11202023 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

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loan ‘Non-controllable’ cost surge Mortgage approvals hit 4-andblocks bank matching 2022 a-half year low

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net COMMONWEALTH Bank believes it would have come close to matching 2022’s “extraordinary” nine-month profitability had it not been for $3m in new Business Licence fees and utility costs “more than doubling”.

Tangela Albury, the BISX-listed lender’s vice-president and chief financial officer, told Tribune Business that these increases - together with a 25 percent year-over-year jump in general insurance costs - are “becoming an increasingly more prominent contributor” to growth in general and administrative expenses (G&A) which rose by over $6.5m during the first nine months of 2023.

And, in written replies to this newspaper’s questions,

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t $PNNPOXFBMUI T N #VTJOFTT -JDFODF IJU t 4FU UP CFBU UBSHFUT BT JOTVSBODF VQ t %FQPTJU *OTVSBODF QSFNJVNT UP AEPVCMF JO A she disclosed that such costs will likely further rise in 2024 due to the “doubling” in premiums that Commonwealth Bank and its fellow commercial lenders will have to pay to the Deposit Insurance Corporation. This is the entity that fully insures deposits up to a maximum $50,000 in the event of bank or credit union failure While Commonwealth Bank’s profits for the nine months to end-September 2023 were down year-overyear by almost 14 percent,

standing at $50.3m compared to $58.2m, the latter figure benefited heavily from the onetime $21.679m reversal of COVID-related loan loss provisions as borrowers returned to work and were able to service their obligations once again.

The bank enjoyed just a $2.596m reversal of such provisions in 2023 by comparison, and Ms Albury said it had been buoyed by the fact this year’s results have been driven by “organic growth of our

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

TANGELA ALBURY core business” rather than one-time, non-recurring reversals.

“The nine months of 2023 have shown organic growth of our core business, impairment reversals contributing only $3m to the bank’s profitability compared to $22m for the same period in 2022, and yet the net profits as of September 2023 are only $8m below that of

SEE PAGE B6

Chamber chief: Cost of living ‘is out of control’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ABACO’S Chamber of Commerce president says the cost of living is “getting out of control” as she warned the island can absorb no further hikes following the summer’s “exorbitant” light bills.

Daphne DeGregory Miaoulis told Tribune Business that protections such as home and health insurance “are not affordable for the average person any more” as she warned that Abaconians “cannot afford any more increases” when it comes to the general level of prices and cost of imports.

DAPHNE DEGREGORY MIAOULIS She recalled how a recent rebuilding project at her Abaco Neem farm exceeded the budgeted costs by 20 percent largely due to the increased cost of imported building materials

SEE PAGE B7

RBC blocked from twice seeking default damages

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ROYAL Bank of Canada (RBC) has been blocked from pursuing damages twice over the same delinquent loan that a Bahamian jitney operator first defaulted on more than 12 years ago.

The Canadian-owned bank, almost 11 years after securing a $600,000-plus default judgment against Arthur Deal and Deal’s Bus Service, initiated fresh litigation against the duo again seeking “judgment for the sums outstanding under” the original mortgage.

The previous action, and default judgment, was not disclosed to the Supreme Court by RBC and its attorneys when they launched their new claim on June 29, 2022. That sought declarations and Orders for a receiver/manager to be appointed over the mortgaged property upon which Deal’s loan was secured, while giving the bank the power to take possession and sell it to satisfy the alleged outstanding loan sum.

However, Justice Carla Card-Stubbs, in a November 16, 2023, verdict ruled that the specific demand for “judgment for the sums

SEE PAGE B8

MORTGAGE loan approvals have slumped to their lowest level in fourand-a-half years, it has been revealed, with almost one in four applications rejected because borrowers have a 50 percent debt service ratio.

The Central Bank’s full Lending Conditions Survey for the 2023 first half, released on Friday, reveals that less than one third or fewer than one of every three - out of a total 1,104 applicants were approved for a mortgage loan during the six months to end-June.

And survey data showed that the 32.2 percent approval ratio is the lowest since the 2019 first half, which represented a period prior to both Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic. The 52.6 percent

and 52.7 percent mortgage approvals ratio for the 2019 first and second half, respectively, represent the high points of the past fourand-a-half years.

The approval rate slumped in the 2021 calendar second half, dropping from 51.5 percent for the first six months to 39.4 percent and continuing a steady downward slide ever since. While the economic fall-out from COVID is likely to be held at least partially responsible, the Central Bank has since relaxed its lending guidelines by allowing its bank licensees to extend credit worth up to 50 percent of a borrower’s income.

Previous guidelines have set this limit at 40-45 percent, but the regulator’s lending survey reveals that the reason more than onethird - or one in every three

SEE PAGE B6

PAGE 2, Monday, November 20, 2023

Full-year fiscal outcome to be revealed this week

THE TRIBUNE

By YOURI KEMP and NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Reporters THE Ministry of Finance’s top official says the 2022-2023 full-year fiscal performance will be unveiled this week and asserted that the “numbers are very encouraging”.

Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, said the ministry has also been encouraged by the spending restraint across government during the first four months of the current 2023-2024 fiscal year although he provided no figures. He indicated that revenue and expenditure were tracking largely in line with May Budget projections.

“We are now in year 20232024,” he added. “We have completed numbers for four months, July, August, September, October. They are encouraging in terms of expenditure. Expenditure is in line with the Budget projections. Revenue is basically in line.

“Obviously, for us, most of our revenue is in the second half of our fiscal year, the period between January to May and June.

So this is our slow period for revenue, but they are encouraging and there’s no reason for me to panic yet.”

The timing of the fullyear 2022-2023 performance release, though, is likely to further fuel charges already voiced by the Opposition that the Government has delayed disclosing the figures to ensure they do not impact the outcome of Wednesday’s by-election.

Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, last night said the Government was late in producing the June 2023 monthly and 2022-2023 year-end fiscal reports, as well as the 2022-2023 fourth quarter publication. In addition, he added that the July and August monthly fiscal reports are also past due, while the deadline to release September’s and the 20232024 first quarter update has now also arrived.

The disclosure of all these reports, and the deadlines by which this is to be done, is stipulated

SIMON WILSON in fiscal transparency and accountability laws passed

by Parliament. “It is very curious that the information has been kept back,” Mr Thompson said. “It is again very curious the information would be so late. It is very, very curious there’s so many reports that are so late.

“We wonder what’s in these reports to make the Government not release them on time? What does the Government have to hide? It’s very curious the manner in which they have delayed these reports. We are extremely concerned with what’s happening.”

Ministry of Finance officials, though, have in the past argued that an antiquated financial reporting and accounting system, coupled with dated information technology (IT), makes it extremely tough to meet these deadlines which some view as unrealistic given such practical constraints.

Mr Wilson, meanwhile, also addressed the impact of soaring inflation on both Bahamian consumer prices and the country’s outstanding US dollar denominated debt. While The Bahamas imports nearly all its inflation from its largest trading partner, the US, the rate of price increases in that nation is beginning to “moderate”, which should help ease The Bahamas’ own cost of living crisis in the short to medium-term.

Mr Wilson added: “Obviously, high inflation means high interest rates, which includes increases in our cost of debt, which impacts our cash flow and means we divert resources to pay interest. So, obviously, the Government as well consumers are uniform in a desire for a low inflation environment.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 20, 2023, PAGE 3

ROYAL CARIBBEAN SUSPENDS EXCURSIONS TO BLUE LAGOON

By NEIL HARTNELL and YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporters

LYNDEN PINDLING INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LPIA)

LPIA to match or beat Thanksgiving records

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas’ major airport gateway yesterday said it expects passenger numbers for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend to meet or exceed pre-COVID’s 30,000-plus record.

The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), in a statement, said all key stakeholders at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) are preparing for what is expected to be a hectic Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year travel period.

Thanksgiving passenger projections indicate that between Thursday, November 23, and Sunday, November 26, some 30,00033,000 travellers will move through LPIA. These numbers are expected to top 2022 figures, when 30,022 passengers were recorded, and meet or exceed recordbreaking 2019 levels when passenger numbers reached 30,192 for the same period.

Beginning in early November, executives from NAD, Bahamas Immigration, Bahamas Customs, the Airport Authority, US Customs & Border Protection (USCBP), Air Traffic Services (ATS), airline operators, the airport police and the Road Traffic Department held meetings to review contingency plans put in place to meet the demand.

“Heading into this peak travel period, we’re pleased to see our numbers close to and, in some cases, surpassing pre-pandemic levels across all sectors,” said Vernice Walkine, NAD’s president and chief executive.

“Over the next two months, our focus as an airport community will be to ensure that our facilities are functioning at the level required to manage the uptick in traffic. All of our critical stakeholders have worked together to handle similar peaks in the past,

and we anticipate doing the same throughout this period.”

To better manage passenger flow, LPIA stakeholders are paying special attention to wait times and staffing levels in pre-security clearance areas, US Customs, Bahamas Immigration and Bahamas Customs during the peak travel periods of 11am to 3 pm. Air Traffic Services has also advised it is ready to manage commercial and general aviation arrivals and departures on the airside.

More than 80 percent of LPIA’s passenger traffic originates from the US market, and most of this weekend’s total passenger count will be attributed to US departures. Usha Pitts, chargé d’affaires at the US embassy in Nassau, said the US Customs and Border Protection team based at LPIA is working closely with airport stakeholders to ensure a successful peak holiday travel season.

The Chargé urges “Americans to download and use the CBP’s Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app to reduce their time at passport inspection. TSA pre-check is also available for Americans to consider when looking for ways to expedite their airport processing”.

Airport officials are also encouraging US-bound passengers to arrive at LPIA no less than three hours ahead of their scheduled flights, and international and domestic travellers to arrive two hours prior to their departure times.

Where possible, NAD said LPIA passengers should use technology to improve their overall user experience while in terminal. In addition to the MPC app available to US and Canadian passengers being processed in US pre-clearance, all LPIA passengers can download the AeroCloud app to track flights in real time or contact their airlines directly for flight updates. For operational updates from LPIA, visit www.nassaulpia.com or follow @nassau_airport.

ROYAL Caribbean is reported to have temporarily suspended through Thanksgiving Day all passenger excursions to Blue Lagoon Island in the wake of last week’s tragic boat sinking.

Cruise industry media reported over the weekend that Royal Caribbean is fully refunding passengers who had pre-booked tours to the popular tourist getaway destination off New Providence’s coast following the incident in which an elderly American visitor died.

“We are currently working with local authorities to evaluate the boating incident that took place during a shore excursion.

In light of the incident, we have decided to cancel all Blue Lagoon tours through November 23, 2023,” the cruise line was reported to have told impacted passengers. “We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by this. Please know your safety is our top priority,” Sources familiar with developments last night indicated that the reports were accurate, although no official comment could be obtained from Royal Caribbean. It was reported that passengers on 11 vessels

scheduled to call in Nassau up to and during November 23 could be impacted by the suspension.

Blue Lagoon, in a statement yesterday, said it has launched a “rigorous, independent forensic investigation” of its own into the sinking of the Island III vessel and tourist’s death. This is separate from the probe being conducted by the authorities, with the tourist destination asserting: “We have never experienced anything like this in more than 30 years.”

Noting that the vessel “encountered rough seas” and became partially submerged, Blue Lagoon again voiced its “deepest condolences on the tragic loss of a passenger”. It added: “In the more than 30 years that our company has been in operation, we have never experienced anything like this.

“As a result, we have launched a rigorous, independent investigation in addition to giving our full co-operation and working closely with the Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Bahamas Port Department and the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”

All commercial ferries in Blue Lagoon’s fleet have been suspended from operating “pending a safety review by the Port Department and The Bahamas

Maritime casualty investigators” so, with access to the destination either halted or severely curtailed, it was last night suggested that Royal Caribbean’s action was little surprise.

However, the timing of this incident and repercussions could hardly be worse for Blue Lagoon from a financial perspective, given that it coincides with Thanksgiving Day and the subsequent weekend holiday when tourist and cruise traffic is likely to be greater than normal.

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business “there’s nothing to be overly concerned about at this time” in terms of any reputation damage for this nation as a destination due to the Blue Lagoon incident. He added that the “proactive” response of the authorities will help mitigate any negative fall-out.

“Listen: The safety of visitors and Bahamians alike is paramount in the minds of the BHTA,” Mr Sands said: “The Association obviously extends its sincere condolences to the family. I think the appropriate government authorities will do a thorough investigation into this matter.

“I think their proactive approach in that manner will mitigate any negatives

from this one incident. I don’t think there’s anything to be overly concerned about at this time. The BHTA supports the Government’s position on regulation and safety, and ensuring entrepreneurs in the tourism space operate to the very highest standards and things are put in place so that these measures are lived up to.”

However, video of the sinking has gone viral, and has been widely reported on and played by TV stations and media organisations across the US, along with allegations by passengers that vessel staff panicked and did not help them as it began to slide beneath the waves.

Adoni Lisgaris, the Bahamas Excursion Operators Association’s president, told Tribune Business that he believes the Island III’s boat captain did everything possible to save the ship but “sometimes things happen”.

Having viewed several videos of the incident, he added: “I guess, because it was bow heavy, the bow filled with water and it looked like he [the captain] increased the throttle to try to bring the bow up. If that had happened to me, I would have done the same thing as well.

SEE PAGE B4

SOLAR INSTALLATION TARGETS 15% UB ENERGY COST CUT

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE University of The Bahamas (UB) is seeking to slash its energy costs by 15 percent via the installation of some 800 solar panels financed by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) project.

Vakiya Brown, Ano Technology’s business development manager, said the firm is looking to establish the university as a “regional leader in environmental stewardship” as it signed the contract to install the solar panels for $509,000.

She said: “The project will facilitate a comprehensive shift towards renewable energy sources across the UB campus. This includes the installation of cutting-edge solar panels, energy efficient technologies and other sustainable infrastructure. In addition to the physical implementation of renewable energy

solutions, the project aims to create educational initiatives and research opportunities for students and faculty.”

The project will implement 800 solar panels throughout UB and cost just over $500,000 in funding from the IDB. “This project will cost in excess of $509,000, so you are looking at about $510,000,” said Marco Rolle, project coordinator in the Ministry of Finance.

Delano Arthur, Ano Technology’s managing director, added: “So as it relates to this project within the UB, Ano Technology will deploy over 800-plus solar panels that will be deployed on various rooftops within the UB main campus.

“In order to fulfill this mandate, the project capacity is a 292 kilowatt (KW) system that will be able to assist the University of the Bahamas to, one, mainly reduce its carbon footprint and two, to reduce the

cost of energy within the institution.”

UB’s energy costs are expected to be cut by 15 percent once the solar panels have been installed and fully operational.

Structured as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project, once the first two phases are completed it then goes to the Ministry of Works,

the Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority (URCA) and Bahamas Power & Light for their separate approval.

The project cannot start until all approvals are obtained, so there is no start date yet. However, Mr Arthur said it would take “roughly two months” to complete once the goahead is received.

PAGE 4, Monday, November 20, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Governor urges: ‘Accelerate’ agency banking development

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Central Bank’s governor has urged financial institutions to “accelerate their thinking” on using agency banking to offer services in the Family Islands amid efforts to roll-out the necessary regulations in 2024.

John Rolle, speaking at Friday’s opening of Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) new Exuma branch, reiterated that the expansion of digital and electronic banking - combined with reduced reliance on cash - remain critical components in the regulator’s strategy as it seeks to “guarantee access to basic banking” for Family Island residents.

“I would therefore like to stress several points as regard the approach that the Central Bank is taking to promote access to banking and financial inclusion

for all of our communities, many of which still have less than what is available in Exuma,” Mr Rolle said.

“The first is that financial institutions are encouraged to accelerate their thinking around agency banking, meaning relying on outsourced arrangements to connect with - and provide services to - persons in the Family Islands. The Central Bank is developing a regulatory framework to facilitate and encourage such arrangements, which we would like to have concluded in 2024.”

Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) has teamed with Cash N’Go in its Exuma venture, with the latter set to act as its “cash partner”. Gowon Bowe, the BISX-listed bank’s chief executive, last week said it aims to create a new business model that it hopes will enable it to “penetrate” other Family Islands.

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“We have the new business concept and new equipment, and cash partners. We’re certainly excited to see if this business model works, and if it does we should be able to penetrate a number of the islands with a suitable model for a cashless bank but with a cash partner,” he added.

Explaining that Exuma was targeted for the first branch in part because of its extensive population growth, Mr Bowe said Eleuthera, Long Island and Bimini are the next locations being eyed for the new Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) Family Island model.

This is because of similar or anticipated population growth Mr Rolle, meanwhile, reiterated that there is no escaping the role digital and electronic banking will play in ensuring Family Island residents have access to an acceptable standard of financial services that allows them to conduct routine transactions and payments.

“A second point is that Exuma still typifies financial inclusion challenges, which will have a digital

component to resolution.

Fidelity, and all of our licensed financial institutions, will have a role to play in this process,” Mr Rolle added.

“It means also having the capacity to provide the onboarding leg for services through digital channels; taking P2B (platform to business) payments capability beyond credit and debit cards, to safe and interoperable mobile phone applications; and equipping all businesses and individuals with the options to send and receive payments digitally.

“This financial inclusion vision, in which we foresee the Government also playing a role, also requires an entrenched push to improve the quality, access and reach of the wireless telecommunications infrastructure,” the Governor added, in a nod to both the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Aliv.

“It has to consider treating data as an essential consumer item from which no one is denied access when it comes to the ability to complete financial transactions and it should,

from the contribution that the Central Bank expects to make, guarantee access to basic banking or payments accounts for all persons in our community.

“Where the Central Bank’s impact can be felt, we will be rolling out further regulations and policies as early as 2024, in consultation with our financial institutions.” Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) will also have a critical role to play in digital banking’s evolution by ensuring a reliable, consistent and affordable supply of electricity that allows such services to function.

“My third point of emphasis is about cash,” Mr Rolle affirmed. “Cash is not going to disappear from use. We accept that. However, it is costly to store and transport, is administratively less efficient for businesses to keep track of, aggravates security and money laundering concerns and, in all of these respects, is costliest to maintain on the Family Islands.

“Therefore, it is in our national development interest to reduce our reliance on physical cash. Again, for financial inclusion to be

Royal Caribbean suspends excursions to Blue Lagoon FROM PAGE B3 “It’s really hard to avoid.

I’m not sure if you saw the video with the woman who said that the captain was doing tricks, but the boat I saw, you can’t do tricks on that boat. I’m not sure of what all happened, but clearly the bow filled with water. How the water got in there, I’m not sure and it could be a number of things.”

Mr Lisgaris said that, based on what he saw, the

Island III’s captain “did all that he could” and “many other captains would have done the same thing”.

He added: “Things happened so fast. A lot of other reports said that the weather was a factor, but where they were that area is protected. The weather had nothing to do with that.

This was just something that happened.....

“A few months ago there was another excursion boat that flipped and sank. It’s

not a common issue, but this is even more reason why we have to make sure that these boats are regulated. This is why regulation is so important because had it been an unlicensed and unregulated commercial vessel, with insufficient life saving equipment, the situation could have been drastically different. As you can see in the video every passenger had a life vest on.”

positively impacted, all persons in The Bahamas must have the right of access to digital money and other alternatives to cash.

“This is also the direction we are continuing to push at the Central Bank. Also, we are commissioning work in the area of the Sand Dollar on how peer-to-peer and P2B payments can still be safely and securely completed when persons lose data connections.”

Mr Rolle said inclusion was inextricably linked to resiliency in a touristdependent, international business economy. “How do we ensure, after a hurricane, that commerce is swiftly restarted, financial services are quickly resumed, and the ability to provide critical social assistance promptly enabled?” he added.

“The experiences of Abaco and Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian gave us a good baseline for where the improvements can be centred. Again this underscores the work that we must continue to advance to ensure digital payment services and digital financial inclusion.”

The Governor hailed Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) business model as an example of “the innovative approaches which are necessary to extend banking, and especially modern payment services, to the Family Islands”.

Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright, the Port Department’s acting controller, said both the vessel and its captain were fully compliant with regulations governing the sector.

He added that the vessel was licensed to carry 200 people, but had 145 on board, and had the required number of life preservers.

“The vessel is registered at the Port Department,” he said. “The captain is licensed. The registration is current. Insurance is up to date. The registration process includes an inspection, so the vessel would have been inspected and is due for another one next month.”

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 20, 2023, PAGE 5

Smart leverage

market moves either in favour of that position or against it. Every time the market moves by one pip, a fixed amount of capital is added or deducted from the trader’s account. If the movement is in favour of the trader’s position, he makes money. If not, then he loses money.

Currencies are traded in so-called lots. Each lot has a value of 100,000 units of one currency. When a trader opens a position with a standard lot, he buys or sells 100,000 units of that currency, such as US dollars. Since currencies move in pips, and each pip equals an increase of 0.0001, one pip is worth $10 when trading a standard lot in US dollars. Not everyone has an account balance that makes it possible to buy

or sell $100,000 worth of currency.

That is what leverage is for, which means you borrow $100,000 from a broker if you do not have that much money in your trading account. In order for a forex broker to grant you leverage, you must have a minimum amount in your trading account, which is at the discretion of your broker. The amount of leverage is indicated with a leverage factor, which can be, for example, 1:100. In this case, the broker would lend you one hundred times the capital available in your trading account. If you use the leverage of 100:1 then you can trade a standard lot ($100,000) with a margin of only $1,000.

The savvy investor uses the leverage wisely.

Bahamas people-to-people initiative receives honour

showcase of our culture, heritage and landscape to hundreds of guests each year.”

The City Nation Place Awards, established in 2015, aim to benchmark and acknowledge global contributors in the placemaking sector, highlighting the best strategies for growing and managing the reputation of destinations including towns, cities, regions and countries.

By Chris Illing CCP @ ActivTrades Corp THE past week was a good one for most investors in the financial markets.

Price inflation in the US slowed significantly in October, which is good news for the central bank and the pressure on it to keep raising interest rates. The latest interest rate optimism continued to support the stock market on Friday, giving it a significant weekly gain.

International investors are looking forward to a positive end of year rally.

Most of them wish they would have more time

THE Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation and its People-to-People programme have been honoured for providing authentic, immersive cultural experiences for visitors.

Recognition came through being awarded top spot in the Best Citizen Engagement category at the ninth annual City Nation

during the day to take advantage of the volatile markets but, as we all do, they often struggle to find the balance between work, family and personal time.

They wish they had a few more hours to build a passive income source and to achieve their personal finance goals.

Place Awards in London on November 8, 2023.

The honour from City Nation Place resulted from The Bahamas’ dedication to involving local citizens in tourism. The Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, in a statement, said the People-to-People experience has been operating in The Bahamas for nearly 50 years beginning in 1975.

Some persons are better than others in achieving those goals, and they often they take the proper approach in using leverage to make it happen.

Leverage means the art of using something that you already possess to achieve something new and better.

Examples of leverage in

The initiative, led by Bernadette Bastian, general manager of Family Island development at the ministry, is a complimentary visitor programme that connects travellers with Bahamian ambassadors, providing a local guide to the islands. The experience offers an authentic and informal glimpse into Bahamian hospitality and culture, akin to visiting a

real life are time and skill leverage. You can make better use of your time if you automate certain tasks or delegate the task to others. You can continue to develop soft skills to enhance your career opportunities.

Financial investors are also using leverage to achieve their financial goals faster. Leverage basically means lending yourself capital to increase the returns on your investment. Forex (foreign exchange) trading allows traders to “borrow” capital from a forex broker and trade much larger positions than the actual size of their trading account would allow. However, this also means they can make much bigger losses.

For example, when a trader opens a position in the forex market, the

friend, providing a genuine experience of island life.

Latia Duncombe, the ministry’s director-general, said: “This achievement is truly extraordinary for our People-to-People programme, our dedicated team and the entire Bahamian community, especially as we approach the momentous 50th anniversary

of the People-to-People experience.

“What began as a means for locals to connect with our visitors has grown into a distinguished initiative with a half-century legacy. Over 400 Bahamian citizens have wholeheartedly embraced the programme. Their willingness to open their homes and lives to visitors is invaluable, offering an authentic

PAGE 6, Monday, November 20, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

Mortgage loan approvals hit 4-and-a-half year low FROM PAGE B1 - of mortgage loan applications was rejected during the 2023 first half was because potential borrowers were still breaching the more generous 50 percent debt service ratio.

Using the Central Bank’s statistics, just 356 of the total 1,104 mortgage applications submitted during the 2023 first half were approved by its commercial bank licensees. This means that two-thirds, or 748, were rejected. Of that 748, some 33.6 percent or 251 were declined because the applicants’ debt service ratios would breach the 50 percent benchmark.

This would mean more than half their income would be going to servicing debt, placing their finances under stress especially if something went wrong. That 251 is equivalent to 22.7 percent of all 1,104 mortgage applications, which means close to one in every four submissions was dismissed because the potential borrowers/ homeowners are already too heavily indebted.

“During the six months to June 2023, banks processed

1,104 mortgage applications, of which residential mortgage requests represented 96.4 percent of the total,” the Central Bank said. “Approximately 32.2 percent of mortgages were approved in the six months to June 2023, indicative of a 1.4 percentage points decrease relative to the same period in the prior year.....

“With regard to rejected applications, other ‘miscellaneous’ factors - inclusive of, but not limited to, low credit scores, lending outside of bank policy and missing information - were the foremost reason quoted for loan denials (41.4 percent).

“Other factors included breaching the total debt service ratio threshold of 50 percent of income (33.6 percent), previous loan delinquency (10.3 percent), underemployment (10.3 percent), insufficient collateral (2.6 percent), insufficient time on job (0.9 percent) and unverifiable income (0.9 percent).” Poor credit scores and incomplete financial information thus also featured heavily in mortgage loan rejections.

The Central Bank did not analyse the economic and

societal implications of the lending survey data. It indicates that Bahamians are increasingly struggling to obtain the financial means to afford home ownership, which is for many people typically the largest investment they make in their lives.

Realtors have often cited the inability of buyers to access mortgage financing as one of the main reasons why residential sales and deals fall through. This leads to a less-than-buoyant local housing market, impacting the earnings of all associated sectors including contractors, realtors and attorneys, and helps to undermine social cohesion and stability.

Mario Carey, realtor and founder of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate MCR Group, yesterday told Tribune Business that the growing level of mortgage application rejections is occurring in an environment of relatively low, stable interest rates where the Central Bank’s discount rate and Prime rate have been at 4 percent and 4.25 percent, respectively, for years.

“From the real estate side, this should be an

environment where Bahamians should be accessing cheaper money to invest in real estate. Why is that not happening?” he asked. Mr Carey said there were likely multiple factors involved, including the price and affordability of real estate; the inability of salaries and incomes to keep up with living costs; and persons taking on too much consumer debt.

“One thing is for sure.

We have the best borrowing terms as far as affordable money. We have the best borrowing conditions, and then we have a situation where people cannot borrow,” he added. “The questions that come out of it are: Are salaries not keeping up with the costs of living?

“You look at the cost of living. Everybody’s grocery bill has gone up 40 percent easily. You have the cost of electricity that’s gone up.

Last time when we went through all the foreclosures, the majority of properties were valued under $300,000.

That’s low middle income, and they are just getting overwhelmed. Is the consumer loans market having an impact because they have

consumer and credit card debt?”

Since getting stuck with multiple distressed properties it has taken them years to unload following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Bahamian commercial banks - especially those locallyowned - have focused their lending on consumer loans since they view these as more secure by being able to take a lien over borrower incomes via salary deductions.

This is reinforced by the outcome of the Central Bank’s 2023 first half lending conditions survey, which showed that almost nine out of every 10 loan applications during the six months to end-June 2023 was of the consumer variety. And, in a sign of the financial stress facing many Bahamian households, there was a 27 percent rise in debt consolidation applications to 2,863, of which 19,89 or 69.5 percent were approved.

“Comprising 89.8 percent of total loan applications, consumer loans remained the dominant credit component, as demand rose by 11.6 percent year-on-year supported by an increase in applications from the Family

‘NON-CONTROLLABLE’ COST SURGE BLOCKS BANK MATCHING 2022 FROM PAGE B1 September 2022,” she told Tribune Business.

“We have replaced the extraordinary impairment reversals with significant net interest and fee income growth, representing recurring revenue outcomes rather than net profits based on extraordinary conditions.” And Ms Albury suggested the first nine months of 2023 would have come close to 2022 without the surge in “non-controllable operating expense items”.

“We believe that we would have almost matched

the September 2022 profitability in 2023 had it not been for non-controllable operating expense items such as the additional $3m in expense from the Government’s reimposition of Business Licence fees on banks, increased general insurance costs and electricity costs,” she said.

“The reimposition of Business Licence fees has added approximately $3m to the bank’s costs and means that the bank is paying approximately $11m in licensing fees for 2023. Both 2022 and 2023 were impacted by substantial increases in real property taxes paid, so these

costs are now firmed into the bank’s operational costs.

“However, 2024 is expected to be further impacted by the doubling of the insurance premium paid to the Deposit Insurance Corporation. These noncontrollable operating costs are becoming an increasingly more prominent contributor to our general and administrative expense growth.”

General and administrative expenses rose by 12 percent year-over-year to $61.114m for the first nine months of 2023, as opposed to $54.539m for the same period in 2022, and costs associated with licensing and

JOB VACANCY An established Bahamian local company is seeking applications from suitably qualified persons to fill the position of

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other regulatory fees were not the only factor.

“General insurance costs increased by 25 percent year-on-year, and utility costs have more than doubled, driven by the increase in electricity costs year-onyear,” Ms Albury added.

Despite these cost pressures, she disclosed to this newspaper that Commonwealth Bank expects to beat its financial targets for the 2023 full-year even though it is unlikely to match the prior year’s post-pandemic high.

“We expect to finish 2023 firmly above our budgeted net profit. The bank’s historic net profit in 2022 benefited from the V-shaped recovery of the economy, which translated into a significant reversal in impairment expense,” Ms Albury said.

“While we believe 2023 net profits will be lower than those of 2022, we are satisfied that the profits earned in 2023 represent sustainable organic growth tied to a stabilising economy and beginning to reflect more normalised lending conditions.

“For 2024, we expect our profitability to follow the historic financial results just before Hurricane Dorian’s impacts and the pandemic, especially given the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections for a return to the country’s historical levels for GDP growth.”

Indicating its optimism over near-term prospects, Ms Albury confirmed that Commonwealth Bank plans to maintain the 50 percent increase on quarterly shareholder dividends - from two cents to three cents - for the “foreseeable future” after the first such payout was declared for the recentlyclosed third quarter.

“We expect the quarterly three cents per share to reflect our regular dividend for the foreseeable future, consistent with our cautious optimism about the stabilisation of The Bahamas economy and the retail bank lending market returning to normal lending conditions,” she added.

“The bank’s improved financial performance, supported by its continued strong liquidity and capital

Islands (67 percent), followed by New Providence (10.1 percent) and Grand Bahama (2.7 percent),” the Central Bank said.

“Of the 14,271 consumer loan applications received, requests were primarily for ‘other’ miscellaneous purposes (22.7 percent), credit cards (20.3 percent) and consolidation of debt (20.1 percent). A disaggregation of the consumer segment showed that the number of credit requests expanded for credit cards by 78.5 percent, and private cars by 57.8 percent.

“Further, a rise in loan applications were also recorded for consolidation of debt (26.6 percent) and land purchases (2.8 percent)......

Corresponding with the trend in requests, the number of successful or approved credit applications rose by 4.5 percent relative to the prior year. However, the average approval rate narrowed by 5.3 percentage points to 78.1 percent in contrast to June 2022.”

adequacy levels, supports a return to its historical dividend payout rate of 75 percent.”

Commonwealth Bank’s net loan book grew by 2 percent during the first nine months of 2023, expanding to $801.983m from $786.245m at year-end 2022, and Ms Albury said it believes there is opportunity for more expansion in its core lending business over the run-up to Christmas and through 2024.

“The opportunities to grow the loan portfolio for the remainder of 2023 are very favourable. We are going into the Christmas holiday season, and this is usually when we see persons drawing down available loan funds either on their credit cards or seeking new loans or top-ups on existing loans in this season of giving.

“We have budgeted for loan growth in 2024, save for any extraordinary events that could negatively impact the economy of The Bahamas. For example, climate change has been a key topic for discussion because, in recent times, the impacts of climate change have been so severe, particularly on the economies of smaller nations.”

SBDC e-commerce platform to launch in February 2024

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net THE Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) plans to launch its e-commerce platform in February 2024, its executive director has disclosed.

Samantha Rolle told Tribune Business that the initiative will allow Access Accelerator clients to sell their products and services through digital means.

“We’re expecting to launch in February of 2024.

It’s just testing out the platform and doing information sessions with our team, as well as with some of the clients that are going to be initially on board,” Ms Rolle added.

The cost of the platform is less than $200,000. “I’d say we spent about a quarter of $200,000. But again, we’re still working through so I don’t have a total amount,” Ms Rolle said.

Meanwhile, the various grant funding programmes for micro, small and medium-sized (MSME) businesses are still ongoing and have not stopped.

“There’s one grant programme that’s currently running, which is the e-mobility programme.

And that’s really around electric vehicles, again, within that space of helping carbon and emissions and those kinds of things,” Ms Rolle added.

“So we’ve had consistent grant programmes running. We anticipate perhaps doing one more programme, which is the young entrepreneurs initiative programme, that may have a grant component to it.”

Bahamas First names new insurance chief BAHAMAS First Holdings has named Richard A. Darville as chief executive of its flagship general insurer with effect from November 9, 2023.

Mr. Darville takes over Bahamas First General Insurance Company after previously serving as its vice-president of claims and support services. He has been with the group for more than 30 years.

In his new role, he will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction for Bahamas First General Insurance, ensuring its continuous growth and sustainability as well as overseeing its day-to-day operations.

Mr Darville began his career in insurance in 1992 in the underwriting department at group subsidiary, NUA Insurance Agents &

RICHARD A. DARVILLE Brokers. Following a brief period with Security & General between 1997 and 1998, he returned to NUA as commercial lines manager before transitioning to Bahamas First General in 2010 as group claims manager. In 2014, he was appointed vice -President of Claims & Support Services.

Mr Darville earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester and holds the Certified Insurance Professional (CIP) and Chartered Manager (CMgr) designations. He is an associate of the Insurance Institute of Canada (AIIC) and a member of the Chartered Management Institute (MCMI).

He has served the local industry as a founding member and former treasurer of the Insurance Institute of The Bahamas, former deputy chair of the Bahamas Insurance Association (BIA) and as a member of the BIA claims committee. He has also served as a director of The Nassau Institute and as treasurer of The Health Professions Council of The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 20, 2023, PAGE 7

Chamber chief: Cost of living ‘is out of control’ FROM PAGE B1 rather than labour, and added: “Every additional cost is being borne by the consumer.”

Speaking amid concerns that the Government’s bid to outsource financing and management of Marsh Harbour’s commercial shipping port will lead to the imposition of new and increased fees, and thus lead to further cost rises in Abaco’s import-dependent economy, Mrs DeGregory Miaoulis said: “The cost of living is becoming out of control.

“There needs to be consideration that Abaco can only absorb so much more, which is nothing on top of the exorbitant power bills and high increases in the cost of everything. I still think the Government should reconsider the VAT on breadbasket items and food and medicine. Those things are still essential.

“I just went to the doctor’s office today just to have a mandatory checkup and there are so many people who were there suffering, ill, and cannot afford

medical insurance. They don’t have home insurance either. Insurance is basically not affordable for the average person any more, and they’re all looking for hand outs to help with operations. They need this, need that. It’s really sad.”

Mrs DeGregory Miaoulis said she knows personally of what she speaks when it comes to inflation and price hikes. “The price increases on building materials, everything’s imported. That’s where the price increases come from to a great extent,” she added.

“I did a rebuild on our farm recently and expected to spend $35,000. I ended up spending $42,000. I budgeted at $35,000 and ended up at $42,000. That was including labour and everything else. The increase came from the cost of materials not the cost of labour or anything else.

“The import adds to the cost. The increases to the operators get passed on to the consumer some way, such as VAT; they get passed on. Every additional cost on getting anything to

the consumer will be borne by the consumer.”

The Government is eyeing up to a combined $100m investment to transform Abaco’s two commercial shipping ports into facilities that meet global best practices and standards via public-private partnership (PPP) deals, which will result in the winning bidder financing the overhauls necessary at Marsh Harbour and Cooper’s Town while taking over management of the facilities.

The winning bidder will also be able to propose a variety of tariffs and fees, including security; gate; landing; and utility charges, plus demurrage levies on equipment that is landed by the shipping carriers and charges for the storage and detention of cargo, containers and vessels.

No indication was given, though, as to the likely amount of each charge or fee, and whether any maximum limits will be imposed.

Mrs DeGregory Miaoulis again reiterated the reservations she and others in Abaco’s private sector

have about the imposition of such fees given the already high costs of living and doing business on Abaco. She added that the length of time over which the winning bidder intends to recover its upfront capital investment will be key to determining the level of these charges.

The Government is looking to lease both facilities to the winning bidder for a 25-year period, and the Abaco Chamber president said: “I can understand having increased fees to pay for the port, but if they are going to recover their investment in the shortterm versus the long-term, that will determine how much the fees go up.

“Are they going to try and recover their investment in a five-year period or a ten-year period?

That would be one of the things I would question.”

Mrs DeGregory Miaoulis said she would prefer the “desperately and badly needed” Marsh Harbour port overhaul be awarded to a Bahamian group with a “proven track record” in port operations.

Sugar prices are rising worldwide after bad weather tied to El Nino damaged crops in Asia

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AND CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press Skyrocketing sugar prices left Ishaq Abdulraheem with few choices. Increasing the cost of bread would mean declining sales, so the Nigerian baker decided to cut his production by half.

For scores of other bakers struggling to stay afloat while enduring higher costs for fuel and flour, the stratospheric sugar prices proved to be the last straw, and they closed for good.

Sugar is needed to make bread, which is a staple for Nigeria's 210 million people, and for many who are struggling to put food on the table, it offers a cheap source of calories.

Surging sugar prices — an increase of 55% in two months — means fewer bakers and less bread.

"It is a very serious situation," Abdulraheem said.

Sugar worldwide is trading at the highest prices since 2011, mainly due to lower global supplies after unusually dry weather damaged harvests in India and Thailand, the world's second- and third-largest exporters.

This is just the latest hit for developing nations already coping with shortages in staples like rice and bans on food trade that have added to food inflation. All of it contributes to food insecurity because of the combined effects of the naturally occurring climate phenomenon El Nino, the war in Ukraine and weaker currencies. Wealthier Western nations can absorb the higher costs, but poorer nations are struggling.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is predicting a 2% decline in global sugar production in the 2023-24 season, compared with the previous year, translating to

a loss of about 3.5 million metric tons (3.8 million U.S. tons), said Fabio Palmeri, an FAO global commodities market researcher.

Increasingly, sugar is being used for biofuels like ethanol, so global reserves of sugar are at their lowest since 2009.

Brazil is the biggest sugar exporter, but its harvest will only help plug gaps later in 2024. Until then, importdependent countries — like most of those in subSaharan Africa — remain vulnerable.

Nigeria, for instance, buys 98% of its raw sugar from other countries. In 2021, it banned imports of refined sugar that ran counter to a plan to build up domestic sugar processing and announced a $73-million project to expand sugar infrastructure. But those are longer-term strategies.

Abuja traders like Abba Usman are facing problems now.

The same 50-kilogram (110-pound) bag of sugar that Usman bought a week ago for $66 now costs $81.

As prices rise, his customers are dwindling.

"The price keeps increasing every day, and we don't know why," Usman said.

It's partly due to the El Nino, a natural phenomenon that shifts global weather patterns and can cause extreme weather conditions ranging from drought to flooding. Scientists believe climate change is making El Nino stronger.

India endured its driest August in over a century, and crops in the western state of Maharashtra, which accounts for over a third of its sugarcane production, were stunted during the crucial growing phase.

India's sugar production is likely to decline by 8% this year, according to the Indian Sugar Mills Association. The world's most populated nation is also the

NOTICE IN THE ESTATE OF MARIA REGINA WILLIAMS, late of Sequoia Street, Pinewood Gardens Subdivision in the Southern District of the Island of New Providence, one of the Islands of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demand against the above Estate are requested to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before “6th January, A.D., 2024”, and if required, to 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 Administrator shall have had Notice AND NOTICE is hereby also given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the date hereinbefore mentioned.

Dated the 6th day of November, A.D., 2023.

NATHANIEL DEAN & Co. CHAMBERS Attorneys for the Administrator 55 Rosetta Street, Palmdale Nassau, The Bahamas (N. 6, 13, 20)

biggest consumer of sugar and is now restricting sugar exports.

In Thailand, El Nino effects early in the growing season altered not just the

While not naming BISX-listed Arawak Port Development Company (APD), the Nassau Container Port operator, which has bid on Marsh Harbour, she said: “Hopefully they do it with a company that has a proven track record, such as a Bahamian company acceptable to them.

“I know they will have more than one proposal, but hopefully they give it to a Bahamian company that has made the offer and has proven themselves at providing the service at the level we want it to be from day one. I’d love to know what they’re [the Government] waiting for.

“I’d love to be able to say this is awarded before the end of the year, so that on January 1, 2024, they’re going to get it started. This is not something you knock up overnight. You’re looking at a good year to start and complete the project.”

Michael Maura, APD’s chairman, wrote in that company’s annual report that fee increases are inevitable to finance the project and ensure the private sector partner and its

investors earn a reasonable return on their investment.

APD previously revealed to Tribune Business that it has bid on the Marsh Harbour port PPP, and Mr Maura wrote: “The Government has invited qualified and interested port operators to submit proposals for the redevelopment and operation of Marsh Harbour port.

“APD has responded to this invitation and is presently reviewing this opportunity to determine if the fit is right for APD, our shareholders and the community of Marsh Harbour.

While we are confident that APD can bring operational and development expertise to Marsh Harbour port, we continue to study the opportunity carefully.

“This analysis will also include determining if the good people of Marsh Harbour, Abaco, have a real interest in partnering with APD. The reality is the redevelopment of the port comes at a cost and fees will need to be introduced to provide a return to the investor.”

quantity but also the quality of the harvest, said Naradhip Anantasuk, leader of the Thailand Sugar Planters Association. He expects only 76 million metric tons (84 million U.S. tons) of sugarcane to be milled in the 2024 harvest season,

compared with 93 million metric tons (103 million U.S. tons) this year.

A report by U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted a 15% dip in output in Thailand in October.

PAGE 8, Monday, November 20, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

RBC blocked from twice seeking default damages FROM PAGE B1 outstanding under the said mortgage” must be struck from RBC’s 2022 claim given that it was “an abuse of process” as the bank already has such a verdict in its favour.

To do otherwise, she found, would be “untenable and inequitable” because it would result in a situation where delinquent borrowers could ultimately pay off the outstanding sums due under a loan only to be greeted by a lender’s judgment for payment of arrears at the end of the process. This, the judge found, would result in judgment holders obtaining what was due to them two or even three times’ over.

RBC, in its initial action, obtained a default judgment

of $609,932 plus interest against Deal’s Bus Service on November 7, 2011. It also secured a $598,024 judgment plus interest against Mr Deal, who gad guaranteed the loan on August 7, 2009. Credit was initially extended to the company on January 5, 1996.

However, almost 12 years passed before RBC launched its latest action.

Mr Deal and the company demanded it be struck out on the basis it was “showing no cause of action, and as being frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process” because the mortgage in the original action had been “merged into the judgment” via the 2011 ruling.

They also claimed it was statute-barred under the Limitation Act.

“This suit (the 2011 action) was never disclosed in any of the pleadings or affidavits filed by the claimant [RBC- in the 2022 action. However, its existence was not contested and the evidence of the suit as exhibited in the defendants’ affidavit was relied on by the claimant in its submissions,” Justice Card-Stubbs noted.

Mr Deal and the company argued that the “merger into the judgment” in 2011 meant RBC was barred from pursuing any further claim for monetary damages. RBC’s attorney, Audley Hanna, argued that the merger was “inapplicable” because the original 2011 action was a ‘money lending’ action based on the Supreme Court’s Order 73, while the 2022 variety derived from Order 77 and is now seeking a receiver and possession.

“In this case, the claimant [RBC] has been at pains to indicate that the reliefs sought in the 2022 action include vacant possession and a declaration of the right to exercise the power of sale. I find that the claimant is not estopped from pursuing these reliefs.

These reliefs were not sought in the 2011 action nor pronounced upon.

The claimant is entitled

to pursue these reliefs in the 2022 action,” the judge ruled. “[But] the claimant is estopped, as a result of the doctrine of merger, from pursuing any action for monetary damages. That cause of action was litigated upon, and that relief granted, in the earlier proceedings. the Claimant cannot by way of this 2022 action re-assert that same claim in these subsequent proceedings.

“Any action to recover such damages must be by way of enforcing the 2011 judgment which the claimant already holds,” Justice Card-Stubbs added. “I also find that any payment made by the defendants subsequent to the 2011 judgment are payments that must be applied to that judgment and accounted for as such.

“On the entering of judgment, the claimant substituted its rights to collect money on the mortgage with the right to collect under the judgment. Any payment made subsequent to the entry of judgment must apply to extinguishing that judgment.”

Setting out the consequences if the situation were otherwise, Justice Card-Stubbs said: “If one were to accept the vlaimant’s argument, then the

defendants could very well pay off the balance of the mortgage by continuing their regular payments to the claimant and subsequently be met with enforcement of the judgment for the payment of the entirety of arrears at the 2011 date.

“By the claimant’s logic, a mortgagee can choose to sue for the entire balance in a first suit as due and owing on that date, and the mortgagee could receive judgment for sums outstanding together with contractual interest on the mortgage arrears and statutory interest on the judgment debt and the mortgagee could enforce the judgment while continuing to accept payments on the mortgage.

“What is more, the mortgagee would be able to bring a second suit and obtain a second judgment purportedly for the balance owing on the said mortgage at the date of the second suit, while holding a judgment for the amount owed on the said mortgage in a first suit, all the while collecting payments on the mortgage that were not being applied to extinguish the judgment debt in the previous suit,” she added.

“If one were to accept the claimant’s proposition,

ONLINE ABUSE OF POLITICALLY ACTIVE AFGHAN WOMEN TRIPLED AFTER TALIBAN TAKEOVER, RIGHTS GROUP REPORTS

NOTICE PIRARA INVESTIMENTS LTD. Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Registration Number 206747 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 16th day of November, A.D. 2023.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Mr. Rodolfo Nascimento Fiorezi, whose address is R Sete De Setembro 530 Centro 14730-000 Monte Azul, Paulista - SP, Brazil. Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 16th day of December, A.D. 2023 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 e cluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such claim is proved.

Dated this 20th day of November, A.D. 2023.

RODOLFO NASCIMENTO FIOREZI Liquidator

NOTICE

Preciosa Producciones Ltd. Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas registered in the Register of Companies under the Registration Number 209742 B. (In Voluntary Liquidation) Notice is hereby given that the liquidation and the winding up of the Company is complete and the Company has been struck off the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar General on the 8th day of November, 2023.

Dated this 20th day of November, A.D. 2023 Brenda Estefania de Carvalho Liquidator

NOTICE LANAI MANAO LTD. Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Registration Number 200697 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 16th day of November, A.D. 2023.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is Mr. Frederico Arieta Da Costa Ferreira, whose address is Rua Itacema 100, Ap 121, Itaim Bibi, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 16th day of December, A.D. 2023 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 20th day of November, A.D. 2023.

FREDERICO ARIETA DA COSTA FERREIRA Liquidator

this state of affairs could carry on ad infinitum. This is untenable and inequitable. The mortgagee is entitled to receipt of the sums owing but not twice or thrice.” Justice Card-Stubbs thus agreed that RBC is “estopped” from pursuing any further monetary damages against Deal’s Bus Service.

However, she agreed that RBC can seek reliefs that were not addressed in the 2022 action, such as vacant possession and the receiver’s appointment. And Justice Card-Stubbs found the Canadian-owned bank’s 2022 litigation has “some prospect of success”.

“I decline to make a finding as to whether the claimant’s action is statutebarred since the court’s finding is that the claimant’s pleadings do not found a claim on the judgment in the 2011 action as asserted by the defendant,” she ruled.

“I find that the claimant is not barred from proceeding in this action (the 2022 action) to secure relief not previously sought or granted in the 2011 action.

The court will exercise its power to strike out that part of the pleading that is an abuse of the process of this court.”

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ONLINE abuse and hate speech targeting politically active women in Afghanistan has significantly increased since the Taliban took over the country in Aug. 2021, according to a report released Monday by a U.K.-based rights group.

Afghan Witness, an opensource project run by the non-profit Center for Information Resilience, says it found that abusive posts tripled, a 217% increase, between June-December 2021 and the same period of 2022.

Building on expertise gained from similar research in Myanmar, the Afghan Witness team analyzed publicly available information from X, formerly known as Twitter, and conducted indepth interviews with six Afghan women to investigate the nature of the online abuse since the Taliban takeover.

The report said the team of investigators "collected and analyzed over 78,000 posts" written in Dari and Pashto — two local Afghan languages — directed at "almost 100 accounts of politically active Afghan women."

The interviews indicated that the spread of abusive posts online helped make the women targets, the report's authors said.

The interviewees reported receiving messages with pornographic material as well as threats of sexual violence and death.

"I think the hatred they show on social media does not differ from what they feel in real life," one woman told Afghan Witness.

Taliban government spokesmen were not immediately available to comment about the report.

The report identified four general themes in the abusive posts: accusations of promiscuity; the belief that politically active women violated cultural and religious norms; allegations the women were agents of the West; and accusations of making false claims in order to seek asylum abroad.

At the same time, Afghan Witness said it found the online abuse was "overwhelmingly sexualized," with over 60% of the posts in 2022 containing terms such as "whore" or "prostitute."

"Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, social media has turned from being a place for social and political expression to a forum for abuse and suppression, especially of women," the project's lead investigator, Francesca Gentile, said.

The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and work and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan following two decades of war.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 20, 2023, PAGE 9

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI fires CEO Sam Altman, the face of the AI boom, for lack of candor with company

By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was "not consistently candid in his communications" with the board of directors.

"The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI," the artificial intelligence company said in a statement.

In the year since Altman catapulted ChatGPT to global fame, he has become Silicon Valley's soughtafter voice on the promise and potential dangers of artificial intelligence and his sudden and mostly unexplained exit brought uncertainty to the industry's future.

Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, will take over as interim CEO effective immediately, the company said, while it searches for a permanent replacement.

The announcement also said another OpenAI co-founder and top executive, Greg Brockman, the board's chairman, would step down from that role but remain at the company, where he serves as president. But later on X, formerly Twitter, Brockman posted a message he sent to OpenAI employees in which he wrote, "based on today's news, i quit."

In another X post on Friday night, Brockman said Altman was asked to join a video meeting at noon Friday with the company's board members, minus Brockman, during which OpenAI co-founder and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever informed Altman he was being fired.

"Sam and I are shocked and saddened by what the board did today," Brockman wrote, adding that he was informed of his removal from the board in a separate call with Sutskever a short time later.

OpenAI declined to answer questions on what Altman's alleged lack of candor was about. The statement said his behavior was hindering the board's ability to exercise its responsibilities.

Altman posted Friday on X: "i loved my time at openai. it was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. most of all i loved

working with such talented people. will have more to say about what's next later."

In another post on X early Saturday morning, he called what happened a "weird experience" and thanked his followers for the "outpouring of love." "it has been sorta like reading your own eulogy while you're still alive," Altman wrote.

The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP's text archives.

Altman helped start OpenAI as a nonprofit research laboratory in 2015. But it was ChatGPT's explosion into public consciousness that thrust Altman into the spotlight as a face of generative AI — technology that can produce novel imagery, passages of text and other media. On a world tour this year, he was mobbed by a crowd of adoring fans at an event in London.

He's sat with multiple heads of state to discuss AI's potential and perils.

Just Thursday, he took part in a CEO summit at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco, where OpenAI is based.

He predicted AI will prove to be "the greatest leap forward of any of the big technological revolutions we've had so far."

He also acknowledged the need for guardrails, calling attention to the existential dangers future AI could pose.

Some computer scientists have criticized that focus on far-off risks as distracting from the real-world limitations and harms of current AI products. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether OpenAI violated consumer protection laws by scraping public data and publishing false information through its chatbot.

The company said its board consists of OpenAI's chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, and three nonemployees: Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, tech entrepreneur Tasha McCauley and Helen Toner of the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

OpenAI's key business partner, Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars into the startup and helped provide the

PUBLIC NOTICE This is to inform the public that B.K.B Enterprises Machine Shop located on #96 Miami Street will be closing permenantly on Friday, November 24th, 2023 Signed BKB Enterprises Management

NOTICE International Business Companies Act (No. 46 of 2000)

Cube Penthouse Limited Registration Number: 196178 B Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that Cube Penthouse Limited has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 23rd day of October, 2023. ______________________________

GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator

SAM Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI says it has pushed out Altman, its co-founder and CEO, and replaced him with an interim CEO. Photo:Eric Risberg/AP computing power to run its AI systems, said that the transition won't affect its relationship.

"We have a long-term partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft remains committed to Mira and their team as we bring this next era of AI to our customers," said an emailed Microsoft statement.

While not trained as an AI engineer, Altman, now 38, has been seen as a Silicon Valley wunderkind since his early 20s. He was recruited in 2014 to take lead of the startup incubator YCombinator.

OpenAI started out as a nonprofit when it launched

with financial backing from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others. Its stated aims were to "advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return."

That changed in 2018 when it incorporated a forprofit business Open AI LP, and shifted nearly all its staff into the business, not long after releasing its first generation of the GPT large language model for mimicking human writing. Around the same time, Musk, who had co-chaired its board with Altman, resigned from the board in a move that

OpenAI said would eliminate a "potential future conflict for Elon" due to Tesla's work on building self-driving systems.

While OpenAI's board has preserved its nonprofit governance structure, the startup it oversees has increasingly sought to capitalize on its technology by tailoring its popular chatbot to business customers.

At its first developer conference last week, Altman was the main speaker showcasing a vision for a future of AI agents that could help people with a variety of tasks. Days later, he announced the company would have to pause new

subscriptions to its premium version of ChatGPT because it had exceeded capacity.

Altman's exit "is indeed shocking as he has been the face of" generative AI technology, said Gartner analyst Arun Chandrasekaran.

He said OpenAI still has a "deep bench of technical leaders" but its next executives will have to steer it through the challenges of scaling the business and meeting the expectations of regulators and society.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he sees Altman's firing as a "black eye" for OpenAI and one that's likely to have ripple effects across Silicon Valley and Wall Street. He also speculated Altman's exit might complicate things for Microsoft.

"Altman goes from a friend to potentially a foe," Ives said.

Altman has a number of possible next steps. Even while running OpenAI, he placed large bets on several other ambitious projects.

Among them are Helion Energy, for developing fusion reactors that could produce prodigious amounts of energy from the hydrogen in seawater, and Retro Biosciences, which aims to add 10 years to the human lifespan using biotechnology. Altman also co-founded Worldcoin, a biometric and cryptocurrency project that's been scanning people's eyeballs with the goal of creating a vast digital identity and financial network.

Legal Notice NOTICE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMPANIES ACT, 2000

BLUESEE INVEST SA

(IN VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that in accordance with section 138(4) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000, as amended, BLUESEE INVEST SA is in dissolution.

The dissolution of the said Company commenced on November 16, 2023 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered with the Registrar General in Nassau, The Bahamas.

The sole liquidator of the said Company is Kim D Thompson of Equity Trust House, Caves Village, West Bay Street, P O Box N 10697, Nassau, Bahamas.

Kim D Thompson Sole Liquidator

PAGE 10, Monday, November 20, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

STOCK MARKET TODAY

Wall Street closes its 3rd straight winning week with a tiny gain

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer WALL Street's third straight winning week came to a quiet close Friday, as stocks tacked a whisper more onto their sizzling gains for November so far.

The S&P 500 edged up by 5.78 points, or 0.1%, to 4,514.02 and is near its highest level in three months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up by 1.81, or less than 0.1%, to 34,947.28, and the Nasdaq

composite gained 11.81, or 0.1%, to 14,125.48.

Several retailers made strong gains after reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Gap surged 30.6% after reporting much higher profit than Wall Street had forecast, more than doubling its stock's gain for the year so far. Ross Stores climbed 7.2% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected.

On the losing end was BJ's Wholesale Club,

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that DANIEL MIKEAL MCHAYLE of Pilgrim Street, 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 20th day of November, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

which fell 4.8% despite also reporting better results than expected. Analysts pointed to an underlying sales figure that strips out the boost from store openings, which fell short of expectations.

Retailers are closing out what's been a better-than-hoped earnings reporting season for the summer. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report their first overall growth in a year, according to FactSet. But the much more impactful factor driving stocks higher this week was hope that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to finally be done with its marketcrunching hikes to interest rates.

The Fed has already raised its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001, trying to slow the economy and dent financial markets just enough to get inflation under control without causing a painful recession.

A report on Tuesday showing inflation at the consumer level cooled more than expected last month ignited hopes that the Fed could pull off the delicate

PEOPLE walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. Wall Street pointed higher before the open Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, as most major markets looked set to end the week with solid gains. Photo:Julia Nikhinson/AP balancing act. Subsequent readings fanned the hopes higher after suggesting inflation and the overall economy may be slowing.

Now traders are trying to bet on when the Fed could actually begin cutting interest rates, something that can juice prices for investments and provide oxygen for the financial system.

The Fed has said that it plans to keep rates high for a while to ensure that the battle against inflation is

NOTICE

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ANNAKAY GEORGENIA SCULLY of #10 Kings Court, 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 20th day of November, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE is hereby given that HERSON MEDINA HOLMES of Nassau Village, P.O. Box N-7147, 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 20th day of November, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

definitively won, but traders are thinking cuts could begin early in the summer of 2024.

One source of potential worry about inflation has been receding in recent weeks. Oil prices have plunged amid worries about a mismatch between too much crude supply and too little demand.

A barrel of U.S. crude for December delivery rose $2.99 to settle at $75.89 Friday to recover some of its sharp losses from earlier in the week. But it's still well below its perch above $93 in late September.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose $3.19 to $80.61 per barrel Friday.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 4.43% from 4.44% late Thursday. Just a few weeks ago, it was above 5%, at its highest level since 2007 and undercutting prices for stocks and other investments.

Of course, too steep a drop in Treasury yields and too big a rally in stock prices could end up conspiring to work against Wall Street.

Chair Jerome Powell said after the Fed's last meeting on interest rates that it may not hike any more if the summer's jump in Treasury yields and fall in stock prices remained "persistent." That's because such pressures could act like substitutes for more rate increases on their own.

Since then, yields have eased sharply, and November is on track to be the best month for the S&P 500 in a year. It all means financial conditions have unwound a bit over half of the tightening seen in October, according to economists at Deutsche Bank.

Still, recent reports on inflation and the economy have been so encouraging that "the Fed can afford to be less concerned with this easing," according to Justin Weidner and the other economists.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that CHRISTOPHER JASON EDOUARD of Claridge 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 20th day of November, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that DIEULA JACQUES, P.O Box AP-59247, Soldier Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of November 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that JOSEPH DIT BIENCHE PETIT, Marsh Harbour, Abaco 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 13th day of November 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that MYCHEL GENDGI AVILMA, Lifebuoy Street, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 13th day of November 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, November 20, 2023, PAGE 11

Join Our Team Currency Department

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Financial Markets Infrastructure Analyst

Approved July 2018 Size: Ratio - 1.004:1 Font: Optima/Ultima

OVERVIEW:

The Financial Markets Infrastructure Analyst resides in the Currency Department and reports directly to the Deputy Manager, Financial Markets Infrastructure. This role carries responsibility for oversight of market infrastructures systems developments, enhancements, and maintenance and works with external and internal stakeholders to promote the highest level of systems availability and resilience.

This role also administers the change management processes for short- and long-term systems development and manages help desk queries to ensure prompt and efficient resolution of financial markets infrastructure issues. This role requires sound Information Technology background to aid in systems development, along with a general understanding of payment systems.

CORE FUNCTIONS:

• Oversee and document financial market infrastructure developments, enhancements, and maintenance, including pre- and post-architecture assessments for scheduled and ad hoc system maintenance.

This includes working with stakeholders to complete and improve scheduled disaster recovery tests and system failovers.

• Administer the change management process for short- and long-term system developments and enhancements. This includes creating system test scripts, and recording and reporting all system incidents to senior management and executives within established timelines.

• Manage help desk queries to promote prompt and efficient resolution of financial market infrastructure issues, in accordance with the Bank’s agreements, user group rules, and international standards.

This includes maintaining user engagements to promote

efficient communication with stakeholders.

• Coordinate financial market infrastructure operations to ensure system resilience and stakeholder satisfaction, in accordance with established guidelines. System risks are identified and recorded in a Risk Register with planned mitigation established.

This includes assisting with development and maintenance of appropriate risk assessment models.

• Conduct annual evaluations on financial market infrastructures performance against established standards, including Principles for Financial Markets Infrastructure.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related quantitative discipline.

• Sound knowledge of assessing IT application lifecycle.

• Strong project management competencies.

• A fair understanding and working knowledge of payment systems, securities administration, and security origination.

• Strong understanding of financial market risk components and the ability to quantitatively measure risk in a dynamic market environment.

• Working knowledge of banking laws, central banking (functional knowledge of financial markets).

Some knowledge of retail payments, securities settlement.

• Working knowledge of spreadsheet applications and MS Office suite of applications.

• Three (3) years’ work related experience.

• Good time management and organization skills.

• Good oral and written communication skills.

Deadline for Application:

FRIDAY, 24TH NOVEMBER 2023

Interested persons should send resumes directly to hrd@centralbankbahamas.com Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

PAGE 12, Monday, November 20, 2023

THE TRIBUNE

‘Please regulate AI:’ Artists push for U.S. copyright reforms but tech industry says not so fast

By MATT O'BRIEN AP Technology Writer COUNTRY singers, romance novelists, video game artists and voice actors are appealing to the U.S. government for relief — as soon as possible — from the threat that artificial intelligence poses to their livelihoods.

"Please regulate AI. I'm scared," wrote a podcaster concerned about his voice being replicated by AI in one of thousands of letters

recently submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office.

Technology companies, by contrast, are largely happy with the status quo that has enabled them to gobble up published works to make their AI systems better at mimicking what humans do.

The nation's top copyright official hasn't yet taken sides. She told The Associated Press she's listening to everyone as her office weighs whether copyright reforms are needed

for a new era of generative AI tools that can spit out compelling imagery, music, video and passages of text.

"We've received close to 10,000 comments," said Shira Perlmutter, the U.S. register of copyrights, in an interview. "Every one of them is being read by a human being, not a computer. And I myself am reading a large part of them."

Perlmutter directs the U.S. Copyright Office, which registered more

than 480,000 copyrights last year covering millions of individual works but is increasingly being asked to register works that are AI-generated. So far, copyright claims for fully machine-generated content have been soundly rejected because copyright laws are designed to protect works of human authorship.

But, Perlmutter asks, as humans feed content into AI systems and give instructions to influence what comes out, "is there

a point at which there's enough human involvement in controlling the expressive elements of the output that the human can be considered to have contributed authorship?"

That's one question the Copyright Office has put to the public. A bigger one — the question that's fielded thousands of comments from creative professions — is what to do about copyrighted human works that are being pulled from the internet and other sources and ingested to train AI systems, often without permission or compensation.

More than 9,700 comments were sent to the Copyright Office, part of the Library of Congress, before an initial comment period closed in late October. Another round of comments is due by Dec. 6. After that, Perlmutter's office will work to advise Congress and others on whether reforms are needed.

Addressing the "Ladies and Gentlemen of the US Copyright Office," the "Family Ties" actor and filmmaker Justine Bateman said she was disturbed that AI models were "ingesting 100 years of film" and TV in a way that could destroy the structure of the film business and replace large portions of its labor pipeline.

It "appears to many of us to be the largest copyright violation in the history of the United States," Bateman wrote. "I sincerely hope you can stop this practice of thievery."

Airing some of the same AI concerns that fueled this year's Hollywood strikes, television showrunner Lilla Zuckerman ("Poker Face") said her industry should declare war on what is "nothing more than a plagiarism machine" before Hollywood is "coopted by greedy and craven companies who want to take human talent out of entertainment."

The music industry is also threatened, said Nashvillebased country songwriter Marc Beeson, who's penned tunes for Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks.

Beeson said AI has potential to do good but "in some ways, it's like a gun — in the wrong hands, with no parameters in place for its use, it could do irreparable damage to one of the last true American art forms."

While most commenters were individuals, their concerns were echoed by big music publishers (Universal Music Group called the way AI is trained "ravenous and poorly controlled") as well as author groups and news organizations including the New York Times and The Associated Press.

What leading tech companies like Google, Microsoft and ChatGPTmaker OpenAI are telling the Copyright Office is that their training of AI models fits into the "fair use" doctrine that allows for limited uses of copyrighted materials such as for teaching, research or transforming the copyrighted work into something different.

"The American AI industry is built in part on the understanding that the Copyright Act does not proscribe the use of copyrighted material to train Generative AI models," says a letter from Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The purpose of AI training is to identify patterns "across a broad body of content," not to "extract or reproduce" individual works, it added.

So far, courts have largely sided with tech companies in interpreting how copyright laws should treat AI systems. In a defeat for visual artists, a federal judge in San Francisco last month dismissed much of the first big lawsuit against AI image-generators, though allowed some of the case to proceed.