October 29, 2012 (AP) — A cable and Internet provider in the Bahamas says it is planning to expand to the nearby U.S. state of Florida.

Cable Bahamas Ltd. says a $65 million deal would give the Nassau-based company access to millions of potential customers in Florida. The deal is subject to pending financing and regulatory approvals. It would involve the acquisition of three privately-owned telecoms in Florida.

CEO Anthony Butler says the company would offer Internet, cable TV and telephone services to Florida residents. He said Sunday that the company’s growth has been “constrained by the size of the market in the Bahamas” so the Florida deal would be a major boon for the business.

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10/29/2012 (Forbes) — U.S. stock and options markets will shut down today as Hurricane Sandy drenches Manhattan.

Originally, the NYSE hoped to shift trading to its electronic NYSE Arca exchange, which is not based near New York. The Nasdaq, already an electronic platform, had intended to stay open as well. The decisions came just before midnight on the East Coast, and officials say they later today will make a decision about whether to stay closed tomorrow.

The shuttering of the two exchanges will halt U.S. stock trading and mark an unusual occurrence; significantly, the move to Arca would have meant the first time that the NYSE operated as an all-electronic exchange. It is the first time in 27 years, for example, that the NYSE will stay closed for weather. The NYSE opened the day after Tropical Storm Irene’s Sunday arrival last year: This time, the major difference is that Hurricane Sandy will hit on a Monday, and transportation will stay offline, a NYSE spokesman told FORBES.

This is an excerpt from Forbes as it appeared on October 29, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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NASSAU, Bahamas, Oct. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Hurricane Sandy continues its exit from Bahamian waters. In Nassau/Paradise Island the Lynden Pindling International Airport opened Thursday afternoon, as have hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues accommodating many guests including those who began arriving Thursday night.

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NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) today announced that it will release its third quarter 2012 results after the market closes on Thursday, November 1, 2012.

In conjunction with the release, the Company will host a conference call to review the quarter’s results on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 10:30AM Eastern time. The call will be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed at www.morganshotelgroup.com under the About Us, Investor Overview section. Participants should follow the instructions provided on the website for the download and installation of audio applications necessary to join the webcast.

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The U.S. Northeast from Washington to New England, including New York City, may be at risk from Hurricane Sandy by early next week.

Sandy, moving north toward the central Bahamas with winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour, may hit anywhere from the mid-Atlantic states starting Oct. 28 to southern New England later in the week, depending on the track it takes, said Gary Best, a meteorologist for Hometown Forecast Services Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire.

“A very complicated situation is going on right now,” Best said by telephone. “As it moves across the western Atlantic, it is going to encounter a dip in the jet stream. There will be a lot of energy coming in from the West and it may try to capture the storm and pull it into the U.S. coastline.”

Sandy crossed Jamaica yesterday and Cuba early today as it moved almost due north. The official hurricane center track shows it curving to the northeast into the Atlantic off Florida, then turning back to the north off North Carolina and nearing the coast of New Jersey on Oct. 30.

This is an excerpt from Businessweek as it appeared on October 25, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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The first heavy rains make landfall on New Providence earlier today as Hurricane Sandy heads towards Nassau.

Transportation and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin has said that the expansion of the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau is of vital importance to the Bahamas’ economy and social cohesion. Watch an address by Hanna-Martin at the opening ceremony of the new International Terminal.

HOLGUIN, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Sandy rumbled across mountainous eastern Cuba on Thursday as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rains and blistering winds that ripped the roofs off homes and damaged fragile coffee and tomato crops, but caused no known fatalities on the island.

Two people died elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Even as it pummeled Cuba’s rural eastern half, Sandy refused to lose intensity as storms normally do when they cross over land, raising fears that small mountain villages still unheard from might not have been ready for its wrath.

“It crossed the entire eastern region practically without losing intensity or structure,” said Jose Rubiera, the island’s chief meteorologist.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sandy emerged off Cuba’s northeast coast around dawn and was moving north at 18 mph (30 kph), with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph). It was expected to remain a hurricane as it moves through the Bahamas.

Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city near the eastern tip of the island, was spared the worst of the storm, which slammed into the provinces of Granma, Holguin and Las Tunas.

Some 5,000 tourists at beach resorts in Holguin were evacuated ahead of the storm, along with 10,200 residents, according to Cuban media. Another 3,000 people in low lying areas of Las Tunas were moved away before Sandy arrived.

State-run media said there was damage to coffee and tomato crops in Granma province but not as bad as had been feared.

Residents emerged from their homes early Thursday after a night without power, finding palm trees and some electric poles strewn across roads, blocking traffic.

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This is an excerpt from Businessweek as it appeared on October 25, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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The National Symposium on Tax Reform, scheduled to take place at The College of The Bahamas October 25 to October 26, 2012, has been postponed due to the progress of Hurricane Sandy. New dates for the two-day conference will be announced as soon as circumstances permit.

Latest reports are that Hurricane Sandy is expected to impact central Bahamas, including New Providence, by Thursday afternoon through Friday evening.