“Author Archive”
Stories written by Sally Easton
Known the world over as one of the greenest and happiest countries in the world, Costa Rica, which literally means “rich coast”, has become an outstanding ecotourism center. In 1949, the army of Costa Rica was decommissioned in order to channel more funding into health care and education- an environmentally friendly, peaceful solution which has bettered the economy as a whole. Costa Rica also houses 5% of the world’s biodiversity and the country contains roughly 500,000 different species. Costa Rica contains various individual microclimates because of its geo-locational proximity to the equator and situation between two oceans. Dry forests as well as rain forests dot the country, and it is also blessed with a number of active volcanoes. All of this contributes to Costa Rica’s biodiversity, making it a logical choice for conservation, and a natural destination for ecotourism.
August 7th, 2011 | Posted in Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
According to several sources, the Saudi Arabian property market is expected to boom thanks in large part to a boost in government spending. The stimulus has been significant enough to affect economic growth forecasts by the IMF. The forecasts for 2011 were around 6.5 percent, up 2.4 percent from 2010. The stimulus in question was announced in March, when King Abdullah vowed to spend 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s economic output, or approximately $130 billion on public spending, such as mass housing and job creation. $67 billion of the funds will go towards building 500,000 homes, in addition to earlier investments of $15 billion to bankroll the construction of 1.65 million homes in the next five years. A ministry will also be established with an annual budget of $4 billion. The IMF and other observers are speculating that these measures will increase the productivity of the country as a whole. “We will have to see how this new supply affects the market,” said Mike Williams, the senior director of Middle East Research and Consultancy at CB Richard Ellis, in relation to the supply of new homes that will come on the market.
August 4th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
Rangers at Galapagos National Park and an Ecuadorean navy ship detained a fishing vessel with 357 shark carcasses found on board. The ship was found inside the marine reserve found inside the marine reserve in mid-July. There were about 30 fisherman apprehended with the dead sharks, they now face criminal charges for poaching. Commercial-scale fishing, especially for shark, is totally illegal within the parameters of the Galapagos Islands. Commercial fishing has made one third of all sharks at risk of extinction.
July 26th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines | Read More »
With it’s history of genocide, political turmoil, economic instability and hyperinflation, until quite recently, Zimbabwe has been a traditional “bad investment”. However, in early August a group of investors from Hong Kong will be coming to the tiny, land-locked country to explore investment opportunities in the hotel, leisure, mining and jewelry industries. This reflects the hopeful nature of the Zimbabwean economy, which at the moment, is stable and rising. DEAT Capital, a private economics firm partnered with the government and Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) traveled to Hong Kong and Singapore to explore investment and venture capital sources in the two countries. CZI is a private industry interest group, which advocates for businesses in Zimbabwe.
July 23rd, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
On Wednesday, July 20, a general strike of as many as 10,00 oil workers went into effect in eastern Colombia amid protests sparked by the dismissal of labor union spokespersons and hundreds of contractors. The work stoppage has resulted in violence, leaving six people injured, and seven vehicles in flames, said Puerto Gaitan’s mayor Oscar Bolaños. The inland town of Puerto Gaitan, located in Colombia’s Meta province is where Pacific Rubiales Energy’s massive Rubiales field is located, and field has become the focus of the protests. Bolaños told a local radio station that the violence has had an impact on the region’s oil exploration and production zones. Labor spokespersons have stated that the workers are “very dissatisfied” with working conditions in the region, and that national riot police deployed to quell the protests used excessive force against the otherwise peaceful protesters.
July 21st, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
The Tambatuon Dam project in Kota Belud, Malaysia may be the solution food insecurity in Sabah, the second largest state in the country. According to government projections, the Dam will increase rice production over the 25,000 hectares of unproductive rice paddies in the region. The construction of the dam is part of a larger plan to increase rice yields by 10% to make Malaysia totally self-sufficient. The dam has been met with opposition, both by the roughly 600 villagers it would displace and some outside observers, such as Christopher Teh, an academic from the Faculty of Agriculture in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM). Teh believes that in light of the low yields at existent paddies, the dam is “unnecessary”.
July 16th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
In a last ditch effort at saving their native lands, Paraguay’s Ayoreo tribal people have contacted the UN, begging them not to enable greedy businesses encroaching on their homes. The statement, was written by leaders of the tribe, who railed against UN Global Compact policies, says Survival International spokesman Jonathan Masawa. UN inclusion in the [...]
July 10th, 2011 | Posted in Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
A new plan to improve sustainability and profitability in Scottish agriculture has just been launched at the Royal Highland Show by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, according to reports. The project will cost 223,000 euros and take place over the course of the next three years. Named ‘Future Proofing Scotland’s Farming’ the initiative aims to prepare agricultural businesses for the changes in business environment resulting from both climate and economic change. The project will be overseen by the Soil Association in partnership with Quality Meat Scotland, NFU Scotland and SAOS. Funding is being provided by the Scottish Government’s Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) skills development program.
July 4th, 2011 | Posted in Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
When the small Caribbean island of Grenada severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2005, it received a small present from the Chinese government: a $55 million stadium. It was part of $132 million China gave out to Caribbean countries in aid and soft loans in the years leading up to the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Critics say the investment was a reward to countries that had broken off formal relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. As if to answer the criticism, China has reinforced the message. Lavishly.
May 30th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines | Read More »
The Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan is the only nation that puts happiness at the core of public policy. But its thrust on a “gross national happiness”(GNH) index is not just a warm-and-fuzzy inheritance from Buddhism; it is integral to the nation’s cultural and political security. Bhutan is one of the poorest nations on the planet, yet one of the happiest. It is a very rare example of a country that has built happiness into the centre of its development strategy. A few years ago, it replaced (read abandoned) the usual economic indicators with a more holistic index called gross national happiness (GNH). Focusing on happiness has not come at the cost of ignoring GDP or other socio-economic indicators like life expectancy. People believe in wisdom and compassion.
March 23rd, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
