With all the talks about drunk driving and sobriety tests has anyone stopped to consider that some other factor may have played a role in the fatal crash? What if the trio were being chased or what if they were forced off the road in a robbery attempt. This seem to be a common thing at nite where motorists are being robbed... Just saying.

Doesn't it appear more and more obvious that if Perry Christie and his high powered (but ill- advised team of lawyers and politicians) did not meddle in the affairs of Bah Mar, very much to the detriment of the resort and Izmiriland, Bah Mar would be up and running today? As more and more information comes out, there was obviously major problems with The China Construction Company. Its performance at Bh Mar was lacking, quite seriously. So much so that Bah Mar saw the need to file for bankruptcy and further to get CCC off the property. Out of the picture completely They had the information, Bah Mar had. and they realized that CCC, apparently did not have any urgency in getting the project completed, or at least not in a timely manner, or not completing the work to an acceptable standard. They called it sabotage and even suspected conspiracy between the lender and the contractor. Izmiraland and his team were on site and in the trenches and had first hand knowledge of what was going on. So how do you think he felt when meddling Perry ignored him and, at least, appeared to strongly side fully with the Chinese, even to the point of kicking Izmiriland and his team to the curb and actively seeking a new buyer. Even to the point to flying teams of negotiators to China for discussions with the Chinese, even in the absence of Bah Mar representatives. Now the saga seems to have come full circle. China ExIm bank seems to want to distance itself from the China Construction Company and all the prospective buyers that were lined up to purchase the property seem to have dried up and disappeared. What would have been the scenario if Bah Mar would have been allowed to get the bankruptcy protection it sought and inject new money into the project and complete it. At least the property would have been completed and open by now, if not by now at least three months ago. Some Three Thousand Bahamians would be employed and having a jolly Christmas. The Bahamas would have the right to brag about the newest and largest resort in the Caribbean and something to cushion it against the opening of Cuba to the US tourist market. And even if Bah Mar was unsuccessful in operating the property and had to sell it some three or four years down the road, at least the property would have been completed, Prospective buyers would have seen the potential and it would be easier to market. The jobless rate would have been down by 5-7 percent rather than up by 2 percent. But no, the meddling and cocky PM, acting on misinformation, prevented all of this from coming to pass. thank you perry, thank you very much!!

And now a matching or bigger donation from ...guess who?

The fact is that the full effect of VAT is just being felt by some businesses. Despite government saying it is a 'pass thru' item that will not affect business operating expenses this is not the true case. There are some VAT payments that businesses cannot recover. Also because VAT is being collected 'up front', the cost of inventory has increased. So when there is pilferage, shrinkage or obsolete merchandise the write off to the business is greater, not just by 7.5% on the cost of goods, but on the ***landed cost of the goods***. This can eat into a company's profits severely and make a difference between profit and loss o the financial statement.

When discounting does not work and increase profits by increasing volume, retailers may resort to increasing prices to cover overhead based on their current volume adjusted for increased prices. Some retailers may chose to exit some markets

Even with a big upswing in business over the next week, many retailers will not be over the top of last years sales and fro some, who stocked up heavily on inventory, the next three months will be a major challenge. Locally there has been a number of negative influences in the market, like hurricane Joaquin and the major set backs and disappointments at Bah Mar. Consumers are wary and very cautious and are only shopping with money that is available and then only purchasing essentials. Many feel the introduction of VAT has pushed up the cost of living, food especially by at least 20 percent. The world markets are not much better due to the attacks and threats be terrorist. Then is has been an "extremely hot" winter thus far and many retailers have been unable to move winter merchandise. So new spring inventory is being pushed back at the factories and shipping ports as retailers scramble to make space. Even with oil prices down to around $35 a barrel and expected to go lower consumer confidence is down. So it's a buyers market. But even with deep discounting over the Thanksgiving holidays, retailers were not able to realize a significant increase in sales. This is not a picture of doom and gloom. It is a matter of a wiser consumer managing his spending better in uncertain economic times.

This is turning out to be one of the most sluggish Christmas shopping seasons for retailers in recent times. Even in Canada retailers are reporting that because of the "warmer than usual" winter season retailers are stuck with tons of winter merchandise that they need to clear for new inventory. Here in the Bahamas some stores are even reporting a dip in sales with barely a week before the festive holidays rather than the usual spike in sales.

Now comes the appeals after appeals..

Will Wayne Munroe dare whip Castro's people before he send them back home? Amen More than likely they will not even be sent back to Cuba but on to the US. Hence the double standard ((((double))))

If you ride on West Bay Street by Gambier, not only is the road in very poor condition, but all the guard rails have fallen into heaps of rust from the sale water spray. These rails are less than 5 years old and needs to be replaces by rubber coated or stronger galvanized that can withstand the salt.