08292025 BUSINESS

Local groups criticise Challenger Energy report

Bahamians drive sales in under $500k market

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

CHALLENGER

Energy Group is facing renewed criticism from Bahamian environmentalists who say its 2024 Annual Report misrepresents the viability of oil drilling in the country.

Taylor Ferguson, communications coordinator at Waterkeepers Bahamas, warned that any renewed push for offshore exploration would come with “severe” environmental risks — a concern echoed by the Our Islands, Our Future (OIOF) coalition, which has accused the company of misleading the public and shareholders about its position in The Bahamas.

OIOF — a coalition of Bahamian and international organisations and citizens advocating for a permanent ban on oil exploration — says Challenger Energy Group (CEG), formerly Bahamas Petroleum Company, no longer holds a valid exploration license and should not be presenting oil drilling as an ongoing possibility.

Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, Executive Director of the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), noted that CEG’s license expired in 2021 and there has been no indication from the government that any new licenses will be issued.

“As far as we know, Challenger Energy does not currently hold any valid oil exploration licenses in The Bahamas. Their rights expired over four years ago, and as far as we are aware, the Government has not granted

WHILE luxury real estate in The Bahamas has experienced a slight contraction, demand for properties priced under $500,000—primarily purchased by local buyers— remains robust, according to Matt Sweeting, CEO of 1OAK Bahamas.

Mr Sweeting, whose firm focuses heavily on the domestic segment, with 95 percent of its listings catering to local buyers, told Tribune Business that appropriately priced properties continue to move rapidly in what remains a clear seller’s market.

He said there had been a ‘slight dip’ in luxury real estate but ‘real estate that we sell to locals, usually under $500,000 is still in extremely high demand.

“It’s still a seller’s market,” said Mr Sweeting. “Properties still have low days on market, which is indicative that

properties are selling very, very quickly, nearly as soon as they’re listed, if they’re priced appropriately.”

In contrast, the luxury segment has softened, though Mr Sweeting expects it to rebound as global economic conditions stabilise.

He pointed to external factors—including shifting U.S. tariffs and political uncertainty—that may eventually drive renewed interest from international buyers.

“With some speculation as it relates to tariffs and how

the US economy is going right now, we think that as we prepare for a rebound of sorts, or increased interest over the next couple of months, as the US economy and global economies recover and become a little bit more busy, As things kind of settle into this new tariff dynamic, there’s going to be a little bit more interest in Bahamas real estate,” said Mr Miller He added that US residents that have become fed up with the Trump administration may seek alternative

jurisdictions to reside in— also increasing the demand for Bahamas real estate.

“I think we’ll have a combination of both people who get their footing in this new US economic climate and will be more comfortable making decisions because things have been stabilized. And then the alternative of that is people saying that I don’t want to

Slow start to back-to-school season for Park vendors

By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net

SOME RM Bailey Park vendors are experiencing less sales as the park’s association president reported a slower than normal back-to-school season.

Hoping for a better turnout with the passing of government payday, RM Bailey Park Association president, Karen Brown, said her stall is doing “OK” but not “great.” With vendors normally making their debut for the school season a month

Bahamas looks to boost trade with delegation Algeria-bound

By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) will lead a 30 business delegation to Algeria for the IntraAfrican Trade Fair set for September 4 through 10.

Having conducted outbound trade missions to India and China, and an inbound mission from Canada, BCCEC, in an effort to further trade diversification, is headed to Algeria for the Intra-African Trade Fair.

“So there are a number of members from the chamber, as well as the wider business community that have a keen interest in Africa, not only for export, but also for import,” BCCEC CEO Dr Leo Rolle said. “And so what the chamber did was working with the Afreximbank (African Export-Import Bank) as well as the Caribbean Export Development Agency, early in the year, they advised us of an IntraAfrican Trade Fair, or IAF, which allowed for vendors in a number of industries, whether it be construction, food and beverage, textiles. There are a number of different variables and industries that will be showcasing at this particular fair. And so we thought it fitting to provide an opportunity for our members to further diversify- especially

with the looming threat of tariffs and the increased cost of shipping and logistics- where they can import goods and services from.”

With participating delegates from a number of industries including, construction, fashion, food and beverage, mineral oils, health and beauty and education, Dr Rolle noted that the missions are “not Nassau centric” and Chamber members from the family Islands are also afforded the opportunity to take part. While offered a showcase booth at the fair which allows for business exposure to the African region and attendees from other parts of the world, Dr Rolle said members were encouraged to travel with business cards and other tools that would assist with business opportunities.

“Even beyond having a showcase booth, though, what we’ve encouraged our members who are traveling

before its opening, Ms Brown said vendors haven’t experienced much traffic as they are approaching their fourth week on the park.

“It’s slow,” she said. “It’s very slow in terms of what we’re used to in terms of people coming out and just buying. It’s just a last minute thing. That’s the biggest problem because everybody waiting until the last minute. And I guess it’s because of the state of the economy. People just don’t have the money. They will come, but they will come last minute. So that’s a challenge, because

if you out here the whole month, and you waiting for that rush of people to come out... It’s pay day and people are still just buying one, one . So that’s the big challenge. Even last year Christmas, we were saying, maybe we have to get together and do some radio ads, or bring in a live remote or something to bring the people here. But if the people don’t have any monies to come, they still won’t come.

“People were saying all week they were waiting on payday, so we’re kind of waiting to see what’s going to happen out there. So I

guess sales will start picking up from today. We had a few people come through yesterday, but for the most part, people were waiting on government payday.

“The economy and everything else is changing. So I guess, as a vendor, if you could make it, you would make it. If you can’t, you’ll just have to stop. Prices are going up and customers, some of them, are still trying to get items at the same price. We just trying to get through this

“It’s still a seller’s market,” say realtor, with “properties selling very quickly”

HOUSING - from page B1

deal with it at all, and I want to find an alternative place to live. While I might still operate a business here, I just don’t want to be in this environment. I think both of those bode well for the Bahamian economy,” said Mr Sweeting. Additionally, expectations of a US interest rate cut could serve as a catalyst for increased real estate activity in The Bahamas, particularly in the

discretionary and secondhome segments. “Within the last 24 hours, there’s indications that interest rates will go down in the US, which has been looming and talked about for quite some time. This bodes well for Bahamian real estate, as this is oftentimes a driver of interest in some discretionary spending, like Bahamian real estate,” said Mr Sweeting Lower borrowing costs in the U.S. tend to improve consumer liquidity and investment appetite,

especially among high-networth individuals who often look offshore for portfolio diversification. Historically, falling U.S. interest rates have correlated with spikes in interest from American buyers seeking vacation homes, second residences, or income-generating rental properties in The Bahamas. To position itself for growth in both the local and luxury markets, 1OAK Bahamas recently announced a strategic partnership with international real estate powerhouse

REMAX—one of the most globally recognized and trusted brands.

Mr Sweeting said the move represents a significant step for the locally focused firm, which until now has concentrated predominantly on residential properties marketed to Bahamians.

By aligning with REMAX, 1OAK Bahamas gains access to a vast international network and advanced marketing tools, positioning the company to attract high-net-worth

Environmentalists say reports misrepresents the viability of oil drilling in the

any new licenses, nor indicated an intention to do so,” said Mrs. McKinney-Lambert.

“The language in their report seems to be speculative and misleading, and downplays their outstanding debts to the Bahamian people.”

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Philip ‘Brave’ Davis acknowledged receiving an inquiry from CEG

and indicated he was willing to engage in discussions.

“They wish to come and meet with me. I’m open to meeting with them to discuss the way forward,” said Mr. Davis.

Environmental groups argue that such discussions must be weighed against the potential ecological fallout.

Ms Ferguson emphasized that the implications of resuming exploration go far beyond the local industry.

“In terms of ongoing talks, the Prime Minister

country

indicated publicly in April that he was open to meeting with Challenger Energy Group to discuss ‘the way forward.’ If Challenger Energy were successful in any bid to revive oil drilling in The Bahamas, the environmental risks would be severe,” said Ms. Ferguson. She explained that The Bahamas, as a small island nation on the frontlines of the climate crisis, is already experiencing the effects of stronger hurricanes, rising

sea levels, and degrading marine ecosystems.

“Oil drilling here would bring significant risks on multiple fronts,” she said. “A spill — even a single incident — could devastate our coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds, which are essential to our fisheries, coastal protection, and tourism economy.”

She added that pursuing fossil fuel extraction directly contradicts The Bahamas’ national climate commitments and global

buyers from North America, Europe, and other key global markets.

“We think that our partnership with REMAX is going to bring us a little bit more reach in terms of buyer interest, but also now give us opportunity to offer global exposure to sellers of Bahamian luxury real estate, so that we could represent them,” said Mr Sweeting.

“Another driver behind this decision is we wanted to offer our clients greater exposure. REMAX boasts 140,000 agents globally and the largest sales globally by transaction side. They’re voted the most trusted agents within the United States of America

responsibility to move away from oil.

“Our economy is built on tourism and the health of our marine ecosystems. Oil development would jeopardize that for the sake of an industry that has already proven unsuccessful in Bahamian waters,” she noted.

“There’s also a reputational risk — The Bahamas has positioned itself as a climate leader. Allowing new oil exploration would undermine that leadership and damage our global credibility.”

OIOF called it “deeply troubling” that CEG continues to list The Bahamas as part of its future business

and Canada and we wanted to partner our brand with an agency that that prioritized empathy, trust, professionalism.” He said the company is also focused on scaling its operations significantly the agency and has set aggressive growth targets for the coming year.

“In an effort to offer a more exceptional service, we wanted to give our agents the resources needed to give the great service, a great product and to offer a great product to the local market as well. We currently around 18 agents with ambitions to quadruple our agent count and volume by next year,” said Mr Sweeting.

strategy, despite lacking any current legal standing in the country. The coalition warned that any renewed efforts to revive drilling would come at an unacceptable cost to the environment and the economy.

“The Bahamas is a small island nation on the frontlines of sea level rise, intensifying hurricanes, and ecological degradation. Any renewed push for oil exploration in our waters directly contradicts our nation’s climate commitments and poses irreversible risks to our economy, marine life, and fishing and tourism industries,” said OIOF.

to do, is to travel with your business cards, travel with your profiles, travel with your website QR codes, travel with perhaps your product guide or your profile guide, so as you’re speaking to these vendors or these manufacturers, you can then look for opportunities, one for direct access to funding, because there is an opportunity for an investor segment, but also a direct opportunity for persons to import from The Bahamas directly by virtue of getting to meet you, getting to see your products and services, having that on the ground, touch point, having those B to B meetings,” Dr Rolle said. “And so we’re encouraging members, even without the expo booth, to ensure that they connect and have samples, et cetera, ready, so that they can enthrall members and through all the buying public at the event, or even investors as we’re there.” Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered for 14 members as hosted buyers.

“They look at a number of aspects. They look at the amount of your turnover. They look at whether or not you’re already doing business with Africa. They look at your import as well

as your export. They look at your social media or your online presence. They look at the nature of the business, your industry, and then they make a determination as to whether or not you fit the profile of what they consider a hosted buyer. 14 of our members have been a hosted buyer, and they were able to get both their travel and accommodations covered, and then the remainder, self sponsored.”

The trade missions are fruitful and reciprocal, allowing for direct access to the source, according to Dr Rolle.

“And what that means is the goods may be made somewhere else, like Santo Domingo for construction products, etc, and then they are exported to the US, and we import them from the US,” he said. “And so by breaking that barrier and going directly to the source, we’ve been able to secure goods and services at a much reduced rate. And the shipping logistics has worked well, because on all of these missions, we take a shipping and logistics person so that while they’re on the ground, they can make connections and make a determination as to how these goods and services will get into country from this region.

“We’re happy to note that from the African continent, we have CLX logistics, which is one of our Chamber members who already has a satellite office in Ghana, and so

it’s just a matter of getting the products to the Bahamas once we would have secured some level of reciprocal trade arrangement. But yes, these missions are important, because what they do is, as I said, they allow for us to bring our members to kind of make the world smaller and make trading easier, such that we become the bridge for our members to get these goods and services from these jurisdictions.”

BCCEC is working with the Chinese Embassy to curate another mission to China for the Yiwu and the Canton fairs. Dr Rolle said one fair is in September and the other is in October. He noted another trade fair set to be held in Dubai in November and that the BCCEC is working with the organizers to confirm that its members can take part.

“But beyond that,” he added, “we note that there are a number of entities and organizations that have reached out to us from across the water expressing an interest. So we know that Namibia has asks us to come. We know that London, the UK region, has asks us to come. We note that South America has been asking us, and we’ve been working with Copa and other airlines, so looking for opportunities to come. And of course, we continue reciprocal trade with the US, and looking to see where there are linkages with perhaps us chambers that can assist us with procuring goods and services for our members at a reduced rate. So we have been strategic about our push towards international trade this year, and you’ve seen that, and that will continue in the years to come.

People just don’t have the money, says park president Karen Brown

VENDORS - from page B1

season, and then it’s Christmas. So there’s a next big headache.”

She noted that vendors struggling more than others, are possibly selling items that aren’t consistent with current trends.

“For those vendors who are complaining, now you have to keep up with the trends,” she said. “So if you’re not up to date and keeping up with the trends of what the kids want, or even the items, what people want, then you find it harder to make a dollar. If you coming with the same old stuff... Like I say I didn’t have no problem. But I had to get what the kids wantSprayground, the Nike, Kipling and stuff like that. So you have to really watch the trend and try to keep up with what the people want. So people who have what they want, and the Tommy and stuff, you still making your money.

“The kids want certain things, even down to the clothing. They want Hanes. They don’t want Kohana. It’s according to what you have. They want the cotton shirts. They don’t want the

regular shirts. So if you selling an item and you’re not selling them what they want, then it’s difficult for you to make a dollar.”

Ms Brown also spoke to the challenges of rising costs in the states adding that some US based stores no longer have a surplus of items as they are watching how they spend.

“The challenge is, it’s not easy to get the stuff what they want,” she said. “We have vendors of all different sorts, because we have people out here with businesses. We have people out here who maybe this is their only thing they do to provide for their families. And a lot of them fall in that category. And we have some people out here who go to a nine to five, and they use this as a second income. So we have a variety of people out there. So you’ll find you have domination with the people who probably own businesses and stuff. We have some people who work [in] the straw market and stuff in here too. So if you don’t have the right hookup, or if you can’t get to somewhere else, Panama, China, or something like

that... because the things, what they want you, you can’t really always find in the US. So it’s a challenge for some people. I mean, you can get it, but what is it going to cost you?”

“Even in the [US] local stores, all the Walmart and Target and stuff where we purchase from, all of those places have gone up. What we find a lot this year or what they are telling you is that, we didn’t order so much as we did before. So they are ordering mess. And so it’s hard for you to even find the goods. Customers come out here and say, ‘I just came from away last night’ or ‘I just got in and I can find anything in the US.’ They had to come out here to shop but a lot of the stuff you could have gotten it was hard to get them. Or if you got it, they say, “we out of stock’ or ‘we only have the size left’. Because they didn’t order the surplus what they used to ordering when the people come and buy, when it’s finished, it’s finished. And so they are being careful with their spending so they don’t have the overage. So it was just hard to find certain stuff.”

TRUMP FIRES DEMOCRATIC MEMBER OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD AHEAD OF HUGE RAIL MERGER DECISION

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer

PRESIDENT Donald

Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie before the body considers the largest railroad merger ever proposed.

Board member Robert E. Primus said on LinkedIn that he received an email from the White House Wednesday night terminating the position he has held since he was appointed by Trump in his first term. The vacancy would allow Trump to appoint two additional Republicans to the board before its decision on the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger though the Senate would have to confirm them.

Primus was the only board member to oppose Canadian Pacific's acquisition of Kansas City Southern railroad when it was approved two years ago because he was concerned it would hurt competition. He was named Board chairman last year by former President Joe Biden and led the board until Trump, after his election, elevated Board member Patrick Fuchs to Chairman.

This follows Trump's previous firings of board members at the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Reserve, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which are all supposed to be independent agencies.

"Robert Primus did not align with the President's America First agenda, and was terminated from his position by the White House," White House spokesman Kush Desai said. "The administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order."

Primus said he doesn't think the firing is valid because the White House didn't offer any cause for it, and he plans to fight. He also rejected their explanation for the move because he has long tried to encourage railroads to serve every industry better and help them grow, but he has already been removed from the STB website.

"I've been pro growth across the board in terms of encouraging growth in the freight rail network, which in turn will grow our national economy. So if

that's not being in line with America first, then I don't know what America he's saying is first," Primus said to The Associated Press. He said the firings at all these agencies threaten their independence and credibility. Primus said in his tenure the STB always strove to be impartial and apolitical.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who serves on the Commerce Committee, said it's clear that "Donald Trump is trying to stack the deck so the federal government rubberstamps the merger as a huge favor for Wall Street and wealthy railroad owners." She said Primus has been a fair regulator who worked hard to make sure railroads delivered for their customers and focused on safety.

Every rail worker union and the nonprofit Rail Passengers Association also quickly condemned the firing.

The board is set to consider Union Pacific's $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern in the next two years before deciding whether to approve the nation's first transcontinental railroad and reduce the number of major freight railroads in the U.S. to five.

Website forced to close as Italian women fight back against unauthorized online image sharing

By GIADA ZAMPANO Associated Press

AN internet site which showed photos of thousands of Italian women without their consent and attracted obscene and explicit comments was forced to shut down on Thursday after a backlash.

The site, which featured prominent women, including Premier Giorgia Meloni and European Parliament member Alessandra Moretti, also included posts which idealized violence against women.

The online forum, which took its name from slang for female genitalia, has been around for at least two decades but it only drew national attention after Moretti formally lodged a complaint with police after finding her photo displayed without her permission.

It displayed unauthorized photos and videos of hundreds of public figures, along with unsuspecting actresses, influencers and ordinary women. The images were often lifted from TV or social media profiles. It counted 200,000 users and displayed pictures identified by names or certain themes.

"They have been stealing photos and clips from TV shows I've appeared on for years, then altering them and feeding them to thousands of users," Moretti said.

She said the site was among many that operate "with impunity" even though previous complaints have been filed against them.

"This type of site, which incites rape and violence, must be shut down and banned," she said.

Following the comments by Moretti, and complaints by dozens of other women, the site's administrators posted an online statement on Thursday saying "with great regret" it was being shut down.

They attributed the "toxic behaviors" to a "wrong use of the platform, which damaged its original spirit."

Italian women, from ordinary workers and housewives to top politicians, are fighting back against a proliferation of websites displaying their photos without their consent, often accompanied by obscene language.

Their efforts gained national prominence when activists earlier this summer denounced a Facebook page dubbed "Mia Moglie" ("My Wife"), where men posted unauthorized photos of their spouses and succeeded in getting it taken down.

Some men said their wives had agreed to their images being posted, but no female comments were visible on the site.

Experts said websites that display images of women without their consent were "the other face" of physical and sexual violence.

"Digital tools became not only a way for men to exercise control over women, but are increasingly used to offend, humiliate and attack them," Sabrina Frasca, activist with antiviolence group Differenza

Donna, told The Associated Press.

"Mia Moglie," had around 32,000 members before it was shut down last week by Facebook -owner Meta, which said it acted against the site "for violating our adult sexual exploitation policies."

Italy has been struggling with how to prevent and address gender-based violence, as femicides — the killing of women because of their gender — has emerged as a systemic problem deeply rooted in Italy's patriarchal culture.

A series of violent incidents has reignited national debate over how to confront these crimes.

"Women have always been the arena on which men challenge each other and measure their virility," said feminist author and activist Carolina Capria. "It's a game in which women are merely a commodity that adds value to the man who possesses them."

Italy's government approved a draft law in March that for the first time introduces the legal definition of femicide into the country's criminal law and punishes it with life imprisonment. The bill still needs final approval in the lower house to become law.

While the center-left opposition welcomed the move, it stressed that the new law only tackles the criminal aspect of the problem, while leaving economic, educational and cultural sources of misogyny unaddressed.

AVERAGE RATE ON A 30YEAR MORTGAGE SLIPS TO 10-MONTH LOW

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

THE average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage slipped this week to its lowest level in 10 months, but remains close to where it's been in recent weeks.

The long-term rate eased to 6.56% from 6.58% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.35%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, were unchanged from last week. The average rate held steady at 5.69%. A year ago, it was 5.51%, Freddie Mac said.

Elevated mortgage rates have added to a slump in the U.S. housing market that began in early 2022, when rates began climbing from pandemic lows.

For much of the year, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has hovered relatively close to its 2025 high of just above 7%, set in mid-January. It's has mostly trended lower six weeks in a row and is now at the lowest level since Oct. 24, when it averaged 6.54%.

The recent downward trend in mortgage rates bodes well for prospective homebuyers who have been held back by stubbornly high home financing costs. But it has yet to translate into a turnaround for home sales, which have remained sluggish this year after

sinking in 2024 to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

Economists generally expect the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain near the mid-6% range this year.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors' expectations for the economy and inflation.

The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The yield was at 4.21% at midday Thursday, down from 4.24% late Wednesday.

The yield has been mostly easing since mid-July as bond traders weighed data on inflation, the job market and how the potential economic impact of the Trump administration's tariffs may influence the Fed's interest rate policy moves.

In a high-profile speech last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank may cut rates soon even as inflation risks remain elevated.

Powell noted that there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation, and suggested that with hiring sluggish, the job market could weaken further. That could warrant the Fed adjusting its "policy stance," he said.

The central bank has so far been hesitant to cut interest rates out of fear that Trump's tariffs could

push inflation higher, but data showing hiring slowed last month have fueled speculation that the Fed will cut its main short-term interest rate next month.

The Fed doesn't set mortgage rates. And while a Fed rate cut could give the job market and overall economy a boost, it could also fuel inflation. That could push bond yields higher, driving mortgage rates upward in turn.

"While the Fed is likely to cut interest rates at their September meeting, it is not at all certain that mortgage rates are going to come down," said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. "As a result, buyers and sellers are still going to be cautious and the market could remain gridlocked this fall."

New data on contract signings suggest home sales could remain sluggish in the near term.

A seasonally adjusted index of pending U.S. home sales fell 0.4% in July from the previous month, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Pending home sales rose 0.7% from July last year. There's usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a bellwether for future completed home sales.

BRAZIL’S CRACKDOWN ON CRIMINAL LINKS TO FUEL SUPPLY CHAIN NETS $220M IN ASSETS

By GABRIELA

SÁ PESSOA Associated Press

BRAZIL on Thursday

said it seized 1.2 billion reais (about $220 million) in assets linked to a sprawling criminal network as part of a nationwide investigation into a money laundering scheme involving investment funds and the fuel sector.

Officials executed 14 search and seizure warrants and 14 preventive arrest warrants, resulting in five arrests, in what Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said was one of the largest operations against organized crime in the country's history.

Federal authorities did not name any individuals or companies targeted, citing sealed and ongoing investigations. However, state prosecutors in Sao Paulo, who contributed to the operation, said the scheme involved members of the First Capital Command crime syndicate, or PCC. Lewandowski said: "This operation addresses how criminal organizations

have infiltrated and appropriated parts of the fuel industry, and how this connects to the financial sector through money laundering schemes."

Later in the day, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on X the operation was "the largest response by the Brazilian State to organized crime in our history so far."

"Our commitment is to protect citizens and consumers; to cut off the flow of illicit money, recover resources for public coffers, and ensure a fair and transparent fuel market, with quality and fair competition," Lula said.

Authorities identified 40 investment funds with a combined asset value of 30 billion reais (about $5.5 billion). These funds were allegedly used to shield assets for criminal organizations, holding properties such as a port terminal, four ethanol plants and about 1,000 gas stations across 10 Brazilian states.

"People know how it has worked, but it took a national effort to reach

the heart of the problem and be able to confront it," Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told journalists.

Andrea Chaves, deputy secretary for tax enforcement at the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, said the investigation highlighted the "extremely serious" infiltration of organized crime into the real economy and financial markets.

"This affects the entire supply chain — from fuel importation, production, distribution and commercialization," Chaves said.

Sao Paulo's State Public Prosecutor's Office said its investigation found that criminal organizations used adulterated fuel at more than 300 gas stations to launder illegal money through a complex network of intermediaries, including shell companies, investment funds and payment institutions.

"A significant portion of the unbacked funds was used to acquire ethanol plants and expand the group's criminal operations, which now include fuel

distributors, transport companies and gas stations," prosecutors said.

The fraud also involved irregular imports of methanol through the Port of Paranagua, in Parana state. The methanol was not delivered to the recipients listed on invoices but instead sent to gas stations and distributors, where it was used to adulterate fuel.

Consumers allegedly were overcharged, receiving less actual fuel than indicated by the pumps, or received substandard fuel, prosecutors said.

Nívio Nascimento, a foreign relations adviser at the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety — an independent group that tracks crime — said the operation marked a milestone in combating the infiltration of strategic sectors of Brazil's economy by criminal organizations.

"Enforcement still needs to be expanded, considering the centrality of these economic sectors — fuel, beverages, cigarettes and several other items — that have been appropriated by criminal organizations,"

Nascimento told The Associated Press. PCC is Brazil's biggest and most powerful organized crime group. It was founded in 1993 by hardened criminals inside Sao Paulo's Taubate Penitentiary to pressure authorities to improve prison conditions. It quickly started using its power to direct drug dealing and extortion operations on the outside. Over the past few years, the gang has diversified their investment portfolios into various illicit markets.

UK, FRANCE AND GERMANY INITIATE ‘SNAPBACK’ SANCTIONS ON IRAN OVER STATUS OF NUCLEAR PROGRAM

By FARNOUSH AMIRI, JON GAMBRELL and STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN Associated Press

FRANCE, Germany and the United Kingdom moved Thursday to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further isolating Tehran after its atomic sites were repeatedly bombed during a 12-day war with Israel.

The process, termed a "snapback" by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the U.N. and could take effect in a month.

It would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of Iran's ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country's reeling economy.

The move starts a 30-day clock for sanctions to return, a period that likely will see intensified diplomacy from Iran, whose refusal to cooperate with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, started the crisis. Iran will also probably emerge as a top focus of the U.N. General Assembly when it meets next month in New York.

The British, French and German foreign ministers suggested that they viewed the snapback as a way to spur negotiations with Tehran.

"This measure does not signal the end of diplomacy: we are determined to make the most of the 30-day period that is now opening to engage in dialogue with Iran," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on the social platform X.

But Iran immediately decried the move, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying it was "unjustified" and "lacking any legal basis" in a call with his European counterparts.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will respond appropriately to this unlawful and unwarranted measure," he said. Hours later, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the move by the European countries will "gravely undermine" its ongoing cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.

In the past, Iran has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, potentially following North Korea, which abandoned the treaty in 2003 and then built atomic weapons.

Europeans warned Iran about return of sanctions

The three European nations warned Aug. 8 that Iran could trigger the snapback when it halted inspections by the IAEA after Israeli strikes at the start of the two countries' 12-day war in June. The Israeli attacks killed Tehran's top military leaders and chased Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei into hiding. The European nations triggered the sanctions

process through a letter to the U.N. Security Council. France and the U.K. also requested that the 15-member council hold closed consultations Friday to discuss Iran's noncompliance, according to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss still-private information.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the Europeans' decision and said America "remains available for direct engagement with Iran." "Snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy; it only enhances it," Rubio said in a statement.

Using the snapback mechanism will likely heighten tensions between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the IsraelHamas war in the Gaza Strip. As the measure was announced, Israel launched strikes targeting Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"Iranian leaders perceive a sanctions 'snapback' as a Western effort to weaken Iran's economy indefinitely and perhaps stimulate sufficient popular unrest to unseat Iran's regime," the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Thursday.

Iran appears resigned

After Europe's warning, Iran initially downplayed the threat of renewed sanctions and engaged in little visible diplomacy for weeks, but it did take part in a brief diplomatic push in recent days, highlighting the chaos gripping its theocracy.

In Tehran on Thursday, Iran's rial currency traded at over 1 million to $1. At the time of the 2015 accord, it traded at 32,000 to $1, showing the currency's precipitous collapse over the last decade.

Outside a currency shop in Tehran, resident Arman Vasheghani Farahani told The Associated Press that "many of us feel a deep sense of uncertainty and desperation" over the currency collapse sparked by the nuclear tensions.

"Should we keep trying, or is it time to give up? And how long will this situation last?" he asked. "No official seems willing to take responsibility for what's happening."

At issue is Iran's nuclear enrichment

Before the war in June, Iran was enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. It also built a stockpile containing enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple atomic bombs, should it choose to do so.

Disputed ballots could swing outcome of union election at EV battery complex in Kentucky

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press

AN ELECTION to determine whether workers unionize an electric vehicle battery manufacturing complex in Kentucky is in limbo Thursday due to a few dozen disputed ballots that could swing the outcome.

The United Auto Workers claimed it secured a narrow victory at the BlueOval SK battery park after the two-day vote that ended Wednesday. Yet the outcome ultimately could depend on 41 challenged ballots that the UAW contended were "illegitimate" and should not be counted.

The company urged the National Labor Relations Board, which ran the election, to count each eligible vote because "every voice matters."

The UAW is hoping to gain another victory at the BlueOval SK complex to expand its foothold in the South and at battery factories that will power the next wave of EVs. Unions have struggled to establish a foothold in the South, where organized labor is much weaker, but the UAW has made inroads.

The election occurred about a week after production began at the sprawling EV battery complex, a nearly $6 billion joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and its South Korean partner, SK On. Batteries from this plant will power the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup and its EV cargo van, the E-Transit.

The tally was 526 votes for the union and 515 against union representation, the NLRB said Thursday, plus the 41 challenged ballots that it said were sufficient to affect the results. The NLRB will review whether those disputed ballots will be counted.

"We believe they are illegitimate and represent nothing more than an employer tactic to flood the unit and undermine the outcome," the UAW said in a statement. "We will fight these challenges to defend the democratic choices of these workers, as we always

do when corporations try to interfere with workers' democratic choice."

The union said that those casting the challenged ballots "are not part of the group of workers who built their union from the bottom up. They deserve to have their own union, in an appropriate bargaining unit with a representative of their own choosing."

Gov. Andy Beshear says the battery park that sprung up in Glendale — a community of around 2,000 residents an hour south of Louisville — is the single largest economic investment in Kentucky's history. The complex includes two manufacturing plants but production has started at just one of them.

Touting himself as pro-union, Beshear said Thursday that if the complex "ends up being a union facility, I think what the company's going to see is that union workers are some of the best workers. And the ability to attract even more workers will be a positive in the long term for BlueOval." The secondterm Democratic governor is seen as a potential White House contender in 2028.

Those eligible to vote in the union election included all full-time and part-time production and maintenance workers employed at BlueOval SK's Glendale facility during the payroll period ending July 26, the NLRB had said.

Challenged ballots could include safety emergency response staff at the plant. Their eligibility was not determined when the NLRB directed the election. They could vote but their ballots would be challenged with their eligibility resolved afterward, the NLRB said before the election.

Along with pocketbook matters, on-the-job-safety surfaced as a key issue in the campaign. The company says workplace safety is its top priority.

Organized labor has made inroads in the South in places that are not too different from BlueOval.

venture electric vehicle battery plant

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LERESTE CINEAS of Marathron Road, Nassau, The Bahamas, is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration/ Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of August 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

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NOTICE is hereby given that CLAUVINCE FLEURY of Freeport, Grand Bahama, 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 29th day of August 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

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NOTICE is hereby given that LEON BLAIWESS of #878 West Bay Street, 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 22nd day of August 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

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NOTICE is hereby given that WISLER JOSEPH of P.O.Box N-1329 Carmichael Road, Island Drive, 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 29th day of August 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

in Spring Hill, Tennessee, joined the union. Workers at a Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, also voted to unionize. In Ohio, workers at another GM joint venture electric vehicle battery factory voted to join the UAW.

The union lost an organizing vote at two Mercedes factories in Alabama last year.

Domestic EV battery production is ramping up as the push toward electrification of the auto industry reaches a crossroads and as Chinese automakers expand across the globe, offering affordable electric vehicles.

Despite the unwinding by President Donald Trump of incentives meant to juice electric vehicles sales, the transition by Big Detroit automakers from internal combustion engines to electric is happening. Trump's massive tax and spending law targets EV incentives, including the imminent removal of a credit that saves buyers up to $7,500 on a new electric car.

Ford recently said it will invest nearly $2 billion retooling a Louisville, Kentucky, plant to produce electric vehicles that it says will be more affordable, more profitable to build and will outcompete rival models.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that SHANAY MICHEL, of #22 Chippingham New Providence, The Bahamas  is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration/Naturalization, as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of August 2025 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Stocks add a bit to their records on Wall Street

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

Wall Street notched more milestones Thursday after gains in technology stocks helped push the market to another all-time high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, lifting the benchmark index to its second record high in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reversed an early slide and gained 0.2%, enough to move past its record high set last Friday.

The Nasdaq composite closed 0.5% higher, finishing just short of its all-time high set two weeks ago.

About 55% of the companies in the benchmark S&P 500 closed lower, but gains in the technology and communication services sectors offset losses elsewhere in the market. Broadcom rose 2.8%, Amazon added 1.1% and Google parent Alphabet finished 2% higher.

"We're seeing a continuation of a theme that has been in place really all year long, and that is communication services, information technology, really the areas that are surrounding this incredible capital expenditure cycle, have been the primary beneficiaries," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Asset Management.

Heading into the final day of trading in August, the S&P 500 and Dow were on pace for their fourth straight monthly gain, while the Nasdaq was closing in on its fifth.

The market's latest gains came as traders pored over a mixed batch of earnings reports from big U.S. companies and new reports on the job market and U.S. economy.

Tech giant Nvidia fell 0.8% a day after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street analysts' forecasts, though

the company noted that sales of its artificial intelligence chipsets rose at a slower pace than analysts anticipated. Investors consider Nvidia a barometer for the strength of the boom in artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology. Its heavy weighting also gives Nvidia outsized influence as a bellwether for the broader market. Shares in several retailers fell following their latest quarterly results. Best Buy dropped 3.7% after the consumer electronics chain's second-quarter snapshot was overshadowed by an outlook clouded due to the tariffs the U.S. is imposing on trading partners.

Despite also posting better-than-expected quarterly results, Urban Outfitters slid 10.7% after the retailer warned that it expects tariffs will increase pressure

on its gross margins in the second half of the year.

Dick's Sporting Goods fell 4.8% despite reporting second-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations.

Victoria's Secret & Co. gave up an early gain and closed 0.5% lower.

Burlington Stores bucked the trend. The retail chain climbed 5.3% after its latest earnings topped analysts' estimates.

Elsewhere in the market, Spam maker Hormel sank 13.1% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 companies after its earnings

fell short of Wall Street's forecasts and the company cut its outlook for the year.

Traders also had their eye on new government reports on the job market and economy. The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, the latest sign that employers are holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed.

The most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply since this spring. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department

reported that U.S. gross domestic product —- the nation's output of goods and services — grew at a 3.3% annual pace in the April-June quarter after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of this year due to the fallout from the Trump administration's trade wars.

"The GDP print reinforces the fact that this continues to be an economy, domestically, that is continuing to show a great deal of resilience in terms of producing economic growth," Northey said.

MARINE FORECAST

Mystery surrounds $1.2 billion Army contract to build huge detention tent camp in Texas desert

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

WHEN President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion to build and operate what it says will become the nation's largest immigration detention complex, it didn't turn to a large government contractor or even a firm that specializes in private prisons.

Instead, it handed the project on a military base to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a small business that has no listed experience running a correction facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million. The company also lacks a functioning website and lists as its address a modest home in suburban Virginia owned by a 77-year-old retired Navy flight officer.

The mystery over the award only deepened last week as the new facility began to accept its first detainees. The Pentagon has refused to release the contract or explain why it selected Acquisition Logistics over a dozen other bidders to build the massive tent camp at Fort Bliss in West Texas. At least one competitor has filed a complaint.

The secretive — and brisk — contracting process is emblematic, experts said, of the government's broader rush to fulfill the Republican president's pledge to arrest and deport an estimated 10 million migrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. As part of that push, the government is turning increasingly to the military to handle tasks that had traditionally been left to civilian agencies.

A member of Congress who recently toured the camp said she was concerned that such a small and inexperienced firm had been entrusted to build and run a facility expected to house up to 5,000 migrants.

"It's far too easy for standards to slip," said Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes Fort Bliss. "Private facilities far too frequently operate with a profit margin in mind as opposed to a governmental facility."

Attorney Joshua Schnell, who specializes in federal contracting law, said he was troubled that the Trump administration has provided so little information about the facility.

"The lack of transparency about this contract leads to legitimate questions about why the Army would award such a large contract to a company without a website or any other publicly available information demonstrating its ability to perform such a complicated project," he said.

Ken A. Wagner, the president and CEO of Acquisition Logistics, did not respond to phone messages or emails. No one answered the door at his three-bedroom house listed as his company's headquarters. Virginia records list Wagner as an owner of the business, though it's unclear whether he might have partners.

Army declines to release contract

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved using Fort Bliss for the new detention center, and the administration has hopes to build more at other bases. A spokesperson for the Army declined to discuss its deal with Acquisition Logistics or reveal details about the camp's construction, citing the litigation over the company's qualifications.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined for three weeks to answer questions about the detention camp it oversees. After this story was published Thursday, the department's spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, issued a statement that said "under President Trump's leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people's mandate for mass

deportations of criminal illegal aliens."

She said the Fort Bliss facility "will offer everything a traditional ICE detention facility offers, including access to legal representation and a law library, access to visitation, recreational space, medical treatment space and nutritionally balanced meals."

Named Camp East Montana for the closest road, the facility is being built in the sand and scrub Chihuahuan Desert, where summertime temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit and heat-related deaths are common. The 60-acre (24-hectare) site is near the U.S.-Mexico border and the El Paso International Airport, a key hub for deportation flights.

The camp has drawn comparisons to "Alligator Alcatraz," a $245 million tent complex erected to hold ICE detainees in the Florida Everglades. That facility has been the subject of complaints about unsanitary conditions and lawsuits.

A federal judge recently ordered that facility to be shut down.

The vast majority of the roughly 57,000 migrants detained by ICE are housed at private prisons operated by companies like Florida's Geo Group and Tennessee-based CoreCivic. As those facilities fill up, ICE is also exploring temporary options at military bases in California, New York and Utah.

At Fort Bliss, construction began within days of the Army issuing the contract on July 18. Site work began months earlier, before Congress had passed Trump's big tax and spending cuts bill, which includes a record $45 billion for immigration enforcement.

The Defense Department announcement specified only that the Army was financing the initial $232 million for the first 1,000 beds at the complex.

Three white tents, each about 810 feet (250 meters) long, have been erected, according to satellite imagery examined by The Associated Press. A half dozen smaller buildings surround them.

Setareh Ghandehari, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Detention Watch, said the use of military bases hearkens back to World War II, when Japanese Americans were imprisoned at Army camps including Fort Bliss. She said military facilities are especially prone to abuse and neglect because families and loved ones have difficulty accessing them.

"Conditions at all detention facilities are inherently awful," Ghandehari said. "But when there's less access and oversight, it creates the potential for even more abuse."

Company will be responsible for security

A June 9 solicitation notice for the Fort Bliss project specified the contractor will be responsible for building and operating the detention center, including providing security and medical care. The document also requires strict secrecy, ordering the contractor inform ICE to respond to any calls from members of Congress or the news media.

The bidding was open only to small firms such as Acquisition Logistics, which receives preferential status because it's classified as a veteran and Hispanicowned small disadvantaged business.

Though Trump's administration has fought to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs, federal contracting rules include set-asides for small businesses owned by women or minorities. For a firm to compete for such contracts, at least 51% of it must be owned by people belonging to a federally designated disadvantaged racial or ethnic group.

One of the losing bidders, Texas-based Gemini Tech Services, filed a protest challenging the award and the Army's rushed construction timeline with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress'

independent oversight arm that resolves such disputes.

Gemini alleges Acquisition Logistics lacks the experience, staffing and resources to perform the work, according to a person familiar with the complaint who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Acquisition

Logistics' past jobs include repairing small boats for the Air Force, providing information technology support to the Defense Department and building temporary offices to aid with immigration enforcement, federal records show.

Gemini and its lawyer didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

A ruling by the GAO on whether to sustain, dismiss or require corrective action is not expected before November. A legal appeal is also pending with a U.S. federal court in Washington.

A judge in that case denied a motion that sought to freeze construction at the site at a sealed hearing Thursday.

THIS Aug. 7, 2025, satellite image shows construction of large white tents for a new immigrant detention center at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army base outside El Paso, Texas. When completed, the $1.2 billion facility is expected to hold up to 5,000 migrants awaiting deportation and will be the largest such facility in the United States.

Schnell, the contracting lawyer, said Acquisitions Logistics may be working with a larger company. Geo Group Inc. and CoreCivic Corp., the nation's biggest for-profit prison operators, have expressed interest in contracting with the Pentagon to house migrants.

In an earnings call this month, Geo Group CEO George Zoley said his company had teamed up with an established Pentagon contractor. Zoley didn't name the company, and Geo Group didn't respond to repeated requests asking with whom it had partnered. A spokesperson for CoreCivic said it wasn't partnering with Acquisition Logistics or Gemini.