http://american-european.net/blogs Costa Rica news, information, plus real estate & investment advice Fri, 16 May 2008 00:38:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en by Rod Hughes The Catholic Church's Episcopal Conference has been accused of shady financial dealings by the financial watchdog agency, Sugef. Sugef general superintendent Oscar Rodríguez told the courts that his agency's investigation has turned up evidence of "illegal financial intermediation," the daily ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/2008/05/15/episcopal-conference-financial-dealings-probed/ by Rod Hughes Look out, soccer clubs! Costa Rican entrepenuer and the Liberia First Division club's owner, Nario Sotela,has his checkbook out and is shopping for players long before the final championship match. And his specific target seems to be Alajuela. ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/sports-soccer/2008/05/15/soccer-notes-liberia-in-shopping-mode/ by Rod Hughes Brujas of Escazú easily rolled over the University of Costa Rica side on its way to the semifinals of the Torneo del Verano, which is the 2008 half of the 2007-8 season. Brujas has no home pitch, since Escazú has no appropriate ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/sports-soccer/2008/05/15/brujas-tromps-ucr-to-play-saprissa/ <strong>by Rod Hughes</strong> Want to call ahead for reservations in Panama as you drive south on the InterAmerican Highway from San Jose to Paso Canoas on the Costa Rica-Panama border? Better make your call before you leave San Jose, even if you have your cell phone ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/2008/05/14/cell-phone-service-on-highway-deteriorates/ by Rod Hughes The testimony of former Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal before a special Legislative Assembly committee probing FARC penetration into the political culture has hardly produced the dramatic revellations lawmakers sought. But Berrocal apparently wanted to extend his 15 minutes of fame yesterday. ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/politics/2008/05/14/berrocal-predicts-insurrection-in-party/ by Rod Hughes The value of the dollar against the colon continued its rise yesterday but the trading frenzy of Friday has calmed. Yesterday´s hike of 3.87 colones per dollar was only slightly higher than the Monday rise of 3.44 and much less than the sharp ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/business-and-economy/2008/05/14/colon-still-continues-fall-but-trading-frenzy-abates/ by Rod Hughes Internet money speculators are playing hob with the value of the colon. Late last year, Costa Rica raised the value of its colon against the dollar and for a time only about 487 of the local currency was needed to buy a dollar. ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/2008/05/13/colon-wildly-fluctuates-to-foil-speculators/ by Rod Hughes It may not be any threat to Boeing yet, but a new consortium, Costa Rican Aerospace Alliance (Coraal), has signed a contract with Ad Astro Rockets to build a platform on which to test Dr. Franklin Chang's plasma rocket engine, the daily La ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/business-and-economy/2008/05/13/costa-rican-aerospace-consortium-inks-contract/ by Rod Hughes We never thought we would ever see it, but Costa Rican companies are outsourcing in order to field their own brands even as the country woos foreign automotive parts firms to settle here. But the lure of cheap Asian labor is too good ... http://american-european.net/blogs/costa-rica-news/business-and-economy/2008/05/13/tico-companies-marketing-their-own-brands/ May 12, 2008 I went for a swim in the pool yesterday, after filling and vacuuming. I think I’ll swim every day, whether I want to or not, just because of all the work I had to put into it. ... http://american-european.net/blogs/bobs-blog-from-costa-rica/2008/05/12/stretch-your-life/