Hundreds of hotel jobs – who’ll take them?
The upcoming re-opening of the Fairmont Southampton highlights an issue that goes beyond the iconic hotel, affecting our work-force as a whole.
In an extended report, Gary Foster Skelton looks back over some of the commentary around the hotel, and the wider tension between immigration, maintaining local businesses, and the provision of adequately paying jobs for Bermudians.
UK’s NCC Group to sell Escode for $369.4 million
The divestment of Escode, which provides software escrow and verification services, marks the final step in NCC’s plan to exit non-core operations, following a review launched in April last year
International News via Reuters:
Cybersecurity specialist NCC Group said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Escode business to private equity firm TDR Capital for an enterprise value of 275 million pounds($369.35 million), leaving it as a pure-play cyber security firm.
The divestment of Escode, which provides software escrow and verification services, marks the final step in NCC’s plan to exit non-core operations, following a review launched in April last year.
“The sale of Escode completes the divestment of our non‑core activities and allows NCC to focus fully on accelerating growth in our core cyber security resilience business,” CEO Mike Maddison said in a statement.
Shares in the Manchester-based company were up about 1.8% at 1452 GMT. The stock was down nearly 8% in 2025.
NCC said it expects net proceeds of 262.4 million pounds and intends to return a significant portion to shareholders. It also announced a share buyback of up to 10% of its issued share capital.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete no earlier than April 30, 2026.
NCC has previously said it is conducting a strategic review of its cybersecurity business, the company’s other major division, contingent on the Escode sale.
($1 = 0.7445 pounds)
Reporting by Nithyashree R B, Yamini Kalia and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Volvo Cars unveils its EX60 electric SUV
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he planned tariffs from February 1 on several European countries, including Sweden, over Greenland, a move major EU states criticised as blackmail
International News via Reuters:
Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that its new electric mid-sized SUV, the EX60, will have a similar price tag to the plug-in hybrid version of the same model, as the Swedish automaker dismissed concerns that any Greenland-linked U.S. tariffs could disrupt its plans.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he planned tariffs from February 1 on several European countries, including Sweden, over Greenland, a move major EU states criticised as blackmail.
Volvo exports the majority of its U.S.-bound cars from Europe.
The EX60 – which was launched on Tuesday in Stockholm – will be built at Volvo’s Gothenburg plant and would be affected if the tariffs were enacted. However, Chief Executive Håkan Samuelsson dismissed the risk and ruled out further production shifts.
“New tariffs are not decided by a Truth Social media account. Let’s see if it comes. I have doubts something will come out of this,” he told Reuters. Samuelsson said Volvo still expected to achieve both price parity and margin parity between the EX60 and the plug-in hybrid XC60 across markets, including the United States.
“Most of the big plug-ins also have 15% duty, so it should be margin parity everywhere, I don’t see any difference.”
The EX60 will start at 62,990 euros ($73,755) in Germany, compared to around 67,990 euros for Volvo’s best-selling XC60.
High price tags have been a major barrier to broader EV adoption, with electric cars on average costing around 30% more than comparable combustion models. The EX60 will be launched in Europe this summer before reaching the U.S. later in the year. However, it will not initially come to the fiercely competitive Chinese market, following a similar strategy to that of sister brand Polestar.
Volvo, majority-owned by China’s Geely, has scaled back its push to go fully electric after slower demand and delays to the EX30 and EX90.
Fully-electric cars currently account for just over 20% of sales but Samuelsson hopes the EX60 will become a major volume driver, winning over “electric doubters” with its long range, reasonable price and “coffee-break length” charging time.
($1 = 0.8540 euros)
Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Pope Leo invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’, cardinal says
Leo, the first U.S. pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said
International News via Reuters:
Pope Leo is among world leaders invited to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomatic official, said on Wednesday.
Leo, the first U.S. pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said.
“The pope has received an invitation and we are considering what to do,” Parolin told journalists. “I believe it will be something that requires a bit of time for consideration before giving a response.”
The board was initially aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, however Trump has said it will have a much broader remit and resolve conflicts globally.
While some countries, such as Israel and Egypt, have accepted the invitation, a number of others have expressed caution with diplomats warning it could harm the work of the United Nations.
The Vatican press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Parolin’s remarks.
Leo, who has shown a robust but quiet diplomatic style since being elected pope last May, has decried conditions for Palestinians living in Gaza several times, including in a forceful sermon on Christmas Eve.
The pope, leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, rarely joins international boards. The Vatican has an extensive diplomatic service and is a permanent observer at the United Nations, often taking part in debates.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Janet Lawrence
Ecuador to impose 30% tariff on Colombian goods from February
Colombia’s president’s office, trade and foreign ministries told Reuters they were examining the measure
International News via Reuters:
Ecuador will impose a 30% tariff on goods from Colombia starting from February 1, President Daniel Noboa said on Wednesday, citing a trade deficit and lack of cooperation on fighting drug trafficking at their shared border.
“This measure will remain in place until there is a real commitment to jointly tackle drug trafficking and illegal mining on the border, with the same seriousness and determination that Ecuador is currently demonstrating,” Noboa said on X.
Colombia’s president’s office, trade and foreign ministries told Reuters they were examining the measure.
Noboa has declared several states of emergency and recently mobilized over 10,000 soldiers to the country’s three most violent provinces in a push to tackle organized crime in the Andean nation, which has sent murder rates soaring.
Noboa said Ecuador had not received “any cooperation” and cited an annual trade deficit exceeding $1 billion.
The announcement of tariffs against Ecuador’s larger neighbor follows a 27% tariff on imports from Mexico, Latin America’s No. 2 economy in February of last year.
Reporting by Sarah Morland in Mexico City and Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Editing by Kylie Madry
Fire close to Mangrove Bay; no one hurt
Traffic diversions in place
Fire crews are at the scene of a fire at business premises near Mangrove Bay in Somerset.
We do not know if anyone has been hurt.
Neither the cause nor the extent of the damage is known at this time.
More details to follow.
Update, 5:15p.m.:
Fire crews tackled a blaze at business premises near Mangrove Bay in Somerset late this afternoon.
Thick black smoke was seen billowing from the building.
The fire appears to have started around 4.30p.m..
It was confirmed to Bermuda Broadcasting at the scene that there were no reported injuries and that the fire was swiftly brought under control.
Neither the cause nor the extent of the damage is known at this time but we understand an investigation is underway.
Rush hour traffic was held up by the incident.
Germany and Italy to urge fellow EU members to reform to compete
The paper, reviewed by Reuters, says Europe’s living standards and sovereignty are at stake as new competitors increase their global influence and the growth gap between Europe and the U.S. and China has widened
International News via Reuters:
Germany and Italy will urge fellow members of the European Union at an informal summit next month to deliver reforms to simplify procedures and improve competitiveness or risk falling further behind the United States and China, a policy paper shows.
The paper, reviewed by Reuters, says Europe’s living standards and sovereignty are at stake as new competitors increase their global influence and the growth gap between Europe and the U.S. and China has widened.
“Continuing on the current path is not an option. Europe must act now,” the joint statement said.
The policy paper was drawn up for the Leaders’ Retreat in Alden Biesen in Belgium on February 12, where German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will press for a coordinated EU strategy to support businesses, attract investment and strengthen the single market.
It urges leaders to use the meeting and a European Council gathering in March to agree upon concrete commitments.
Meloni and Merz are also scheduled to meet on Friday in Rome for a bilateral summit, where the Italo-German document is set to be presented, according to an Italian government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
NEED TO EASE THE REGULATORY BURDEN
The paper cites International Monetary Fund figures showing EU internal barriers amount to internal tariffs of as much as 44% for trade in goods and more than 110% for services trade. It calls for an “ambitious ease of regulatory burden”.
It proposes fast-track approval procedures, routine repeals of outdated laws and stricter scrutiny of new rules, with regular reports to EU leaders on progress.
Germany and Italy also advocate deeper integration in services, energy, capital markets and digital industries, a pan-European stock exchange and revised merger rules to help companies compete globally.
The paper urges the EU to speed up free trade talks with partners including Australia, India, the United Arab Emirates and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while warning Europe is ready to use defensive trade tools if necessary.
Reporting by Andreas Rinke; additional reporting in Rome by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Barbara Lewis
Stocks rebound from selloff after Trump tones down Greenland rhetoric
Trump called for immediate negotiations toward a deal to acquire Greenland, but added that he would not use force in his campaign for the northern island
International News via Reuters:
Global shares rebounded on Wednesday following a selloff in prior session after President Donald Trump toned down his rhetoric in his threats to acquire Greenland while speaking in Davos.
Trump called for immediate negotiations toward a deal to acquire Greenland, but added that he would not use force in his campaign for the northern island. That was a softer tone from the U.S. president, who had said there was “no going back” on his goal to control the island, and had refused to rule out taking it by force. He had also threatened tariffs on Europe, rekindling fears of a global trade war.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%, the S&P 500 gained 1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.1%.
Fears of foreign selling of U.S. assets – the so-called “Sell America” trade that emerged after last year’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements in April – had gripped markets, causing Wall Street’s main indexes to notch their biggest daily loss since October 10 in the previous session.
“The market bounced when he said we wouldn’t use force,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide in Boston. “Following the events of last April, investors are catching on that his negotiating style is very different than past administrations, so uncertainty is a natural outcome.”
MSCI’s All-World index was up 0.61% after losing ground in the last session, while Europe’s STOXX 600 index, rose 0.17%. The FTSE index was up 0.31%.
The VIX index, which measures demand for protection against big swings in the S&P 500, dropped more than 11% to 17.81, a day after jumping to its highest since November. The index is often used as a proxy for investor nervousness and for many, 20 is the point above which market volatility can suddenly explode.
“It wasn’t so much what president said that mattered as what he didn’t say,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief market strategist at Annex Wealth Management in Wisconsin. “He didn’t reiterate his tariff threat against Europe. He didn’t say the government would use force to get Greenland.”
The European Parliament decided to suspend its work on a trade deal between the 27-member bloc and the U.S., a parliament member said, following Trump’s repeated requests to take control over Greenland. The European Union will convene an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the matter, with the long-standing U.S.-EU alliance at risk.
BONDS ATTEMPT RECOVERY
The global bond market was still reeling from a brutal selloff, having been caught up in a perfect storm of worries over exposure to U.S. assets and a surge in Japanese government borrowing costs.
At the epicentre were long-dated Japanese sovereign bonds, which endured their most aggressive selloff in nearly 25 years on Tuesday, as fears grew over increased government spending under Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
U.S. 30-year Treasury yields neared the 5% threshold for the first time since September, while German government bond yields also rose sharply.
By Wednesday, Japanese bond prices rallied as buyers returned, almost entirely reversing the previous day’s rise in yields. A similar dynamic played out across U.S. Treasuries, where 30-year bond yields were steady at 4.905%. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes eased to 4.2767%.
In currency markets, the dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency’s performance against that of six others, rebounded from earlier losses and was up 0.11%. The euro pared earlier gains and was down 0.16% to $1.170825, while the Swiss franc fell, leaving the dollar up 0.42% at 0.79330 francs.
The yen was slightly weaker against the dollar at 158.23 per dollar ahead of a Bank of Japan policy meeting on Friday. No rate hike is expected this time, though policymakers could signal an increase may be coming as soon as April.
Oil prices fell, as pressure from geopolitical tensions and an expected build-up in U.S. crude inventories was offset by a temporary halt in output at two large fields in Kazakhstan. Brent crude futures was down 0.32% at $64.71 a barrel. Spot gold was up 1.59%.
Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Elaine Hardcastle, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski
Jimenez instrumental as Hibs end league hiatus with Kilmarnock win
Bermuda’s Logan Jimenez and his Hibernian Under-19 teammates made a triumphant return to CAS Elite Youth League action, grinding out a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
The victory was particularly sweet for the Edinburgh side, who were competing in their first league fixture in over three months. A relentless schedule across the UEFA Youth League, the Scottish Youth Cup, and the KDM Evolution Trophy had kept the young Hibees away from domestic league duties since mid-October.
Despite the extended layoff, Hibs showed little sign of fatigue in East Ayrshire. In a tightly contested affair, Jay Gallacher proved to be the difference-maker, netting the only goal of the game to ensure all three points headed back to Easter Road.
Jimenez was central to the visitors’ success. The Bermudian forward, who has become a key figure in this Hibs setup, was instrumental in stretching the Kilmarnock defense throughout the ninety minutes. His link-up play and physical presence allowed Hibs to maintain pressure during a cagey second half where Kilmarnock threatened an equaliser.
The hiatus from the CAS Elite Youth League was a direct result of Hibs’ success on multiple fronts. Their continental journey in the UEFA Youth League included a dominant 4-0 aggregate win over Kosovo’s 2 Korriku before a spirited, narrow exit at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv in December.
With this midweek victory, Hibernian move back into the upper echelons of the standings. The challenge for Jimenez and his teammates now lies in managing their games in hand as they look to reel in current pacesetters Celtic and Rangers.
There is little time for celebration, however. Hibs prepare for a swift turnaround with another league fixture scheduled for the coming weekend. For Jimenez, the priority remains clear: maintaining the domestic form that has kept Hibs in the hunt for a historic youth treble.
EU lawmakers deal blow to Mercosur trade deal by referring it to top court
The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday after 25 years of negotiations
International News via Reuters:
EU lawmakers voted on Wednesday to challenge the European Union’s contentious free trade agreement with South America in the bloc’s top court, a move that could delay the deal by two years and potentially derail it.
The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday after 25 years of negotiations. It still requires approval before it can take effect.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, among the deal’s principal backers, called the referral to the court regrettable, adding in a social media post that the EU assembly had “misjudged the geopolitical situation”. He insisted that the agreement should be applied soon on a provisional basis.
Germany and other supporters such as Spain point to U.S. President Donald Trump’s disruption of global trade. They argue the deal is essential to offset business lost to U.S. tariffs and to reduce reliance on China by securing access to critical minerals. They also warn that Mercosur governments are losing patience with the EU after years of negotiations.
FRANCE SAYS VOTE MUST BE RESPECTED
The EU could still apply the pact provisionally pending the ruling and parliamentary approval. But doing so could prove politically difficult given the likely backlash, and the European Parliament would retain the power to annul it later.
Opponents, led by France – the EU’s largest agricultural producer – say the deal will sharply increase imports of cheap beef, sugar and poultry, undercutting domestic farmers who have staged repeated protests.
A group of 144 lawmakers put forward a parliamentary motion to ask the EU Court of Justice to rule on whether the agreement can be applied before full ratification by all member states and whether its provisions restrict the EU’s ability to set environmental and consumer health policies. The court typically takes around two years to deliver such opinions.
The European Parliament backed the motion with 334 votes in favour to 324 against, with 11 abstentions.
France’s largest farm union FNSEA called the vote a victory. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in a social media post that it was “an important vote that needs to be respected”.
The European Commission, which negotiated the deal, said the questions raised in the motion had already been addressed extensively with EU lawmakers and they had all been dealt with in previous trade agreements. It said it would engage with EU governments and lawmakers before deciding what to do next.
Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by Louise Rasmussen, Alessandro Parodi, Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Mark Potter and Chizu Nomiyama
Britain’s Prince William to visit Saudi Arabia in February
The trip, from February 9 to 11, will be his first official visit to Saudi Arabia
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s Prince William will visit Saudi Arabia in February, Kensington Palace said in a statement on Wednesday.
“His Royal Highness’ visit comes as the UK and Saudi Arabia celebrate growing trade, energy and investment ties, and as the two nations approach a century of diplomatic relations,” the statement said.
The trip, from February 9 to 11, will be his first official visit to Saudi Arabia.
Reporting by William James; Editing by Catarina Demony
