www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Down down baby! 512

From this mornings Inside Costa Rica.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I am not an economist, but I'm not sure that's much of a disadvantage. This subject interests me to no end, though my level of interest is not matched by my level of knowledge. Sigh.

Nevertheless, in my reckless way, I will offer a couple of thoughts. The first is that, like China, The Colon was manipulated and kept artificially low for a long time. This 'correction' is just the 'free market' doing its thing. This theory doesn't explain why the exchange rate was so high in October, but wtf.

A second thought is that we are dealing with a very small economy in Costa Rica. As ID has mentioned before, the supply of dollars varies quite a bit according to season, with tourists bringing in a lot of them at certain times of the year. With an economy as small as CR's, if the currency is allowed to float, it bobs up and down quite a bit with the shifting tides.

Another thought is that we are in the process of a 'race to the bottom' also called a 'beggar thy neighbor' period, much like the (first) Great Depression. The basic idea is to devalue/undervalue your currency in order to increase exports, make them cheaper and more attractive overseas. China does this, Japan does this and it seems the USA and Euro may be doing it as well. Poor little Costa Rica hasn't quite caught on to the game the big boys are playing.

I post on this subject and I'm frequently wrong, but I don't mind too much. If I am wrong often enough, perhaps they will make me Chairman of the Fed, like dear old Alan Greenspan.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

It's extremely hard for some to leave the politics out of it.

I didn't take that as a political statement. Alan Greenspan was appointed by President Reagan and served through both democrat and republican administrations until he retired in 2006.

I believe Bilko was making reference to Greenspan's economic policies, which he seems to disagree with, rather then any political reference.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I don't thinks "no politics" refers only to political statements per se (i.e. Rublicans are stupid.) I think "policies" is kind of in the same boat.

Main Entry: 1pol·i·cy
Pronunciation: \ˈpä-lə-sē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural pol·i·cies
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English policie government, policy, from Middle French police, policie — more at police
Date: 15th century

1 a : prudence or wisdom in the management of affairs b : management or procedure based primarily on material interest
2 a : a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions b : a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures especially of a governmental body

Fail to see the connection. If banning political discussion is a policy of CRT how would anyway determine that if thepolicy could not be discussed as a matter of policy?

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Like Bilko, I am interested in, but not knowledgeable about, this stuff.

There was an interesting article in La Nación last week about the recent trading in MONEX (the official CR currency market.) In March there were several days when someone (either the Central Bank or some other undisclosed player) made unusually large currency transactions (given the size of the local currency market.)



There are only 887 entities licensed to do Currency Trading on MONEX. It seems like someone has some pretty definite ideas about where the Dollar/Colon exchange rate ought to be.

Spanish http://www.nacion.com/2010-03-27/Economia/NotaPrincipal/Economia2316194.aspx

English http://translate.google.co.cr/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nacion.com%2F2010-03-27%2FEconomia%2FNotaPrincipal%2FEconomia2316194.aspx&sl=es&tl=en

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It's faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money--Tom T. Hall
No man is a failure who is enjoying life--William Faulkner

If it gets too bad, that 1-colon coin might even be useful for other to scrape "scratch-offs".

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Still only good for that. Officially out of circulation.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

While agreeing with Brother ID, Ted Williams is also officially out of circulation, but he may come back too (cryogenics, don't ya know).

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Being a monger and not an economist, does this mean RFM's are likely to up? Same granda in hospital for $325 now, when she used to cost $300 last summer? Say it isn't so.

Dean

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my first wingman sent me this, how true

" most of the girls down here, lie as a self defense mechanism and to not have to face the truth, thinking most men couldn't accept them knowing the whole truth. Simpler, they may just want men to think they are as perfect as they want to appear to them, trying to hide what they consider to be the ugly truth about themselves. And I may be reading more into it than is there, but I do believe they consider the basis of the lies to be justified."

Absolutely.

I am actually gaining advantage from the decline in the dollar vs. the Colones. If you are buying it sucks..if you happen to be selling something it's great!

Today:
Compra 515
Ventas 524.50

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!

Man, I leave a thread for a few days...

Orange, I was not speaking about Alan Greenspan's politics or really even his policies as much as his predictions and recommendations regarding the housing bubble, his recession denials and the advisability of taking out adjustable rate mortgages. He had plenty of company on all these policies on the left and right.

My main point is that even the most powerful and well educated economists are wrong as often as right. I was using that 'fact' as justification for espousing my economic views. It really did not have anything to do with his politics, whatever they may be.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Let me say it--Allan Greenspan was an incomprehensible fathead/ Capitalist pimp who just couldn't imagine doing his proper job of reining in the outrageous excesses then...and is shuckin'-and-jivin' about it now. His running buddy/ unindicted co-conspirator Robert Rubin (Secretary of the Treasury and point man for knuckling Fannie Mae/ FredidieMac to make those outrageous loan guarantees; later a director of Citigroup--he got $126 Million for 8 years of "work" there--he of course came from Goldman Sachs to government service) is, if that's possible, even worse. A pox and the responsibility for our ruination on their heads.

WE NEVER SEE WHAT WE REFUSE TO SEE.

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED