Andrea Germanos – Unlike US, Ireland Just Sent Three Bankers to Jail for Role in 2008 Crisis

A Dublin court has sent three former senior banking executives to jail for committing “sham transactions” in an effort to deceive customers and shareholders during the 2008 financial crisis. “The trio will be among the first senior bankers globally to be jailed for their role in the collapse of a bank during the crisis,” as Reuters reports. Former Anglo Irish Bank executive …

Media blackout grows: Huffington Post pulls Vaxxed movie review

The censorship continues to grow for the documentary, “Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe,” with the online news aggregator and blog site The Huffington Post removing a long-time contributor’s review of the film.  HuffPo  contributor Lance Simmens says he had recently submitted his article only to find it had been removed a short time later. Later, Simmens discovered he could no …

Expat Files – 04.08.16

MY TAKE ON THE MASSIVE “PANAMA PAPERS” LEAK:

A good percentage of smart Gringos and Expats living in Latin America have been lucky enough to get their assets out of the US and the US banking system. The see the writing on the wall and soon a desperate Big Brother will slam that exit door too. Smart people know that with the passage of FATCA, the bail-ins and the push for the cashless society, it’ll be the depositor’s money in US bank accounts that becomes the source of the next bank bailout- probably not another QE. That said, using offshore corporations and bank accounts have always been, perfectly legal ways to do business, keep money and assets somewhat anonymous as well as protected from confiscation and lawsuits etc. But now with the massive “Panama Leaks” story the world sees how corrupt, sociopathic, scumbag politicos and untouchable megabuck-jerks use these same legal tools to hide and redirect their payoffs and ill-gotten public loot. Unfortunately, with that breaking story everyone who uses these legal and valuable tools are now being stained by the media with the same brush…

BTW: hate to say I told you so but as I’ve said all along, Panama’s been labeled such a high-profile money-laundering center- a hot spot like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands- its naturally on every first-world tax authority’s radar. That said, only clueless gringos and Expats are nuts enough to bank or create Panama based corporations. If you need to incorporate or do banking, there are so many nicer, better, low key places in Latin America.

-INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPAT TAX PREPARER- PART ONE:

It’s APRIL! Gringos and Expats are much concerned with filing their US taxes and wonder who should prepare them. Today we have Part One of an interview with a profession Expat tax preparer with over 600 Expat clients. He lives in Medellin, Colombia so he knows the peculiarities concerning Expats and US taxes and we’ll ask him tax questions that most concern Expats.

Expat Files – 03.13.16

-Today we discuss cases where Gringos have been tapped for extortion and kidnapping.

It’s not a matter of bad luck but more a matter of location, location, location.

-“HOOTERS” closes its doors in El Salvador… you’ll never guess why

-What places in Mexico, South America and Central America are most safe for gringos and expats wishing to start up a “brick and mortar” business?

-Tips on how to scout out the best locations for your “brick and mortar” business.

-Going “off the grid” in Latin America. More and more gringos and expats are doing it!

-It can be difficult for gringos and expats to blend in and be accepted by the locals. But when it does happen, sometimes it can be downright unsettling… maybe even frightening.

-The amazing “pizza test” and the extent of Latin classism at every level

Expat Files – 03.11.16

-Gringos can have business problems and difficulties in Latin America:

Today we have Captain Mango describing the amazingly complex, idiotic hoops and hurdles he has had to maneuver through in order to start and maintain his small fleet of taxis.

-It’s true that while a small percentage of Latin businesses (like the taxi business and govt contractors) are plagued with mindless over-regulation and bureaucratic BS. Surprisingly enough, Latin governments do leave the vast majority of other small businesses almost completely alone.

It seems once one has done the routine chicken-without-a-head runaround in order to obtain the proper permits (which can take about a month), the government pinheads lay off and never bother your business again.

-Today we have yet more examples of poor maintenance and lack of detail inherent in the Latin workforce. However, if you want to start a business and need to hire help don’t despair. Latins are dedicated, smart and hard-working. You only need to train and instruct them correctly and the job performance will be up to anyone’s standards

Expat Files – 03.06.16

-Driving the famous Pan America Highway:

For all listeners who may be contemplating driving a vehicle from the States or Canada to Latin America, today we have a very informative and illustrative description of such a recent trip. This report comes from a stateside listener who made the entire 3000 mile journey just a few months ago: from California to Panama City by way of the Pan American Highway. You might have to hold on to your seat for this one…

-The skinny on pirated gasoline in Latin America:

Yes, it’s all over the place, at up to a 50 cent a gallon less than at the legit “gasolineras”. Is it diluted, altered, or the real McCoy? Where does it come from? The cops buy it all the time… does that mean you should give it a try?

-Breaking news:

There’s a big political and social scandal unfolding in Bolivia involving sex, government back door contracts and Evo Morales. Could politicians in the US get away with that stuff? No problem… just ask Bill and Hillary.

Expat Files – 03.04.16

-Today we have more emails from Canadian listeners. First, the subject is a professional couple hoping to transfer some of their first-world counseling and therapeutic skills down to Latin America. Their goal/wish is to continue working in a similar capacity once they arrive and get settled. So we’ll discuss the pros, cons, the options, availability and realities of coming down with high-level first-world skill sets. However it will be a difficult sell in a macho culture unaccustomed to modern healthcare therapies and a society that doesn’t much value one-on-one personal counseling- unless it comes from the neighborhood priest or pastor!

Again, it’s all about the lag-time effect…

– We also have a different kind of email from a well-traveled gringo an his wife who are looking to become permanent expats soon. I this case he and his wife’s concerns revolve around their handicapped daughter and the constant daily care, special training and therapy she will probably need for life. However, after some quality “boots on the ground” off the gringo tourists trail they have found some good solutions so far as they continue to make their exit plans and put the pieces together.

Expat Files – 02.28.16

– Do I get occasional hate mail and complaints directed at myself or the Expat Files show? Off course, but I have pretty thick skin. On that note, today we have just such an email of complaint from a Canadian listener. Since Canadians are generally nicer and more civil than us guys from Chicago (or Cleveland), this listener is kind and gentle about his complaints and even throws in a backhanded compliment or two. Oh but don’t worry, in a future show I’ll read a few of the more evil email complaints. I get those too…

-Today we have a discussion about gringos and their use and abuse of the Spanish language. You’ll not hear this stuff anywhere else.

-Early on (or in due time) nearly every Expat Gringo or Gringa has a bad day or two: mostly when dealing with Latin bureaucracy, lousy customer service or Latin tardiness that leads to unintended consequences. True, Gringos do rage and blow up in public. I’ve done it myself. However, there are laid back Expats who don’t necessarily explode in frustration but merely count to 10 or 20 (or 200) and fume and seethe internally. Today we have a first-hand story of a long-term Expat’s full-blown public blowup.

-Supposed USA real-estate “gurus” and their seminars are rolling through in Latin America as we speak. Talk about slick! They’re selling off condos in Miami to upscale Latins who are dying to have bragging rights in what they consider the northern Latin “Mecca”. Yup, just 10% down- and buyers also get the huge side benefit of a special US immigration “investors’ visa and automatic permanent residency for the buyer (and family) along with the deal. Its stark proof that Latins don’t do their housing homework and that they’ve never had a US housing market history lesson.

Breaking Up the Big Banks is Easy

Steve Eisman, the hedge fund manager of Big Short fame, argued against breaking up the big banks in a NYT column today. His basic argument is that we now have things under control because the regulators have effectively limited the banks’ ability to leverage themselves. He also says that even if we wanted to break up the banks, we don’t know how to do …