Nov. 19, 2009
London, England
PLUS:
- "Argentina Is Booming!"...
- "Kathleen, I Must Disagree With Your Comments Earlier In The Week Related To Living Overseas With Children"...
- Bizarre Investor Taxes In Brazil...
- Fellow Reader Shares Panama City Travel Tips...
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Final 4 VIP Spots Available Now!
"We are very interested in this VIP Program you are offering, because the idea of getting around in Panama on our own is daunting. We are planning to come for a week to see property and to meet lawyers and bankers. Can we open a bank account while we're there? So many questions! Thank you so much for all your help..."
-- One Live & Invest in Panama Feb. 24-26, 2010, Registered Conference Attendee
It's time to come see for yourself what all the fuss is about down here in sunny Panama. We want to do everything we can to motivate you to make the trip.
So here's what's on the table for the first 30 readers who register for our
Live and Invest in Panama Conference scheduled for Feb. 24-26, 2010:
- VIP Transfer from the airport to your hotel (on us)...
- VIP Custom Tour of Panama City and the surrounding beach areas, either before or after the conference (not during...we don't want you to miss out on any of the important information shared over the two-and-a-half days of the event itself!)...
- VIP Luncheon on the final day of the seminar featuring a special Panama Expat Panel Discussion (again, with our compliments)...
Still not convinced you need to book your plane reservations right now to be here in Panama City with us Feb. 24-26, 2010?
How about if we put our in-country staff at your disposal to make sure you get the maximum value out of every minute you're in Panama to participate in the conference?
If you're one of the first 30 to register for our Live and Invest in Panama Feb. 24-26, 2010, event, all our firsthand Panama expat knowledge, experience, and judgment will be at your disposal. For obvious reasons, we can't extend this offer to everyone. We wouldn't be able to deliver.
But for the first 30 who sign on, we promise to provide an unparallel level of support, both as you make plans for your visit and during your stay. You tell us what you need, and we'll help you find it. You tell us what you want to do, and we'll do everything we can to help make it happen.
What are you waiting for? Here in Panama, the sun is shining, and the future is bright. You owe it to yourself to come see for yourself.
Contact our Events Director Sofia Hogan now to get your name on the First 30 Registered Attendees List:
SHogan@LiveandInvestOverseas.com. You can also reach Sofia by phone, toll-free from the States: 1-888-627-8834. As of this writing, 4 VIP spots remain available.
Or register now online here. When you do, Sofia will respond immediately to confirm whether or not you're among the first 30 sign-ups.
On behalf of our entire Panama Team, we can't wait to hear from you and to welcome you to Panama next February!
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Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
"The World Gold Council (WGC) is sponsored by the gold-mining industry," writes Correspondent Vivian Lewis (
www.global-investing.com) from London. "Its mandate is to develop the use of gold as an investment vehicle. The WGC sponsored the creation of what is now Streettrackers Gold, GLD, the exchange-traded fund investing in physical gold.
"Thus its most recent report on Q3 gold market trends is an eye-opener, coming from preachers to the converted. Gold demand fell 34% in this year's third quarter compared with last year's, the WGC reports, mainly because of a dramatic drop in jewelry purchases.
"Buyers were discouraged by the high price of gold. Major markets in India and the Middle East soured on gold because of high prices. Indians feted Diwali without buying more gold bangles this year, a break with tradition. In fact, Indians are selling jewelry to raise cash.
"Chinese shoppers are still stocking up on gold, but they are also switching to a lower priced precious metal, platinum, where there has been a 'dizzying increase' in jewelry demand at the expense of gold. Chinese platinum jewelry demand is up 80% this year so far; but, from a larger base, gold jewelry demand is up only 5%. Platinum is cheaper because of the economic downturn, which cut automobile platinum consumption, but, thanks to Chinese buying, its price is up 55% so far this year.
"While individuals did not buy gold to adorn themselves, there was a lot of bullion buying by investors, mainly through the ETFs like GLD and IAU. And central banks, in a switch, became net buyers of gold, whereas earlier they had been net sellers.
"Moreover, gold-mining companies had massively de-hedged as the price rose. This allowed them to cut the gold they were selling, which supported higher prices.
It is significant that hedge fund manager John Paulsen, who is now the largest shareholder in GLD, the ETF, is planning to create a new gold fund for retail investors, according to the
Wall Street Journal. Paulsen, a shrewd investor, can raise cash to diversify his holdings without actually selling the ETF shares if he can persuade the public to join his new fund, which goes live Jan. 2."
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. "In currency news" continues Vivian, "what observers are calling 'Brazil's bizarre rules' have pushed down the local and ADR markets for Brazilian shares. Yesterday, Brasilia authorities decided to impose a 1.5% tax on local companies issuing American Depositary Receipts to encourage them to list in Brazil instead. This follows an earlier 2% tax on foreign investors in Brazil's
bolsa, a sort of Tobin tax.
"Bizarre is a misnomer. Both measures are designed to stop currency in-flows, which have pushed up the Brazilian real to levels hurting exports."
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"
Argentina is booming," writes Intrepid Correspondent Paul Terhorst from his part-time home outside Buenos Aires, "in spite of government efforts to kill off the private sector. Example: A friend is doing a high-end condo project in Uruguay. He put the units on the market two weeks ago and has been selling one a day. These are million-dollar apartments. He just raised the prices 15%, and he figures he'll have all units sold by Christmas. All to Argentine purchasers.
"For Vicki and me, Buenos Aires is very expensive. If you go to a supermarket here and compare the prices of meat and chicken, carrots and onions, bread and eggs, costs are more expensive than in the United States or Europe. The South of France would be more affordable right now.
"Having said that, we're having a very good time. For some reason the services we use--taxis, car hires, take-out restaurants, gardeners, buses, maids, meat markets, wineries, hotels--have improved.
"We used to have trouble getting cars to pick us up, standing in long lines, long waits in general. Now we just jump in and go. I don't have an explanation yet.
"The best I can come up with is that we left during an uncontrolled boom that put tremendous demand on services. After the recession, which hit here only very slightly, and after a year or two of more normal economic expansion, day-to-day life has returned to routine."
"Kathleen, I must disagree with your comments earlier in the week related to
living overseas with children. Of course, I am disagreeing only with a specific point. I wholeheartedly embrace your primary message.
"You wrote: 'The fundamental education choice you must make is whether to send your child to a local school (where, unless you're moving to Belize or Ireland, for example, he'll need to learn to speak the local language fluently), to a bilingual international school (where he'll have the opportunity to learn the new language but will take classes, as well, in his native tongue), or to an American or British school (where he'll be largely insulated from the local culture and community).'
"Maybe the American schools you have seen are like that, but I can tell you that the British School in Costa Rica is not.
"My children are certainly not insulated from the local culture and community. Over 90% of the kids in the school are Ticos. Of the remaining 10%, most are Europeans (Brits represent way less than 5%), and quite a few of these kids were born in the country. The base language of the school--the language the kids use for recess--is Spanish. My kids take Spanish lessons and study philosophy, social studies, and civics in Spanish.Some other classes are also conducted in Spanish, depending on the teacher. For example, when my daughter Sue Lyn studies French, the teacher adds explanations in her native tongue, which is Spanish.
"Half the teachers are international. The other half are Ticos.
"The British school in Costa Rica is very much more akin to your 'international school' category. I do not have experience with other British schools around the world, so I do not know if this is common or just for this school."
-- Costa Rica Correspondent David Stubbs
"Kathleen, I just got back from
Panama City and thought I'd share some recommendations with fellow readers.
"I stayed in the Torres de Alba, in El Cangrejo, near loads of great restaurants and bars. It is next to the excitement of the El Panama (hotel and casino) and down the street from the more expensive Bristol Hotel. The Bristol has a great bar with live three-piece band on weekends and good bar food. Very like a Ritz Carlton. I walked the three to four blocks there and passed lots of other places to drink and dance, as well. A taxi ride there or all the way to the high-rises of downtown and to the waterfront is only US$2 to US$3! It's about US$4 to US$5 to the old, historic district of Casco Viejo, which is extremely worth visiting.
"My room was a special through a real estate development, which I further negotiated down to US$100 a night in late September. I am not sure what rates are in the winter. I think they are always willing to negotiate, though, and they were nice about it.
"My room was actually a one-bedroom apartment with lots of windows on the exciting new construction all around, a full kitchen, and an actual living room and dining area. Bedroom had black-out curtains, bath was floor-to-ceiling gorgeous, custom marble and updated, except for the usual odd and uniquely Panamanian touches, like an orange plastic razor holder stuck to the tile!
"I was staying there because the condo a friend kindly loaned me was too close to the street. Panama City is very noisy at night, especially with the car alarms. But the polite, friendly desk clerk, Derek Lashley, gave me a room on the 22nd floor, and I slept like a baby.
"The number for Torres de Alba is 300-7130, Panama country code 507. You can tell Mr. Lashley that Liz Maleski sent you."
-- Liz M., United States.
