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Sam Taliaferro

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Oct 23, 2008, 10:39:44 PM10/23/08

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Tourism master manifesto [1]

The long awaited and secreted tourism master plan has finally
been made public and it appears to read like a communist
manifesto. The low points are that the government will determine
what areas of the country are of interest to tourists, what can
be built in these areas of interest and how many tourists can go
there. In addition there will need to be a number of new
bureaucratic offices, administrators and minions set up to
implement the plan. But there are some positives.

Fitch: Pressures Increasing on Central American Sovereigns [2]

'Overall, Central America's credit cycle appears to be turning
more negative,' said Casey Reckman, Associate Director in
Fitch's sovereign group. In fact, Fitch recently revised the
Rating Outlook on El Salvador's long-term ratings to Negative
from Stable. Fitch also revised the Dominican Republic's Outlook
to Stable from Positive in September 2008.

Financial crisis may end boom for Suez canal [3]

Another canal is starting to show the strains of the world
economic meltdown. This article from the China Post [4]describes
the slowdown in canal transits facing the Suez canal. The
article describes how a perfect storm in increased shipping an
bottlenecks at the Panama canal had allowed them to increase
tolls over the last few years. But all that is changing rapidly,
and now there is concern about the future canal revenue.

The dire need for tax havens [5]

In the video below titled "The moral case for Tax Havens" many
examples are given to justify the need for low tax
jurisdictions. But none come to mind more to me than those
prudent people in the U.S. who have saved their earnings and
accumulated some degree of wealth. The plan is on the way to
redistribute that wealth to those who were not so prudent with
their lifestyles and investments.

Panama's reduction in poverty proof of trickle down theory [6]

Sighting a report from the Latin American Economic Commission
(CEPAL), some 385,000 Panamanians live in extreme poverty, while
941,000 live in poverty. The latter group saw a decline from
36.7 percent to 28.6 percent of the population. Keep in mind
that Panama is a country of only about 3 million people.

Kardan unit gets hydro contract for Chiriqui [7]

Hydro Caisan has a 50-year franchise for the operation of the
hydroelectric plant on the Chiriqui river, construction of which
will begin in 2009, and be completed in 2013. Kardan will
finance 30% of the $150 million investment from equity and the
rest with debt.

Panama: Good Outlook-LBC [8]

While concern about the impact of the crisis is spreading
throughout Latin America, at least one country is still
dominated by general optimism:

Red Frog appears to be back on track [9]

This will come as good news to some and bad news to others but
it appears that the Red Frog Beach project in Bocas Del Toro may
be getting back on track. As you may recall, Red Frog was
plagued with strikes by the workers Unions which caused them to
shut down last year. I received this news update from one of
their property owners.

ACP bets on a very merry Christmas [10]

Like many optimists who speculate about the world economic
crisis, they believe that things will soon change and North
Americans will once again begin borrowing money and buying
Chinese consumer items like they have in the past. They
obviously have not been keeping up with the world news and the
fact that China is closing factories faster than you can flip
the channels on your flat screen TV.

And the good news is...Chavez can't keep his promises [11]

With oil prices riding high so was Chavez as he took every
opportunity to redistribute the wealth of his nation rather than
focus on wealth creation. Now with prices dropping dramatically,
he is forced to end his give away's. Poor Nicaragua won't see
the oil refinery promised and maybe the U.S. won't get the
subsidized heating oil. Good news in my opinion.

The next step to global socialism [12]

Now it will be the capitalists who will be blamed (for the mess)
and the U.S. will cow tow to European socialist leaders. The
American people will barely whimper because all they want is
relief from debt and higher security. They will trade their
freedom for both because they have forgotten what our grand
parents fought and died for and our educational system has
dumbed us down to believe in the fairy tale of equality for the
masses. Now they will get equality and they won't like it. The
pendulum swings.

Costa Rica floods: worst in a century [13]

The National Meteorological Institute (IMN) of Costa Rica says
that Costa Rica's 2008 rainfall is going to be the heaviest in
60 years, and a significant portion of that has fallen over the
past week in association with the remnants of a tropical
depression.

Panama Diamond Exchange Official Launch [14]

The project was announced earlier in the year and now they
celebrate the ground breaking. I think it is appropriate that
Panama become a center for gemstones as it has for banking,
ships registry, and corporations. Obviously increased security
will need to be taken into consideration for buyers and sellers
coming into the country.

Planned hi-way for the Atlantic coast needs careful evaluation
[15]

The road along the Atlantic coast from Colon heading north to
the province of Bocas Del Toro is under serious consideration.
The only justification given is increased tourism. There is no
doubt that the areas beauty and history would justify
responsible eco-development, but....

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References

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Did you know there is a new country in Central America and it has
quickly become the top retirement destination in the western
hemisphere? Be sure to visit the Republic of Chiriqui and find
out why. http://therepublicofchiriqui.com/
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