this nation’s carbon footprint while also allowing Bahamian businesses and households to benefit from significantly lower electricity costs than they presently enjoy.
Confirming that Island Power Producers’ project is forecast to generate 30 full-time, “high paying” jobs when fully operational, Mr Ferguson added that the construction phase may create work for “200-plus”. He added that the developer was targeting an 80/20 construction workforce mix weighted to Bahamians, but in certain areas - such as
gasification and engineering - this was unlikely to be achieved.
“It’s going pretty well,” the CFAL president said of Island Power Producers’ capital raise, “but we have extended it to accommodate some of the broker/ dealers because they did not get it [the offering document] in time. We extended it to next [this] Friday because some of them got it late and we wanted to give them time to do research, analysis and speak to their clients.
“But we have already exceeded our objective. We have surpassed it with $60m. We could have closed that today [Friday].” Of the $150m capital investment balance, Mr Ferguson previously told this newspaper that Island Power Producers wanted to raise up to an additional $20m in equity from small Bahamian retail investors in a separate offering likely to take place in early 2025 when the project has been further de-risked.
The remainder of the financing will come from a combination of bond and bank financing, with Mr
Ferguson explaining that the debt component will give the likes of pensioners and retirees on fixed income a chance to participate in the Island Power Producers project and earn “a very attractive rate of return”. The debt raising, too, will take place in early 2025.
“We would like for construction to begin at the latest in January,” Mr Ferguson said. “We’re working on the environmental studies right now. Given what is on Arawak Cay we don’t think we should have a problem. We want to start construction by January and start producing power by the end of 2025 or the 2026 first quarter.
“Everything’s looking very good. When it is up and running there will be around 30 high-paying jobs; technicians, engineers. It will be all automated in the data room, the control room. It’s going to be very impressive. We visited a couple of these plants in Malta and Sweden, and we will do the exact same thing in Malta here.”
On the construction side, Mr Ferguson said Island
Power Producers’ target is for an 80 percent Bahamian workforce. However, he conceded that in specialist areas such as engineering and gasification some expatriate skills would be necessary, so the ratio could fall to 60/40 especially “given the tight timeline. We want people working 24/7”.
Pointing to the project’s benefits, the CFAL principal added that it will help to lower The Bahamas’ carbon footprint and said: “It will reduce the cost to import our fuel because we’re using a new fuel source, LNG, which is in abundance right now.
“We expect that, once we put it back into the grid, there will be much improved prices for BPL customers. That’s the intent. It will be significantly less” than what it presently costs BPL to produce electricity and bills customers for.
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
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. An Indian company, Intertec, is providing engineering services.
“Watts Marine probably do about 80 percent of all cruise terminals in North America,” Mr Ferguson added. “We intentionally chose partners that are world-class and have an excellent reputation because we cannot afford to get it wrong.”
The power plant facility will “abut” Arawak Port Development Company’s (APD) Nassau Container Port. The LNG will be offloaded at Nassau Container Port and transported to Island Power Producers’ generation plant via a pipeline running underneath
Bahama, prices ranged between $1,200 for a twobedroom in Dolphin Cove to $3,000 in Lucaya Beach,” she added.
“It is important to keep in mind that Grand Bahama possesses a limited availability of rental accommodations as it is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian. For both New Providence and Grand Bahama, I added the cost of utilities to the cost of rent.” And the UoB researcher added: “Estimated sustainability and emergency expenses represent 20 percent of the total cost-of-living estimate. While this percentage may seem high, it is below the Central Bank recommendation that Bahamians allocate 25 percent of their income for savings: 5 percent to pension funding (retirement), 10 percent to general savings, and 10 percent to religious participation (including tithes) and charity/giving.”
the port’s property. Mr Ferguson, together with Mike Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, sits on Island Power Producers’ advisory Board.
Island Power Producers’ main 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.
Affordable housing squeeze from vacation rentals drive
business development manager for Makers Air, said the airline hopes to begin in February a trial where a twice-weekly 3:30pm flight from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport into Cat Island returns at 7.30am the following morning in a bid to improve the island’s air connectivity.
Ms Shiel-Rolle said closing real estate transactions can take up to nine or more months, especially if one party needs Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) approval. She added that infrastructure is a problem.
“One of the limiting factors to development, as everyone knows, is our infrastructure,” she said. “It’s also part of the charm so it’s a bit of a ‘catch 22’. The more that we can improve our medical services, access to water, electricity, roads
and airlift, Cat island will become more of an attractive offer for investors. But at this point, we are where we are. And so slowly we move forward together.”
Ms Shiel-Rolle said real estate transactions take so long in The Bahamas partly because there is no land registry yet. “Ryan Pinder gave a talk the other day about the consultation on the land reform,” she added of the Attorney General.
“We know this is going to take a really long time, and especially in an island like Cat Island where we have so many areas of land that do not have a full, clear deed and title.
“This is going to be a long process. Many governments have begun the process of trying to understand land reform. And just to provide a little bit more context, one of the reasons why real estate transactions take so long in The Bahamas is that we do not yet have a land
registry. And so that means the attorney that’s supporting the buyer has to do due diligence to ensure that the deed is actually free and clear, and is a property that can be sold.”
Ms Shiel-Rolle stressed the importance of appraising a property’s value before purchasing it as well as checking with the Department of Inland Revenue to ensure there is no unpaid real property tax, VAT or other liabilities on it.
“I highly encourage anyone who’s considering buying property or selling property that you want to make sure that you get an appraisal. Getting an appraisal for your property not only gives you a true understanding of market value, but it really helps you with being an informed buyer or an informed seller,” she explained.
“One of the challenges, historically, that we’ve had
THIS illustration taken from the government’s official YouTube video shows a conveyor belt road.
JAPAN PLANS AUTOMATED CARGO TRANSPORT SYSTEM TO RELIEVE SHORTAGE OF DRIVERS AND CUT EMISSIONS
By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer
JAPAN is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a "conveyor belt road" by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers.
The amount of funding for the project is not yet set. But it's seen as one key way to help the country cope with soaring deliveries.
A computer graphics video made by the government shows big, wheeled boxes moving along a threelane corridor, also called an "auto flow road," in the middle of a big highway. A trial system is due to start test runs in 2027 or early 2028, aiming for full operations by the mid-2030s.
"We need to be innovative with the way we approach roads," said Yuri Endo, a senior deputy director overseeing the effort at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Apart from making up for a shrinking labor force and the need to reduce workloads for drivers, the system also will help cut carbon emissions, she said.
"The key concept of the auto flow-road is to create dedicated spaces within the road network for logistics, utilizing a 24-hour automated and unmanned transportation system," Endo said.
The plan may sound like a solution that would only work in relatively lowcrime, densely populated societies like Japan, not sprawling nations like the U.S. But similar ideas are being considered in Switzerland and Great Britain.
The plan in Switzerland involves an underground pathway, while the one being planned in London will be a fully automated system running on low-cost linear motors.
In Japan, loading will be automated, using forklifts, and coordinated with airports, railways and ports.
The boxes measure 180 centimeters in height, or nearly six feet, and are 110 centimeters, or 3.6 feet, by 110 centimeters in width and length, about the size of a big closet.
The system, which is also intended for business deliveries, may be expanded to other routes if all goes well. Human drivers may still have to do last-mile deliveries to people's doors, although driverless technology may be used in the future. Japan's shortage of truck drivers is worsening due to laws that took effect earlier this year that limit the amount of overtime drivers can log. That's seen as necessary to avoid overwork and accidents and to make the jobs tolerable, but in Japanese logistics, government and transportation circles, it's known as the "2024 problem."
Under current conditions, Japan's overall transport capacity will plunge by 34% by 2030, according to government estimates. The domestic transport capacity stands at about 4.3 billion metric tons, almost all, or more than 91%, by trucks, according to the Japan Trucking Association.
That's a fraction of what's moving in a massive country like the U.S. About 5.2 trillion ton-miles of freight are transported in the United States each year, and that's projected to reach more than 8 trillion ton-miles of freight by 2050. A ton-mile measures the amount of freight shipped and how far it's moved, with the standard unit being one ton being moved one mile.
Demand for deliveries from online shopping surged during the pandemic, with users jumping from about 40% of Japanese households to more than 60%, according to government data, even as the overall population keeps declining as the birth rate falls.
As is true in most places, truck drivers have tough jobs requiring them to be on the road for days at a time, work that most jobseekers find unappealing.
In recent years, annual fatalities from delivery trucks crashing on roads have hovered at about 1,000 deaths. That's improved from nearly 2,000 deaths in 2010, but the Trucking Association, which groups some 400 trucking businesses and organizations
in Cat Island is just because it is a slower market, it’s sometimes a bit harder to have appraisals that are true. And so a lot of the Cat Island real estate is higher priced, and it takes a longer time for those prices to drop or then, eventually, a sale and a transaction to go through.
“And part of that is that it is expensive building in Cat Island. So, you know, when you are building, there’s just so much that goes into that building. However, everything that we put into our buildings and our property doesn’t always translate to the
market value. So having a recent appraisal is critically important,” Ms Shiel-Rolle continued.
“And then also, if you maybe built your home 30 years ago before all the evolution in our tax processes, you want to make sure that you’re checking with Inland Revenue. Make sure that you’re actually paying the correct amount of property tax. Are you just paying property tax on the land, and maybe it hasn’t accounted for the actual building that has now been constructed?
“So having a check with Inland Revenue to make
Inventory Manager Wanted
About Us:
in the nation, would like to make deliveries even safer. The association is also urging consumers to hold back on delivery orders or at least bundle their orders. Some industry experts are urging businesses to limit free delivery offers.
sure that your property tax is up-to-date is going to be extremely important, especially if you’re looking to sell because all your taxes have to be current in order for your property to sell.
“Additionally, if you are in the vacation rental market, now they’ve streamlined the process for you to register. Just make sure if you are in the vacation rental market that you’re registered with Inland Revenue and that you are also accounting for the VAT on your rentals, which does not automatically happen for you.”
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Photo:Japan’s Ministry of Land/AP
LISTEN TO BUSINESS OWNERS AND VOTERS IN ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA. THEY COULD HELP DECIDE THE WHITE HOUSE.
By MATT BROWN Associated Press
IT wasn't much when he bought it, but Michael Hooks has made the old garage his own haven. And the city of Erie knows it.
Half a dozen cars honk as they pass by one October afternoon, the people hanging out of car windows to wave hello at him.
About a dozen cars await servicing in the shop as a dog Hooks adopted the day before barks in its new cage. Exercise equipment, motorcycles and power tools abut the kitchen on the side of the renovated building where his wife cooks a meal. At 6 feet, 2 inches, and with a sturdy build, Hooks has a graying beard and a head of curls he says could be laced with snow flurries by this time of year.
"I've got to be one of the only Black businesses on this street," he says, noting that his repair shop stands on Peach Street, one of the city's main traffic arteries. He appreciates the greetings from passersby. But he says many people who know him from the
neighborhoods where he grew up will never step foot in the shop. Almost all his customers are white.
Hooks, 58, is a member of a coveted demographic in this year's election — a Black man and a business owner in a swing state. Both presidential campaigns have targeted Black entrepreneurs with their messaging, offering a range of economic policies and legislation that each side says will boost the careers and lives of African Americans.
How Erie business owners and voters such as Hooks view each candidate's economic vision could determine control of the White House. Erie County has gone for the candidate who won Pennsylvania in every presidential election since 1992.
Both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris have visited the city of 94,000 in recent weeks.
"Erie is a pivot point," said Rhonda Matthews, co-founder of Erie Black Wall Street, a business group that supports local
Black entrepreneurs. From population rates to business startups, the future of Erie's economy and politics have shown where the country may be heading. "I think if you want to know about what's happening economically writ large in the country, you can look and see what's happening in Erie."
Concerns about 'a lack of predictability'
Harris has rolled out a series of economic proposals meant to tackle affordability and boost small businesses. Trump has stressed his promise of sweeping tariffs, new corporate tax cuts and an unprecedented crackdown on illegal and legal immigration to the country.
Local leaders are weighing the impact of each agenda on their plans to renew the Rust Belt.
"A lack of predictability would be the worst possible thing," said Drew Whiting, CEO of the Erie Downtown Development Corporation, which is directing more than $100 million in private investment to the downtown area.
Whiting praised federal policies such as Qualified Opportunity Zones, which are meant to spur economic development in low-income communities and were created as part of the Trump administration's 2017 tax overhaul, as well as the investments in Erie enabled by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law spearheaded by Democratic President Joe Biden.
But Whiting added that "broad brush" policies such as Trump's proposed 20% tariffs on all foreign goods threatened to be "an inflation bomb that would crush small businesses" like those he works with. Whiting viewed Harris' proposed investments for small businesses to be a potential boon. A no tax on tips policy, which both Harris
and Trump favor, would be a welcome innovation for workers, he said.
The Harris campaign has zeroed in on affordability as a key concern of voters amid rising inflation. Her proposals to punish companies that gouge prices and her promises to expand support for health care and child care are issues where the campaign believes they can lower costs for working families. Trump, by contrast, would lower the corporate tax rate to 15%, extend his tax cuts and further cut other individual and family taxes, including by eliminating taxes on Social Security. Most mainstream economists agree that Trump's proposals would worsen inflation.
Local business owners who spoke with The Associated Press expressed cautious optimism about Harris' proposals to support small businesses, though most were largely skeptical about the impact that federal policy could have on their lives.
"There's just so many factors, things to consider from right here and global factors," said Gus Paliouras, owner of New York Lunch, a local diner. Paliouras' family immigrated to the United States from Greece and bought the diner in 1970, when it was one of dozens of bustling businesses on top of a post office, school and church. Now Paliouras' diner is the only storefront left on the block.
WARREN BUFFETT IS SITTING ON OVER $325 BILLION CASH AS BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY KEEPS SELLING APPLE STOCK
By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer
WARREN Buffett is now sitting on more than $325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway's assorted businesses without finding any major acquisitions.
Berkshire said it sold off about 100 million more Apple shares in the third quarter after halving its massive investment in the iPhone maker last quarter. The remaining stake of roughly 300 million shares was valued at $69.9 billion at the end of September remains Berkshire's biggest single investment, but it has been cut drastically since the end of last year when it was worth $174.3 billion. Investors will also be disappointed to learn that Berkshire didn't repurchase any of its own shares in the quarter.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said shareholders will wonder why Buffett is continuing to accumulate so much cash.
"Are they more pessimistic about the future economic and market picture than perhaps others are?" she said.
Buffett said at the annual meeting in May that part of why he started selling some of his Apple shares is that he expects tax rates to go higher in the future. But Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said he wonders if part of the reason Buffett started selling Apple is tied to last year's death of Vice Chairman Charlie Munger because the sales started shortly after Munger's death. Shanahan said Buffett has never been as comfortable with technology businesses as his longtime partner was.
"If Charlie Munger were still alive, perhaps he wouldn't have sold down the position quite as aggressively — maybe at all," Shanahan said.
Berkshire said Saturday that investment gains again drove its third quarter profits skyward to $26.25 billion, or $18,272 per Class A share. A year ago, unrealized paper investment losses dragged the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's earnings down to a loss of $12.77 billion, or $8,824 per Class A share. Buffett has long recommended that investors pay more attention to Berkshire's operating earnings if they want to get a good sense of how the businesses it owns are doing because those numbers exclude investments. Berkshire's bottom-line profit figures can vary widely from quarter to quarter along with the value of its investments regardless of whether the company bought or sold anything.
By that measure, Berkshire said its operating earnings were only down about 6% at $10.09 billion, or $7,023.01 per Class A share. That compares to last year's $10.8 billion, or $7,437.15 per Class A share.
SMALL business owner Michael Hooks works in the kitchen of his catering business in Erie, Pa. Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
Photo:Gene J. Puskar/AP
A TV as big as a bed? With the holidays approaching,
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer
FOR some television viewers, size apparently does matter.
Forget the 65-inch TVs that were considered bigger than average a decade ago. In time for the holidays, manufacturers and retailers are rolling out more XXL screens measuring more than 8 feet across. That's wider than a standard three-seat sofa or a kingsize bed.
Supersize televisions only accounted for 1.7% of revenue from all TV set sales in the U.S. during the first nine months of the year, according to market research firm Circana. But companies preparing for shoppers to go big for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa have reason to think the growing ultra category will be a bright spot in an otherwise tepid television market, according to analysts.
The 38.1 million televisions sold with a width of at least 97 inches between January and September represented a tenfold increase from the same period last year, Circana said. Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, doubled the assortment of hefty TVs — the 19 models range in price from $2,000 to $25,000 — and introduced displays in roughly 70% of its stores.
"It's really taken off this year," Blake Hampton, Best Buy's senior vice president of merchandising, said.
Analysts credit the emerging demand to improved technology and much lower prices. So far this year, the average price for TVs spanning at least 97 inches was $3,113 compared to $6,662 last year, according to Circana.
South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung introduced its first 98-inch TV in 2019 with a hefty price tag of $99,000; it now has four versions starting at $4,000, the company said.
Anthony Ash, a 42-yearold owner of a wood pallet and recycling business, recently bought a 98-inch Sony for his 14,000-square-foot house in Bristol, Wisconsin. The device, which cost about $5,000 excluding installation fees, replaced an 85" TV in the great room off his kitchen. Ash now has 17 televisions at home and uses some to display digital art.
"We just saw that the price was affordable for what we were looking for and thought, 'Why not?'" he said of deciding to upsize
stores stock more supersize sets
to the Sony. "You get a better TV experience with a bigger TV. You're sitting watching TV with a person on TV that is the same size as you. You can put yourself in the scene."
The amount of time that many people spend staring at their cellphones and tablets, including to stream movies and TV shows, is another factor driving the growth of widescreen TV screens. Overall TV sales revenue fell 4%, while the number of units sold rose 1% from the January through September period, Circana said.
Most people only invest in a television every seven years, but when they do, they typically choose bigger ones, according to Rick Kowalski, the senior director of business intelligence at the Consumer Technology Association. In the past 15 years, the size of flat-panel TVs that were shipped to U.S. retailers and dealers grew an average of one inch a year, Kowalski said.
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the elongation trend as people spent more time at home. In fact, screen sizes increased an average of two inches in both 2021 and 2022, and 85-inch TVs began gaining traction with consumers, Kowalski said. Shipments of 98-inch TVs to the U.S. are picking up pace this year, and models as huge as 110-115 inches are on the market right now, he said.
"You get better resolution over time," Kowalski said. "You get better picture
quality. And so just over time, it's easier to produce those sets and improve the technology."
Best Buy's Hampton said a benefit of a colossal TV is the viewer can watch multiple shows at once, an experience he described as "incredible."
"If you're watching YouTube TV content or ' NFL Sunday Ticket,' you can actually get four screens up, and that's four 48-inch screens on it," he said.
Manufacturers are also adding new features. Samsung said it designed its 98-inch lineup with a component that analyzes what the viewer is watching to increase sharpness and reduce visible noise across every scene.
James Fishler, senior vice president of the home entertainment division of Samsung's U.S. division, said the way people watch TV and experience content is shifting.
"It's even more so about watching TV as a shared experience," Fishler said. "They want to host a watch party and gather around their TV to watch the big game, or set up a cinematic movie experience right at home. "
Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, its Sam's Club division, and Chicago retailer Abt Electronics, also say they are expanding their TV ranges to meet customer demand for supersize screens.
TV industry experts say these monster TVs are beginning to encroach on home theater projectors,
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which create a 100- to 120inch image that is less sharp and require rooms with blackout curtains or without windows.
"A dedicated viewing room for watching movies was exclusively the purview
A 98-inch TCL QM-8 Q-Class Mini-LED QLED 4K HDR Smart TV is displayed at the Pepcom Holiday Spectacular event, in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
of projectors," Andrew Sivori, vice president in the entertainment division of LG Electronics, another Korean manufacturer. "But you can get a much better viewing experience with direct TV."
Retailers and TV makers said the buyers trading up range from millennials and members of Generation X to the tech-native Gen Z crowd. But as Jon Abt, co-president of Abt Electronics said, "It's still a niche business."
"A lot of people just don't have the space to put one of those in," he added. Before dreaming big for the holidays, shoppers therefore should make sure a 98-inch TV will fit. Best Buy said its Geek Squad team asks if stairwells and entry halls are large enough
to accommodate delivery and installation. An augmented reality feature on the Best Buy app that allows customers to see if products are the right size has been especially helpful for XXL TVs, the retailer said.
But for those worried about having the space for viewing, the good news is that the recommended distance for a 98-inch TV is actually just 6-12 feet from the seating area. The rule of thumb is to multiple the diagonal length of the TV by 1.2 to determine the ideal viewing distance, Samsung's Fishler said. If bigger is better in the TV department, how big can they go?
"I think we'll have to wait and see," Fishler said.
Photo:Richard Drew/AP
Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said
is critical to its survival,
By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press
CONSERVATIONISTS
and an advocacy group for Native Americans are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources.
The Center for Biological Diversity promised the court battle a week ago when the U.S. Interior Department approved Ioneer Ltd.'s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine at the only place Tiehm's buckwheat is known to exist in the world, near the California line halfway between Reno and Las Vegas.
It is the latest in a series of legal fights over projects President Joe Biden's administration is pushing under his clean energy agenda intended to cut reliance on fossil fuels, in part by increasing the production of lithium to make
lawsuit says
electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
The new lawsuit says the Interior Department's approval of the mine marks a dramatic about-face by U.S wildlife experts who warned nearly two years ago that Tiehm's buckwheat was "in danger of extinction now" when they listed it as an endangered species in December 2022.
"One cannot save the planet from climate change while simultaneously destroying biodiversity," said Fermina Stevens, director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, which joined the center in the lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court in Reno.
"The use of minerals, whether for EVs or solar panels, does not justify this disregard for Indigenous cultural areas and keystone environmental laws," said John Hadder, director of the Great Basin Resource Watch, another co-plaintiff.
Rita Henderson, spokeswoman for Interior's Bureau of Land
NOTICE is hereby given that KIMOYA ASHANTI BLAKE of Montell Heights, New Providence, 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 28th day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
Management in Reno, said Friday the agency had no immediate comment.
Ioneer Vice President Chad Yeftich said the Australia-based mining company intends to intervene on behalf of the U.S. and "vigorously defend" approval of the project, "which was based on its careful and thorough permitting process."
"We are confident that the BLM will prevail," Yeftich said. He added that he doesn't expect the lawsuit will postpone plans to begin construction next year.
The lawsuit says the mine will harm sites sacred to the Western Shoshone people. That includes Cave Spring, a natural spring less than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away described as "a site of intergenerational transmission of cultural and spiritual knowledge."
But it centers on alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act. It details the Fish and Wildlife Service's departure from the dire picture it painted
A RENDERING of a processing facility planned at Ioneer Ltd’s lithium mine, scheduled to begin construction next year, is displayed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management during a news conference in Reno, Nev., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, announcing the bureau’s approval of a permit for the project. Environmentalists are threatening to sue to try to block the mine they say will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction.
earlier of threats to the 6-inch-tall (15-centimetertall) wildflower with cream or yellow blooms bordering the open-pit mine Ioneer plans to dig three times as deep as the length of a football field.
The mine's permit anticipates up to one-fifth of the nearly 1.5 square miles (3.6 square kilometers) the agency designated as critical habitat surrounding the plants — home to various pollinators important to their survival — would be lost for decades, some permanently.
When proposing protection of the 910 acres (368 hectares) of critical habitat,
NOTICE is hereby given that MADISON MEGAN CEELEN #25 Kingfisher Island, Sandyport, New Providence, The Bahamas, applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 28th day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
the service said "this unit is essential to the conservation and recovery of Tiehm's buckwheat." The agency formalized the designation when it listed the plant in December 2022, dismissing the alternative of less-stringent threatened status.
"We find that a threatened species status is not appropriate because the threats are severe and imminent, and Tiehm's buckwheat is in danger of extinction now, as opposed to likely to become endangered in the future," the agency concluded.
The lawsuit also discloses for the first time that the plant's population, numbering fewer than 30,000 in the government's latest estimates, has suffered additional losses since
August that were not considered in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's biological opinion.
The damage is similar to what the bureau concluded was caused by rodents eating the plants in a 2020 incident that reduced the population as much as 60%, the lawsuit says. The Fish and Wildlife Service said in its August biological opinion that while the project "will result in the long-term disturbance (approximately 23 years) of 146 acres (59 hectares) of the plant community ... and the permanent loss of 45 acres (18 hectares), we do not expect the adverse effects to appreciably diminish the value of critical habitat as a whole."
NOTICE is hereby given that CHRISTOPHE AARON PINDER #39 Heritage Loop, 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 4th day of November, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.
NOTICE is hereby given that MARCDONALD GEORGES of Fox Hill Road, Sandilands Village Road, New Providence, 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 twentyeight days from the 28th day of October, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.
Photo:Scott Sonner/AP
ETHIOPIA BANS IMPORTS OF GAS-
POWERED PRIVATE VEHICLES, BUT THE SWITCH TO ELECTRIC IS A BUMPY RIDE
By SAMUEL GETACHEW Associated Press
AS the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government's new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he's questioning whether it was the right decision.
He faces a range of issues, from the erratic supply of electricity in Addis Ababa, the capital, to the scarcity of spare parts.
"Charging my car has been a challenge," the civil servant said. "Spare parts that are imported from China are expensive, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor."
Seleshi's troubles point to wider challenges for Ethiopia. In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban the importation of non-electric private vehicles.
The decision eased pressure on authorities who spend scarce foreign currency to subsidize the cost of fuel, but it also reflected growing enthusiasm for electric vehicles as the world demands more green technologies to reduce climate-changing emissions.
Earlier this month, Ethiopia's government raised the price of fuel by up to 8% as part of a plan to gradually end all fuel subsidies in Africa's second-most populous country.
Authorities have claimed some success in enforcing the ban on non-electric vehicles entering Ethiopia, and more than 100,000 electric cars are now being imported into the country each month.
The official target is to increase the monthly import figure to 500,000 by 2030. By that time, a big new dam Ethiopia has built on the Nile River is expected to be producing power at full capacity.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in a televised address earlier this year, said the Grand Renaissance Dam will start generating more than 5,000 megawatts of electric power within a year. Authorities say such capacity would support
the transition to electric vehicles.
For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, are doubtful the country can achieve its ambitious goals for electric vehicles without further needed infrastructure and services.
The few garage owners who can fix broken electric cars say they are overwhelmed, while customers say they are being overcharged amid an apparent lack of competition.
"There are two or three garages that can fix new energy vehicles in Ethiopia and many consumers lack awareness on how to take care of such vehicles," said Yonas Tadelle, a mechanic in Addis Ababa. "As mechanics, we also lack the tools, the spare parts and the know-how to fix such cars."
Many EVs are now parked in garages and parking lots awaiting parts expected to come from China.
Ethiopia's minister in charge of transport, Bareo Hassen Bareo, has said he believes the country can be a model nation with a green economy legacy, with the prioritization of electric vehicles a key component.
The government will invest in public charging stations, he told The Associated Press, and there are plans to create a plant manufacturing EV batteries locally to reduce reliance on imports.
Private efforts have included a collaboration, which has since fizzled, between Olympian Haile Gebreselassie and South
N O T I C E
KERZNER INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES LIMITED
N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:
(a) KERZNER INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES LIMITED is in dissolution under the provisions of the International Business Companies Act 2000.
(b) The dissolution of the said Company commenced on the 30th day of October 2024 when its Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.
(c) The Liquidator of the said Company is Kirvy Ferguson, Caves Village Professional Centre, Nassau, The Bahamas
Dated the 4th day of November, 2024.
HARRY B. SANDS, LOBOSKY MANAGEMENT CO. LTD.
Registered Agent for the above-named Company
NOTICE
ZIZO LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 205961 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 1st day of November A.D. 2024.
Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Mr. Gustavo Barbosa Soares, whose address is Rua Grecia 432, CEP: 054010-050, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 1st day of December 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 benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 1st day of November A.D. 2024. GUSTAVO BARBOSA SOARES LIQUIDATOR
details and long-term visibility," Berhane said.
But he said he believes that Ethiopia is more than able to provide electricity to the expected 500,000 EV's there within the next decade while fulfilling its industrial ambitions.
Some Ethiopians are already giving up on electric vehicles, and the secondhand trade in gasoline-powered vehicles continues. There are at least 1.2 million vehicles across Ethiopia, and only a small fraction are electric ones.
TGI FRIDAYS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION AS SIT-DOWN RESTAURANT STRUGGLES CONTINUE
By MATT O'BRIEN AP Business Writer
RESTAURANT chain
TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection Saturday, saying it is looking for ways to "ensure the long-term viability" of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches this year.
The Dallas-based company's Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an iconic chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.
Korean carmaker Hyundai to make electric vehicles in Ethiopia. That effort is believed to have collapsed over the sourcing of materials.
Samson Berhane, an economist based in Addis Ababa, said the sudden flood of electric vehicles into the local market despite poor infrastructure is making it difficult for customers to adapt comfortably. Some EVs sell for about $20,000.
"Very few people are willing to take the risk of buying electric cars due to the lack of infrastructure, shortage of mechanics specialized in EV maintenance and the flooding of the market with Chinese brands that have questionable
Businessman Yared Alemayehu bought a Chinese-made electric vehicle that he had hoped to use for a taxi service. He knew the car had a mechanical defect, but he believed it could be fixed. A mechanic disagreed.
In the end, he sold the car at a loss and bought a Toyota Corolla — a car made in 2007 that he felt was more reliable — for the equivalent of $20,000, a sum that included the hefty taxes imposed on gasoline vehicles. Taxes can be higher than the cost of importing the vehicle.
"In addition to having to charge my old electric car, it frequently broke, and the garage was overcharging, and the lineup at the garage was overwhelming us," he said.
N O T I C E
International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)
SRH Corporation Ltd.
Registration Number: 177293 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that in accordance with Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000) SRH Corporation Ltd., commenced voluntary liquidation on the 4th day of November, 2024.
Any person having any claim against SRH Corporation Ltd., is required on or before the 4th day of December, 2024 to send their name, address and particulars of the debt or claim to the Liquidator of the company, or in default thereof they may have excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is approved.
GSO Corporate Services Ltd., 303 Shirley Street, Nassau, The Bahamas is the Liquidator of SRH Corporation Ltd. GSO CORPORATE SERVICES LTD. Liquidator
NOTICE HJVN LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 212447 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 1st day of November A.D. 2024.
Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Mr. Hegler Kelser De Araujo Rocha, whose address is Rua Raul Pompeia, 334, AP 402, Sao Pedro, CEP: 30330-080, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the abovenamed Company are required on or before the 1st day of December 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 benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 1st day of November A.D. 2024. HEGLER KELSER DE ARAUJO ROCHA LIQUIDATOR
NOTICE AGUIA LTD.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 211753 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 1st day of November A.D. 2024.
Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MS. IRACEL FERREIRA GOMIDES, whose address is Rua Quinze De Novembro 327, AP 900, Uberlandia, MG, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 1st day of December 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 benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 1st day of December A.D. 2024. IRACEL FERREIRA GOMIDES LIQUIDATOR
The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film "Cocktail." Its serving staff's button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire "Office Space," starring Jennifer Aniston.
Rohit Manocha, executive chairman of TGI Fridays, said in a statement that the "primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure."
Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-food chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack.
In September a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved
a reorganization plan for the seafood chain Red Lobster after years of mounting losses. Italian American food chain Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy protection in August. Founded in 1965 as a bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side, TGI Fridays expanded over the following decades to become a ubiquitous suburban gathering spot known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps. Its empire peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic. Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic. It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week.
TGI Fridays Inc. said it only owns and operates 39 restaurants in the U.S., which is just a fraction of the 461 TGI Fridaysbranded restaurants around the world. A separate entity, TGI Fridays Franchisor, owns the intellectual property and has franchised the brand to 56 independent owners in 41 countries. Those remain open.
N O T I C E
KERZNER INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES LIMITED
Creditors having debts or claims against the above-named Company are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned c/o P.O. Box N-624, Nassau, Bahamas on or before 22nd day of November A.D., 2024. In default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made by the Liquidator.
Dated the 4th day of November, A.D., 2024.
Kirvy Ferguson Liquidator
Caves Village Professional Centre West Bay Street, Nassa, The Bahamas
NOTICE Jacob & Sons Ltd.
Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 208493 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)
Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 1st day of November A.D. 2024.
Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Mr.Rodrigo Correa Jacob, whose address is Rua Patagonia 96 06.102.23.082000, Jardim Bela Vista, CEP: 79003082, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the abovenamed Company are required on or before the 1st day of December 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 benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.
Dated this 1st day of November A.D. 2024. RODRIGO CORREA JACOB LIQUIDATOR
A BATCH of electrical vehicles for sale parked at a car yard in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo:AP
Federal Reserve is set to cut rates again while facing a hazy post-election outlook
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
NO one knows how Tuesday's presidential election will turn out, but the Federal Reserve's move two days later is much easier to predict: With inflation continuing to cool, the Fed is set to cut interest rates for a second time this year.
The presidential contest might still be unresolved when the Fed ends its twoday meeting Thursday afternoon, yet that uncertainty would have no effect on its decision to further reduce its benchmark rate.
The Fed's future actions, though, will become more
unsettled once a new president and Congress take office in January, particularly if Donald Trump were to win the White House again.
Trump's proposals to impose high tariffs on all imports and launch mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants and his threat to intrude on the Fed's normally independent rate decisions could send inflation surging, economists have said. Higher inflation would, in turn, compel the Fed to slow or stop its rate cuts.
On Thursday, the Fed's policymakers, led by Chair Jerome Powell, are on track to cut their benchmark
rate by a quarter-point, to about 4.6%, after having implemented a half-point reduction in September. Economists expect another quarter-point rate cut in December and possibly additional such moves next year. Over time, rate cuts tend to lower the costs of borrowing for consumers and businesses.
The Fed is reducing its rate for a different reason than it usually does: It often cuts rates to boost a sluggish economy and a weak job market by encouraging more borrowing and spending. But the economy is growing briskly, and the unemployment rate is a low 4.1%, the government
reported Friday, even with hurricanes and a strike at Boeing having sharply depressed net job growth last month.
Instead, the central bank is lowering rates as part of what Powell has called "a recalibration" to a lowerinflation environment. When inflation spiked to a four-decade high of 9.1% in June 2022, the Fed proceeded to raise rates 11 times — ultimately sending its key rate to about 5.3%, also the highest in four decades.
But in September, yearover-year inflation dropped to 2.4%, barely above the Fed's 2% target and equal to its level in 2018. With inflation having fallen so far, Powell and other Fed officials have said they think high borrowing rates are no longer necessary. High borrowing rates typically restrict growth, particularly in interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as housing and auto sales.
"The restriction was in place because inflation was elevated," said Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and a former Fed economist. "Inflation is no longer elevated. The reason for the restriction is gone."
Fed officials have suggested that their rate cuts would be gradual. But nearly all of them have expressed support for some further reductions.
"For me, the central question is how much and how fast to reduce the target for the (Fed's key) rate, which I believe is currently set at a restrictive level," Christopher Waller,
an influential member of the Fed's Board of Directors, said in a speech last month.
Jonathan Pingle, an economist at Swiss bank UBS, said that Waller's phrasing reflected "unusual confidence and conviction that rates were headed lower."
Next year, the Fed will likely start to wrestle with the question of just how low their benchmark rate should go. Eventually, they may want to set it at a level that neither restricts nor stimulates growth — "neutral" in Fed parlance. Powell and other Fed officials acknowledge that they don't know exactly where the neutral rate is.
In September, the Fed's rate-setting committee estimated that it was 2.9%.
Most economists think it's closer to 3% to 3.5%.
The Fed chair said the officials have to assess where neutral is by how the economy responds to rate cuts. For now, most officials are confident that at 4.9%, the Fed's current rate is far above neutral.
Some economists argue, though, that with the economy looking healthy even with high borrowing rates, the Fed doesn't need to ease credit much, if at all. The idea is that they may already be close to the level of interest rates that neither slows nor stimulates the economy.
"If the unemployment rate stays in the low 4's and the economy is still going to grow at 3%, does it matter that the (Fed's) rate is 4.75% to 5%?" said Joe LaVorgna, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, asked. "Why are they cutting now?"
With the Fed's latest meeting coming right after Election Day, Powell will likely field questions at his news conference Thursday about the outcome of the presidential race and how it might affect the economy and inflation. He can be expected to reiterate that the Fed's decisions aren't affected by politics at all.
During Trump's presidency, he imposed tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, steel and a range of goods from China, which President Joe Biden maintained. Though studies show that washing machine prices rose as a result, overall inflation did not rise much.
But Trump is now proposing significantly broader tariffs — essentially, import taxes — that would raise the prices of about 10 times as many goods from overseas.
Many mainstream economists are alarmed by Trump's latest proposed tariffs, which they say would almost certainly reignite inflation. A report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics concluded that Trump's main tariff proposals would make inflation 2 percentage points higher next year than it otherwise would have been.
The Fed could be more likely to raise rates in response to tariffs this time, according to economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics, "given that Trump is threatening much bigger increases in tariffs."
"Accordingly," they wrote, "we will scale back the reduction in the funds rate in our 2025 forecasts if Trump wins."
LONDON PROTESTERS DEMAND WATER COMPANIES CLEAN UP SEWAGE-TAINTED RIVERS
HOLDING signs with slogans including "stop the plop" and "species not feces," thousands of people marched in London on Sunday to demand a cleanup of Britain's sewage-clogged waterways.
Organizers estimated that 15,000 people took part in the march along the River Thames to Parliament, many wearing blue and waving blue flags to form a "human river." Police did not give an estimate of the crowd.
The March for Clean Water was organized by groups ranging from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to British Rowing.
Water pollution has become an increasingly high-profile issue in Britain, focusing attention on climate change and the legacy of privatization of Britain's utilities several decades ago.
Private companies that provide both water and sewage have failed to update their often-Victorian infrastructure as populations have grown and demand swelled. Leaks are common, and during heavy rainfall companies discharge raw sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea. The number of discharges increased by more than 50% last year to a record 464,000 spills, according to the Environment Agency.
Pollution from farm runoff also taints Britain's waterways, and climate change is making the situation worse by bringing more intense rain.
Rower Imogen Grant, a gold medalist at the 2024 Olympic Games, said it was commonplace for rowers to get sick after training on the Thames.
"I spend hours and hours on the water training every day in the rowing boats during my sessions, and seeing nappies floating along, seeing plastic bags, seeing scum along the pontoons that we're training on … It's just not good enough and something needs to change," she said.
Water companies say the industry regulator won't allow them to raise water bills enough to finance improvements.
The Labour Party government, elected in July, has introduced a bill to strengthen regulation and impose tougher penalties on water companies responsible for pollution. But the demonstrators said more needs to be done.
Nature broadcaster Chris Packham, who attended the march, said Britain's rivers are "among the worst in Europe."
"But I'm hopeful, firstly because we know what we need to do, and we have the technologies to fix it. What we need to do is to convince our new government to act more rapidly," he said.
FEDERAL Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, on Sept. 18, 2024.
Photo:Ben Curtis/AP
LONDON Associated Press
Amazon leads Wall Street higher
By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
AMAZON led U.S. stock indexes higher on Friday, while a surprisingly weak jobs report marred by some unusual occurrences cemented bets on Wall Street for another cut to interest rates next week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to recover some of its loss from the day before, which was its worst in eight weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 288 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8%.
Wednesday,
traders had been seeing of the Fed holding rates steady, according to data from CME Group. The Fed kicked off its rate-cutting campaign in September with a largerthan-usual cut of half a percentage point, as it turns more attention to keeping the job market solid instead of focusing on just driving inflation lower.
2024.
States during the month, a strike by workers at Boeing also helped depress the numbers.
All those distortions make the numbers difficult to parse, "but it doesn't change our view that the labor market should further decelerate in coming months," said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
Amazon climbed 6.2% after delivering a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected and was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 higher. Intel, meanwhile, rallied 7.8% despite reporting a worse loss than expected. Its revenue topped analysts' estimates, and it gave a forecast for results in the current quarter that likewise topped expectations. Cardinal Health was another one of the market's bigger gainers and jumped 7% after topping analysts' forecasts for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. It also raised its profit forecast for its fiscal year, which is only in its second quarter. They helped offset a 1.2% slide for Apple, which said it expects revenue growth in the important holiday quarter to be in the low to mid-single digit percentages. That was below several analysts' forecasts.
The Dow gained 288.73 to 42,052.19, and the Nasdaq composite added 144.77 to 18,239.92.
hiring that economists were expecting or the 223,00 jobs that employers created in September.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 23.35 points to 5,728.80.
In the bond market, Treasury yields pushed higher following some swings after a highly anticipated report said U.S. employers added only a net 12,000 workers to their payrolls last month. That was far short of the 115,000 in
The nearly unanimous expectation on Wall Street remains for the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point next week. But the weakerthan-expected jobs report wiped out the slim chance
The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed's actions, initially fell following the jobs report but then climbed to 4.20% from 4.18% late Thursday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which also takes future economic growth and other factors into account, likewise rose after a knee-jerk drop. It climbed to 4.37%, up from 4.29% late Thursday.
Economists said Friday's jobs report contained a lot of noise and perhaps not much signal. Besides two hurricanes that left destructive paths across the United
The hope on Wall Street is that the economy will still avoid a recession, even with that expected slowdown in the job market, thanks in part to coming cuts to interest rates by the Fed. The overall economy has so far remained more resilient than feared.
A separate report on Friday said U.S. manufacturing contracted by more last month than economists expected. It's been one of the areas of the economy hurt most by the Fed's keeping interest rates at a two-decade high until September.
MARINE FORECAST
A FOOD vendor’s cart is parked across from the New York Stock Exchange on
