www.CostaRicaTicas.com

One commenter on a news channel said yesterday that if the Egyptian situation worsens to the point of closing the Suez Canal, oil prices could hit $200 a barrel. Imagine what that will do to airfares.

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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

closing the canal would choke commerce worldwide indeed

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Oil may go up a bit for a small time but it will remain around 100 a barrel for the rest of 2011.

The forces that be are gonna keep it that way. Just my opinion but time will tell.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

I've seen much of the garbage spewing out of the so-called business talking heads (am I the only one wondering why anyone would listen to so-called experts whose track record was getting the financial collapse so wrong?) If you scan at least one article on what the military is doing they are guarding tourist sites, historical buildings, and of course the canal. The protests and actions are directed at removing Mubarak period. Hamas is assisting the Muslim Brotherhood (the police are no longer guarding the border) and they are guarding public buildings, handing out food and water, and providing medical care.

Egyptians are patriotic not fanatical or jaded. But of course, expect oil prices to rise, at least petroleum products at the retail level because, well, big business is at the very least opportunistic.

...or if this thing gains traction and panic spreads throughout the region and other countries, we might see a replay of Sep-Nov 2008. Assets were sold off, including oil as it went from $147/bbl to $33/bbl from July to December of that year. The following April, I got a flight to SJO for $235rt and an exchange rate of 590 colones to the dollar..

Watch the US dollar index (DXY) for clues as to which way this thing plays out. Despite all the bad press about the dollar recently, during times of economic stress, it is still the preferred safe haven (for the time being). If the DXY breaks above and stays above 81.44, it should bode well for lower oil prices.

My dos centavos,
CH

I never owned an equity until 2010. I did get my friends out of the "internet" tech stocks in 99 and several say I saved them big $$$. I switched from residential property investing to commercial in 2002 as the cheap money from govt backed loans drove up the cash prices on residential properties. I am not offering any advice here but really appreciate everyone else s .

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Published: 6:57AM Wednesday February 02, 2011 Source: Reuters




Cargo operations at Egypt's Alexandria and Damietta ports have come to a virtual standstill as widespread unrest keeps key staff from work and throws the economy into turmoil, shipping sources said today.

At least a million people rallied across Egypt clamouring for President Hosni Mubarak to give up power, piling pressure on a leader who has towered over Middle East politics for 30 years.

Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, told Reuters on Tuesday there were no shipment delays on contracted wheat orders.

But shipping sources said the Mediterranean terminals, which especially handle bulk and container shipments including grains, had been affected by the daily curfew across the country.

"It (Alexandria port) is not closed but there is no work. Customs officials are not there. There is nobody to operate the cranes," said Dan Delany, an Alexandria-based agent for the Lloyd's of London insurance market.

"You could say the country has effectively shut down."


South Korea's Hanjin Shipping said on Tuesday it was re-routing some of its container vessels due to the unrest in Egypt which had hampered drydock operations at several ports.

Sources said this week the protests were disrupting the country's grains imports with some shipments from the United States being delayed due to problems related to letters of credit.

Egypt's banks will remain shut for a third day tomorrow and the central bank said it is still assessing whether they will close again the next day.

"Alexandria port is still open but no one is working for the moment," an Egyptian shipping source said.

"Their cargo operations are not working properly because of labour problems."

Sources identified similar problems at Damietta port with ship container operations being disrupted at Port Said as well.

A French trader said a ship he had chartered to export an agricultural cargo to Egypt was circling close to the port of Damietta because he was afraid of not being paid by the private Egyptian buyer.

"We're afraid of not being paid, we'd rather have the boat go round and round. And everyone else is doing the same thing. We don't want the ship to dock without being sure we'll be paid," he said.

Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Monday it has suspended its terminal operations at Port Said.



Movement of traffic through the Suez Canal was unaffected, the Canal Authority said today.

Shipping sources said the Egyptian military had increased deployments at the canal and other strategically important sites such as the Sumed oil pipeline which links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.

"So long as the army remains unified and protesters do not target this infrastructure they are likely to remain safe," said John Drake, a senior risk consultant with security firm AKE Ltd.

"It would take a major deterioration in the security environment for opportunists to target such strategic and well defended interests."

At least 140 people have been killed in eight days of turmoil with protesters demanding a new era of democracy.

Freight players said tanker traffic through the Suez Canal was estimated to make up around only 15% all transits.

"We believe that any disruptions to the Sumed pipeline will have greater consequences for tanker shipping than a closure of the canal," said Sverre Svenning, director of research at broker Fearnleys.

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Anyone else wondering if President Obama should have gone on national TV to say something about Egypt? He speaks out and then, violence in the streets.

January 29,2011.


Half way there and it looks like my prediction is on the money.

_________________
* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.