Costa In Invest Rica

Costa Vista Land uncovers the mystery of purchasing land in exotic Costa Rica on a new audio CD. Investors will learn about affordable opportunities to purchase a parcel of land in Costa Rica, the quality of life in Costa Rica and resources for a seamless transaction.

The 50-minute CD interviews Dave Lovendahl, President of Costa Vista Marketing, on all aspects of buying Costa Rica property. A long-time Costa Rican landowner, Lovendahl shares his expertise with interested investors looking for their own slice of paradise.

Suze Orman Hosts Her First Cruise

MIAMI, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Suze Orman, America's favorite personal finance expert, will host her first ever cruise from December 9-16, 2007 aboard the Costa Fortuna. During the seven-night Sail With Suze cruise, Orman will answer questions in a tell it like it is, easy-to-understand style while giving advice and direction through four in-depth workshops, including: How To Make More Out Of Less, Retirement Planning, Investments, and Estate Planning.

The stunning 105,000-ton (2,720 passenger) Costa Fortuna is sailing her inaugural Caribbean season from Ft.

New Twist On Foreign Lottery 'Smart Scams'

(CBS) CHICAGO Foreign lottery scams are at the top of the fraud charts with law enforcement authorities. They estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars a year are lost to fraud rings based in countries like Canada, Spain and Australia, to name a few. The CBS 2 Investigators look at the new twist to this old scam that accounts for its resurgence. As CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, it's a smart scam that turned a smart man into a big loser. Like millions of Americans, 79-year-old Arent Jacobson was bombarded with announcements he'd won big money in foreign lotteries. "He believed it. And this is a man that is highly educated. Very intelligent, said Jacobsons daughter, Linda Walsh. The retired attorney wired a series of $2,500 payments to people in Canada and Costa Rica who told him a string of lies.

Online Gambling: The billionaire prince of Bodog

He so wants to be a star. Not a Hollywood star. That level of name recognition, he'd like that. But with respect for his business acumen as well. Like Diddy or Trump, or, better, Richard Branson -- equally comfortable in an investment bankers' office as the boldfaced type of the gossip blogs. It would all be in the name of his brand, of course, of Bodog Entertainment Group SA, which started out as an Internet gambling company but which Ayre is looking to turn into something more.

So today, wearing an expression of patient indulgence under his Bulgari sunglasses, the 45-year-old Ayre is on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to attend a day of filming for his mixed-martial arts TV show, BodogFight, which is broadcast in Canada on The Fight Network. He arrives in a chartered helicopter, then is chauffeured by bulletproof Hummer to the set.

Costa Rica Presents Desired Location for Affordable Second Homes ...

Each day, more Americans are attracted to nearby Costa Rica as a place to build second homes. Low property and labor costs and the natural beauty of the country are a few reasons Americans are are attracted to Costa Rica.

In addition to the country's natural beauty, Costa Rica property and development costs are remarkably lower than in the United States, and return on investments are higher.

New Website Helps GLBT People Relocate to Costa Rica

Gays and lesbians looking to relocate to Costa Rica have a new website to check out—www.gaysincostarica.com—thanks to San Ramon-based ex-pat Terry Sharp.

"For many years, most of the foreigners moving to Costa Rica permanently were those people from the U.S. or Canada who just wanted to invest/retire and live a simple, quiet life here," Sharp, co-founder of GICRT, said in a release. "Now, however, we're finding that more and more younger people, particularly gay and lesbian people, want to escape the 'rat race' in North America and Europe and they're finding that Costa Rica is a nearly perfect environment in which to live, start a business or even continue their home-based businesses.

CoStar Green Report: Building Green Becomes the New 'Black'

In this issue of the CoStar Green Report, Ernst & Young predicts that green principles will become synonymous with real estate profits; Bank of America introduces reduced rates for green borrowing; Vail looks to build the U.S. first environmentally friendly neighborhood; plus news that IKEA will phase out plastic bags by charging for them, and more news. The New 'Black' Green will become the new black in 2007, predicts Ernst & Young. Green building - once dismissed by major developers as "too expensive" will become almost a necessity as tenants, lenders, residents, and even investors push for sustainability. Nor is green restricted to building. Look for green principles to become synonymous in the real estate industry with solid, cost-efficient operating principles. "If you aren't at least meeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards in new construction, there's an increasing risk - one likely to accelerate in the next five years - that your project may falter," say the authors Katherine Hammack and Rick Sinkuler.

Food as Oil?

While the 1990s were marked by “Food for Oil," The first quarter of the Twenty-First Century will be marked by "Food AS Oil," and the implications of this for food security and food sovereignty are significant. As the Global North's desire for ethanol and clean gas increases, the amount of corn destined for food (and feed for animals that become food) decreases. As C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Senauer highlight in this months issue of Foreign Affairs, “filling the 25-gallon tank of an SUV with pure ethanol requires over 450 pounds of corn – which contains enough calories to feed one person for a year." With millions of people starving worldwide, it is worth reflecting a bit on biofuels.

Close To Retirement & Saved Less Than $1 Million? Then Consider This

Let's look at the alarming reality for many baby boomers and those close to retirement and ways to get around a poential poverty trap.