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Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss

Bahamasair eyes 'break even' despite $21m loss By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Despite being on target for a $21 million loss in its 2011-2012 financial year, Bahamasair's chairman says the airline is trending in the right direction and eventua

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Pinder moves one year after ‘amazing’ deal

One year after receiving a “mind blowing” offer he was unable to turn down, former financial services minister Ryan Pinder yesterday confirmed his career is on the move again - this time to the Graham, Thompson & Co law firm as partner.

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BIA chair warns on Brexit's potential to impact FDI, banking

The Bahamas Insurance Association's (BIA) chairman yesterday warned it was currently impossible to predict how the UK's European Union (EU) exit will impact the Bahamas, adding: "The only certainty is uncertainty".

Bahamian insurer ‘bolstered’ after hurricane losses

* Security and General in Q4 capital injection * Performance ‘marginal’, ‘below average’ * Rival Summit also gets top ratings

A MAJOR Bahamian insurer has seen its balance sheet “bolstered” by its parent as a result of recent hurricane-related losses. A. M. Best, the insurance rating agency, said Security and General Insurance Company had received a fourth quarter capital injection from its Bermuda-based owner following recent storm payouts. The rating agency, which reaffirmed the Bahamian property and casualty insurer’s creditworthiness, provided few details and its top executive, Marlon Graham, did not return Tribune Business’s voice mail message yesterday seeking comment.

Govt told: ‘Cut inefficient taxes across the board’

The Government was yesterday urged by a leading governance reformer to reduce “inefficient taxes across the board” so that it could make room for potential Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate increases.

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COMMISSION URGED TO ACT ON $10M PORT PROSPECTUS

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor A prominent businessman has again urged the Securities Commission to "become involved" and ensure the prospectus for the $10 million Arawak Cay initial public offering (IPO) is amended to confirm that the 20 per c

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Roberts: Abaco interests up 11%

SUPER Value's owner has told Tribune Business that Abaco has proven "more resilient" to the global recession than any other Bahamas island, with his interests on the island seeing an 11 per cent increase in business year-over-year.

Property Fund ‘gap’ as PwC to vacate Providence House

THE BISX-listed Bahamas Property Fund is preparing for temporary vacancy at its last fully-occupied property, following a $2.206 million third quarter hit caused by a timing adjustment.

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Bahamas ‘must reengineer economy faster than ever’

* QC: 2018 will ‘set economy for 20 years’ * Warns reform pace may be bewildering * Warns of tax, exchange control ‘recalibrating’

THE Bahamas faces having to “substantially reengineer its economy at a much faster pace than ever before” to escape global ‘blacklists’, a prominent QC warned yesterday. Brian Moree QC, senior partner at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, told Tribune Business that this nation’s response to the European Union/OECD initiatives in 2018 “will determine the future of the economy” for possibly the next 20 years.

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Atlantis takeover 'best thing that ever happened'

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Brookfield Asset Management's ownership takeover at Atlantis and the One & Only Ocean Club has been described by a leading accountant as "the best thing that ever happened for the Bahamas". Raymond Winder, managin

BTC slammed with $1.581m fine over network outage

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) was last night hit with a $1.581 million fine for last March’s network outage, the sector regulator finding it did not take action to maintain a “functioning” communications system.

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Broker clients want right to sue for $25

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Clients of a failed Bahamian broker/dealer are seeking a Supreme Court order that would assign them the right to sue those deemed responsible for their collective $24.5 million loss, fearing they may lose forever

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Baha Mar 'close' to $150m spend on Bahamians

BAHA Mar is "close" to investing $150 million with Bahamian contractors for its Cable Beach redevelopment, as it prepares to today launch the $2.6 billion project's 300 luxury Residences to high net-worth buyers from across the world in London.

BPL pledges: You’ll have ‘soft landing’ on extra charge

BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) chairman yesterday pledged to make “the landing as soft as possible” for Bahamian consumers when it adds a debt servicing charge to their bills.

Freeport consultation ‘a matter of survival’

The negotiations over Freeport’s expiring tax breaks are “very much a matter of survival” for the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s (GBPA) 3,500 licensees, an outspoken QC arguing that these incentives are among the few “not completely breached” yet.

Super Value chief: Prices up 2-3% with new Port

SUPER Value's owner yesterday warned the price of many grocery items is likely to increase by at least 2-3 per cent, having been told that freight rates will rise by 10 per cent due to the new/revised charges being imposed by the Arawak Cay Port.

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Hotels target 'modest increase' for 2012 Q1

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Nassau/Paradise Island hotel industry is hoping to enjoy "a modest increase in all key metrics" for January and the 2012 first quarter, the Bahamas Hotel Association's (BHA) president last night pointing out t

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BEC chairman: Renewable firm 'mischaracterised' RFP-end response

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor BEC's executive chairman has told Tribune Business that the Corporation's renewable energy tender (RFP) ended because no proposal met its required standards, adding that his answer on this had been "mischaracteris

Gaming Board lacks ‘oversight structure’ for numbers houses

* Minister: Changes to make regulator ‘more relevant’ * Gaming Board will ‘look very different’ in five years * ‘92,000 didn’t vote for us to maintain status quo’

RECENT downsizings are intended to make the Gaming Board “more relevant” and help it cope with the “seismic changes” created by web shops, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Dionisio D’Aguilar, who has ministerial responsibility for gaming, told Tribune Business that the industry regulator will “look extremely different from the Gaming Board of today within five years”.

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CONSTRUCTION & MANUFACTURING: 8,800 JOBS LOST IN 3-YEAR PERIOD

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamas lost a total 8,870 jobs in its construction and manufacturing industries between 2007-2010 as a result of the global recession, a United Nations (UN) Body has reported, with per capita GDP only now beg