02272026 BUSINESS

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN merchant yesterday warned that the Government’s newly-unveiled price transparency and competitiveness app will “cause more harm than good” for small retailers in its current format, adding that such operators should be “super worried”.

Brent Burrows, vice-president of CBS Bahamas, told Tribune Business that - in its current configuration - the Price Pal app, which was again promoted by the Government yesterday (see article on Page 3B), is more suited to larger merchants such as his company and threatens to disadvantage the very small retailers, such as ‘Mom and Pop’ stores, that it is intended to benefit.

Emphasising that he is not against price competition, and

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government was yesterday accused of seeking to meet its Budget surplus ambitions by not paying Bahamian companies what they are owed after its unpaid invoices and arrears increased by 97.6 percent, or almost $120m, year-over-year to hit $242m at year-end 2025. Both the Opposition and private sector executives argued that the mid-year Budget data shows the Davis administration is keeping its fiscal goals within in reach only by rolling over accounts

CBS Bahamas chief: Smaller retailers will struggle to ‘keep up’

that the intent behind the app is a noble one, he added that those retailers who lack both “tech savviness” and a proper online presence - typically the smaller merchants - will struggle to update Price Pal with information on their current prices and stock in real time. As a result, these operators could be exposed to inaccurate, outdated pricing details that “push people away from shopping with them”.

payables owed to suppliers of goods and services each month. Dr Duane Sands, the Free National Movement’s (FNM) chairman, told Tribune Business that the level of arrears and unpaid invoices “screams that they have a cash flow problem.” And Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive and head of the private sector’s Coalition for Responsible Taxation, warned that the Government and others “cannot be dismissive of the cries of many businesses that may have significant arrears”. He added that talk among many businesses “around the water cooler”, and in both

Energy minister and Pintard clash on $25m BPL shortfall

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Government’s energy minister and the Opposition’s leader clashed yesterday over the latter’s assertions that the Davis administration’s electricity reforms will leave Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) with an annual $25m revenue shortfall that will have to be made up via a rate increase in consumer bills.

Michael Pintard argued that the minimum annual payments that BPL must make to Bahamas Utility Company, Bahamas Grid Company and its Island Grid manager, and multiple renewable energy providers

via power purchase agreements (PPAs) total around $223.7m annually. However, his calculations suggested that BPL’s projected annual revenue collections are presently just an estimated $197m,

Bahamas must embrace world where ‘old rules out the window’

NIXON

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation (BCCEC) yesterday warned local businesses that they must learn how to “survive in a world where the old rules of global trade are being thrown out the window” following the latest Trump tariff volatility. The private sector advocay group, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, said Bahamians companies must

continue to diversify their supply chains and product sources to achieve cost savings with President Trump threatening a 15 percent global tariff on all imports entering the US.

But, viewing the situation as an opportunity as well as a risk and challenge, Dr Leo Rolle, the Chamber’s chief executive, said: “The jump to a 15 percent US tariff is a wake-up call but also an opportunity.

“Since we rely heavily on US middlemen as our default for the importation of goods, as those

Shoppers ‘pushed away’ if Price Pal info inaccurate, outdated

Mr Burrows, warning that smaller Bahamian merchants will likely face “a massive challenge” just to place pricing information in a format that can both integrate with Price Pal and be easily digested by consumers, said the only alternative to such businesses doing this themselves was to rely on the Government’s price control inspectors to manually upload

formal and informal settings, was that obligations owed to them by the Public Treasury are “becoming very challenging” to manage from their own cash flow and liquidity perspective, and being able to pay their own bills.

“They are effectively funding the Government’s activities by not being paid in a timely manner,” Mr Bowe told this newspaper of the Government’s corporate creditors. Describing their relationship with the Government as “catch-22”, given that it provided a regular and stable customer but failed to pay its bills in full and on time, Mr Bowe added:

‘Next to impossible’ to use inspectors to update ‘clunky’ app

the relevant details after they visit store locations. However, he argued that it will be “next to impossible” for price control inspectors to do this as there are not nearly enough to canvas the hundreds of retail stores spread throughout The Bahamas on a frequency that matches how regularly prices are updated. Citing CBS Bahamas as an

“Government can contribute to a tremendous amount of

Banker urges ‘vigour’ over DMTT rules, regulations

Otherwise payers may ‘withhold’ and not ‘cut cheque’

Budget suplus relies on GBPA, Lucayan ‘one-offs’

BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@ tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR Bahamian banker yesterday warned that a “big component” of the Government’s Budget surplus ambitions could be “withheld” by major taxpayers unless they are assured they have a mechanism to claim reciprocal tax relief in their home country jurisdictions.

Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, yesterday told Tribune Business that the absence of rules, regulations and guidance notes to accompany The Bahamas’ 15 percent corporate income tax - known as the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Act - had left impacted companies “reluctant to cut a cheque” to the Government. This, he explained, is because they need documentary evidence - which the regulations are to provide - that they can show their home country tax authorities proving that income tax has been levied on their Bahamas’ profits. This is critical to ensuring such profits are not ‘double taxed’ - meaning that they are subject to taxation in just The Bahamas or their home country, but not both.

Mr Bowe told this newspaper that the Government is likely banking on earning more than the projected $130.1m from the new corporate income tax to hit its $75.5m Budget surplus target for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The levy, which was imposed to ensure The Bahamas complies with the G-20/Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development

Responsibly tapping into talents of retirees

As The Bahamas continues to confront global competition, labour shortages and the need for specialised expertise, a practical and patriotic solution sits right before us: Healthy retirees between the ages of 65 and 75. When engaged responsibly, and only in areas where genuine workforce gaps exist, these seasoned professionals can provide tremendous national value without limiting opportunities for younger Bahamians within the standard workforce age.

Here are seven key advantages of hiring experienced retirees in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, law enforcement and other specialised fields.

1. Institutional knowledge and experience

Professionals in this age group bring decades of practical, on-the-ground experience. In classrooms, hospitals, courtrooms and police units, that depth of understanding cannot be quickly replicated.

2. Mentorship for younger professionals

Rather than replacing younger workers, older professionals can strengthen them. A retired principal mentoring new teachers, or a former senior nurse guiding recent graduates, improves succession planning and skills transfer.

3. Immediate readiness Retirees typically require minimal onboarding. Their familiarity with systems,

FERGUSON IAN

regulations and local culture allows them to step in quickly where urgent shortages exist.

4. Stability in critical roles

Education, healthcare and law enforcement demand maturity and emotional intelligence. Many retirees offer calm, balanced leadership during crises or transitional periods.

5. Reduced training costs

Because of their experience, retirees often require less technical training, saving time and public resources, which is particularly important in small island economies.

6. Preservation of specialised skills

Certain technical, legal, medical and maritime skills are highly specialised. If these experts fully exit the workforce without transferring knowledge, we risk losing critical competencies.

Public servants demand Gov’t counter-proposal

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business

THE Government is awaiting a proposal from the Ministry of Finance over a new agreement with the Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU), which is threatening to take industrial action over the negotiations.

Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, confirmed that negotiations with the union are ongoing after the call from its president, Kimsley Ferguson, to provide a counter-proposal.

“I saw a communication yesterday from our labour relations unit head, Bernard Evans, in an e-mail to Mr Ferguson outlining their correspondence over the past few months,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said. “There was a BPSU agreement that was submitted to our labour relations unit.

“It's normally submitted in word form so that it is

able to be amended. It was submitted in PDF form, and Mr Evans has been requesting for that PDF to be transcribed to Microsoft Word so that the amendments can be made as is normal with agreements.

“So I know I've seen that dialogue going on between Mr Evans to Mr Ferguson. Additionally, there has been communication with Mr Evans, our labour relations unit, and Mr Ferguson on a regular basis. So I know that that is the last communication that I saw just yesterday.

“But we are waiting for the counter-proposal to be sent so that we can continue negotiations. As it stands, we are at the negotiation table, and that means counter-proposals are going back and forth. We're waiting on a proposal from Finance, according to Mr Evans, and we are in a regular negotiation phase.”

Mr Ferguson, while gathered outside the Office of the Prime Minister with others yesterday, asserted

that the Government does not plan to deal with industrial agreements before the upcoming general election as he called for all public servants to “ready” themselves.

“I'd like to send out a clarion call to all public servants,” he said. “We would have presented our industrial agreement for public servants to the Government from July 22 of last year. We've written the Ministry of Public Service on at least two occasions since then, and we haven't gotten a response. And so I'm calling on all public servants to ready yourselves because I believe, and I said it before, that it is the Government's intention to not address the industrial agreements before the general election.”

The Bahamas Trade Union Congress (BTUC) affiliate, the Bahamas Customs, Immigration and Allied Workers Union (BCIAWU), has also been vocal lately with its most recent

grievance surrounding promotions and outstanding pay.

In July last year, 340 immigration officers were promoted. However, the union’s president, Deron Brooks, said last week some officers were not promoted and some others were superseded without explanation.

“In 2025, the officers expected that the promotion exercise that came out in July would’ve corrected the anomalies of 2021 and fix everything going forward, but the promotion exercise, although it was large, it was flawed,” Mr Brooks said.

“Many officers were left without a promotion or superseded without an explanation. To date, a lot of them, from as far back as 2021, don’t know why they didn’t get promoted and have not received any communication from public service or immigration as it relates to why or how it happened.”

7. National pride and local capacity building

Strategically rehiring qualified Bahamian retirees reduces over-reliance on foreign consultants and keeps expertise within our borders. However, this approach must be managed responsibly. Retirees should only be engaged where verified workforce shortages exist, on clearly defined contracts and in roles that complement - not compete with - career advancement pathways for younger Bahamians. Structured mentorship models, term limits and part-time or advisory arrangements can help maintain this balance.

The goal is not to reverse retirement, nor to slow youth employment. It is to

strengthen national capacity by using every available resource wisely. In a small developing nation, talent should never be wasted, especially when it remains healthy, willing and capable. A balanced inter-generational workforce may well be one of our most strategic advantages.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organisations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

Mr Brooks said they only heard of Customs promotions in January after congratulatory messages began circulating among staff. Mrs Glover-Rolle said last week that Mr Brooks contacted her about outstanding promotions for Immigration and Customs officers, and she directed him to the permanent secretary in the relevant ministries.

Yesterday, she added: “I don't have any update on

that, because we don't have any Customs promotions currently being processed. But I do believe that the union and the Customs ministry, which is the Ministry of Finance, will be dialoguing.

“They haven't met with me. They did write a letter to us, which I received the day before the press conference. And the permanent secretary is responding to that letter, if she hasn't done so yet.”

Retailers told: Take control on Gov’ts new pricing app

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

RETAILERS were yesterday urged to take control of their own profiles on the Government’s new Price Pal app as officials seek to create what they say will be a more transparent - and competitive - commodities marketplace.

Describing the model as collaborative rather than regulatory, Senator Barry Griffin, chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission, said the initiative is built on public information gathered by price control inspectors being made more accessible in digital form.

He explained the platform is designed as a shared public-private partnership, with the Government handling the initial data collection while encouraging retailers to actively manage and update their own information.

Mr Griffin added that the approach recognises that

shelf prices are already publicly displayed in stores, and that the app simply centralises that information in a format that is easier for consumers to access and compare.

“The premise is that these prices are already public; we’re just digitising them. A profile will be made for every single store, and we are actively encouraging stores to take control of that portal so they can readily update prices, post deals and change their store information - location, e-mail address, phone numbers and things of that nature,” said Mr Griffin.

“Stores have the ability, for free, to manage their own online presence in PricePal. But again, as a public service initiative, the Government has taken on the burden of doing the heavy lifting - having price inspectors literally scan and put the first batch of products into the system.”

The app currently has 232 active retailers, and about eight have opted in

Bahamas targets export grants ‘game changer’

BY FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A NEW grant initiatve aimed at breaking down regulatory barriers for Bahamian exporters has been launched as part of a broader push to formalise and scale the country’s export development strategy.

Senator Barry Griffin, chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission, yesterday revealed the programme is designed to help small and medium-sized manufacturers overcome compliance hurdles that have historically limited access to the US market.

He said that while many Bahamian entrepreneurs produce competitive goods, particularly in food and cosmetics, the cost and complexity of entering the US has proven prohibitive.

“For small producers entering the US market, that means navigating FDA (Food and Drug

Administration) registration, labelling rules, ingredient compliance and securing a US agent,” a senior Trade Commission official said.

“These are structural barriers that have quietly kept many Bahamian businesses out of the US market — and this initiative tackles that,” added Mr Griffin. He said that, under the programme, qualifying businesses will receive support for US Food and Drug Administration facility registration, US agent services, compliance reviews, ingredient verification and regulatory advisory services.

The Trade Commission chair explained the funding structure blends allocations from the Ministry of Economic Affairs with grant support from international partners and in-kind advisory hours from US-based regulatory specialists. As a result, there is no fixed cap on the number of beneficiaries at this stage.

“Right now, the programme is open-ended,”

Gov’t moves to boost work safety via ILO conventions

BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business

A CABINET minister yesterday said the Government is seeking to ratify several International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions in a bid to boost health and safety standards in the workplace following another industrial action.

Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour and the public service, said occupational

safety and health (OSH) is a concern for her ministry as the Government moves to adopt the ILO’s chapter 155 and 183 conventions.

Speaking after a 34-yearold man was injured in a crane accident on Fire Trail Road around 1pm on Wednesday, which trapped him under the heavy equipment, the minister said she has “put forward the ratification for chapters 155 and 183, which speaks to our ILO conventions and our ability to embrace

to manage their profiles and update prices. The Price Pal platform relies on multiple data streams rather than a single source, combining retailer input, government oversight and consumer participation to strengthen accuracy over time.

Mr Griffin said while the Government is taking responsibility for making sure the app stays updated and reliable for the public, retailers should manage their own profiles because it gives them control over how their store appears in the app - including prices, deals and contact information.

“From the Government’s perspective, we commit to the public to keep the prices updated. From a private sector perspective, it makes sense for stores to control their own online presence, and we’re currently working with a number of retailers who have already onboarded and taken control of their profiles,” he added.

Positioning the platform within the Government’s

said Mr Griffin. “As many people as we’re able to assist within the budget we have. We want to assist.” He explained that as support includes both direct funding and specialised advisory hours, the number of successful applicants will depend on the complexity of each case.

“Some vendors may require more time and advisory hours than others. That’s why we can’t put an exact figure on how many businesses we’ll be able to help. But as far as the grant funding and the ministry’s support can go, we want to help as many local entrepreneurs as possible,” said Mr Griffin.

He described the programme as potentially “transformative” for small manufacturers that have been effectively locked out of the US market due to compliance costs. “For a small manufacturer, those hurdles can completely shut you out of the US market,” the official said. “If you have a good product that’s ready to export and you just need support with services like these, this can be a game changer.”

The grant programme forms part of a wider policy now underway to develop

occupational safety and health measures and include it in our legislation.

“Occupational safety and health is a major concern for the Department of Labour,” she added. “We have inspectors that go on job sites. We have actually, through the Organisation of American States (OAS), gotten drone technology to learn how we can assist in remote locations and over our work sites.

“We know that a lot of training and retraining has to happen, ensuring that in our haste to employ workers that they have the proper training to be able to

ACCIDENT - See Page B6

broader strategy to combat the cost of living, Mr Griffin said the roll-out is being guided by consumer data and public feedback on where price pressures are being felt most acutely.

He said the Davis administration plans to expand the items on the platform from food to cleaning and household supplies and, eventually, construction and building supplies.

“Those are the first industries we intend to target. So you’ll see us move from food in the grocery stores to other grocery store items, such as cleaning products and household goods. Then we’re going to perhaps move into construction materials and building supplies,” said Mr Griffin.

“We will continue to be informed by Bahamians on what the most pressing price issues are, and the app can deal with that - to shed a spotlight on those areas. Those are the industries we will then seek to target. But, as you can already see, gas prices are already on there.”

The Bahamas’ first formal National Export Strategy. Mr Griffin said the Trade Commission recently secured Cabinet approval to release a draft strategy document for public consultation. The goal is to create a single, unified framework that identifies priority export sectors and outlines the reforms needed to support sustained export growth.

Price Pal is a new, free app from the Government aimed at helping consumers manage the cost of living by putting real-time price information in their hands.

The app allows users to search and compare prices by product, category, store or island. For every day items such as rice, eggs or milk, shoppers can see which stores carry the product and who is offering the best price.

Users can also build and reuse household shopping lists. The app calculates which store offers the lowest total cost for the entire list, allowing consumers to plan their grocery trips around their budget before leaving home.

A bar code scanning feature lets users scan products already in their cupboard.

Price Pal will identify the

item, show where it is sold and allow it to be added directly to a shopping list.

The app includes price alerts and a featured deals section. Users can set alerts for regularly purchased items, such as laundry detergent or cooking oil, and receive notifications when prices drop by a chosen dollar amount or percentage. The deals section highlights items at their lowest recorded cost across the country.

Fuel prices are also included, enabling motorists to compare up-to-date gas prices before deciding where to fill up. Consumers can report price discrepancies instantly by submitting a photo through the app if a shelf price does not match what is listed. Reports are sent directly to the Consumer Affairs Department to support marketplace transparency.

The platform operates on a national ecosystem model, with retailers, government price inspectors and consumers all contributing data. As participation increases, the accuracy of the information improves.

Price Pal is available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Consumers can also visit pricepal. gov.bs to sign up as beta testers ahead of the full national launch.

“There has never been a single strategy document that private sector actors, international partners, Bahamian entrepreneurs and government agencies can look at and say, ‘This is the export strategy of The Bahamas,’” said Mr Griffin. He said consultants have been engaged to draft the strategy, with a focus on identifying sectors ripe for export expansion and addressing structural constraints such as access to finance, regulatory alignment and capacity building.  Over the coming weeks, the draft will be open to public consultation, with private sector stakeholders invited to provide recommendations, data and industry insight. Once finalised, the document will serve as the country’s formal export road map.

App noble idea but using existing technology better

example, Mr Burrows said his company typically makes around 200 pricing changes per week based on the 600-700 stock-keeping units (SKUs) contained in the two containers it imports.

While praising the Government and Price Pal’s developer for “trying to do the right thing”, he told this newspaper that insufficient thought had gone into how the app will work longterm for the benefit of both Bahamian retail and its consumers. He suggested that a better approach would have been to “tap into” existing technology, updating pricing catalogues on a regular basis via Google, and encouraging smaller retailers to establish a digital presence with systems better able to meet their needs.

And the CBS Bahamas chief also warned that, in its current form, he “doesn’t expect a lot of people” to use Price Pal because, having already been part of its beta testing himself, he found it to be “clunky” and “not very user friendly”. The app currently features 30,000 products, and has

been downloaded by 400 persons already, ahead of its upcoming national launch.

“If I wasn’t CBS, and maybe a small retailer, and I didn’t quite have the tech savviness and didn’t have a digital presence, then yes, I’d be super-worried,” Mr Burrows told Tribune Business of Price Pal. “At the end of the day, you have two options.

“You have to figure out how to send your own pricing to Price Pal. This is going to be difficult; it’s going to be hard for a small retailer. It’s going to be hard for someone who is not tech savvy to figure that out. A lot of POS (Point of Sale) systems, that’s going to be a massive challenge just to put that information together in a format they can digest and publish, and at least do it in a way where you can do it responsibly and in a timely manner.

“The other option is that you rely on these price inspectors, basically, to do that for you, and I don’t care how many price inspectors you have, it’s going to be next to impossible to canvas hundreds of stores across The Bahamas across hundreds, if not thousands, of products manually and

Chamber: Trump’s tariffs wake-up call, opportunity

TRADE - from page B1

higher tariffs drop on goods coming into the US from places like Brazil and China, the math is changing, too, thereby realising potential savings on those goods when imported through the US driven by the decrease on their imported tariff.

“Additionally, as we have moved to diversify procurement directly from other jurisdictions, we continue to encourage businesses to seek alternative avenues where possible and

beneficial to pass cost savings on to consumers,” Dr Rolle added.

“While we aren’t yet sure how much this will hurt our own exports, given that our largest product export remains fisheries, the real takeaway here isn’t about daily rate changes but how we survive in a world where the old rules of global trade are being thrown out the window.”

Dr Rolle said other countries are also imposing import tariffs, adding that The Bahamas has not been the best at one-to-one or

upload those prices,” Mr Burrows added. “Just look at CBS Bahamas. We have two containers of product coming in a week. Let’s say we have 600-700 SKUs in each container. We’re probably doing 100 price changes per container. So that’s 200 price changes per week just at CBS Bahamas. Are they going to send a price inspector to CBS Bahamas two times’ per week to update those prices.

“It’s just foolish to even think it can work, so at the end of the day, for most people it’s probably going to cause more harm than good. I think the larger retailers who can integrate with them [Price Pal] and push the prices, they will have the advantage, but it’s going to hurt the small retailer. It’s going to hurt the small ‘Mom and Pop’ shop that can’t keep up. It’s another thing to have to worry about and think about, and it’s going to push people away from shopping with them.”

Confirming that he and CBS Bahamas had been a Price Pal test user, having signed up when the app was “first being pushed around”, Mr Burrows challenged the Government’s decision to

group trade agreements.

“We used to live in a world where everyone agreed that globalisation and collaboration were the keys to prosperity,” he added.

“That’s what built organisations like the OECD and the WTO.

“But look around; that’s all changing. Other countries are closing their borders, slapping on tariffs and pulling away from the table. The conversation our policymakers should be having isn’t about how to react to today’s news, but how we function as a country when the widely accepted keys to prosperity no longer exist.

“We take keen note of one-to-one or group trade

invest $225,000 to develop

“a solution that quite probably is not going to work very well”. He added: “We’ve spent a bunch of money on this app trying to do the right thing without thinking how it’s actually going to work and how it’s going to work long-term.

“Even us at CBS, I’m apprehensive to figure out how they want us to integrate and update our own prices because that’s just another job I have to worry about every week or every couple of days when containers come in.

“There’s existing technology they could have tapped into,” the CBS Bahamas vice-president explained. “They could have encouraged people to start using, for example, the Google feed. We have a direct connection set up to Google catalogues now where our prices are in fed in automatically… to Google every couple of days. I click one button and that’s done.

“This is the sort of thing the Government should have been looking to do - to tap into existing technology and make this process as quick and seamless and easy as possible so that people actually use it and, at the same time, it can help

agreements which are replacing the big international rules. Europe is signing deals with South America, India is signing with Brazil, and just about everyone is locking in deals with China. Unfortunately, we’ve been historically bad at leveraging these kinds of agreements. Barbados has a full-time team of experts dedicated to squeezing every bit of value out of their trade deals, while we’ve traditionally had one or two people doing it parttime,” he added.

“We note the incremental changes with the robust push for economic diversification being championed by units like the Bahamas Trade Commission, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism, Aviation and Investment, and we support this shift. We must continue to be intentional about developing trade routes that strengthen US collaboration but also allow for a measure of diversity and prosperity through procurement from alternative sources.”

Dr Rolle concluded:

“The BCCEC has been working with the Bahamas Trade Commission, the US Embassy, the Chinese Embassy, British High Commission and Bahamian embassies and consulates across multiple regions to strengthen trade and ensure diversification.

those smaller retailers to digitise their own presence and get on board with some of those more common technologies that are going to help them in the long run.”

Mr Burrows said the Government and developers of Price Pal, which falls under the Consumer Protection Commission and Consumer Affairs Department, have not stipulated how the app will handle pricing-related issues such as promotions, trade discounts and case pack discounts.

Describing the app as “clunky”, which impacts the user experience, he added: “It’s going to end up as another expense item for the larger businesses that can afford to play with it and, for the smaller businesses, the Mom and Pop stores and the smaller retailers, it’s going to do more harm than good because they are not going to be able to keep up or are going to have to spend money that they didn’t have to spend before trying to integrate with this thing just hoping that they don’t fall behind.

“In my mind, there’s a lot more they could have done with $225,000 to push people towards digitisation

“Internationally, we have partnered with organisations like the Caribbean Export Development Agency, International Organisation of Employers and JAMPRO to be ahead of shifting tariffs and economic instability. We continue to work with the Government to ensure that, together, we do all we can to lower the cost while increasing the ease of doing business in The Bahamas.”

Adrian LaRoda, president of The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), told Tribune Busines earlier this week there were two timing-related factors that may mitigate the impact of Donald Trump’s latest tariff-fuelled retaliation for exporters to the US. The first is that, with the current Bahamian crawfish season set to close in just over a month’s time on April 1, this nation has already exported the majority of what it was sending to the US.

This means fisheries will have been taxed at the original 10 percent tariff imposed on all Bahamian exports to the US, rather than the new 15 percent rate that represents a 50 percent increase in rate terms for all physical goods this country supplies to its northern neighbour.

And, given that Mr Trump can only impose the new 15 percent rate on all US imports - not just those from The Bahamas - for 150

that would have been more beneficial for the customers and the retailers as a whole. At the end of the day, I don’t think Price Pal is going to do good for the businesses and, in its current form, I don’t expect a lot of people to use it because of the clunkiness of the app itself. We’ll see what comes out of it.”

Mr Burrows, though, said CBS Bahamas will not be affected - and will “overcome” - any inaccurate and outdated pricing information disseminated by Price Pal because of its existing technology and website platform, as well as use of Google catalogues, as these ensure it is “very transparent” with product costs and put the necessary details out to consumers in real time.

The PricePal app, which is currently in its testing phase, is a price comparison tool launched by the Government to allow for market competitiveness and provide shoppers with a resource that will help them find products for the cheapest price. Developed by the Novio Group and launched on February 10, the beta testing is being expanded and more testers are needed.

days before needing the US Congress to approve their extension, Mr LaRoda said the Bahamian fisheries industry is hoping that the volatility in US trade and tariff policy will have eased by the time the new crawfish season starts on August 1. The 150-day window’s timing is thus fortunate for the sector because it coincides with lobster’s closed season.

Another major Bahamian exporter to the US, Freeport-based Polymers International, told Tribune Business that while it has already experienced the “negative effect” on sales since the original 10 percent US tariff was imposed in April 2025, the US president’s planned hike to 15 percent is unlikely to “change our economic situation”.

Craig Simms, principal of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) manufacturer, said “the biggest deterrent to sales” has been the expanding global ban on single use plastics rather than the US president’s unpredictable tariff policies. He added that Polymers International’s continued presence in Freeport would only be threatened if US tariffs “reel out of control” and “make it super expensive” to export from The Bahamas as opposed to manufacturing domestically in the US.Headline

Companies need Bahamas payment proof to help escape ‘double taxation’

(OECD) global minimum corporate tax initiative, only applies to local entities that are part of multinational groups generating over 750m euros in annual turnover.

With the Government now needing to achieve a $418m positive swing during the current fiscal year’s final six months to achieve its Budget surplus ambitions, Leon Lundy, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, on Wednesday signalled that importance of collecting these corporate income tax revenues - the bulk of which are due to be paid between April 1 and end-June this year.

The Higgs & Johnson law firm yesterday informed its clients that the Department of Inland Revenue has issued a notice requiring all entities subject to the 15 percent corporate income tax to complete a pre-registration notice by March 31, 2026. While those companies

have been “accruing” the necessary sums required to pay the tax on their balance sheet, Mr Bowe said they will likely require further reassurance - such as the creation of a Bahamas tax compliance certificate - to release those funds. “Whilst the law has been passed and enacted, in the absence of having the regulations and appropriate procedures for companies paying that to get the appropriate evidence for them to demonstrate in their home territories that they have paid an income tax equivalent [in The Bahamas], they will not have the appropriate paperwork to cut a cheque for the amount due,” the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief said. Calling on the Government to pursue crafting the regulations, rules and guidance notes with “the same level of vigour” employed in passing the legislation, Mr Bowe said they have yet to be finalised and circulated to the private sector and

assistance with training and reskilling in that area.”

operate heavy equipment.

And then, you know, an accident is that. It’s an accident, something that was not expected, but, of course, tragically happened. We continue at the Department of Labour inspectorate to visit the job sites, ensure that the proper occupational safety and health measures are in place, and where they aren’t offer

According to the ILO website, the conventions The Bahamas is considering require all member states “to respect, promote, and realise its principles”. It adds:

“Convention No. 155 establishes the core framework for occupational safety and health (OSH) management at both national and workplace levels, introducing a dynamic national policy approach to OSH.

relevant taxpayers for feedback and comment.

He added that the balance sheet “accruals” for corporate income tax will likely not “be paid in to” the Government “until they get their act together to have the rules, regulations and guidance notes in place to enable appropriate documentation for these parties to cut a cheque to settle this obligation”.

Asked whether corporate income tax payers are merely wary about potential challenges when it comes to avoiding ‘double taxation’ on their Bahamas’ profits by home country jurisdictions, Mr Bowe replied: “I wouldn’t say there’s a wariness. There’s going to be actual withholding of that payment until the appropriate elements are in place.”

He signalled that, based on sums accrued by corporate income taxpayers to-date, the Government may have ‘low-balled’ how much it stands to earn from the levy. CIBC Caribbean

“Ratifying Convention No 155 demonstrates a country’s commitment to ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for all. Designed for progressive implementation, the convention allows adaptation to national conditions and development levels, ensuring all ILO member states can be in a position to ratify and gradually apply its provisions.” Mrs Glover-Rolle said heavy equipment operators have protocols they must follow to ensure safety, but added the nature of the job means a higher risk of accidents. She said an

(Bahamas) just-released annua report, for example, shows it was holding almost $11m on its balance sheet to pay this tax at end-October 2026.

And Tribune Business previously disclosed that Shell’s Bahamas-domiciled subsidiary had a $248m corporate income tax liability “accrued” on its books, although some sources suggested this nation may only receive a portion of that because it is likely to be divided among the jurisdictions where Shell Western Supply & Trading conducted its business. The 15 percent corporate income tax has to be paid to the nations where revenues and profits were generated.

Mr Bowe, though, suggested that the corporate income tax earnings - along with several “one-off” items such as the $120m Grand Lucayan sale and a victory in the $357m arbitration dispute with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) - are being heavily

inspectorate ensures safety rules are in place and being followed as the Department of LAbour houses the OSH unit.

“Of course, even as heavy equipment operators, there are certain protocols that should be in place,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said. “But by the nature of industrial sites, they are more high prone for accidents, which is why it’s so important to ensure that safety protocols are consistently and constantly being observed. It is the job of our Inspectorate to not only ensure that these safety measures are in place, but like I said, to ensure

relied upon by the Davis administration to hit its Budget surplus targets.

“If you read the tea leaves, and the Budget speaks to it, there are a number of elements they are relying on coming to fruition, the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax being a big component,” he argued. “There are a number of big ticket, one-off items that the Government is looking towards to achieve its Budget target for the current year.

“They have a lot of elbow grease to put in to achieve that Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax… The legislation was put in place to comply with the G-20/ OECD Pillar One and Pillar Two initiative, but we need the same level of vigour to get the rules, guidance notes and regulations over the line.”

Mr Bowe asserted that, in the circumstances, it would be “unfair” for the Government to suddenly produce the missing elements now and expect corporate

that there’s training, to ensure that the organisation or the company is observing the proper protocols, and if it’s not happening there are fines that are in place.”

Another industrial accident occurring last month, involved a 51-year-old man who died while working on an excavation project at a site off Tonique Williams Highway. The hillside collapsed as he operated the excavator, leaving him buried beneath the debris for an extended period of time.

Mrs Glover-Rolle noted that, typically, when an industrial accident occurs,

income taxpayers to “cut a cheque by the end of March”. He added: “It can’t be a ‘Gotcha’ moment that you’ve done it, and people have 14 days to comply or be fined”.

Turning to the other “oneoff” items, the Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief added: “We know there are a number of initiatives the Government is relying on in meeting the surplus target. There’s certainly a significant reliance on the GBPA arbitration ruling in their favour. Even if it’s not the full amount the Government demanded, which is $357m, even if they have between $100m to $200m in their favour it will be a significant evidence.”

The same applies to the protracted, drawn-out deal to sell the Grand Lucayan to Concord Wilshire. “I don’t think there’s any evidence of money changing hands but, in the Budget presentation, from that perspective, there’s reliance on that deal closing and that deal closing on a cash basis.”

the site is closed so a proper investigation can be launched. This investigation, she added, can sometimes include the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Ministry of Works, which also has an OSH Unit.

“The proper procedure is for the site to be closed so that a proper investigation can take place, which not only involves the Department of Labour but also involves the the Royal Bahamas Police Force in some instances, and even our Ministry of Works, which also has an Occupational Safety and Health Unit.”

Sands: Arrears and invoices ‘scream cash flow problem’

Both spoke out after the mid-year Budget revealed that sums owed to suppliers, vendors and other purveyors of goods and services to the Government had increased significantly and almost doubled compared to the $122.425m shown to have been due exactly one year before on December 31, 2024.

The mid-year Budget documents show that, in total, the Government owed $20.993m in invoices classified as recurrent spending; $59.936m in unpaid invoices relating to capital spending; and accumulated collective arrears worth $60.542m, while state-owned enterprises such as the PHA, Bahamasair and Water & Sewerage owed the largest

collective sum at just over $100m. Arrears had more than doubled, increasing by 142 percent from the prior year’s $25.006m, while invoices outstanding and due from SOEs had risen ten-fold from the prior year’s $10m. Capital spending invoices, too, had jumped from just under $5m to almost $60m - a near 12-fold increase - although those related to recurrent spending were around just one-quarter of the prior year’s total.

Dr Sands told this newspaper that the surge in unpaid arrears and outstanding invoices again highlighted the need for the Government to shift from its current cashbased accounting system to the accrual method as

this would catch spending commitments when they are incurred, not when the funds are released, thus providing a more complete and accurate picture of the Government’s financial position.

“They’ve set a target for their Budget surplus and left $200m-$300m in unpaid invoices in the draw,” he argued. “While it’s perfectly legal from an accounting point of view, given the method of cash-based accounting we use, this is reverse engineering. You can make the books look as good or bad as you wish.

“They say they want to come in at ‘x’ dollars and let’s make the books look rosy despite the fact every vendor you are doing business with is owed money. It screams that they have a cash flow problem. Despite record revenues, this administration has managed to squander them and put the country in a very precarious position in terms of an outrageous level of receivables. All for making it look as if we are in a strong position when we are not.”

Dr Sands, also pointing to the $633.9m increase in the Government’s direct debt to $12.4bn during the six months to end-December 2025, added: “They are going to need to explain to the Bahamian people how, if they are painting such a rosy picture, why do all the bills remain unpaid? Why do government institutions, which rely on government subventions, find themselves out of stock on the shelves, certain persons not being paid? I could go go on. It does not add up.

“You can enter into an agreement for goods and services with a number of people and don’t pay them. They can make the numbers come out any way they want. I cannot think of a single vendor who is not experiencing financial hardship having dealt with the Government. There are some companies owed many millions of dollars, others hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s ‘I owe you, I acknowledge I owe you, and will pay you when I get around to it’.”

Dr Sands asserted that those who complain publicly about non-payment face potential victimisation through methods such as Department of Inland Revenue audits or delays in obtaining timely approvals or permit renewals. He argued that the payables owed to Bahamian businesses effectively represent “loans being created to the Government from unwilling lenders”, with vendors effectively funding the latter and carrying it financially but earning no interest on their monies.

Darvin Russell, the FNM’s Centreville candidate, also argued that the Government’s projected $75.5m Budget surplus for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is being built on the backs of Bahamian businesses and the $242m in unpaid bills.

“The Government is claiming that its deficit has improved compared to the same period last year. How was that achieved? By not paying people what they are owed,” he asserted. “The numbers speak plainly. Capital expenditure invoices

Canada warns USMCA could face annual reviews, fueling uncertainty and chilling investment

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press

CANADA'S minister for U.S. trade said Thursday the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement could be subject to annual review and that uncertainty could be the objective of the Trump administration.

Dominic LeBlanc told a business audience in Toronto that he will meet

with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer late next week in Washington ahead of the mandatory review of the USMCA in July.

"If there's no consensus in the review the agreement continues. Then there's an annual review that starts and if uncertainty is one of the objectives from one of our (USMCA) partners you can imagine scenarios of

how this might go," LeBlanc said. LeBlanc said the current uncertainty about the future of the free trade deal is causing a break in investment decisions in Canada.

"Net business investment is down," LeBlanc said.

"Therein lies one of the big challenges. We have to control what we can control."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has set a goal for Canada to double

jumped from $4.8m to $59.9m; arrears climbed from $25m to over $60m, and state-owned enterprises now carry roughly $100m in unpaid invoices, up from just under $10 million a year ago.

“These amounts represent real money owed to contractors, suppliers, public institutions and service providers across the country. The Government is projecting a $75m surplus for the full fiscal year. That projection depends heavily on timing and on revenue assumptions that have not yet materialised. It also depends on continuing to carry elevated arrears instead of clearing the bills already due.

“Meanwhile, almost half of the $50m budget reserve has already been drawn down within six months, including funds used for bond repayments and known recurring expenses. That reserve was intended for unexpected events. Instead, it is being used to patch over predictable spending.”

its non-U.S. exports in the next decade, saying American tariffs are causing a chill in investment. Carney recently made a trade deal with China and is in India this week. U.S. President Donald Trump negotiated the USMCA in his first term and included a clause to review the deal in 2026. Trump has talked about getting the U.S. automakers to close factories in Canada and move them to the U.S. and Greer has talked about "reshoring" industrial production.

Coleby-Davis: Pintard mixing up ‘two different BPL buckets’

assuming a “generous” 85 percent collection rate for what consumers are billed.

As a result, based on these figures, the Opposition leader argued that BPL faces a projected revenue shortfall exceeding $25m annually before accounting for operating expenses, fuel purchases, maintenance, staff salaries or servicing roughly $500m in liabilities.

“No amount of political spin can change the arithmetic. The contracts are public. The obligations are clear. The gap is real,” said Mr Pintard. “Bahamian households should prepare for higher electricity bills

as a direct consequence of these agreements.” But Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and energy, rejected that conclusion in describing the Opposition’s analysis as fundamentally flawed. She argued that Mr Pintard had mixed-up his calculations by blending fuel-related passthrough costs with base rate obligations, and then compared that combined figure to revenue estimates that do not include full fuel charge collections.

“If you mix two different buckets and then compare them to only one revenue stream, you will always ‘discover’ a shortfall on paper,” she said. Mrs Coleby-Davis’ rebuttal centred on tariff mechanics.

She explained that, under the current structure, the fuel charge is treated as a pass-through that reflects the levelised cost of energy production across the system and does not fund operations or salaries. The minster also maintained that the 4.625 cents per kilowatt hour referenced in Bahamas Utility Company’s PPA is part of that energy production cost and appears in the fuel line of customers’ bills, not in the base rate.

According to Mrs Coleby-Davis, folding that energy charge into a structural deficit calculation while excluding the corresponding fuel revenue produces a misleading result.

FDA to offer bonus payments to staffers who complete speedy drug reviews

By MATTHEW PERRONE

AP Health Writer

THE head of the Food and Drug Administration plans to start offering bonus payments to agency drug reviewers who complete their work ahead of schedule, the latest in a flurry of changes to longstanding norms and procedures.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary described the effort as a pilot program during a staff presentation Thursday, saying the first quarterly bonus payments would start going out to employees around August. The Associated Press obtained slides and a recording of the presentation.

"My job as your commissioner is to be your advocate and to fight for you," Makary told FDA staffers, adding that getting approval for the payments took "some wrangling."

"If you don't like it, we can get rid of it, but usually everybody loves money," Makary said. The plan raises a number of questions, including exactly how the payments will be distributed across large teams of staffers who typically contribute to drug reviews. Employees who are not directly involved in drug reviews — such as factory inspectors — are not eligible for the payments. The pilot also presents potential ethical dilemmas if FDA

reviewers are seen as being rewarded for rushing steps needed to confirm drug safety and effectiveness.

Since the 1990s, the FDA has collected fees from drug companies to help pay for extra staffers to quickly review new prescription drugs and vaccines. Under the agreement with the industry, the FDA has timelines and metrics for completing each review. But the agency has never paid workers directly for meeting or exceeding those goals. The bonus program is intended "to recognize and reward staff who find ways to be more efficient delivering high-quality work activities that ultimately benefit patients," according

“When the 4.625 cent PPA price is folded into a ‘structural shortfall’ calculation, and then compared to revenue figures that exclude the related fuel collections, two different buckets are being mixed together and the conclusion that flows from that kind of math is simply wrong,” said Mrs Coleby-Davis.

She also framed the reforms within the broader financial realities inherited by the Government, including aging generation assets, rental engines costing approximately $25m annually and Family Island subsidies exceeding $50m per year.

The reforms, the minister argued, replace rentals with owned assets, introduces

to slides presented to FDA staff. Senior FDA officials on the call said payments would be based on "weighted time savings" achieved by employees and their teams, as well as ratings-based "work quality and work complexity."

"This program values speed, but never at the expense of quality," states one of the slides.

The announcement comes as the agency loses drug review staff to retirements and resignations following broader layoffs and buyouts across many other parts of the agency. Agency records show the FDA's drug and biologics centers — which oversee prescription drugs, vaccines and biotech drugs — have lost about 20% of their employees since President Donald Trump took office a year ago.

LNG and renewable integration, reduces fuel exposure through hedging, and is projected to produce $97m in fuel savings once fully implemented. It also aims to cut the $50m Family Island subsidy roughly in half.

The two narratives differ not only in tone but in accounting interpretation.

Mr Pintard views the agreements as fixed, enforceable obligations that exceed projected income and therefore must be reconciled through higher base rates, increased fuel charges or taxpayer subsidies.

Additionally, some agency reviewers cannot work on certain projects because they are actively interviewing for jobs in the pharmaceutical industry.

The program could also negatively impact the public perception of the FDA, which has often been viewed as too closely aligned with the drug companies it regulates.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the agency, has described FDA staffers as "a sock puppet" of industry since becoming the nation's top health official last February.

About 70% of the FDA's drug program is financed by user-fee payments from drug companies submitting their products for review. The arrangement has allowed the agency to hire thousands of additional

For the business community, the debate raises practical questions about liquidity, timing and execution risk. Much depends on whether projected fuel savings materialise as planned, whether revenue collection rates hold steady, and whether transitional financing pressures emerge before long-term efficiencies are realised.

The Government has pledged greater transparency, including technical briefings and comparative data showing current island-specific production costs against new PPA pricing.

Mrs Coleby-Davis contended that the agreements displace existing costs, and that savings within the fuel component of the bill cannot be ignored when evaluating overall impacts.

scientists and cut review times by more than half of what they were prior to receiving the funding.

Since arriving at the agency last April, Makary has announced a series of measures that he says will shorten FDA reviews, including offering onemonth drug assessments for new medications that serve "national interests." In the last two weeks alone, Makary said the FDA would drop its longtime standard of requiring two clinical trials for drug reviews and open a new pathway for therapies that can only be tested in a handful of patients. The announcements promoting faster, streamlined approvals come as the agency faces criticism over its recent handling of vaccines, gene therapies and other specialty treatments.

Netflix walks away from Warner Bros deal, clearing the path for Paramount

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer

NETFLIX is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business, in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival.

On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price it would have to pay to acquire Warner would make the deal “no longer financially attractive.”

“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands,” Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a joint statement. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.” Sarandos and Peters also thanked Warner leadership. Warner had repeatedly backed the deal it struck with Netflix since December — and even when announcing that Paramount’s latest offer was superior earlier Thursday, the company said its board stood by its previous recommendation in favor of Netflix.

Paramount and Warner did not immediately respond to requests for

comment about Netflix’s choice to walk away. Thursday’s news arrived after Paramount upped its rival bid for the entire company to $31 per share, in addition to other revisions.

A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape. And unlike Netflix — which only wanted to buy Warner’s studio and streaming business for $27.75 per share — Paramount wants the entire company. That means HBO Max, cult-favorite

titles like “Harry Potter” and even CNN could soon find themselves under a new roof.

Paramount’s CBS has seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss at CBS News, under new Skydance ownership. And if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner is successful, critics warn of similar changes at CNN.

A Paramount-Warner combo would also combine two of Hollywood’s five

as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.

Executives at Paramount have argued that merging will be good for consumers and the wider industry. But lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm — warning that a Warner takeover would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players.

Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.

Combined, that raises tremendous antitrust concerns.

The U.S. Department of Justice has already initiated reviews, and other countries are expected to do so, too.

legacy studios that remain today, in addition to their theatrical channels. Beyond “Harry Potter,” Warner movies like “Superman,” “Barbie,” and “One Battle After Another” — as well as hit TV series like “The White Lotus” and “Succession” — would join Paramount’s content library. Today, Paramount’s lineup of titles include “Top Gun,” “Titanic” and “The Godfather.” And beyond CBS, it owns networks like MTV and Nickelodeon,

Netflix, Warner and Paramount have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over whose deal has a better regulatory path — and offers more value for Warner shareholders.

Thursday’s announcement arrived shortly after Paramount upped the ante on its offer.

Beyond increasing its proposed purchase price for Warner, the company also agreed to a regulatory termination fee of $7 billion.

And Paramount pledged to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.”

The company initially said it would pay 25 cents per

share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.

But Paramount is taking on billions of dollars in debt to finance its offer.

And David Ellison’s father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is heavily backing the bid for his son’s company. Foreign sovereign wealth funds have also provided equity for the offer, drawing scrutiny.

The Ellisons also have a close relationship with President Donald Trump — bringing more politics into question. Trump previously made unprecedented suggestions about his involvement in seeing a deal through, before walking back those statements and maintaining that regulatory approval will be up to the Justice Department.

The push to acquire Warner also arrives just months after Skydance closed its own buyout of Paramount — in a contentious merger approved just weeks after the company agreed to pay the president $16 million to settle a lawsuit over editing at CBS’ “60 Minutes” program. Still, Trump has continued to publicly lash out at Paramount and “60 Minutes” since.

NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as

‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington

By JOSH FUNK

AP Transportation Writer

THE HEAD of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it's misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill's "watereddown" requirements wouldn't do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn't be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week.

The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to two key House committees, saying that they can't support the bill right now

"We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you're using the NTSB and you're using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies," Homendy said. "You're using their pain to move your agenda forward."

The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2005, is that they believe all

aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying.

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft's location are already required around busy airports. It's the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn't yet standard. The House bill would ask the Federal Aviation Administration to draft a rule to require the best locator technology instead of just requiring ADS-B

In, and even when it does suggest that technology should be required, the bill exempts business jets and small planes in certain parts of the airspace. Homendy said the bill is also weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off and the steps they must take to ensure those systems are working.

House leaders defend their bill

The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy's criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT

“From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal.”

Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen

committed to getting the bill done.

Victims' families say they can't support the bill as written

The NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes.

bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter. They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks.

"From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal," Larsen and Graves said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is

Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims' families said the House bill "is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations." He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to "scuttle" that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process.

Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families.

"As far as the ALERT act — the way it's written now, I can't endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In," Collins said. "It's non-negotiable

for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable." Missed warnings led to the crash

The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army's policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission. But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations.

"We were very explicit of what needed to occur," Homendy said. "When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you're just going to give us half a loaf, it's not going to do it. We're not gonna save lives."

What to know about Defense Protection Act and the Pentagon’s Anthropic ultimatum

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer

DEFENSE Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic an ultimatum this week: Open its artificial intelligence technology for unrestricted military use by Friday, or risk losing its government contract.

Defense officials in the Trump administration also warned they could designate Anthropic, which makes the AI chatbot Claude, as a supply chain risk — or invoke a Cold War-era law called the Defense Production Act to give the military more sweeping authority to use its products, even if the company doesn’t approve.

Some experts say that using the law this way would be unprecedented, and could bring future legal challenges. The government’s efforts to essentially force Anthropic’s hand also underscore a wider, contentious debate over AI’s role in national security.

Here’s what we know.

The Defense Production Act gives the federal government broad authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of national defense.

The act was signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1950 amid supply concerns during the Korean War. But over its now decades-long history, the law’s powers have been invoked not only in times of war but also for domestic emergency preparedness, as well as recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

One of the act’s provisions allows the president to require companies to prioritize government contracts and orders deemed necessary for national defense, with the goal of ensuring the private sector is producing enough goods needed during war or other emergencies. Other provisions give the president the ability to use loans and additional incentives to increase production of critical goods, and authorize the government to establish voluntary agreements with private industry.

The DPA is “one of the government’s most powerful and adaptable industrial policy tools,” said Joel Dodge, an attorney and the director of industrial policy and economic security at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.

Anthropic is the last of its AI peers to not supply its technology to a new U.S. military internal network. CEO Dario Amodei repeatedly has made clear his ethical concerns about unchecked government use of AI, including the dangers of fully autonomous armed drones and of AI-assisted mass surveillance that could track dissent.

The Pentagon has maintained that it has no interest in using AI for mass surveillance or to develop autonomous weapons to operate without human involvement.

If the Defense Department does invoke the DPA to give the military more authority to use

Anthropic’s products without its approval, that could mean forcing the company to adapt its model to the Pentagon’s needs without built-in safety limits, or remove certain ethical restrictions from the company’s contract language.

Experts like Dodge say both would be “without precedent under the history of the DPA.”

“It’s a powerful law,” he said. “(But) it has never been used to compel a company to produce a product that it’s deemed unsafe, or to dictate its terms of service.”

Trump in his first term and former President Joe Biden invoked the DPA to boost supplies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. And during 2022’s nationwide baby formula shortage, Biden used the law to speed production of formula and authorize flights to import supply from overseas.

Biden also invoked the DPA in a 2023 executive order on AI, notably in efforts to require that companies share safety test results and other information with the government. Trump repealed the order at the start of his second term.

Decades ago, the administrations of both President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used the DPA to ensure that electricity and natural gas shippers continued supplying California utilities amid an energy crisis. And the law was used after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017 to prioritize contracts for

food, bottled water, manufactured housing units and the restoration of electrical systems.

The DPA requires periodic reauthorization to remain in effect, which can expand or refine the scope

of the law. According to congressional documents, its next expiration date is slated for Sept. 30 of this year. Depending on how the Defense Department’s reported demands unfold,

Anthropic could be at the top of lawmakers’ minds. If the Defense Department uses the DPA provision aimed at prioritizing government contracts and ordering production of certain goods — which the Anthropic case suggests it would — a company can push back if the requested product isn’t something it already produces, Dodge and others say, or if it deems the terms to be unreasonable.

The worst day for Nvidia’s stock since last spring drags Wall Street lower

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

THE WORST day for Nvidia’s stock since last spring dragged the U.S. market lower on Thursday, even though most stocks on Wall Street rose.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% following sharp swings earlier in the week driven by hopes and worries created by the artificial-intelligence revolution. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2%.

Nvidia, whose chips are helping to power the AI boom, reported another stellar quarter of profit growth that breezed past analysts’ expectations. It also gave a forecast for revenue in the current quarter that once again topped Wall Street’s estimates.

But such blowout performances have become so typical for Nvidia that they’re losing their oomph. Its stock sank 5.5% for its worst loss since April.

“Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute — the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said.

Worries are nevertheless rising that those customers may eventually curtail their spending on Nvidia’s chips and other AI investments amid doubts about whether they can make back their billions of dollars through future gains in productivity.

Because Nvidia’s is the largest stock in the U.S. market by value, it has more influence on the S&P 500 than any other. It alone accounted for more than four-fifths of the S&P 500’s loss.

“Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute — the factories powering the AI industrial revolution and their future growth.”

Despite Nvidia’s troubles, seven stocks rose in the S&P 500 for every three that fell. Among them was Salesforce, which climbed 4% after it likewise reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It’s a return to gains for the stock, which is still down nearly 25% for the young year so far. It’s been under pressure because of worries that AI-powered competitors could undercut its business.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNIECE SALNAVE of Charles Saunders Highway Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FRISNEL PRUDENT of P.O. Box N-7060, Poinciana Avenue, Coconut Grove, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that WAN LEE ERVILUS of Spanish Wells, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

OPTIONS traders Chris Dattolo, left, and Steven Rodriguez work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.

and aggressive attacks this year by investors who fear their businesses may lose out to AI or even become obsolete.

The sharpest swings have hit software companies, and a widely followed ETF that tracks the industry rose 2.1% Thursday to trim its loss for the year so far below 22%. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Warner Bros. Discovery shares edged down 0.3% after the entertainment giant reported a $252 million loss for the fourth quarter. That didn’t seem to bother investors, who are likely more interested in which acquisition offer — Netflix or Paramount Skydance — the company and its shareholders ultimately accept.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 37.27 points to 6,908.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17.05 to 49,499.20, and the Nasdaq composite sank 273.69 to 22,878.38.

force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades, which has raised the stakes. The current round of talks feels “make or break,” according to strategists at Macquarie. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude briefly fell as low as $63.60. But it erased that loss and rose above $66.50 before settling at $65.21, up 0.3%. Brent crude, the international standard, also had a zigzag day and finished at $70.75 per barrel, down 0.1%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi leaped 3.7% to another record, driven by gains for tech-related stocks. It’s already surged nearly 50% since the turn of the year. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, meanwhile, lost 1.4%.

Nvidia CEO

Jensen

Huang

Salesforce uses AI itself in its offerings that help customers manage relationships with their own customers. It also made several announcements that typically give a stock’s price a boost: It will send up to $50 billion to shareholders through buybacks of its stock, and it increased its dividend.

“Agentic AI is a tailwind for our business,” CEO Marc Benioff said. Companies in industries as far flung as trucking logistics and financial services have also seen their stocks come under sudden

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that EVELT FLEURIMOND of #31 Bellot Road, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 27th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNIQUE SALNAVE of Charles Saunders Highway Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROSELANE JEAN BAPTISTE of Cowpen Road Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that CLORIDIA LOUIS of Palm Tree Avenue, P.O. Box N-7060, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

Some of the sharpest swings in financial markets were for oil, where prices swung sharply as the United States and Iran held indirect talks about Iran’s nuclear program.

A peaceful solution would remove the threat of war, which investors worry could block the global flow of oil and drive up its price. The U.S. military has already built up the largest

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.01% from 4.05% late Wednesday.

A report showed that the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits ticked up last week, but not by any more than economists expected. It also remains relatively low compared with history.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that WESOND FRANCIS of General Delivery Queens Highway,West End, Grand Bahama, 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 27TH day of FEBRUARY, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that RODNEL SALNAVE of Charles Saunders Highway Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that DORMEUS TALA DESINETTE of Faith Ave. Carmichal Road Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that FRANCIOS DESIR of Bacardi Road, Union West, New Providence, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 20th day of February, 2026 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

One Tech Tip: Unspoken group chat rules

you’re probably ignoring, but shouldn’t

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer

COMMUNICATING

on group chats has quickly become a way of life, but what are the rules?

We used to use email, the phone or talk in person.

Now we use platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp or Slack to coordinate a night out with friends, a kid's birthday party, a work project or even to discuss sensitive military information — as U.S. Defense

Secretary Pete Hegseth did by sharing details of airstrikes in a Signal chat.

But while group chats have exploded in popularity because of their informality, that also creates its own challenges: Discussions can veer off topic, repetitive or basic questions can irritate group members, and that viral meme you think is funny could also offend.

The principles of digital etiquette remain the same as other kinds of etiquette, but they are also "context specific and many of the rules are implicit rather than explicit," said Rupert Wesson, a director at Debrett's, the British etiquette guide, who outlined key tips for The Associated Press.

Think before messaging

Etiquette is always based on the idea of care and consideration for others, Wesson said. So it helps to think about how the recipients might be affected by your message.

That means, for example, not wasting other members' time by asking questions that could be easily answered by doing a Google search, or scrolling up or searching through the previous posts.

The Trent Windsurfing Club near Nottingham, England, which communicates with members using both WhatsApp and email, spells out other considerations in a 15-point list on its website.

"Don't get angry if someone doesn't respond to your messages in a group. No one is obliged to do so. Better send him/her a direct message," the club says. Also, "Before sending a video, picture, meme or

any content, analyze if such material will be in the interest of the majority of the members of the group."

And avoid sending videos or files that are very large, because "nobody likes to saturate the memory of their smartphone or waste their data/internet plan on nonsense," its guidance says. The club did not respond to a request for comment.

Remember the aim of the chat

Always consider the chat group's purpose. For those created with a specific and practical function in mind, just stick to the task and don't post any more than you need to, Wesson said.

Tampa International Airport shares it wants to ban pajamas. It was a joke, the airport says

By RIO YAMAT AP Airlines and Travel Writer

TAMPA International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from

wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn't being serious. A post on the airport's official X account said that after successfully going "Crocs-free," Tampa

On the other hand, "some groups are there for frivolity and here, more is more," he added.

It should be obvious, but don't post personal stuff in a company or business-related chat, and refrain from posting work-related material in a group with friends or family.

It doesn't hurt to lurk first before weighing in, partly because on some chat platforms new members can't see what was posted before they joined.

"It is always best to err on the side of caution until you are very clear on the purpose and culture of the group," Wesson said.

Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.

Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told

Consider the size of the group

Do you need to respond to every message? There's often someone who feels the need to type out a reply to every post, even if it's just to say "thanks." But doing so in a big group might be somewhat akin to an email reply-all storm.

Wesson advises considering how many people are in the chat.

"If there are three of you in the group, a response, if only an emoji, is almost expected," Wesson said. "In group of 50 or more it is practically a criminal offense."

Keep it clean and decent, especially at work

This is an especially important point when it comes to work communications, with many white collar workers now using chat platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams rather than email to communicate.

These platforms feel less formal than email but don't forget to follow the same guidelines as you do with other company communications.

"Assume anything messaged can be forwarded and be especially cautious of work chats (however informal they appear)," Wesson said. "As countless people have discovered at employment tribunals, any diversion into anything

indecorous can be career limiting."

Less can be more in chats

Chat messages should be short and sweet.

One reason is that your words could come across differently depending on the person reading the message, so stick to using short sentences to avoid being misinterpreted.

If it's about work, and you want to discuss something in more length and detail, consider an in-person meeting, a phone call, or email instead.

"No one wants to read a 7-inch-long unformatted message when an organized attachment would have worked better," the American etiquette experts at The Emily Post Institute, advised in a blog post on business communications.

Message clarity and style matter

It's not a college essay, so the rules around grammar, punctuation or even emoji don't need to be too strict.

"You should not feel too constricted and nor should you judge others for playing fast and loose with the King's English," Wesson said. "Just let brevity and clarity be your guide."

Speaking of emoji, they're fun and can convey your meaning as well as the most thoughtful turn of phrase, Wesson said. But don't abuse them because they can be a "minefield."

International had "seen enough" of pajamas.

"The madness stops today. The movement starts now," reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon

"Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up," Zimmer said. "But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable."

The Associated Press the post was part of the airport's longstanding social media persona — a tonguein-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show "The Office" looking into the camera and saying, "Yes!" Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called "the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You."

The Transportation Department said the campaign was "intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel."

The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.

"Today's post about 'banning' pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates," it said. "We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor."

Zimmer said the airport's online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting lighthearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, "and it really took off."

Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: "Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)"

Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport's code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year's resolution "to stress out less."