Archive for March 19th, 2010
Friday, March 19th, 2010
This Sunday everyone can savor the Tico tradition of the Gallo Pinto beginning at 9am on Paso Colón. This year, the annual event expects to serve 90.000 people, some 40.000 more than last year.
The event is being sponsored by a number of Costa Rican businesses, including rice producer Tío Pelón and will be using plastic plates 100% biodegradable.
In addition to the gallo pinto, natiall and hot tortillas are on the menu, accompanied by live music, comedians and traditional games for all ages.
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Friday, March 19th, 2010
President-elect, Laura Chinchilla, said on Wednesday that the exchange rate will move from the current policy of bands to a floating rate system.
The floating system would eliminate the upper and lower band that is now in use and the Banco Central (Central Bank) can intervene when it considers it necessary.
The president-elect did not say when the change would take place, nor how long the transition will take.
Chinchilla’s comments came after the dollar dropped to a low of ¢518 colones to one US dollar on Monday, slowly recovering to this morning’s ¢532 posted by the Banco Central.
Many are calling for a “dollarization” of the economy, a position that would greatly benefit the Costa Rican economy according to experts.
The president-elect said that the bands system helped sustain inflation in the country.
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Friday, March 19th, 2010
A former call center operator, found guilty on charges of defrauding United States residents of an estimated $1.7 million, filed a successful appeal in federal court alleging that judges erred in the severity of his sentence.
Juan Luis Llamas said his sentence of 132 months jail time and $4.3 million in paybacks was disproportionate to his crime and asked that a higher court reconsider ruling.
On Wednesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a reconsideration of the restitution order for Juan Luis Llamas stating that “the district court abused its discretion.”
According to court documents, Llamas moved to Costa Rica in 2004 to work in a sweepstakes scam in which potential victims were lured to pay $1,500 to $3,000 with claims they had won a cash prize.
In order to claim their prize, they were told to wire the cash advance through Western Union to ensure safe delivery.
“No prize money was ever paid, of course, and the fraud scheme continued in this manner until victims were no longer willing to cough up additional funds,” wrote Judge Frank D. Whitney in the opinion document.
Llamas remained in Costa Rica for ten months, during which time he received an average salary of $600 a week to serve as a support staff and office manager for the call center. Two and a half years after he left the country, he was apprehended in California and charged with 42 counts of wire fraud, 19 counts of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Llamas did not act alone in the sweepstakes scheme. In June 2009, Llamas’ former employer Michael Kearns, 33, of Sacramento, Calif. was sentenced to nine years in prison. Two other employees – Herman Kankrini, 44, of Montreal, Canada and Severin Marcel Stone, 32, of Los Angeles – were sentenced to 87 and 90 months in prison respectively. Collectively, they were ordered to pay $20 million restitution.
In total, 46 defendants have been charged for their roles in the scheme and, according to a June press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 33 have pleaded guilty.
Story by TT
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Friday, March 19th, 2010
People who are thinking of taking my tours should do so now since I read in today’s newspaper that the conomic crisis is almost over in Costa Rica. Our little country has recovered faster than the United States.
All indicators point out that the economic crisis is slowly coming to an end and the country is recuparating. Supporting that is the fact that there have been 35.995 new jobs created between August 2009 and January 2010.
The figures were released by the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS).
A poll by Manpower shows that Costa Rica is the number two in job expectations in Latin America, with a 23% net gain in jobs.
Other indicators that the economic crisis is almost done and over with is the fact that 40.000 people attended the 10 days of the Expomóvil, the annual car show, that is really one big open ten saleathon for new and used vehicles.
Add to that is the report by the Camára Nacional de Turimso (Canatur) that hotels and tour operators report an 80% occupancy rate for this Semana Santa.
And the Cámara de la Construcción is predicting a 13% increase in new hiring that translates into 15.000 new jobs in the sector.
Of course those who lost their jobs in the past year see it totally different.
The price of consumer goods, clothing, groceries, appliances, etc. is still the same, while their income took a drastic drop. The economic crisis affected greatly the lower middle class to the lower class, which are still reeling from the effects and don’t see the positive side like the other classes.
However, experts in economy say the country is coming out of the crisis and there will a strong increase in hiring in the coming two years.
According to the Univesidad Nacional (UNA) economist, Roxana Morales, in October 2008 there were 1.391.129 employed, in January 2010 the number of employed rose to 1.405.299 or 14.170 more people employed.
Also, the monthly economic index produced by the Banco Central shows that the economic activity in January 2010 was 6% higher than in January 2009.
Economic experts suggest that the use of credit cards be reasonable and keeping financial order is important, as well as not speculate on the future movements of the dollar/colon exchange rate.
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Friday, March 19th, 2010
NSF International opened an office in Costa Rica to provide food safety auditing, certification, consulting and training services to growers, manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. NSF Costa Rica will help businesses meet new global food safety regulatory requirements, food safety certification services and sustainability solutions.
Food exports from Latin America and the Caribbean comprise $66 billion or 12 percent of the world’s total food trade. This figure could increase rapidly over the coming decades if food safety and quality standards are improved, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Safeguarding the world’s food supply requires collaboration among the government and the entire food industry, including retailers and manufacturers and third-party auditing bodies.
“With offices throughout North and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific and now Central America, we are well positioned to help international clients as they source food products from Latin America. We look forward to expanding our services in this area to the produce, organic, seafood, manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors,” said Tom Chestnut, NSF International vice president of food safety and quality.
Included among NSF International’s services is certification to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked standards. This is essential as several of the world’s largest food companies have chosen to mandate compliance with one of the GFSI-benchmarked standards, including British Retail Consortium (BRC), Safe Quality Food (SQF), GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practices), International Food Standard (IFS) and Food Safety System Certification (FSSC). NSF’s sustainability services, such as greenhouse gas verification, carbon footprinting and environmental management systems registration, will also be offered.
“Our NSF Costa Rica office will enable NSF to better serve the growing number of processors and manufacturers in Latin America who are exporting their products to the United States,” said Kevan P. Lawlor, NSF International president and CEO. “The new office will also help businesses in Central America and the Caribbean meet the increasing demand for food safety and certification services in this region.”
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