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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.
'Madness': 90% of loan requests are consumer
The Bahamas' consumer loan "madness" is making sustainable economic development impossible, as more than nine out of every 10 credit applications fall into this category.
Caribbean hotel rivals beat Bahamas' 5% RevPAR rise
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamian hotel industry's 5 per cent revenue per room (RevPAR) increase for the first nine months in 2011 was overshadowed by greater rises in many Caribbean competitors, as an industry consultant yesterday to
Caribbean hotel rivals beat Bahamas' 5% RevPAR rise
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamian hotel industry's 5 per cent revenue per room (RevPAR) increase for the first nine months in 2011 was overshadowed by greater rises in many Caribbean competitors, as an industry consultant yesterday to
Skills transfer woe still a ‘sad reality’
The Bahamas must change “the sad reality” that key skills and knowledge are not being passed on to local workers by expatriate work permit holders, a prominent contractor argued yesterday.
FIELDS NAMED AS TOP INSURANCE REGULATOR
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Former ColinaImperial executive Michele Fields has been appointed as the Bahamas' chief insurance regulator, Tribune Business can reveal, the Government believing her industry background will allow enhanced superv
RENEWABLE ENERGY 'AMAZING CHANCE' FOR DIVERSIFICATION
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Bahamas has an "incredible opportunity" to diversify its economy by becoming a renewable energy exporter, a leading Caribbean expert yesterday saying it could emulate Israel's 92 per cent penetration rate if i
$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
Atlantis’s 4.5% Xmas rate rise beats hotel norm
Atlantis has seen a “quite substantial” 4.5 per cent year-over-year increase in average daily room rates (ADRs) for the upcoming peak Christmas/New Year season, a growth rate exceeding industry norms.
SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR $270K ROUTE INVESTMENT
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Sky Bahamas expects to start seeing a return on its $270,000 investment in building its Marsh Harbour-West Palm Beach route in three months' time, telling Tribune Business it cost Bahamian-owned airlines twice as
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.
$500M REVENUE RISE NO FISCAL GAP BRIDGE
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Government's annual fiscal deficit averaged more than $170 million during the 2002-2008 'economic boom' years despite an almost $500 million rise in revenues over that period, showing that reining in out-of-co
IDB to combat 'stodgy' image
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) country representative yesterday pledged to reach out more effectively to the Bahamian private sector, admitting that the institution was perceived as "too stodgy and bu
MONTAQUE LIQUIDATORS 'FULL FORCE' IN CANADA
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor Liquidators for Owen Bethel's Montaque Capital Partners have been recognised by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice through a ruling given "full force and effect" throughout Canada, a move critical to enabling t
Mortgage finance 'biggest hurdle' to housing recovery
Mortgage financing access remains "the biggest hurdle" to reviving the domestic real estate market, causing up to three deals for the same property to fall through.
Profits triple as BAF's 'sleeping giant awakes'
Profits triple as BAF's 'sleeping giant awakes' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor BAF Financial's owners believe they have "awoken the sleeping giant" during their first five years at the helm, "tripling profits" and doubling total assets to $150
Bahamians urged: Show ‘more ‘outrage’ over financial crimes
BAHAMIANS were yesterday urged to show “more outrage” over financial crime and poor business practices, a prominent cleric arguing that these had become “entrenched in our culture”.
29% auto sales rise 'not true market reflection'
29% auto sales rise 'not true market reflection' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The 29 per cent year-over-year new car sales increase for the first two months of 2012 is "not a true reflection" of the anemic overall market, two Bahamas Motor D
29% auto sales rise 'not true market reflection'
29% auto sales rise 'not true market reflection' By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor The 29 per cent year-over-year new car sales increase for the first two months of 2012 is "not a true reflection" of the anemic overall market, two Bahamas Motor D
CIBC: Bahamas worst for ‘bad’ mortgages
CIBC’s top Caribbean executive yesterday revealed that the “magnitude” of non-performing home loans in the Bahamas was “greater than anywhere else” in the region, this nation accounting for 50 per cent of the bank’s ‘bad’ mortgages.