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Pension providers enjoy ‘significant’ 100% inquiry rise

Pension plan administrators yesterday said they had seen a 100 per cent increase in employer inquiries over the past 12 months, describing the surge as “significant” given existing low participation levels.

Tourism ‘softness’ exposed with 7% room revenue fall

Tourism “softness” resulted in a 7 per cent year-over-year decline in peak winter room revenues for Nassau’s major hotels, with both occupancies and pricing coming under pressure.

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Car Show 'bounce' in 83-100% sales growth

BAHAMIAN new car dealers yesterday revealed that the Car Show "bounce" appeared to have returned in 2012, with April's sales up between 83-100 per cent month-over-month compared to March.

‘Unenviable balancing act’ confronting The Bahamas

The Bahamas “faces an unenviable balancing act between food security and fiscal discipline”, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) warned yesterday, with global financial developments proving “particularly concerning”.

FAMILIES EARNING UNDER $5K YEARLY INCREASE BY 83%

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The number of Bahamian households surviving on less than $5,000 per year has increased by an "alarming" 83 per cent in the past four years, Department of Statistics data shows, indicating the recession has most im

FEEDBACK FROM THE FIRM'S KING

By Ian Ferguson We agree that a stronger focus on our customers enhances our ability to grow and expand our businesses, and to deepen our ability to maximise customer satisfaction. We say often that the customer is 'KING', and that they are the driving f

'Little chance' to lower high debt, bad loan levels

The Central Bank of the Bahamas has admitted the current economic climate provides "little opportunity" to reduce high consumer debt and loan delinquency levels, with only 'qualified borrowers' able to access credit.

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$112m spent with 'no due process'

$112m spent with 'no due process' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor With more than $112 million in public monies spent "without any evidence of due process", the Bahamian Contractors Association's (BCA) president has urged the Government to use t

BTC profits slump 26.4%

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) suffered a 26.4 per cent profits slump for the year to end-March 2015, as its revenues and staffing levels came under pressure in the run-up to mobile liberalisation.

Bahamas breaks global standards with jet fuel tax

The Bahamas is breaching international standards by levying 7 per cent import duty on jet fuel, warns a report produced for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

PRIVATE SECTOR LOAN DEFAULTS HIT $301M

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Almost one-third of commercial bank loans to Bahamian businesses are in arrears, something the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation's (BCCEC) chairman described as a sign that economic recovery

Just 12% of mortgages finance 'new buildings'

New Central Bank of the Bahamas date has provided a further insight into the sluggish home construction market, with just 12 per cent of mortgage applications involving 'new builds'.

2,000 homeowners 'non-performing'

2,000 homeowners 'non-performing' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor An estimated 1,500-2,000 Bahamian homes have mortgage loans that are more than 90 days past due, the Clearing Banks Association (CBA) told Tribune Business yesterday, with the se

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Gov’t agrees ‘few hundred thousand’ in VAT credits

The Government has approved “several hundred thousand dollars” of Value-Added Tax (VAT) credit refunds, a top official yesterday promising that businesses would not endure “a protracted wait” to receive them.

Competition fears on Super Value's City Markets 'deal'

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Rival food retailers have voiced fears that allowing Super Value to acquire City Markets' remaining stores would create a "virtual monopoly" in the New Providence supermarket business, with an estimated 60-80 per

Competition fears on Super Value's City Markets 'deal'

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Rival food retailers have voiced fears that allowing Super Value to acquire City Markets' remaining stores would create a "virtual monopoly" in the New Providence supermarket business, with an estimated 60-80 per

INSURANCE BROKERS: OVER 25% TO 'FALL OFF'

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor More than 25 per cent of all existing Bahamian insurance brokers and agents are unlikely to be licensed under the new Act governing the sector, the Insurance Commission told Tribune Business yesterday. Arvind Bagh

Construction finds a regulatory home

By Simon Cooper Res Socius Some things are really strange. We have guarantees for just about everything these days, and that even includes a notice promising that some biscuits have never seen a nut before - unless, of course, the factory owner went craz

Construction finds a regulatory home

By Simon Cooper Res Socius Some things are really strange. We have guarantees for just about everything these days, and that even includes a notice promising that some biscuits have never seen a nut before - unless, of course, the factory owner went craz

PM cuts 2016 GDP growth to just 0.5%

Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday slashed a full percentage point off the Bahamas’ projected economic growth for 2016, cutting real GDP expansion estimates to just 0.5 per cent.