No matter how you view it, you can't put lipstick on this pig and take it to market.

The government has already lied to the ratings agencies. They said that the deficit will be reduced to a hundred million and change, and in just have the year, it has tripled (that we know of).

Halkitis the apologist will not be believed by the ratings agencies because he is not a man of economic substance and knowledge. He is a junior minister with no clout. He is unpolished and not very professional when compared to peers on the world stage, and he is a stand-in stooge for the government.

Perry Christie should face the music, not Halkitis.

He should have gone to Toronto like he used to. I once sat near him in business class on an Air Canada flight.

Banks who are not clean as a whistle and haven't implemented the proper safeguards, aml, kyc, fatca and TEIA compliance will be de-risked. Those who are clean and can demonstrate it will have an easier time, but still will not get a free pass because of their Caribbean cohorts who are unenlightened and will accept cash from anyone.

Just waiting for BoB to be de-risked for accepting webshop money.

Everything that you say is true. Civilised diplomats., documented in WikiLeaks, around the world think that Fred Mitchell is a pompous, undesirable, parochial, unenlightened pea brain with racist tendencies and no diplomatic or statesman skills.

Here are some WikiLeak excerpts about the inept Fred Mitchell:

>Visiting non-resident Israeli Ambassador David Dadonn was not given a meeting with Bahamian Prime Minister Perry G. Christie during his current visit to Nassau. Ambassador Dadonn also reported that his first meeting with Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell ended abruptly after five minutes after FM Mitchell equated Israeli actions in Palestine with white South Africans racist policies opposing black majority rule in that country. Mitchell later sent a message to Dadonn that he "regretted" his statements. Dadonn also reported that he believed that Caricom had already made a decision not to support the candidacy of former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores as OAS Secretary General, although he was unsure if they could agree whether or not to vote as a bloc for either the Mexican or Chilean candidate. end summary.

>The Israeli Ambassador was clearly taken aback by FM Mitchell's comments equating Israel with racist South African policies. He stated that such rhetoric isn't even heard in the Arab world anymore. Mitchell's candid outburst to the visiting Israeli Ambassador probably reflects the "real" Fred Mitchell much more than his deliberately calculated, polished "Foreign Minister" image.

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2016…

Here is the difference for Barbados (according to Scotiabank Capital exec summary):

*The governing Democratic Labour Party (DLP), led by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, is expected to remain in office until the next election in 2018. The administration remains committed to fiscal consolidation, trade diversification, and crime reduction*

The Bahamas and PLP remain committed to corruption, kleptocracy, lies, pocket-lining and bumbling incompetence.

I think that the rating system is based on reasonable expectation. It is obvious that the Christie government is still spending like drunken sailors on shore leave, while more intelligent regimes in Barbados and Jamaica realise that one must "do something" to alleviate the economic stresses.

Simply mouthing platitudes and doing nothing will require any economic forecaster to sound the alarm with a degraded rating, rather than waiting for the actual default to happen.

The difference between Barbados and Jamaica compared the Bahamas is that those countries have instituted measures that are producing "some" results. Perry Windbag is doing nothing but spending the country into oblivion.

It's not outrageous -- banks are carrying untenable, non-performing mortgage portfolios that are killing profits. Some banks have even sold off a tranche of non-performing mortgages and taken a huge write-down simply to get them off the books.

This causes their parent company to take a closer look at Caribbean operations. The RBC sale of its Jamaican subsidiary was the thin edge of the wedge.

All of this is due to the shrinking middle class, the deteriorating economy and the government strangling businesses, which are the economic drivers of the economy.

The middle class shrinkage is a worldwide phenomena, however in G20 countries, as many people that move down from the middle class, you have an equal number moving up ( http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241… ). Not in the Bahamas though, because we have a monolithic economy based on a tired tourism product.

Hubigetty had it right when he wanted to diversify the economy institute the Third Pillar of the Economy (eCommerce) but the criminals, buffoons, and retards in the PLP just wanted to line their pockets and we are paying for it now.

Most savvy second home buyers have already figured this out. It really is good to see in spreadsheet form with numbers. Buying a second home in the Bahamas is definitely not investment-grade -- just like the bonds that the government issues !! Thanks for the breakdown.

Cosign this opinion. Cogent, well-thought out and true!