01212026 BUSINESS

‘Bar set high’: New auto sales surge 15% in 2025

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

THE 15 percent increase in new auto sales for 2025 “sets the bar high” for this year, the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president revealed yesterday, with most industry operators likely “to take any increase we can get”.

Ben Albury, also Bahamas Bus and Truck’s general manager, told Tribune Business that - while dealers

• BMDA chief: ‘We’ll take any increase we can get’ in 2026

would “like to see another 15 percent increase” in 2026 - such ambitions are being tempered by historical experience which has shown successive years of

• Ambition tempered by growth taper-off after strong years

growth are frequently followed by a “retraction” because buyer demand has largely been satisfied. While not providing gross figures for the industry as

Grand

Lucayan

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS was yesterday warned it is “dangerous” to dismiss tax reform options simply because they are perceived as “unpopular or “difficult” to implement, the head of a private sector tax advocacy group warned yesterday.

Gowon Bowe, who headed the Coalition for Responsible Taxation when VAT was introduced on New Year’s Day 2015, told Tribune Business that the critical issue on any new tax is whether it is “appropriate” and serves the Bahamas best after Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, last week again ruled out implementing a personal income tax.

And he also argued that the Government has made life difficult for itself in seeking to “discredit” assertions that the elimination of VAT on unprepared foods will only save the average Bahamian household $11 per month, or $127 per year, by failing to produce any studies or empirical evidence that informed its thinking to disprove this.

Suggesting that the Davis administration had “fallen victim” to what it had accused its Minnis predecessor of, namely failing to produce the evidence to justify hiking the VAT rate from 7.5 percent to 12 percent, Mr Bowe said the debate over potential Bahamian savings from the Government’s latest bid to ease cost of living

• Dealer urges used auto age limits cut from 10 to 7 years

a whole, the BMDA chief also disclosed that new car sales had exceeded 2024’s “substantial” full-year numbers by 4 percent at

worker send- home industrial deal ‘breach’

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Trades Union Congress (TUC) president yesterday asserted he is “making all efforts” to meet with the Prime Minister in a bid to resolve the fate of Grand Lucayan workers sent home without due pay amid continued uncertainty over the resort’s sale.

Obie Ferguson KC told Tribune Business that the hotel and its government-controlled

owner, the Lucayan Renewal Holdings special purpose vehicle (SPV), had breached the industrial agreement with the Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA), which represents the property’s estimated 91 middle management, over how it has treated employees.

Voicing optimism that Philip Davis KC’s intervention will ensure an acceptable settlement is reached, the TUC president nevertheless described talks with the country’s leader as “very, very, very

end-November 2025 with one month still remaining.

And, describing himself as “cautiously optimistic” for 2026, Mr Albury told this newspaper that the strong back-to-back years of 2024 and 2025 have allowed Bahamian auto dealers to “recover, recalibrate” and expand their workforces following what he described as “a couple of difficult years” and the lockdowns and supply chain disruption that

BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE developer behind the $200m Rosewood Exuma project last night asserted it has reduced the size of its service dock by one-third in the latest plans submitted to Bahamian planning authorities for a new site plan approval.

Yntegra Group, the Miami-based developer, responding after a senior Department of Physical

characterised the COVID19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Fred Albury, the Auto Mall chief, said 2025 was “a bit off” for his dealership, which includes the Toyota, BMW and Hyundai brands, due to increased market competition including the influx of Chinese models. He also called on the Government to follow

• Union chief ‘making all efforts’ to resolve issue with PM

• Confirms ‘chilling’ effect as staff sent home without pay

• Gov’t ‘really making a mess’ of transition in ownership

urgent” given the “chilling” impact the situation is having on Grand Lucayan workers and their families - especially their ability to pay bills and plan their lives.

And, expressing surprise at what has occurred, Mr Ferguson told this newspaper that sending staff home without due pay is contrary to how he was told the Grand Lucayan

Planning official asserted there are “significant concerns” over the service dock’s location said that the new design involved consultation with Bahamian environmental specialists. In a statement, it added that the revised site plan has significantly scaled back the service dock, reducing its size and moving it farther away from neighbouring properties such as Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club, which has been among its chief opponents.

Yntegra Group also pledged to have cut down on cubic dredging volumes and the size of the area that will be impacted, noting there are no zoning or planning laws prohibiting a dock in East Sampson Cay’s North Bay.

“Yntegra believes that revision and refinement are integral to responsible development and an important part of creating a world-class resort,” it said.

“We have revised our designs following many constructive conversations with the local community, and are working with respected, experienced Bahamian scientists and professionals to ensure that

Relocated Fort Fincastle vendors suffer low sales

BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Straw Businesspersons Society president yesterday asserted that low sales continue to plague vendors at Fort Charlotte because only a small fraction benefit from tour bus traffic.

Speaking to Tribune Business, Rebecca Small said vendors who were previously relocated from Fort Fincastle to Fort Charlotte to facilitate improvements to the water tower at the former destination have still not been allowed to return to their original site despite

officials’ stating this would happen from December. She added that vendors are struggling to make meaningful sales, with only a handful earning anything when tour buses arrive at the site which still houses displaced vendors in tents.

“I can clearly and emphatically state that the vendors on Fort Charlotte - based on what they’re telling me - if you have 40 vendors out there, maybe four of them make anything when tour buses come, and the rest are hardly making anything at all. It's devastating,” said Ms Small “It’s terrible for the vendors from Fort Fincastle.”

She added that downtown Nassau straw vendors continue to endure variable sales, with some days profitable and others not, but it is too soon to gauge how Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island Beach Club, which opened late last month, will affect revenue. “For the vendors downtown, there are days you make something and there are days you don’t. I can’t say the impact just yet; I would need to go and reassess downtown,” said Ms Small.

The Antiquities, Monuments & Museums Corporation (AMMC) last year announced the

Gas station operator in commercial client focus

THE operator of the newest Esso-branded gas station on Sir Milo Butler Highway is targeting commercial clients such as jitneys and heavy equipment vehicles with fuel, facilities and forecourt space dedicated to their needs.

Peter Roker, a fuel industry veteran with four decades of experience, and who was among the first to establish a major commercial presence on Carmichael Road with City 2000, believes the reliability and cost of diesel fuel play a key role in how New Providence’s transportation sector functions.

“Fuel decisions don’t stay at the pump,” Mr Roker said. “They move straight into fares, construction

costs, service reliability and, ultimately, into the cost of living and doing business.”

Mr Roker points to the jitney system as a clear illustration of fuel’s residual impact. An estimated 200 to 300 jitneys operate daily across more than 40 routes throughout New Providence, moving hundreds of passengers to and from their work, education and services.

“If transport slows, the economy slows,” Mr Roker added. “The people who rely on public service transportation feel it first, and the effects ripple outward.”

Mr Roker said his plan for the newly-established Sir Milo Butler Highway gas station is to develop a long-term focus on commercial clients. The facility

Gov’t ‘can’t discredit’ VAT cut critics without key evidence

SAVINGS - from page B1

concerns is receiving significant “oxygen” because of the upcoming general election.

Describing it as a “dangerous statement” to suggest that income tax is being rejected because it is “not simple” to implement, the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive told this newspaper: “We have to be careful dismissing what is best for the country because it’s not popular or easy to implement. The difficulty with that should not determine whether it is the most appropriate.”

Mr Bowe pointed out that the switch from Customs duties to VAT as the Government’s main tax revenue source involved a complex transition to a tax that relies on companies

‘netting off’ the difference between so-called ‘outputs’ and ‘inputs’ such that consumer are the ones that pay it. While this proved a challenge, and faced push back and resistance, The Bahamas still went ahead with implementation. “It was in the best interests of the country to increase the tax-to-GDP percentage and ratio,” Mr Bowe said of VAT’s 2015 arrival. “When we’re talking about tax reform, it should not be whether it’s simple to do; it’s whether it’s the appropriate thing to do.”

He and others have argued that personal income tax would be a fairer and more progressive tax for The Bahamas as it would be linked directly to a taxpayer’s ability to pay, with those on higher earnings paying a greater

MP challenges whether hotel workers able to access NIB

RESORT - from page B1

workforce’s interests would be handled during the transition following the resort’s planned sale to Concord Wilshire.

While the US-headquartered developer has yet to receive the property, and take formal possession, Mr Ferguson said it was his “understanding” that BHMA members among Grand Lucayan staff would be “continuously employed” during the transition and subsequent demolition of existing buildings to make way for Concord Wilshire’s $827m redevelopment of the destination.

That, though, is not happening with the TUC president revealing that his phone was “lit up” yesterday with calls from BHMA members at the Grand Lucayan. He added that inconsistent salary payments, and the sending home of staff, have been occurring for at least one to two months but it is “now affecting all” workers.

“I can confirm what they conveyed to me: That they have been sent home without pay,” Mr Ferguson told Tribune Business. “They just called me today and confirmed that to me. I am

making all efforts to try and reach the Prime Minister to see whether this matter can be resolved in the interests of the members and in the interests of the country.

“Certainly it is a breach [of the BHMA’s industrial agreement]. My understanding was that they will be continuously employed during this period. That was my understanding, and that is what I communicated to the members. But now I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of calls from them, and they’ve indicated they’ve not been paid fully for a couple of months; it’s been on and off. Then they were told by hotel management they cannot come to work.”

The Government did not respond to Tribune Business’s efforts to obtain comment before press time last night. The fate of Concord Wilshire’s $120m Grand Lucayan purchase, which was unveiled with much fanfare in May 2025, has been shrouded in secrecy for weeks with no updates provided by the Davis administration on how close it is to completion or whether it is still moving forward.

Well-placed Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity,

near-completion of the $3m Fort Fincastle water tower restoration project with the handover expected during the first week of December.

The contract, awarded to SJK Construction in May 2024, included interior and exterior restoration work to address structural concerns at the long-inactive water tower. The renovation work, which began on March 15, was initially expected to be completed within four months but had been delayed due to construction interruptions.

Don Cornish, director of the National Museum of The Bahamas, said that while new vendor stalls had

originally been planned as part of the redevelopment project they have not materialised due to factors beyond the AMMC’s control. He added that existing stalls would be refurbished so vendors could resume business in December

“While the new stalls did not come to fruition, we want the straw vendors to know that they have not been forgotten. We are now working feverishly to refurbish and upgrade the existing stalls so they are functional, safe and attractive. Our goal is simple: To get business flowing again on site without further interruption and as early as

possible in December,” said Mr Cornish.

“We understand and deeply sympathise with the straw vendors whose livelihoods depend on this location. These upgrades are being done so that, going forward, the site can sustain higher volumes of visitors, better services and stronger economic opportunities for everyone who trades here.”

Tribune Business reached out to Mr Cornish for an update on the renovations and the expected return date for vendors, but was advised that he is out of office and will provide an update next week.

is built around the needs of jitneys, big buses and heavy equipment, so it has been constructed with generous forecourt space and a fourpump, high-capacity diesel system to support efficient access for commercial vehicles.

The objective, Mr Roker added, is not marketing visibility but operational efficiency for commercial users. “This is about access, capacity and predictability,” he said. “When operators can fuel efficiently, they plan better, price more steadily and operate with fewer shocks.”

Mr Roker said the downstream effects extend beyond transport into building activity, marine services and tourism mobility - areas where timing, reliability and

share. It would also enable the Government to better target tax relief and other forms of social assistance to those truly in need and who require it even though The Bahamas has no history of income tax.

However, the Government’s argument for shying away from income tax has always been that it will be too costly and complex to set-up and manage. The Bahamas’ income per capita is also skewed by a relatively small number of high income earners, and the fear has always been that they will find legal loopholes to avoid income tax, thus leaving middle class and lower income Bahamians to shoulder the burden.

Thus The Bahamas has persisted with regressive, consumption-based taxes that require lower income Bahamian families to pay proportionally more of their earnings to the Government in taxes. And emotions surrounding VAT

yesterday suggested the move to send Grand Lucayan staff home was designed to pave the way for Concord Wilshire to take over the resort and rapidly begin its demolition. Asserting that the sale remains on track, despite the deal being months behind the US developer’s original schedule, they indicated that the problems stem from the botched ownership transition.

“The Government is really making a mess of it. They are treating their people terribly,” one contact said. “The deal is done, and the parties know the way forward. I think it will start in a month.” However, they added that the delayed handover has cooled Concord Wilshire’s original plan and offer to continue paying existing Grand Lucayan staff for an indefinite period.

“I think that if Concord Wilshire had taken over in June when they were supposed to they would have paid everybody for a period of time,” one source said. “Concord Wilshire didn’t take over in June, so Concord Wilshire declined to make payment because they don’t have any advantage. It would have been a losing proposition anyway.”

Thus the responsibility for paying staff, and funding the Grand Lucayan’s monthly losses of more than $1m, has remained with the Government and Bahamian

cost control are critical to national competitiveness.

To ensure consistency in how fuel relief is delivered, the operation uses a structured customer system supported by his free RGS Loyalty Card. “The card is just the mechanism,” Mr Roker said. “This is not just a promotion. It is a longterm operating approach.”

were triggered again this week by suggestions that the savings from slashing the 5 percent levy on unprepared foods to zero will generate minuscule savings for Bahamians. “I think that this is the underlying issue in that the statement that was made in terms of the action being taken did not get accompanied by the empirical evidence,” Mr Bowe told Tribune Business yesterday. “They [the Government] may disagree with persons pontificating about how much will be saved, or not saved, but they are not in a position to discredit those who are criticising or to show the actually made a decision based on the information they had in their possession.”

Whether or not the $11 figure, which was derived by dividing the $15m in VAT revenue that the Government is foregoing as a result of the unprepared food elimination by the 118,221

taxpayers. Tribune Business understands that while the resort, and all its property and real estate assets, have been conveyed to Concord Wilshire these assets have yet to be turned over by the Government and its SPV to the private sector developer.

Mr Ferguson, meanwhile, said BHMA members among the Grand Lucayan’s staff have reported receiving “on and off payment” of their salaries for the past one to two months. “It was going very well and they were being paid regular salaries,” he added, “but recently management at the hotel told members not to come to work. It’s been going on for a couple of months and is now affecting all of them.

“At one point it was only some people and they were switching it around. Now, today, my phone was lit up with calls from Grand Bahama. It’s got to the point where it was all the workers. The manager of the hotel told the people not to come.” Mr Ferguson was unable to say how many Grand Lucayan workers have now been sent home, and how many remain at work.

The Tribune this week reported that only security staff largely remain at the property, with others told to go home because the Grand Lucayan has no water supply. Tribune Business

Mr Roker plans to share these ideas with Kiwanis service clubs and other civic organisations, framing them as practical economic lessons drawn from decades of operating in The Bahamas.

Bahamas-based households recorded in the 2022 census, is accurate it is clear that this latest relief represents modest food news and is hardly a ‘game changer’ in efforts to ease cost of living pressures.

Mr Bowe, meanwhile, contrasted the lack of evidence to justify the Government’s latest VAT ‘zero rating’ move with the studies commissioned by both the last Christie administration and the private sector prior to VAT’s introduction. They generated “fairly significant agreement” on the inflation impact from the new tax.

“While the Government took the position with respect to this VAT cut that it was necessary to reduce the cost of living, the question really begs itself about whether this was appropriately studied,” the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief said. He added that the impact on Bahamian economic output, or gross domestic

previously revealed that the Grand Bahama Utility Company, Freeport’s water supplier and a Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) affiliate, had cut off the property’s water supply due to an unpaid bill said to be between $900,000 and $1m.

Voicing surprise that this situation has occurred under a government-owned entity, Mr Ferguson said of the impact on affected workers: “This does create a problem in the planning of their lives. They have mortgages and other commitments. I think it’s important that we have a meeting, and I am requesting a meeting, to have this matter resolved.

“I’ve made a request to have a meeting with the Prime Minister. He’s the most suitable and appropriate person to meet with. I am reasonably satisfied he will resolve it. I am just hopeful that we can meet very quickly and reach some amicable agreement or settlement for all and sundry. I am going to work assiduously to ensure such an outcome in the best interest of all workers.”

Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition MP for Grand Bahama, told Tribune Business that sent-home Grand Lucayan staff may struggle to access National Insurance Board (NIB) unemployment benefits and other forms of financial

"I've experienced both low-cost and high-cost periods, hurricanes and many other challenges," Mr Roker said. “The question is always whether you extract more or help steady the system. I’ve always believed in the latter.”

product (GDP), should have been analysed as well as whether consumer spending would continue to flow or be flat.

Other key indicators that should have been assessed were the number of households that needed the extra relief provided by the VAT cut, and those that did not, which Mr Bowe said the Government could have accessed from social services data and record. The third and final key variable, he added, is the likely impact on inflation for “if inflation coming out of the US is the same as the VAT reduction people will be in the same position”.

Mr Bowe continued:

“This one leaves itself open to criticism in the absence of empirical evidence, and if there was no empirical analysis performed then the Government has a lot of explaining to do over how it came to this conclusion that this is going to be a net benefit to households.”

assistance because they have not been officially terminated. He branded the situation “a disgrace” and “national embarrassment”.

“What my constituents who are workers of the Grand Lucayan have endured is nothing short of a disaster. Families who were once employed with dignity have been left in limbo, abandoned by a government whose handling of this hotel has been chaotic, dismissive and deeply harmful,” Mr Thompson blasted.

“It is a complete national disgrace how the Government has treated these employees, and everybody in Grand Bahama is completely fed up.” Having slammed the Minnis administration over its failed efforts to sell the Grand Lucayan, Mr Thompson added: “Almost five years later, the people are still waiting, still hurting, still paying the price.

“Every day that passes without a successful hotel redevelopment is another day real people suffer from lost income, lost hope and lost opportunity. This is not abstract policy failure; this is the slow erosion of livelihoods and communities. The mismanagement of the Grand Lucayan has become a symbol of how this government treats Grand Bahama - with disregard and contempt.”

Rosewood project gains mixed reviews from tourism operators

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM operators yesterday voiced mixed opinions over the $200m Rosewood Exuma project, with one asserting that he is “totally against” the development.

Ray Lightbourn, principal of Exuma Water Sports, told Tribune Business: “I'm totally against it. For one, it is a big environmental problem. Number two, the tourists they bring there, no one's going to get anything from there, no taxi drivers getting anything. They're going to be just ferried right to there.

“All these hotels, they get their own ferries. They're doing it all in Exuma now, and nobody seems to do anything. The money that comes there is not even going to come into The Bahamas. That's all prepaid in the States before it even gets here. There's no benefit for any Exumiansa couple little cleaning jobs maybe, but that's about it.”

Another Exuma tour operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, concurred, stating they “don’t think they should even be there”. They both noted that the Exuma cays are “special” in that they

are beautiful and, to an extent, remote destinations.

“The cays are special man, and they’re only going to go down there and dig up the sea ground and destroy it,” the boat tour operator said. “They should not even be there.

“The affect on it [environment] will be terrible. They shouldn’t fool with none of those cays. What they're doing is they're buying these cays up and breaking up the land, and not even putting anything on it.

“I mean, there’s no big hotel in the Exuma cays now. And the reason is the Exuma cays are one of the last places in the world that are still ultra beautiful, and are still somewhat remote. It's not that remote any more, because you get so many boats in there, but it is somewhat remote in that we don't have a big resort,” the operator added.

“Soon as you have one big resort, then it's going to be a next one, then the next one, then the next one. And then, you don’t even realise, it’s like Cabbage Beach. You can't even go to Cabbage Beach any more because all the hotels there. And that's how it’s going to be in the cays.

“It's just ridiculous for Exuma. It shouldn't happen. It's going to ruin Exuma. You're going to have all of them start

building big hotels now. Even Sandals [Resort], they had a tiny little resort, Fowl Cay. They still got it but it’s just a few homes. It's not any giant resort. People come to Exuma for the remoteness, not to see a bunch of hotels. If they wanted to see that, they'll

just go to Florida Cays or Miami Beach or whatever. This the only place left in the world like that.”

With the Department of Physical Planning harbouring “significant concerns” over the planned location of the project’s service dock, and asserting that its

relocation “is considered essential to ensure environmentally responsible, resilient and sustainable development”, Mr Lightbourn said the Rosewood Exuma development will not be easy on the environment. R

But Robin Thompson, a taxi driver who operates on mainland Exuma, argued that the project may not negatively impact the environment “no more than any other.”

“It wouldn't have any negative impact unless there's absolute carelessness on the behalf of the developer, and which case I don't see that happening,” he added. “We have good engineers, good marine specialists in our country who will oversee any work of that magnitude. And with that being in place, we don't have to worry about the marine life being affected in a tremendous way.”

However, Mr Lightbourn said the project will bring barely any economic value to the entire Exuma chain, arguing that tourists travelling to Sampson Cay will most likely land in Staniel Cay and take a ferry to their final destination.

“They generally land in Staniel Cay and then you just catch a boat over there,” he said. “I mean, it's literally a six-minute boat ride. And they're not going

Gas retailers urge Bahamas to grow more of its produce

BY ANNELIA NIXON

GAS station operators yesterday confirmed the elimination of VAT on unprepared foods will apply to their convenience store operations as they called for The Bahamas to produce more of what it consumes.

Bernard ‘Porky’ Dorsett, operator of Porky’s Rubis Service Station on East Street, said that despite the VAT elimination from April 1, 2026, the price of food is still high. “It ain’t about the VAT,” he added. “The VAT don’t take their grocery bill to $400. Food prices are just so high.

“If an American is complaining about the food price, we got to import everything we eat in this country. So if the Americans are crying about how high food [prices] is, we have nothing else but to complain because we import everything.”

Peter Roker, principal of Roker’s Gas Station, said

he is “deathly afraid of food insecurity” and added that, while his convenience store may see more shoppers with the removal of VAT, the overall price of food items will still remain too high. He said prices will only continue to go up and Bahamians need to begin producing and farming more of their own food.

“We as a people, OK, ought to be growing individually more of our food,” Mr Roker said. “We don't have any control on the cost of food that we have to import. The merchants, the food store merchants, in this country, are doing an excellent job. And this is an extremely competitive market. But the truth of the matter is that we can go right now in this cold weather, we can grow tomatoes, all of the cucumber, the celery, the lettuce.

“I mean, we have gotten too lazy. So, no, we're not going to be able to get food prices down unless it goes down worldwide. It will not come down, only go up. If you have more people

growing their own food, you may have less food stores, but you're not going to be able to get the existing food stores to go down because they're all working on an edge.

“What I'm deathly afraid of is food insecurity. If you see today, tomorrow, there's a problem in the shipping lanes, especially with all the uncertainty in the world today, we will be up that proverbial creek. We need to get off our behinds and begin to farm more individually

“I'm not saying go out there and start no big farm. I am saying go out there and have your own garden. And instead of government giving acres and acres of property to people, it should be giving land to people... so we can grow our own food and also to that, in my opinion, every yard in this country should perhaps be growing food.”

Mr Dorsett, meanwhile, said the Government “has talked about agriculture for years” but not delivered.  He added: “Government

has talked about agriculture for years. I at one time owned Porky’s Farm in Abaco, where I had over 6,000 hogs. I had over 600 angus cows. And 2012, I approached the Government about building a processing plant to process all this meat that I was producing, and to this day I've not got nothing from them. I shut the farm down. In 2013-2014, I shut the farm down. I ran the farm from

1999. I bought the farm in 1999.

“When the Christie government came to power in 2012, I sent a letter requesting permission to build a processing plant. I went out and raised the $12m to build a plant. The third key operation was to train the workers and set up the plant. Ain't nothing happened yet. All these governments continue to talk.

to have any Bahamians do it. They do it themselves because they get a really nice, expensive ferry…” Mr Thompson, though, believes the project may create some “far reaching business opportunities” if guests travel through an airport on mainland Exuma or use tour boats to get to East Sampson Cay. However, he added that taxis probably won’t benefit “in any major way.”

“There might be some far-reaching business opportunities, like possibly some guests might flow through our airport and would have to take tour boats or private tours to Sampson Cay, and that will benefit some of our economy. But essentially, you know, most of those persons should be moved through Black Point and Staniel Cay,” he added.

“So there would be some benefit to the mainland as well, but not nearly as much as would be down in the cays. And then, dependent upon how big that development is, some of the workers from the mainland might venture to go and work down there on Sampson Cay. So that also could be a spin-off effect towards the economic buy for mainlanders. So it would be beneficial.”

“When this Government got into power, they talk about the Golden Yolk. Well, have we heard anything about the Golden Yolk any more? Remember, they came to power with all this talk about they going to produce egg. They are now into their fifth year. Have you heard anything recently about the Golden Yolk? Ain't no Golden Yolk happen yet.”

Dealer chief urges end to ‘archaic’ price control

TRANSPORT - from page B1

Jamaica’s lead and reduce the maximum age limit for used car imports from ten years to seven years in a bid to improve the quality of second-hand vehicles on Bahamian streets and reduce the environmental impact caused by drivers frequently dumping such cars at the road-side when they switch to other models.

“We saw a 15 percent increase over 2024, which was pretty impressive considering the strength of that year,” Ben Albury told Tribune Business. “It was substantial, especially considering the growth we saw in 2024. We are very excited about that, and looking forward to a very good 2026.

“It definitely sets the bar high. As I’ve said previously, history has told us that when we usually see

this growth over a few years we expect the market to then retract some as consumer and user demand gets satisfied. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in 2026.”

Noting that the upcoming general election may cause some minor disruption, Ben Albury said dealers and BMDA members will be seeking to match or exceed 2025’s numbers.

“The economy seems to be moving along well, and the banks seem willing to entertain customers that are interested in coming and purchasing,” he added.

“It’s still way to early to predict. We’d like to see another 15 percent increase this year but, as of right now, I’m cautiously optimistic. Definitely it will be our collective goal [to beat or match 2025], I’m sure of that. We’ll take any

Exuma will succeed both environmentally and commercially.

our environmental credentials continue to meet the highest global standards.

“In our revised site plan, we have reduced the service dock by around a third and moved it much further from our neighbouring property. We have also reduced the dredge in volume and area, and almost halved the size of the seawall and floating dock,” Yntegra Group continued.

“It should be noted that no zoning or planning restrictions exist under the law prohibiting the construction of a service dock in the North Bay. The environmental concerns have been, and are continuing to be, addressed by DEPP (Department of Environmental Planning and Protection).”

“The Department of Physical Planning has confirmed that ‘the scale, form, and land use of the project are generally consistent with resort developments on nearby cays in the Exumas’, and the proposal aligns with established tourism and economic development objectives for the region,” said Yntegra Group.

increase we can get. It’s been a couple of good years after quite a few difficult ones, and it’s helped a lot of us to recover, rebuild and recalibrate, expand our workforces and employ more people.

“Even up until November 2025 we had already passed 2024’s full-year figures,” Ben Albury continued. “We had already passed that by about 4 percent. There’s still a lot of activity going on in the market. We’re still keeping our eyes on potential market saturation given that we’ve had a few good years, which are traditionally followed by a few years of retraction once the market has been satisfied.

“We’re just going to keep our eyes on it and are still plugging ahead and looking forward to a good year. We’re all watching the global situation going on in the news, and the idea of how the market has extended over the past couple of years. We’re going to keep out eyes out there for a retraction, but there’s

the Town Planning Committee and the wider public through our revised plans next month.”

Bahamian planning authorities have expressed ongoing concerns about the location of the $200m Rosewood Exuma resort’s service dock despite supporting the overall resort concept in principle.

Jehan Wallace, assistant director at the Department of Physical Planning, emphasised in a January 13, 2026, report that relocating the dock is essential for environmentally responsible, sustainable and resilient development.

still demand there, appetite there, and as long as it stays at the level it’s at we will keep it satisfied.”

The BMDA chief also voiced hope that the industry will benefit from a reduction in freight prices and shipping costs in 2026, adding: “We feel good about the situation and are just monitoring it. There are a lot of new models and new supplies, and they’ll fuel growth in the first quarter and half of 2026. It’s an election year, which could cause some contraction. We’ll just monitor the situation and see how it goes.”

Fred Albury, meanwhile, reflecting on the past year, told Tribune Business: “2025 was a bit off from 2024, but we did pretty good. I forecast that 2026 will be similar to 2025. Headwinds would be that there’s a lot more competition in the marketplace right now, which s basically the Chinese brands, but my gut feeling is that they are entering into the used car market.

She also highlighted operational and regulatory issues, explaining that placing the dock in a scenic, high-amenity area could disrupt the natural environment that attracts visitors and reduce opportunities for marine recreation.

“All in all, there were still pretty strong numbers coming in out there. We had one brand that was up, and one that was down. All in all, we might have been off 5 percent if that. The luxury end is still very strong. The lower end is still very competitive with all these Chinese brands out there.

That’s where things are at.”

As for reforms and changes he would like to see, Mr Albury said: “I think with the used cars they should look at cutting the age from ten years to seven like Jamaica has done. I think that would improve the vehicles that are on the road and, the used cars coming in, people would tend to hold them for longer.

“Right now, it’s very cheap on the used stuff and people don’t hold them for long. They drive them for two years and then get another one. It’s the environmental impact, and I’m also interested to know what the Government’s plans are for electric

vehicles and to dispose of their batteries. That will be a concern ten years down the road.”

Ben Albury, meanwhile, urged the Government to consider removing or easing price controls that were “put in place archaically many years ago” and limit the auto industry to mark-ups and margins of 25 percent on new vehicles, 15 percent on used cars and 75 percent on parts. He argued that the level of competition that exists in the sector makes such measures redundant.

The BMDA and Bahamas Bus and Truck chief said price controls prevent dealers from capitalising on discounts, and chances to sell below market price and make additional profits, adding: “It’s just cumbersome. They come with regulators to do checks, and we have to stop what we’re doing. It takes time to deal with this.”

the service dock to remain in the proposed location, noting that due to it being placed in a sensitive coastal area it will face much stricter review from regulators and environmental authorities such as the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP).

Previous complaints from neighbouring developers, including Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club and Over Yonder Cay, had already prompted the withdrawal of the project’s initial site plan before a formal hearing, highlighting the sensitivity of the dock’s location.

“Notwithstanding this support for the project in principle, the Department has significant concerns regarding the proposed location of the service dock on the environmentally-sensitive side of the cay. For the reasons outlined below, the relocation of the service dock is considered essential to ensure environmentally responsible, resilient and sustainable development,” Ms Wallace said.

Yntegra Group said the Department of Physical Planning has confirmed the resort’s scale, design and land use are consistent with neighbouring developments, and voiced confidence that Rosewood

“Rosewood has 33 worldclass properties globally, including in The Bahamas, all built to the highest environmental and operational standards. The local community is excited to have this prestigious brand, creating jobs and opportunities for Bahamians in Exuma and the Cays. Another Rosewood property in The Bahamas is a strong demonstration of our commitment to Exuma and the resort's viability.

“We are confident that the Rosewood Exuma will be a great success for people and planet, and we welcome the chance to take

“Developments within sensitive coastal environments are subject to heightened scrutiny during planning and environmental review. The current dock location increases regulatory risk, potential stakeholder objection and future mitigation obligations,” said Ms Wallace, adding that a dock in such a location is more likely to suffer damage, require frequent repairs or become unreliable over time due to exposure.

the overall resort concept as its land use is similar to nearby cays, the proposed location of the service dock presents a concerning environmental and planning risk.”

The Rosewood Exuma development spans 131.2 acres and includes 33 hotel units, 40 residential cottages, and over 100 buildings, accommodating up to 460 guests with 150 employee housing units.

“The long-term success of a resort in the Exumas depends on the protection of pristine beaches, healthy marine ecosystems and high-quality natural landscapes. The proposed siting of the service dock would introduce operational activity into a high-amenity area, diminish marine recreation and undermine the environmental character that defines the resort's market appeal and value.”

Despite these approvals, the service dock’s location remains a central concern, and it is expected to be a key topic at the upcoming public consultation on February 5, 2026, at Black Point All-Age School. Sampson

Ms Wallace argued that while the proposed land use aligns with other resort developments in Exuma, the dock’s position poses environmental risks and remains a serious point of objection for the Department of Physical Planning due to the ecological sensitivity of the area.

UK approves a ‘mega’ Chinese Embassy in London, despite criticism

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press

BRITAIN'S government on Tuesday approved a huge new Chinese Embassy in central London, despite strong criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum that it could become a base for espionage and intimidation of opponents.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed formally signed off on plans for the building near the Tower of London, after years of delays and legal challenges.

of security risks

Critics have long expressed concerns that the supersized embassy, set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe, will heighten risks of Chinese intelligence-gathering as well as amplify the threat of surveillance and intimidation of Chinese dissidents in exile.

The heads of two U.K. spy agencies said that while it's not realistic to eliminate all risk, appropriate "security mitigations" were in place.

Plans for the embassy have been plagued by objections and protests since 2018, when China's government bought the site at Royal Mint Court, where Britain's money was once made, for 225 million pounds (around $300 million.)

Opponents say the huge site sits too close to underground fiber optic cables carrying sensitive financial information between London's two main financial districts. British media have reported that the 20,000

Ms Wallace also highlighted regulatory concerns associated with allowing

“From an operational standpoint, sensitive beach systems are less suitable for service infrastructure and are more vulnerable to erosion, storm surge and sea-level rise. Relocation would reduce long-term maintenance, improve operational reliability and enhance climate resilience,” said Ms Wallace.

“While the Planning Department may support

A revised Heads of Agreement for the project was signed with the Government on May 21, 2024, and its certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) was granted on June 23, 2025. Geotechnical works were said to have been “extended until June 30, 2026”, with temporary housing and maintenance works approved to start on June 5 last year. Civil works design approvals for paving, grading and maintenance have also been obtained.

square-meter (around 215,000 square-foot) complex would include 208 secret basement rooms close to the data cables.

Criticism of the plan

Dissidents have been among those who have protested the plans, saying a mega embassy housing large numbers of officials would further China's repression of activists abroad.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, joined hundreds of protesters who chanted "no China mega embassy" at the site Sunday.

Critics argue that approving the embassy was a mistake that went beyond security at the building — they say it sends a signal that Britain bows to pressure from Beijing to avoid economic repercussions.

"The government has capitulated to Chinese demands," Conservative security spokesman Chris Philp said.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis insisted: "We don't trade off security for economic access."

Helena Kennedy, a human rights lawyer and Labour Party member of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, said that the decision was a dangerous step.

"We cannot reinforce the dangerous notion that Britain will continue to make concessions — such as granting a mega embassy — without reciprocity or regard for the rule of law," she said.

Local residents said they were "determined to keep fighting today's decision" and planned to challenge the approval in the courts.

Dialogue with China

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has repeatedly postponed its decision in recent months after multiple cases of alleged Chinese spying and political interference underlined concerns about the proposed embassy.

In November, the domestic intelligence agency MI5 issued an alert to lawmakers warning that Chinese agents were making "targeted and widespread"

efforts to recruit and cultivate them using LinkedIn or cover companies.

Beijing has strongly denied those claims, calling them "pure fabrication and malicious slander." The U.K. government also has faced questions about whether it interfered in the trial of two men accused of spying on Parliament for Beijing, and whose prosecution collapsed last year. The heads of the domestic security service MI5 and the electronic intelligence agency GCHQ said in a letter to ministers that "as with any foreign embassy on U.K. soil, it is not realistic to expect to be able wholly to eliminate each and every potential risk."

"However, the collective work across U.K. intelligence agencies and (government) departments to formulate a package of national security mitigations for the site has been, in our view, expert, professional and proportionate," MI5 chief Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler said.

Spain’s high-speed train crash casts a shadow over a world-class rail system

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press

THE deadly train wreck in southern Spain has cast a pall over one of the nation's symbols of success.

Sunday's collision killed at least 42 people and injured dozens more, according to officials on Tuesday.

"It is undoubtably a hard blow, and I have to work so it doesn't affect the credibility and strength of the network," Spanish Trans- port Minister Óscar Puente told Spanish national radio RNE when asked about the knock to the reputation of the rail system.

Here's a look at the history of a rail network that became a crown jewel of contemporary Spain, by the numbers.

34 years

The time since Spain inaugurated its first highspeed AVE, which means "bird" in Spanish.

Both before and after that milestone, successive Spanish governments devoted tax revenues and European Union development aid to its high-speed rail network that quickly caught up with and surpassed high-speed pioneers Japan and France.

The first high-speed train to speed across Spain preceded the opening of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona by two months.

Both marked high points in Spain's recent history after it emerged from the economic doldrums and cultural and political isolation of the 20th-century dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.

3,900 kilometers

The length, equal to 2,400 miles, of high-speed rail that Spain has laid over the past three-plus decades for its 49 million residents.

Only China — with 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles) for its 1.4 billion people — has more highspeed track, according to the International Union of Railways.

Spain's commitment to high-speed rail, which the railway union defines as rails for trains going 250 kph (155 mph), has helped Spain shed its reputation of often being behind the industrial curve compared to other leading economies.

Spain's train builders have been able to capitalize on its domestic expansion.

A Spanish consortium built Saudi Arabia's high-speed line connecting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that opened service in 2018.

7 vs. 2½ hours

The approximate time a train trip took between Madrid and Barcelona

before and after the 2008 adoption of high-speed rail.

On an old, slow train, the 600-kilometer (385-mile) journey between Spain's biggest cities used to take around seven hours, meaning many business travelers opted to take a plane.

Now that trip can be done in 2½ hours, and Spain announced plans in November to modernize the Madrid-Barcelona line to allow trains to reach 350 kph (218 mph), matching the fastest Chinese trains. That would bring the transit time down to less than two hours.

The AVE has helped unite a country whose main

UK approves a 'mega' Chinese Embassy in London, despite criticism

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press

BRITAIN'S government on Tuesday approved a huge new Chinese Embassy in central London, despite strong criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum that it could become a base for espionage and intimidation of opponents.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed formally

signed off on plans for the building near the Tower of London, after years of delays and legal challenges. Critics have long expressed concerns that the supersized embassy, set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe, will heighten risks of Chinese intelligence-gathering as well as amplify the threat of surveillance and

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROSE-MARIE ESTINFIL of Pinewood Gardens, New Providence, The 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ADEMAS JEANITH of Claridge Road, New Providence, The 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that EMILIENNE EXANTUS SYLVESTRE of Bacardi Road, New Providence, The 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

of security risks

intimidation of Chinese dissidents in exile.

The heads of two U.K. spy agencies said that while it's not realistic to eliminate all risk, appropriate "security mitigations" were in place. Plans for the embassy have been plagued by objections and protests since 2018, when China's government bought the site at Royal Mint Court, where Britain's money was once made, for 225 million pounds (around $300 million.)

Opponents say the huge site sits too close to underground fiber optic cables carrying sensitive financial information between London's two main financial

districts. British media have reported that the 20,000 square-meter (around 215,000 square-foot) complex would include 208 secret basement rooms close to the data cables.

Dissidents have been among those who have protested the plans, saying a mega embassy housing large numbers of officials would further China's repression of activists abroad.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, joined hundreds of protesters who chanted "no China mega embassy" at the site Sunday.

Critics argue that approving the embassy was a

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL

The public is hereby advised that I, SHANIQUE DANISE MARSHALL of Fox Hill Road North, New Providence, Bahamas, intend to change my name to SHANIQUE DANISE MARTIN. If there are any objections to challenge the name by deed poll, you may write such objections to the Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, The Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that GINO JEAN-BAPTISTE of Gibbs Corner, 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 21st day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DAVID DESHOMMES of Better Root Street off Charles Saunders Highway, 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

population centers other than Madrid are located on its coasts, separated by some of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe.

Every region and provincial capital has pushed hard for its own high-speed line.

Some critics say the administrations may have spent too much on questionable lines to the detriment of investing in local commuter lines, which suffer many more delays than highspeed rail does.

Missing out on an AVE line and stop has become synonymous with economic decline for a provincial city.

"The high-speed train has proven to be a catalyst for the nation's society and economy," Zacarias Grande, professor of civil engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya told The Associated Press.

"It has tightened links between Spain's different regions over its three decades, significantly boosting business relations and their cultural, technological and professional development."

The move away from air travel to rail also remains a key plank of Spain's green energy and electrification plan to fight climate change.

One crash

The number of deadly crashes on a stretch of

mistake that went beyond security at the building — they say it sends a signal that Britain bows to pressure from Beijing to avoid economic repercussions.

"The government has capitulated to Chinese demands," Conservative security spokesman Chris Philp said.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis insisted: "We don't trade off security for economic access."

Helena Kennedy, a human rights lawyer and Labour Party member of the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, said that the decision was a dangerous step.

"We cannot reinforce the dangerous notion that Britain will continue to make concessions — such as granting a mega embassy — without reciprocity or regard for the rule of law," she said. Local residents said they were "determined to keep fighting today's decision" and planned to challenge the approval in the courts.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has repeatedly postponed its decision in recent months after multiple cases of alleged Chinese spying and political interference underlined concerns about the proposed embassy.

high-speed rail tracks in Spain's history. One official described Sunday's collision as transforming a train into a "mass of twisted metal." Spanish officials say they are still at a loss to understand what went wrong Sunday night when one high-speed train jumped the track and collided with another fast train going in the other direction.

Álvaro Fernández, the president of public train company Renfe, told Spanish public radio station RNE that both trains were traveling well under the speed limit and "human error could be ruled out."

One of the two trains was operated by Renfe and another by a private company.

Spain's worst train crash this century occurred in 2013, when 80 people died after a train derailed in the country's northwest on a track that wasn't designed for high speeds. While the train itself was capable of high-speed travel, an investigation concluded that it was going 179 kph (111 mph) on a stretch with an 80 kph (50 mph) speed limit when it left the tracks.

Three companies

The number of operators with high-speed trains in Spain.

In November, the domestic intelligence agency MI5 issued an alert to lawmakers warning that Chinese agents were making "targeted and widespread" efforts to recruit and cultivate them using LinkedIn or cover companies.

Beijing has strongly denied those claims, calling them "pure fabrication and malicious slander."

The U.K. government also has faced questions about whether it interfered in the trial of two men accused of spying on Parliament for Beijing, and whose prosecution collapsed last year. The heads of the domestic security service MI5 and the electronic intelligence agency GCHQ said in a letter to ministers that "as with any foreign embassy on U.K. soil, it is not realistic to expect to be able wholly to eliminate each and every potential risk."

"However, the collective work across U.K. intelligence agencies and (government) departments to formulate a package of national security mitigations for the site has been, in our view, expert, professional and proportionate," MI5 chief Ken McCallum and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler said.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RICARDO JOHNSON of Staniard Creek, Andros, The 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that OLDOFH SAINTIL of Nassau Village, New Providence, The 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 14th day of January, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Supreme Court takes up politically charged case with independence of the Federal Reserve at stake

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

PRESIDENT Donald Trump's unprecedented bid to reshape the Federal Reserve board is putting the Supreme Court in a familiar position, weighing an emergency appeal from the president's lawyers in a politically charged case.

The court is hearing arguments Wednesday over Trump's effort to oust Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook based on allegations she committed mortgage fraud, which she denies.

No president has fired a sitting Fed governor in the agency's 112-year history.

The true motivation, Trump's critics say, is the Republican president's desire to wrest control of U.S. interest rate policy.

Trump wants interest rates to fall sharply so the government can borrow more cheaply and Americans can pay lower borrowing costs for new homes, cars or other large purchases, as worries about high costs have soured some voters on his economic management.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the board cut a key interest rate three times in a row in the last four months of 2025, but that's more slowly than Trump wants. The Fed also suggested it may leave rates unchanged in coming months, concerned about triggering higher inflation.

Powell is expected to be in attendance when the justices take up an emergency plea from the

Trump administration to be allowed to remove Cook from her job while her challenge to the firing plays out in court. Judges on lower courts have allowed her to remain in her post as one of seven central bank governors. If Trump could name someone to take Cook's place, he would have four of his appointees on the seven-member board. Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed's governing board, was appointed in 2022 by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

NOTICE

MSD Ltd.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 212250 B (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 20th day of January A.D. 2026.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MR. MAURO SERVULO DELGADO SANTOS, whose address is R Tab Ferreira De Carvalho 611, AP 702, Cidade Nova, CEP: 31170180, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Any Persons having a Claim against the above-named Company are required on or before the 19th day of February A.D. 2026 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 January A.D. 2026. MAURO SERVULO DELGADO SANTOS LIQUIDATOR

NOTICE

AMRA Holding Ltd.

Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act, 2000 of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Registration number 1500224 (IBC) (In Voluntary Liquidation)

Notice is hereby given that the above-named Company is in dissolution, commencing on the 20th day of January A.D. 2026.

Articles of Dissolution have been duly registered by the Registrar. The Liquidator is MR. ALEJANDRO UBILLA SCHAURICHT, whose address is Antonio Machado 7806, 15071-00087, Canelones, Pque de Miramar, Uruguay. Any Persons having a Claim against the abovenamed Company are required on or before the 19th day of February A.D. 2026 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 January A.D. 2026.

ALEJANDRO UBILLA SCHAURICHT LIQUIDATOR

LEGAL NOTICE

ADVENTURER PARTNERS LTD.

LIQUIDATOR’S NOTICE

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act 2000

NOTICE is hereby given that the abovenamed Company has been dissolved and struck off the Register of Companies pursuant to Certificate of Dissolution issued by the Registrar General on the 9th day of December, 2025.

RIW NOMINEES LIMITED Liquidator

The justices are being asked to effectively bless Trump's effort to undermine the Fed's independence, said Columbia University law professor Lev Menand, who has joined a brief in support of Cook. "This case is about much more than Cook," Menand said. "It's about whether President Trump will be able to take over the Federal Reserve board in the coming months."

The threat to the Fed's independence spurred Powell's three living predecessors, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, to weigh in on Cook's behalf. They were joined by five former Treasury secretaries appointed by presidents of both

political parties and other former high-ranking economic officials.

In their filing, lawyers for the former officials wrote that immediately ousting Cook "would expose the Federal Reserve to political influences, thereby eroding public confidence in the Fed's independence and jeopardizing the credibility and efficacy of U.S. monetary policy."

Economists warn that a politicized Fed that caves in to the president's demands will damage its credibility as an inflation fighter and likely lead investors to demand higher rates before investing in U.S. treasuries. With Cook's case under review at the high court, Trump dramatically

“This case is about much more than Cook. It’s about whether President Trump will be able to take over the Federal Reserve board in the coming months.”

Lev Menand

escalated his confrontation with the Fed. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of Powell and has served the central bank with subpoenas.

Powell himself took the rare step of responding to Trump, calling the threat of criminal charges "pretexts" that mask the real reason, Trump's frustration over interest rates. The Justice Department has said the dispute is ostensibly about Powell's testimony to Congress in June over the cost of a massive renovation of Fed buildings.

In Trump's first year in office, the justices generally, but not always, went along with Trump's pleas for emergency action to counteract lower-court rulings against him, including allowing the firings of the heads of other governmental agencies at the president's discretion, with no claim that they did anything wrong.

But the court has sent signals that it is approaching the independence of the nation's central bank more cautiously, calling the Fed "a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity."

In Cook's case, Trump is not asserting that he can fire Fed governors at will.

Cook is one of several people, along with Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who have been accused of mortgage fraud by federal housing official Bill Pulte. They have denied the allegations against them.

The case against Cook stems from allegations she claimed two properties, in Michigan and Georgia, as "primary residences" in June and July 2021, before she joined the Fed board. Such claims can lead to a lower mortgage rate and smaller down payment than if one of them was declared as a rental property or second home.

Cook has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. "There is no fraud, no intent to deceive, nothing whatsoever criminal or remotely a basis to allege mortgage fraud," a Cook lawyer, Abbe Lowell, wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi in November. Cook specified that her Atlanta condo would be a "vacation home," according to a loan estimate she obtained in May 2021. In a form seeking a security clearance, she described it as a "2nd home." Lowell wrote that the case against her largely rests on "one stray reference" in a 2021 mortgage document that was "plainly innocuous in light of the several other truthful and more specific disclosures" about the homes she has purchased.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the Trump administration had not satisfied a legal requirement that Fed governors can only be fired "for cause," which she said was limited to misconduct while in office.

Cobb also held that Trump's firing would have deprived Cook of her due process, or legal right, to contest the firing.

By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the federal appeals court in Washington rejected the Trump administration's request to let Cook's firing proceed.

At the Supreme Court, the administration argues Cook has no right to a hearing and courts have no role to play in reviewing Trump's actions.

Trump lawfully fired Cook, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote, "after concluding that the American people should not have their interest rates determined by someone who made misrepresentations material to her mortgage rates that appear to have been grossly negligent at best and fraudulent at worst."

China meets initial soybean purchase goal, but Trump's shifting

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer

CHINA has fulfilled its initial commitment to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S., but it's not clear if the trade agreement announced in October can withstand President Donald Trump's ever-shifting trade policy as American farmers are still dealing with high production costs.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on any country that buys from Iran, which would include China. Then last weekend he threatened to impose 10% tariffs on eight of America's closest allies in Europe if they continue to oppose his efforts to acquire Greenland.

So the administration's trade policy continues to change quickly, and Iowa State University agricultural economist Chad Hart said that could undermine the trade agreement with China and jeopardize the commitment by the world's largest soybean buyer to purchase 25 million metric tons of American soybeans in each of the next three years.

"Those new tariffs — what does that mean for this agreement? Does it throw it out? Is it still binding? That's sort of the game here now," Hart said. Beijing paused any purchase of U.S. soybeans last summer during its trade war with Washington but agreed to resume buying from American soybean farmers after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in South Korea and agreed to a truce.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the purchasing milestone China has met in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business on Tuesday from the sidelines of a major economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Bessent met with his Chinese counterpart, Vice President He Lifeng. Bessent said China remains committed.

"He told me that just this week they completed their soybean purchases, and we're looking forward to next year's 25 million tons," Bessent said. "They did everything they said they were going to do."

Last fall, preliminary data from the Department of Agriculture cast doubts on whether China would

trade policy could disrupt

live up to the agreement because it was slow to begin purchasing American soybeans and there is a lag before the purchases show up in the official numbers.

On Tuesday, the USDA data showed that China had bought more than 8 million tons of U.S. soybeans by Jan. 8, and its daily reports indicated that China placed several more orders since then, ranging from 132,000 tons to more than 300,000 tons.

China has shifted much of its soybean purchases over to Brazil and Argentina in recent years to diversify its sources and find the cheapest deals. Last year, Brazilian beans accounted for more than 70% of China's imports, while the U.S. share was down to 21%, World Bank data shows.

Trump is planning to send roughly $12 billion in aid to U.S. farmers to help them withstand the trade war, but farmers say the aid won't solve all their problems as they continue to deal with the soaring costs of fertilizer, seeds and labor that make it hard to turn a profit right now. Soybean farmers will get $30.88 per acre while corn farmers will receive $44.36 per acre.

deal

Another crop hit hard when China stopped buying was sorghum, and those farmers will get $48.11 per acre. The amounts are based on a USDA formula on the cost of production.

That and uncertainty about trade markets and how much farmers will receive for their crops has even some of the most optimistic farmers worried,

Netflix delivers solid 4th quarter, but stock sinks amid worries about slowing subscriber growth

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

NETFLIX capped last year with another solid financial performance despite slowing subscriber growth that underscored the importance of its contested $72 billion bid to take over Warner Bros.' movie studio and slot HBO Max into its video streaming line-up.

The fourth-quarter results announced Tuesday eclipsed the projections of stock market analysts, but Netflix's report also noted that the video service ended the year with more than 325 million worldwide subscribers, a figure indicating it has added about 23 million subscribers since 2024.

The 2025 subscriber increase marked a dramatic slowdown from the 41 million picked up during 2024, amplifying investor worries that Netflix's growth has peaked since the 2022 introduction of a low-priced, advertising-supported version of its service that triggered a massive surge in subscribers.

Management also forecast a profit for the January-March period that was below analysts' predictions and announced Netflix would stop buying back its own stock while trying to complete the Warner Bros' deal. Even though its ad sales are expected to double, Netflix also projected its revenue growth would taper off from 16% in 2025 to 12% to 14% this year.

"Overall, this points to a challenging start to the year," said Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro. Netflix's shares sank nearly 5% in extended

trading, even though its profit and revenue for the past quarter were better than anticipated. The company earned $2.4 billion, or 56 cents per share, 29% increase from the same time in the previous year. Revenue rose 18% from the previous year to more than $12 billion.

The results almost seemed like a footnote next to the stakes involved in Netflix's bidding war to buy Warner Bros. Discovery . The battle took another turn earlier Tuesday when Netflix converted its original offer that included a stock component into an all-cash deal in hopes of simplifying the process and making it easier for Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to resist Paramount's overtures.

Although Warner Bros. has reiterated its commitment to getting the Netflix deal done, Paramount isn't showing any signs of backing down and could still sweeten its counteroffer to turn up the heat another notch.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos seemed to send a warning shot across Paramount's bow during a Tuesday conference call as he recalled fending off rivals such as Walmart and the now-vanquished Blockbuster video chain during the company's days as a DVD-by-mail rental service. "We are no strangers to competition and we are now strangers to change," Sarandos said. Besides having to fend off Paramount, Netflix will also need to persuade

US forces seize seventh sanctioned tanker linked to Venezuela in Trump's effort to control its oil

By KONSTANTIN

and MICHAEL

TOROPIN

BIESECKER Associated Press

U.S. military forces boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to take control of the South American country's oil.

U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post that U.S. forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta "without incident" and that the tanker was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump's "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean." The military command did not say whether the U.S. Coast Guard took control of the tanker as has been the case in prior seizures. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for more details. Southern Command said it had nothing to add to its post. The Sagitta is a Liberian-flagged tanker and its registration says it is owned and managed by a company in Hong Kong. The ship last transmitted its location more than two months ago when exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The tanker was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury

Department under an executive order related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The post from U.S. Southern Command indicated the ship had taken oil from Venezuela. It said the capture of the tanker "demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully."

The military command posted what appeared to be aerial footage of the Sagitta sailing on the ocean, but unlike in prior videos the clip did not show U.S. forces flying toward it in helicopters or landing on the deck of the ship.

U.S. regulators that adding HBO to a streaming service that has the most subscribers in the country won't stifle competition and drive up prices that have already been rising in recent years.

The uncertainty has been reflected in Netflix's stock price, which has fallen by20% since its agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery was unveiled last month. It's a cloud likely to hang over Netflix through most of this year because the company doesn't expect to complete its purchase until Warner Bros. Discovery spins off its cable TV business — a process expected to take six to nine months. "We are energized as ever to achieve our mission to entertain the world," Sarandos said.

Since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid on Jan. 3, the Trump administration has set out to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela's oil products.

Officials in Trump's Republican administration have made it clear they see seizing the tankers as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela's battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies nearly two weeks ago to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. He said at the time that the U.S. expected to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.

said Cory Walters, who is an associate professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Department of Agricultural Economics. Soybean prices jumped up above $11.50 per bushel after the agreement was announced, but the price has since fallen to about $10.56 per bushel on Tuesday. So prices are close to where they were a year ago and aren't high enough to cover most farmers' costs. "Everything is changing -the land rental market, the fertilizer market, the seed market and it's all pinching the farmer when they go to do their cash flows. The ability to make a decision is tougher now because of all the uncertainty in the market," Walters said.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and US Sen. Bernie Sanders rally with nurses on ninth day of strike

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press

NEW York City Mayor

Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied with nurses Tuesday in Manhattan during the ninth day of the largest strike of its kind that the city has seen in decades.

The democratic socialists, speaking to a boisterous crowd of nurses in front of Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side, called on hospital executives to return to the negotiating table to resolve the contract impasse that prompted some 15,000 nurses to walk off the job last week.

"The people of this country are sick and tired of the greed in this health care industry," said Sanders, the long-serving Vermont senator and a native of Brooklyn, as he rattled off the multimillion-dollar salaries of the CEOs of the three hospital systems affected by the strike.

"Now is your time of need, when we can assure that this is a city you don't just work in, but a city you can also live in," Mamdani added.

The nurses union says it has held one bargaining session with each of the three hospital systems impacted — Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian — since the strike began on Jan. 12.

But the sides say those hourslong meetings have ended with little progress, and there are no plans so far this week to resume talks.

"They offered us nothing. It was all performative," said Jonathan Hunter, a registered nurse at Mount Sinai and a member of the negotiating team.

The New York State Nurses Association met Sunday evening with

officials from Montefiore after holding negotiations Friday with Mount Sinai administrators and Thursday with NewYork-Presbyterian officials. Hospital administrators say they'll follow the lead of contract mediators on when to meet again with their union counterparts. Each affected hospital is negotiating with the union independently.

The hospitals say the union is proposing pay raises that amount to a 25% salary increase over three years. They maintain the request is unreasonable, as their nurses are already among the highest paid in the city.

"NYSNA's demands ignore the economic realities of healthcare in New York City and the country," NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement Tuesday, citing federal cuts to Medicaid, as well as rising overall costs.

Outside Mount Sinai West on Tuesday morning, nurses and their supporters marched in the frigid cold, chanting "one day longer, one day stronger" as a caravan of New York City taxi drivers honked their horns in support.

Nicole Rodriguez, a nurse at Mount Sinai West, said her biggest concern in the contract dispute is preserving her health care benefits. She said she has an autoimmune disease that causes her to get sick often and pass along illnesses to her child.

"If my son is not well, I'm not well, and I can't be at the bedside and be the nurse I want to be," she said. "I hope management opens their eyes to how much support we have out here, and they see that they need to reach into their pockets and give the nurses their health care."