Citibank is celebrating its bicentenary this year and held a special reception event in Nassau December 4. Watch a ZNS news report here.
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SEATTLE, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Holland America Line, a leader in premium cruising, has earned top honors with eight 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards from Porthole Cruise Magazine, one of the world’s leading consumer cruise travel publications. The awards include Best Alaska Itineraries, Best Shore Excursions and Best Private Island for Half Moon Cay, the line’s exclusive island in the Bahamas.

Porthole Cruise Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards are determined by thousands of the publication’s readers who vote on their favorite cruise lines in a variety of categories.

“The readers of Porthole are discerning and well-traveled,” said Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief of the magazine, “and they appreciate the exceptional cruise experience both on board and ashore that Holland America Line continues to deliver on a consistent basis.”

Holland America Line’s 2012 Readers Choice Awards include: 
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For some perspective into the all-important banking sector, this chart presents the current trend of the KBW Bank Index. As the chart illustrates, banking stocks peaked back in early 2007, but the impact of an already weakening real estate market began to take its toll and banking stocks began to trend lower thereafter.

This is an excerpt from Chart of the Day as it appeared on December 5, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin assured Bahamians at a press conference December 3 that the oil spill off Grand Bahama earlier that same day is not likely to threaten the Bahamian environment.

Hanna-Martin said investigations into the leak from a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) vessel, The Eugenia, were being undertaken by marine environment inspectors, engineers, and port officials. The container vessel left Freeport harbour around 4.00 am December 3, en-route to the Everglades, with some 3,000 barrels of oil on board.

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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — The man who runs the resort that stages the Battle 4 Atlantis is ready to make his tournament the best of the preseason college events.

“This is the richest preseason tournament. Period,” said George Markantonis, President and Managing Director of the Atlantis megaresort. “Most tournaments don’t pay the schools anything. Nothing. Nada. All they do is give them a hotel room and their 22 seats of airfare. We knew there was no way we would be able to convince teams that it’s just better in the Bahamas, even if we got that NCAA exemption. There was no way we could just convert a ballroom into a basketball court and say: Trust us. So what you really need is a bit more firepower.”

This is an excerpt from The Washington Post as it appeared on December 5, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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OVERVIEW — Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Ltd. recently announced an agreement with Southern Cross Group that may result in a $220 million capital injection in the company.

— We are placing our ‘B-‘ issuer credit rating on Ultrapetrol on CreditWatch with developing implications. — We will resolve the CreditWatch placement as the uncertainties regarding the transaction’s closing dissipate and, if the transaction closes, when we have more information regarding the agreement’s impact on the company’s stakeholders.

This is an excerpt from Reuters as it appeared on December 4, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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A vessel has leaked oil in waters off the coast of Grand Bahama, but Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin says she is “comfortable in saying that the harbour and the environment are not at any risk.” Watch a ZNS news report here.
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Few locations boast quite the same “licence to thrill” credentials as the Bahamas. James Bond author Ian Fleming coaxed silver-tongued Sean Connery to the then little-known island paradise of New Providence in 1965 for the making of Thunderball, the fourth in the celebrated 007 film series. By 1970, word had leaked out about the barefoot luxury attributes of this 700-island archipelago, with a record one million sun-seekers jetting in to feel the sand between the toes for themselves.

These days however, it isn’t just a taste of the tropical high life that’s stoking investor interest in this former British colony located 180 miles off the Florida coast, but a favourable tax regime. The islands’ zero rate income tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax and VAT is clearly luring wealthy foreign investors looking to avoid spiralling tax burdens overseas.

This is an excerpt from The Telegraph as it appeared on December 4, 2012. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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New intellectual property (IP) legislation could give Freeport a welcome economic boost, and signal a rejuvenation of Grand Bahama’s manufacturing sector, according to the Ministry of Financial Services.

Acting Director of Trade & Industry in the Ministry of Financial Services Viana Gardiner said the Ministry has drawn up “a full onslaught of legislation” to bring The Bahamas up to date on regulation concerning patents, copyrights and trademarks and believes this level of protection will encourage international companies to base their operations in the country.

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The Ministry of Financial Services is set to introduce a raft of new intellectual property (IP) legislation that it says will help The Bahamas become an important trade hub, create opportunities for the country’s upcoming entrepreneurs and strengthen the economy.

According to Minister for Financial Services Ryan Pinder the final draft of the new “suite of IP legislation” is ready and the Ministry is poised to begin a consulation and education period, with input from the private sector.

The move to modernize the country’s IP system comes as The Bahamas continues its efforts to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO members must be a party to the TRIPS Agreement, which sets out IP policy.

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