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Stunned. That was the word used to describe the aghast crowds gathered in Chicago this past Friday upon hearing the news that their beloved city had been passed over for the 2016 games by the International Olympic Committee. Based on the poll numbers, most Chicagoans (and Americans for that matter) were confident that
Apparently I’ve been traveling too much, because I was recently caught out of the loop. On Wednesday I published an article about Panama’s Resolution 52; the law effectively makes it illegal for landlords to rent property in Panama for less than 1-year. I predicted in the letter that, based on the past track
Years ago, in my early 20s, I had my first taste of investment success. I wish I could dazzle you with a great story about a goldmine in the jungle or negotiating land rights with warlords… Unfortunately, no. All that would come later. Rather, my first deal was a set of very plain
I’ve received a few questions recently about a piece of legislation recently passed in Panama known as Resolution 52. A bit of background– the construction boom and ensuing real estate bubble for Panama City condominiums lasted from 2003 until approximately 2007. Tens of thousands of units were designed and sold off-plan to speculators,
Last month, a Wyoming bank employee was routinely emailing some loan documents to a customer’s personal Gmail account. It sounds like a simple enough task, yet somehow the employee made an enormous error. Not only did he erroneously attach a file to the email that included the names, addresses, tax IDs, and loan
“We are very concerned with what’s happening in Panama, or to put it another way, what’s not happening.” — Jeffrey Owens, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Earlier this month, a group of tax commissioners, finance ministers, and NGO representatives descended upon Los Cabos, Mexico for the 5th annual
First of all I really appreciate all of your thoughts and comments this week; I would definitely encourage you to spend a few minutes reading the comments on ‘Give me Liberty or Give me Boarding Pass’ posted on Tuesday. One question in particular that I would like to address came from Amanda: “Simon
Roughly $100 billion. Even in today’s world where politicians throw out the word ‘trillion’ as if it were a casual dinner garnish, $100 billion is still a lot of money… especially when you’re desperate to sustain glimmers of economic growth and trying to plug a budget shortfall that amounts to 13% of GDP.
I’m in the United States through the end of next week out of necessity… I need to tie up some loose ends (read: taxes!). Once I get my confession mailed out to Uncle Sam, I’ll be out the door once again. Whenever I am in the United States, I always think deep thoughts
Updated 9/23/2009 (thanks JES) People ask me this question a lot– what’s the best way to diversify US dollar holdings into other currencies? Well, ‘best’ is certainly relative… I prefer commodities and precious metals as a way to protect my savings, but I can’t exactly pay my American Express bill with the bullion
He was brown. A few inches shy of 6 feet tall and well-dressed in a tailored suit, my guess was that he was of Lebanese origin given his easy command of French, English, and Arabic… but regardless, he was standing in the US citizen line at the airport immigration checkpoint. I don’t know
“Dear Simon- Jeff Clark from Growth Stock Wire recently wrote that ‘China is a fraud’ and that ‘If Americans aren’t buying big-screen TVs or $100 sneakers, Chinese stocks are ultimately headed for trouble.’ I would like your opinion on his view.” Great question. I like Jeff Clark and generally agree with his analysis…
I’m flipping through channels at 1am here in Seoul, and do you know what I see? Math problems– nutty professors, Korean-style, working out complex partial differential equations and geometric progressions with the intensity and flair of a concert pianist. In fact, it’s not just one channel… it’s five, roughly 20% of the entire
Gold is quickly reaching the mania phase in China, and there are clear signs of it on the ground. About a month ago, we reported that for the first time ever, the Chinese government is promoting gold and silver as investments. And by “promoting,” we meant cramming it down people’s throats. We knew
If you’re an entrepreneur and want to make an absolute fortune, you need to head to Asia. The last several weeks on the ground here have only reinforced my long-held premise that Asia’s economies represent vast, wide open potential. These economies are growing, and shall continue to grow thanks to solid macroeconomic fundamentals
