Panama Investor Blog

Gulf oil disaster may be coming to an end

I see a lot of dooms day prophesies about the gulf oil disaster lately and the one thing I have learned about such forecasting is that they are usually wrong. It is not to say there are not serious problems in the world and that this is not one of them, but I believe that the leak can be stopped and it is not the end of the world as we know it. A reader sent me this video showing how close BP oil is to stopping the leak and I think it important for this to be shared with as many people as possible. There are enough things in the world to fear without this being one of them. The companies involved have used this technique 40 times without fial and are expecting similar results. In any case we will know soon enough.

Panama ranks 60 in Economic freedom index

You would think Panama would rank higher in economic freedom but no, it is surpassed in central America by both Costa Rica at #54 and El Salvador at #32. What holds it back? The usual culprits of rule of law and corruption along with a number of other issues brought about because of it. We can only hope that Martinelli's recent activities to curb corruption will result in higher marks next year.

Source: The Heritage Foundation

Excerpt from :Central American Data
Friday, January 22, 2010

In Central America, El Salvador leads (32 in the world), followed by Costa Rica (54), Panama (60), Guatemala (83), Nicaragua (98) and Honduras (99). El Salvador and Guatemala climbed positions in the index when compared to 2009, while Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras fell lower.

In Latin America, Chile was the surprise, as it made it to the top 10 of the world.

According to the Heritage Foundation, who develops the index in association with The Wall Street Journal, "economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume, and invest in any way they please, with that freedom both protected by the state and unconstrained by the state. In economically free societies, governments allow labor, capital and goods to move freely, and refrain from coercion or constraint of liberty beyond the extent necessary to protect and maintain liberty itself".

Read more at the source article

An alarming commentary in The Wall Street Journal

Although this does not directly affect Panama yet, it is of such importance that I wanted to share it with my readers. Bob Bauman wrote a great overview of what is going on in his Offshore Blog.

Excerpt:

Americans (and those from every nation) who love their country should indeed read this amazing, alarming document. And when you do read the 181 pages of this draft "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" you’re in for some nasty surprises.

Americans in the Dark

If you haven't heard about it, that's because none of our otherwise talkative political leaders have told us what the drafters have already put together for national leaders to consider and possibly sign at a global conference on "climate change" in Copenhagen Dec. 14 - 21.

Enter Lord Christopher Monckton (below). The UK Conservative Party member and former adviser to U.K. prime minister Margaret Thatcher gave an address at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, last month that had made quite a video hit.

So far there have been more than one million hits on the YouTube post of his address. It deserves millions more because Lord Monckton warns that the aim of the Copenhagen draft treaty is to set up a super world transnational "government" on a scale no one has ever before seen. He asks the valid question: "Is Obama poised to cede U.S. sovereignty to the UN?" You can guess the answer.

Read the whole story here

$40 Million for Vegetable Gardens Program in Panama

I think this is a great idea and I only hope it is implemented properly. Teaching people how to grow there own food and supplying them with the means will insure they don't grow hungry in lean times.

Source: elsiglo.com
Monday, August 10, 2009

In its first year, 25.000 people will receive free supplies and farming practice assistance, both in rural and urban areas.

The "Urban and Rural Vegetable Gardens" project aims to make food cheaper for consumers. Every year it will add 20.000 beneficiaries, for a total 5 years.

It will be executed in two phases. "The first phase is intended for urban plantations with planted surfaces between 500 and 2.000 square meters", reported newspaper Elsiglo.com. "The second phase will include people living in the capital city, who normally reside in reduced spaces. In this case, growing will be done on prefabricated pots, and will enjoy the same benefits as the first phase".

Caribbean Rescue - Private Sector steps in to lend a hand

This post is about the efforts of the private sector working with the government to help with the recent flooding on the Caribbean coast of Panama.

The pairing of the private and public sector in times of need:

The Foundacion Desarrollo del Caribe (FDC-Panama) executed supply delivery missions throughout this past weekend along the Caribbean Coast. Unsatisfied with the complete lack of aid reaching the region of the country between San Miguel De La Borda and Guazaro, the FDC-Panama took action to provide much needed supplies, medical care, and logistical support to the stranded villagers. A convoy including a twenty-foot container, a Diablo Rojo, and two pickup trucks were filled with food, medical supplies and gasoline and were driven to San Miguel De La Borda, which was used as a staging point to deliver supplies to the villages beyond the reach of the road. Members of the FDC-Panama including: CrownLand Investments; Archer Group Investments; Donnie Estrada, the Foundations Founder and President; Jesse Levin, logistics coordinator and other members including Cesar Guevara through monetary, time, and equipment contributions coupled with the joint efforts of the Red Cross and the Special Boat Unit of the National Police in Colon Worked together from the 28th of November through the 1st to deliver thousands of pounds of food, fuel, and medical supplies and care.

Russian warship to visit naval base in Panama

What??? Say it ain't so. They would'nt dare! Less than 10 years after the U.S.A. turns over the U.S. built Rodman navel base to Panama, they go and allow those pesky Ruskies to bring a military vessel into her harbor. Of all the gall! Seems the Russians are trying to send a message to the new U.S. administration. What are you going to do about it? The cold war is warming up here in the Caribbean!
From the Russian news and information agency, comrade.

MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian destroyer will visit on December 5-10 a former U.S. naval facility in Panama as part of the task force's current Caribbean tour, a Navy spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Udaloy class destroyer Admiral Chabanenko participated this week in the VenRus-2008 joint Russian-Venezuelan naval exercise in the southern Caribbean as part of a task force from the Northern Fleet, led by the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky.

"During the current visit to the Caribbean, the Admiral Chabanenko will pay a visit to the Rodman Naval Station in Panama," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

The 64-year-old naval base was once the hub for all U.S. naval activities in South America and supported U.S. warships going through the Panama Canal. The base was turned over to Panama in 1999 under the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

Russian and Venezuelan warships successfully concluded on Tuesday the active phase of VenRus-2008, during which they practiced deployment, coordinated tactical maneuvering, air defense, search, pursuit and the detention of a ship suspected of illegal activities.

The Russian task force arrived in Venezuela at the end of November, following a two-month tour of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, which saw Russian ships visiting Libya, Turkey and France.

Russian News Agency opens office in Panama

La Prensa

Itar-Tass, the main Russian news agency, opened an office in Panama this week as its base of operations for Central America.

“Based on the strategic position of Panama in the region and the developments that have taken place in the country in recent years, we have decided to open a regional office here,” said Vitaly Ignatenko, director general of Itar-Tass.

From here, correspondents for the news agency will report on the most significant events from the region.

“Panama is a country with great dynamism and one that is very stable, a country that found its way and has excellent prospects. And we are confident that the enlargement of the Canal will give a further impetus to its economic development,” Ignatenko said.

It was founded in 1992.