The Smartest Man Online

Panama is an interesting country to study, economically. With great taxation laws, banking laws, and rules that promote business, its growth over the past 20 years has been astounding. Much of it can be seen just visiting for a few days. Skyscrapers are everywhere, and the amount of construction going on in is, quite frankly, unbelievable for a country of only 2.5 million people. Within a 1 mile radius I saw no less than 5 newly built skyscrapers that were still under construction, all of which were at least 15 stories tall. While the economy there appears to be quite strong, just the sheer volume of new commercial space opening up tells me a possible real estate bubble could (more…)

Imagine a vast land mass stretching from the arctic circle in the north all the way down to antarctica in the south. If your a ship trying to get stuff from one side of that land mass to the other side, your only option is to sail tens of thousands of miles south, around the bottom tip of the land mass, and back up again several thousand miles. It is a daunting tasks requiring massive amounts of time and capital. But what other option is there… (more…)

Panama is a country that has been on a roller coaster swing for its entire existence. From being the centerpoint of the Spanish gold trade centuries ago to the near collapse of the economy in the middle of the 20th century, to the presidency of the Manuel Noriega, who originally was a spy for the US, and later was smoked out of his own house and transferred to the US prison, the history of Panama is filled with interesting antecdotes. One of the interesting things about Noriega´s presidency was that he instituted the safe haven banking laws that are now making Panama a tremendous center of finance. While he destroyed the economy in many ways, this single law (more…)