Expat Files – 07.30.17

#1- Land border crossing chaos. Land border bathroom blues. Johnny’s latest “boots on the ground” story #2- More examples of Latin upper-class racism/classism among upscale gringo copycats and first-world wannabees. #3- When so called type “A” Gringos and Expats come down (the shakers and movers) they often need to be the big fish in a small pond once again. Many …

STEPHANIE CHAN – When Simple Living Is No Simple Proposition

With the world at our fingertips and only a click, tap, and push notification away, there still seems to be one thing that eludes our grasp: simplification. A new wave of wearable tech aims to minimize smartphone use and silence the clamoring The tiny house movement is just what it sounds like: eschewing the breakfast nook and the guestroom and …

“Liar Loans” Are Back! 2008 Here We Come

Earlier this year, as the US auto sales miracle unfolded on the back of record loan terms and record high average monthly payments, we continually argued that underwriting standards were likely to deteriorate going forward as competition for the finite pool of creditworthy borrowers heats up. Helping to drive (no pun intended) the shift towards looser lending standards is the …

Goldman Sachs Doesn’t Have Clean Hands in Greece Crisis By Pam Martens and Russ Martens

Are Goldman Sachs executives Lloyd Blankfein, Gary Cohn and Addy Loudiadis losing any sleep over elderly pensioners waiting outside shuttered banks in Greece, desperately trying to obtain their pension checks to pay their rent and buy food? Are these Goldman honchos feeling a small pang of conscience over the humiliation by creditors of this once proud country? Perhaps Blankfein, who …