THE Bahamas has received $178.7 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that can be used to bolster the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves if needed, it was revealed yesterday.

Although not a bailout, although that is how it will be perceived by some, the Bahamas can convert either all or a portion of these SDRs into foreign currency by selling them to another country that has a surplus of SDRs.

The $178.7 million allocated to the Bahamas was part of the IMF's $250 billion SDR allocation to its 186 member countries implemented on August 28, 2009, "as a key part of its initiative to increase central banks' external reserves in the face of the global financial crisis.

"Under this arrangement, the Bahamas was allocated 96.6 million in SRDs ($151 million), with a further 17.6 million SDR allocation ($27.7 million) occurring on September 9."

SDRs, while not a currency themselves, are an interest-bearing international reserve asset created by the IMF and based on a basket of currencies. They can be sold to a country that has an SDR surplus in exchange for currency, and can be counted in a nation's foreign exchange reserves even if they have not been drawn down.

That helps to explain why the Bahamas' foreign exchange reserves increased by $90.21 million in August to end the month at $803.64 million, compared to $684.38 million the year before. In addition, excess liquidity in the commercial banking system stood at $522.63 million at end-August 2009, compared to $335.34 million the year before.

Bolstering the Bahamas' foreign exchange reserves, and ensuring banking sector liquidity remains strong, are among the fundamental tenets of the Government's strategy for guiding the Bahamas through these tough economic times.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas, in its monthly economic and financial developments report for 2009, revealed that consumer credit had actually contracted by $27.51 million for the first eight months of 2009, a sign that banks are shying away from risky consumer loans and that credit has dried up.

For the first seven months in 2009, Bahamian consumers were repaying more than they were borrowing when it came to consumer loans, a sign that they are attempting to deleverage and reduce debts.

There were $20.7 million in credit card net repayments; $17.9 million in net car loan repayments; $8.7 million in travel loan repayments; and $5.6 million in net home improvement loan repayments. The only consumer lending category showing growth was, again, debt consolidation loans, which expanded by $43.6 million - a slower pace than in 2008.

In comparison, mortgage lending for the year to August 2009 grew by $82.96 million, a sharp drop from the $143.19 million expansion that took place during the first eight months of 2008.

On the fiscal front, the Government's fiscal deficit narrowed by $8.9 million to $20.6 million for the first month of its 2009-2010 Budget year. Total spending was 7.3 per cent or $9.5 million lower at $120.1 million, due to lower outlays on infrastructure projects.

Revenues fell only marginally by $0.6 million to $99.5 million, due to a two-thirds drop in Stamp Tax received from property transactions.

With tourism output contracting due to weak stopover performance, the Central Bank warned that "the prospects for the Bahamian economy will remain subdued for the balance of 2009 and into first half 2010", with the fiscal deficit and government debt-to-GDP ratios projected to further widen.

There are still three more weeks in the month. Consider that when you hear that Club Med is offering a last-minute travel deal to The Bahamas and the Caribbean. Three-night getaways with departure dates this month start at $249 per person. But the sale is good for stays up to six nights, plus the seven-night Bahamas special.

Deal or no deal? When the sale crossed my desk, the first thing I noticed was that it was offering flights to the Bahamas for only $1 on Spirit Air. My gimmick detector went off, but I couldn’t help testing it anyway. The deal is valid on seven-night trips to Columbus Isle for flights out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., (FLL) on Oct. 24 and 31 and Nov. 7. I tested booking the trip online for a departure on Oct. 24, and the total price for the all-inclusive trip including the flight for one person came to $1,352. Note that in this deal the single supplement is being waved for select room grades.

A quickie trip seems more realistic: I had to also test this deal for myself. I wanted to go to the Ixtapa Pacific Club Med in Mexico, but the cheapest way for us to take this trip would be to use our Delta miles and Delta doesn’t fly to Zihuatanejo. It does, however, fly to Cancun and I found flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Cancun (CUN) for 70,000 miles per person plus taxes and fees of $126 per person. Three nights in the all-inclusive Cancun Yucatan came to $648 for three of us including a 10-month-old baby. So flights and resort stay for four days, three nights came to $900. The Last-Minute deal saved $1,100 off its normal rates.

Family travel tip: It was nice to see that in addition to having a Mini Club Med for children ages 4-11, it has convenient baby gear at the ready including baby bed, changing table, baby bath, bottle warmer available in the room. They also have strollers by request and a baby corner in the restaurants for food prep.

Source: LA Times

In an ironic twist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, success in treating people living with the virus has seen the Bahamas appear to have a higher HIV/AIDS rate than resource-poor countries like Haiti.

According to Perry Gomez, director of the National Aids Programme, the fact that there are now fewer people dying from AIDS in the Bahamas thanks to wider access to medication and awareness has meant there are more people alive to be recorded in the statistics which are shared internationally.

Currently, the Bahamas is documented by the Joint United Nations AIDS Programme (UNAIDS) as having an HIV/AIDS rate among people aged 15 to 49 of three per cent. The same grouping in Haiti has a rate of 2.2 per cent, Cuba, a 0.1 per cent rate, Jamaica, 1.6, Trinidad and Tobago, 1.5, and Barbados, 1.2.

"The fact is we have done such a good job of keeping people alive has added to the figures. The fewer people who die, the more you have with AIDS alive. And so when one looks at country data, and this is important for us. You might wonder why our prevalence remains being reported relatively high, higher than some countries that might surprise you."

Dr Gomez said it is "important to understand the nuances of statistics."

"As someone once said, 'There are lies, damn lies and statistics'," joked the official.

Over the last three years the number of cases where HIV progressed to AIDS has diminished significantly.

By the end of 2008, 185 new cases of AIDS - the final stage of HIV infection, which sees the body's immune system weakened to the point that it has serious difficulty fighting infections - had been recorded in the Bahamas, compared with 221 in 2007 and 329 in 2006.

The highest ever number of cases in one year of HIV progressing to AIDS - a progression which is more rapid if HIV positive individuals do not take anti-retroviral drugs - was 382 in 1997, and the rate has decreased year on year ever since.

Of the 185 AIDS cases in 2008, 65 people died and 120 remained alive at the end of the year.

Dr Gomez noted that this ensured that there were fewer people who died of AIDS last year than who lost their lives as victims of murder.

This success in keeping sufferers alive is in contrast to struggling countries like Haiti, where fewer people who contract the virus seek or receive treatment and therefore often die, removing them from data that is documented by international organisations which monitor the pandemic.

On top of the impact of this success on the rate, Dr Gomez claimed to "totally believe" that international organisations have exaggerated the Bahamas' rate, pegged at around three per cent.

The rate would also be increased by the success of a Know Your Status Campaign which continues to encourage people to get tested for HIV/AIDS.

Mr Gomez revealed that last year the National AIDS programme had been able to get "significant testing done" in the "men who have sex with men" community (MSM) in the Bahamas, a group which is known to be more likely than most not to seek testing or treatment for fear of discrimination.

The introduction of a new "rapid testing" technique, now available at all public clinics in New Providence and about to be launched across Grand Bahama, is expected to make a further impact in this regard, adding to the numbers of people who know their status by making the experience less time consuming.

The testing technique, which is as accurate as traditional methods, enables people to get tested and receive their results in less than half an hour - much quicker than the days in which people would have to wait to get blood test results back from a laboratory.

Source: The Tribune

Bahamian Patrick Arthur was named to the Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA) All-star team for the 2008/9 rugby season.

Arthur, a St. Andrew's grad pays his rugby at Seneca Sting and is a regular starter on the team.

Demont Mitchell - # 8 - Hofstra Pride
Height: 5-9
Weight: 160
Junior
Hometown: Delray Beach, FL
High School: IMG Academy

Career:
Fourth season on the Hofstra Soccer roster, including one red-shirt year...Member of the Bahamas National team...Scored a goal in World Cup qualifying play in March of 2008 in a 2-2 tie with the British Virgin Islands, enabling the Bahamas to advance to the second round...Appeared in both second round games against Jamaica...2008: Appeared in 17 games, including five starts, primarily at forward...Scored three goals...Tallied a goal in the season opener, a 2-2 tie with Stony Brook...Scored a goal in a loss at Virginia...Scored a goal in a 2-2 tie with Towson...Took 13 shots...2007: Appeared in seven games off the bench during an injury-plagued season...Took one shot...2006: Red-shirted and did not play...High School: Played for the Bears Soccer Club in the Bahamas, which he helped to a pair of club championships...Represented the Bahamas at FIFA World Qualification at the youth level and has six international appearances...Participated as a guest player at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida...Personal: Has dual citizenship in the United States and the Bahamas...Has experience with English Premiere League clubs at both Southampton F.C. and Wolverhampton F.C...Spent six weeks with the Richmond Kickers Under-15 team in the summer of 2000...Helped his Bears FC club team to a summer league championship.