In This Issue...
- The Caribbean side of Costa Rica - its People and Culture
- Ambergris Caye’s Real Estate Market Trends.
- Too Late to Jump on the Gold wagon?
- Frogs. Are You Being Cooked?
- Panama Diaries
- Wall Street – the New Gambling Capitol of the World
- One more Giant Step Towards the forced Ownership of Treasuries in your Retirement Plan
- Separating Fact from Fiction in Global Business and Investment
The Caribbean side of Costa Rica - its People and Culture
by Gill Phelan
The Caribbean side of Costa Rica is quite unique in many ways, not only in its topography and ecology but also in respect to its culture and background.
A large part of its cultural history stems from the establishment of the Atlantic seaport of Limon. The United Fruit Company was headquartered in Limon and to this day a huge part of the Costa Rican agricultural economy is based on the Bananas, Plantains and Pineapples which are produced in the Limon Province.
Ambergris Caye’s Real Estate Market Trends
by Ann Brunnette
Hemisphere’s conferences are regularly held on the exotic Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye, Belize. The purpose of each conference is to inform attendees of their offshore investment options. But at each conference there are also opportunities to learn about a variety of diverse international investments. One of the investment options presented is land or property on the island.
But is investing in real estate on Ambergris Caye a worthwhile investment? This article gives a quick summary of the history of the real estate market on Ambergris Caye since 2008.
Too Late to Jump on the Gold Wagon?
by Egon von Greyerz
The Stealth Market in Gold
Gold has gone up for 12 straight years in a stealth market. In the last ten years gold has had a compound annual growth of 20.5%. This is an absolutely outstanding return but investors should not look at gold as an investment but as money. Gold reflects governments’ deceitful actions in totally destroying the value of paper money by printing unlimited amounts of it. With gold up 7 times since the bottom in 1999, is it too late to jump on the Goldwagon?
Frogs. Are You Being Cooked?
by John C. Doody
If you put a frog in a pot and slowly turn up the heat, it will happily allow itself to be cooked to death. Mr Frog doesn’t realize the danger… that the increasingly warm and comfortable water will kill him... until it does. Myopia is the medical term for being able to see near objects clearly while those in the distance are blurred.
Gold Stock Analyst (GSA) sees too many US investors as focused on the short term, and as a result it is a nation of myopic frogs. Investors believe the US Dollar is a sanctuary for savings, when it is not. Versus the alternative reserve currencies, Euro, Yen and Gold, the Dollar has been the worst performer. But those who don’t travel abroad are not aware how warm the water is becoming... just like Mr Frog.
Panama Diaries
by Mike Gamble
Hemispheres would like to introduce Mike Gamble, a new contributor and part time expat in Panama. "Fresh eyes", as I call them are wonderful and as often as we can, we'll find them and include articles that tell the first views, thoughts, and impressions of a person moving to a new country. After a while, all things become "Normal" and these diaries from Mike, tell the story through a fresh set of eyes.
Mike, like many folks has some strong reasons for his move. He opens up and includes them in this opening article. Mike is one of a small group of people that move beyond just talking about doing something and is actually doing it. He's one of the pioneers blazing a trail for others and his experiences can be both helpful and entertaining to anyone thinking of doing the same thing. Enjoy the article and if Panama is on your radar screen, be sure to reach out to Mike as a resource. Now let's hear from Mike...
Wall Street – the New Gambling Capitol of the World
by Michael Cobb
“Wall Street would like us to believe that the stock markets are a logical extension of free market economics, and to a large degree they are. But they may be more than that too.”
Expectations and disappointment go hand in hand.
One more Giant Step Towards the forced Ownership of Treasuries in your Retirement Plan
by Larry Grossman
The Treasury is set to issue its Lifetime Income Guidance and the Department of Labor will follow shortly. It is no secret most investors chose a lump sum option when the separate service or retire from a company taking their retirement plan as an IRA Rollover or as a distribution.
Can you blame them? For the first time they have the ability to get away from a company sponsored plan with exorbitant fees, bad investments and artificial restrictions. They finally get to self-direct their own account and who can blame them.
Separating Fact from Fiction in Global Business and Investment
by Joel Nagel
I spoke at a conference in Florida recently and during the Question & Answer session after my speech, one of the attendees asked me “what was the most erroneous assumption made by folks with regard to international business and investment”?
“The timing of taxation on global profits”, was my immediate response. You see, many people operate under a false assumption that if they make money abroad, they only pay taxes when they bring their money back into the United States. And while that may be the case in certain limited circumstances (which we will discuss below), the assumption as a starting point for global business and investment is false.