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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 251
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Foreign
ministry applauds
results of apostille system By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rica has sent out 124,853 documents to foreign lands under the new apostille system, the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto said Wednesday. The new system went into effect in December 2011 and eliminated the need for consular approval of official documents. That also is the case of foreign documents coming into Costa Rica. The ministry said that the bulk of the documents that receive its blessing come from the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, the Dirección Nacional de Notariado, the Ministerio de Educación Pública, the Registro Nacional and professional organizations. They may be birth, marriage or divorce documents, academic degrees, property titles and similar. The apostille system, government by an international convention, is seen as a way to increase the competitivity of the country, said the ministry. Most expats encounter this system when they seek foreign documents to complete their residency application. Train kills pedestrian in San Pedro mishap By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 23-year-old man with the last name of Arguello died Tuesday night when he was hit by a train just north of Mall San Pedro. The man was reported to be walking south and did not see the train, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. The case still is being investigated. There are no crossing gates along the train route, but the engineer usually blows a horn at intersections. The tracks cross the Circunvalación in that area as well as several sidewalks. Forest fire fighters hone skills in international meet By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
While expats see the dry season as blue skies and afternoon picnics, forest fire fighters see field fires. They are getting ready. More than 250 fire fighters from six countries have participated in a Central American gathering to improve their skills. The event was held in Cartago sponsored in part by the U.S. government through USAID. Officials said that in Costa Rica nearly all field and woods fires have a human cause. Hunters and poachers frequently let campfires get out of control. The winds of the dry season do the rest. 4.8 magnitude quake rattles southern part of country By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 4.8 magnitude quake rattled parts of southern Costa Rica about 9:05 p.m. Wednesday. The Laboratorio de Ingenieria Sismica said the epicenter was about 9 kilometers east southeast of Pavon de Golfito. The quake was felt moderately in Corredores and Ciudad Neily, the Laboratorio said. Country to host observers for elections in February By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rica has invited a team of observers designated by the Organizaton of American States to observe its general election Feb. 2. The agreement between the country and the hemispheric body provides immunity and certain benefits for observers. Costa Rica was the first nation to receive observers from the Organization of American States. That was in 1962. Observers are not expected to have a difficult time. The election is under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, a branch of government setup for that purpose. 'Tico Tales' returns to Jacó for holiday performances Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
Teatro Jacó presents “Tico Tales” Dec. 26 through Dec. 29, 2013 and Jan. 2 through Jan. 5 in Jacó, The bilingual musical adaptation of traditional Costa Rican folk tales embodies the spirit and ancient traditions of the Costa Rican people while bringing to life the powerfully ominous stories of El Cadejos, Duendes, La Llorona, La Segua and other traditional characters, the theater said. Showtime is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for children and $20 for adults. Tickets and reservations are available at 2630-9812 or info@teatrojaco.com. More information is at www.teatrojaco.com. Saturday, Dec. 28, marks the second anniversary of Teatro Jacó. Audiences will have a special performance and after-show party with appearances from cast members of Tico Tales, refreshments and other live entertainment. Tickets for the anniversary performance and party are $30. Under the management of Darren Lee Cole, Teatro Jacó brings entertainment to the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica by producing professional theatrical productions from around the world, providing in-school workshops, drama and dance instruction for all ages, cultural arts exchanges and free community performances, the theater noted. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 251 | |
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| Judge is reported to have sent Luis
Milanes case to trial |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Luis Ángel Milanes Tamayo fraud case has taken another turn. A judge has ordered the case to trial, according to messages some lawyers are sending their clients. There has been no confirmation by the Poder Judicial. Judge Dayanna Segura Mena has been considering the case for nearly three weeks. The judge is about to go on maternity leave, and former investors in the Milanes operation, Savings Unlimited, were worried that the case would go back to square one if a new judge took over. Judge Segura has received praise from some of the investors for her attention to detail and understanding of the case. There has been a procession of judges and prosecutors since Milanes returned to Costa Rica in June 2008. Some investors expressed disappointment that the judge did not also order that Milanes be put in preventative detention. Lead prosecutor Marcela Muñoz asked the judge to do that in an early November hearing because she considered him a flight risk. http://www.amcostarica.com/110613.htm The judge probably was swayed because Milanes is the owner of a string of Central Valley casinos and because he also put up property as a bond when he returned to the country. One lawyer in a message to clients estimated that the trial is eight months away. Savings Unlimited is one of those high interest operations that collapsed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the subsequent crackdown on international money flows. Milanes was a competitor of the so-called Brothers operation run by Luis Enrique Villalobos and his brother Oswaldo. Both firms offered up to 3 per cent a month for cash deposits. Milanes attracted some customers because his operation in Edificio Colón appeared to be more professional. There was a |
bank-like atmosphere complete with a
cashier's window. By contrast, Enrique Villalobos handed out
monthly returns in cash stuffed into envelopes and sometimes threw in a
free Bible. Villalobos refused to say what he was doing with his investors money. Milanes claimed he was investing in casinos. Judges who convicted Oswaldo of aggravated fraud said the Villalobos operation was a ponzi scheme. There has been no ruling on the character of the Milanes operation. Milanes vanished in late November 2002 about six weeks after Villalobos suspended operations. Enrique Villalobos still is missing. The judge's decision in the Milanes case is the latest twist in what already is a tangled tale. The casino owner was trying to buy off his creditors and has put properties into the name of a trust to benefit the investors. The case came to a climax when Milanes failed to make cash payments that eventually would have been shared with the creditors. In October, the judge negotiated a settlement whereby Milanes would pay $578,000, an amount that would have brought some money to the former investors and, of course, the lawyers involved in the case. One of the investors objected, and the judge suspended the negotiations. Investors lost perhaps as much as $200 million when Milanes closed down 11 years ago. He has said that a former partner took the bulk of the money. Milanes appears to have had unusual luck with the Poder Judicial. He spent just a night in jail when he returned, the casinos never entered into the settlement deal and the judiciary as well as investor lawyers accepted properties even though they had impediments with the titles. He is a Cuban American. |
| Found objects challenge 52 artists to
create unique works |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Some 52 artists have created 104 works using found objects, including many that show the ravages of time. This is the new show that runs until Jan. 30 at the Galería Nacional of the Centro Costarricense de Ciencia y Cultura. The facility is part of the Museo de los Niños. The works include worn shoes, pieces of metal, discarded hammocks, bottles, old televisions, pieces of wood and even the shell of a hand grenade that has been spiffed up with rhinestones. All the artists are Costa Rican. Artists Luis Chacón, Vita Cascante and Rodrigo Rubí are curators of the show. The museo is visible north of Avenida 9 in north San José. |
 Los Zapatos by Zoleila Solano and
Luis Fernando Quirós
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| Guanacaste artist believes in bold
colors, subjects from nature |
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Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
Growing up in the beautiful province of Guanacaste, the sights and colors filled Costa Rican artist Carmen Silva with a sense of wonder. Surrounded by so many facets of nature, her passion to capture her emotions on canvas was the inspiration to develop her artistic flair. Her ability to do this is demonstrated by a show that begins Saturday in her home province. "Though most of my family's talents lies in their voices and music abilities," Ms. Silva said, "strangely, for me, I needed a more physical outlet and have always been drawn to the visual arts. Colors of nature consume me: feathers of birds, colors of plants and other fauna." She said she recalled as a child traveling to San José to visit the museums and was fortunate to experience Madrid and Paris where she was captivated by the Museo del Prado and the Louvre." It was fascinating to see the original Van Gogh's and paintings of the Impressionists," she said After raising her children, Ms. Silva decided to explore her creative talent and began taking private lessons from Costa Rican artists such as Jim Theologos, Gilberto Aquino Pérez and Hernán Pérez Pérez. "Learning from these artists has been a magical experience and instrumental in learning various techniques to help me find my own path to celebrate my joy of life," said the artist. "Silva transports the viewer into a world full of life by starting with a blank canvas, combining nature and her imagination with interlaced brushstrokes, textures, and magical colors," said Aquino. Having participated in over 10 individual exhibits and 23 |
 Hidden Garden Art Gallery photo
Carmen Silva at work with bold
colors.collective exhibits, Ms. Silva's newest exhibit, "Luz y Color," premieres at the Hidden Garden Art Gallery Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is located five kilometers west of the Daniel Oduber airport. More information is available by email HERE, by telephone to 2667-0592 or 8386-6872 or the galley Web site HERE! |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 251 | |||||
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| U.S. Federal Reserve chief says bond purchases will be
reduced in January |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. Federal Reserve will start scaling back its monthly bond-buying program as early as next month. But the reduction will be gradual. The Federal Reserve has been buying $85 billion a month in government bonds in an effort to keep interest rates low and boost economic growth. Outgoing chairman Ben Bernanke says the stimulus is working. Ever since the U.S. central bank introduced the latest round of monetary stimulus 12 months ago, long-term interest rates have remained near zero and unemployment has fallen a full percentage point. As a result, the Federal Reserve says it's time to begin reducing its bond purchases by $10 billion starting in January. Bernanke said the decision reflects the committee’s confidence in the U.S. recovery. “Notably despite significant fiscal headwinds, the economy has been expanding at a moderate pace, and we expect that growth will pick up somewhat in coming quarters," said Bernanke. |
Although inflation
remains well below levels that would suggest growth,
the Fed says the economy is likely to expand at an annualized rate of
about 3 percent with unemployment falling to about 6.5 percent by the
end of 2014. Bernanke says further reductions in bond purchases will take place in measured steps, depending on economic conditions. “If the economy slows for some reason or we are disappointed in the outcomes, we could skip a meeting or two. On the other side, if things really pick up, then of course we could go a bit faster. But my expectation is for similar moderate steps going forward throughout most of 2014," he said. Stocks surged on Wall Street following the announcement. Even though many investors were expecting the Fed’s bond purchases to remain at current levels until March, economist Uri Dadush said the impact of the so-called taper was anticipated the moment Bernanke hinted at the possibility in May. Despite the improved outlook, Bernanke warns the economy still needs the Fed's support. Bernanke, who is set to step down in January, says his replacement is committed to keeping interest rates near record lows until unemployment falls well below 6.5 percent. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 251 | |||||
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 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory photo
This is the slurry that contains
a high percentage of water.Algae projects
creates oil
rapidly with heat, pressure By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
It used to take a million years to convert algae to oil, but scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory say they have developed a process to do the job in minutes. In the process, a slurry of wet algae with the consistency of pea soup is pumped into the front end of a chemical reactor. Once the system is up and running, out comes crude oil in less than an hour, along with water and a byproduct stream of material containing phosphorus that can be recycled to grow more algae. While algae has long been considered a potential source of biofuel, and several companies have produced algae-based fuels on a research scale, the fuel is projected to be expensive. The lab's technology harnesses algae's energy potential efficiently and incorporates a number of methods to reduce the cost of producing algae fuel. "Cost is the big roadblock for algae-based fuel," said Douglas Elliott, the laboratory fellow who led the team's research. "We believe that the process we've created will help make algae biofuels much more economical." The most important cost-saving step is that the process works with wet algae. Most current processes require the algae to be dried — a process that takes a lot of energy and is expensive. The new process works with an algae slurry that contains as much as 80 to 90 percent water. "Not having to dry the algae is a big win in this process; that cuts the cost a great deal," said Elliott. "Then there are bonuses, like being able to extract usable gas from the water and then recycle the remaining water and nutrients to help grow more algae, which further reduces costs." Other processes for converting algae to oil exist, but according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, its process can continuously convert 1.5 liters of slurry into biofuel per hour. They say additionally their process eliminates the need for complex solvents like hexane. Instead, the lab team works with the whole algae, subjecting it to very hot water under high pressure to tear apart the substance, converting most of the biomass into liquid and gas fuels. The method requires a lot of heat and a lot of pressure, which together causes what is called hydrothermal liquefaction and catalytic hydrothermal gasification. While not cheap to build, Elliott says the savings on the back end more than makes up for the investment. "It's a bit like using a pressure cooker, only the pressures and temperatures we use are much higher," he said. "In a sense, we are duplicating the process in the Earth that converted algae into oil over the course of millions of years. We're just doing it much, much faster." A biofuels company, Utah-based Genifuel Corp., has licensed the technology and is working with an industrial partner to build a pilot plant using the technology. The company has been working with Elliott since 2008. The research results were reported in the journal Algal Research. Presidential panel suggests restrictions on NSA spying By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A special panel appointed by President Barack Obama has released its report on U.S. surveillance activities. Obama ordered the report and a wider government-wide review earlier this year amid leaks by exiled former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Leaks by Edward Snowden about NSA eavesdropping programs created a huge problem for the U.S. intelligence community and for Obama. Obama has described the programs, approved and modified at various points by Congress and overseen by a special court, as important to keeping Americans safe, but has called for more self-restraint by the NSA.
Revelations added significant new layers to what is known about government information gathering, including data on telephone calls and activities on the Internet. In its 300-page report, the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies makes 46 recommendations. One is to end bulk storage of so-called metadata of the telephone records of Americans by the government, in favor of storage by private companies or a third party, rather than the NSA. It also says the government should not as a general rule and without senior policy review, be permitted to collect and store all mass, undigested, non-public personal information about individuals to enable future queries and data-mining for foreign intelligence purposes. Other recommendations include: requiring a court to approve individual searches of phone and Internet data, and limiting the NSA's emergency authority regarding tracking of known targets of counterterrorism surveillance who enter the United States. The panel urges a new process to identify uses and limits of surveillance on foreign leaders and in foreign nations. It says decisions should consider negative effects, and whether other means or targets of collection could reliably reveal needed information. The review group met with Obama Wednesday although its report was submitted last week. Press secretary Jay Carney said the decision to release the report was made because of inaccurate and incomplete media reports about its content. He said Obama will be very deliberate in assessing the document during his upcoming holiday vacation and speak to the nation in January, when a separate overall internal U.S. government review is completed. "The president has made clear that even as we review our efforts and make some changes in how we do things, we will not harm our ability to face those threats; that is his number one obligation as commander-in-chief," he said. Carney said there is no doubt that the Snowden leaks created an intense focus on the surveillance issue, both in the U.S. and abroad. The official U.S. position on Snowden remains unchanged, with the White House saying he should return to the U.S. to face felony charges. The White House disagrees with suggestions that Snowden receive amnesty to prevent him from releasing additional information that could further damage U.S. security and relations with allies. The Obama administration faced more pressure this week from a federal court ruling that found the bulk collection of data about telephone calls made by Americans is likely unconstitutional. Obama also faced pressure from high-tech executives who met with him. They are reported to have urged aggressive reforms and voiced concern about damage to U.S. credibility and business interests abroad. Interviewed on CBS's 60 Minutes, the NSA chief, Gen. Keith Alexander, denied that the agency is collecting email or monitoring the phone conversations of Americans, saying the NSA's job is foreign intelligence. He said the NSA can target communications of a U.S. person only with a probable cause finding under a court order. But he voiced concern about any decision to allow phone records to reside with private phone companies. Indian diplomat sends email home to describe treatment By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
An Indian diplomat arrested in the United States last week says she faced repeated handcuffing and cavity searches while being
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called India's national security advisor to discuss Ms. Khobragade's Dec. 12 arrest, saying U.S. laws must be enforced, but also expressing regret at the events that unfolded after her detention. India has reacted with outrage to the incident. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said the isolated episode is not indicative of the close and mutually respectful ties that the U.S. and India share. He said U.S. officials are looking into the intake procedures surrounding this arrest to ensure that all standard procedures were followed and that every opportunity for courtesy was extended. Supporters of a small opposition party staged an anti-U.S. protest in New Delhi Wednesday. Tuesday, Indian authorities asked U.S. consular officers to return their identity cards, rescinded airport passes and removed concrete security barriers from in front of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. State Department spokesman Marie Harf said the U.S. expects that American "diplomats should be allowed to continue with their jobs. They should not be impeded from doing them in any way." The 39-year-old Ms. Khobragade is accused of making false statements in support of the visa application of an Indian national she brought to the United States to serve as household staff. She also is accused of paying the woman less than the minimum wage. Ms. Khobragade, who says she is innocent, has been released on $250,000 bail. Narrow Russian amnesty to benefit high profile cases By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Russia's parliament on Wednesday adopted an amnesty which lawyers said would free two jailed members of punk band Pussy Riot and enable 30 people arrested in a Greenpeace protest against Arctic oil drilling to avoid trial. Such an outcome would remove two of many irritants in ties with the West before Russia hosts the Winter Olympics in February. Concern over Russia's treatment of gays is already threatening to cloud the atmosphere at the Sochi Games. The State Duma, or lower house, unanimously approved the amnesty proposed by President Vladimir Putin to mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of Russia's post-Soviet constitution. Human rights activists say the amnesty is far too narrow, freeing only a tiny fraction of Russia's more than half a million prisoners. It will not benefit prominent Putin foes such as jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky or opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who will be kept out of elections for years by a theft conviction he says was politically motivated. But lawyers said it would lead to the early release of Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, whose two-year sentences over an anti-Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral have been criticized in the West as excessive. Greenpeace said an amendment added hours before the vote would almost certainly end legal proceedings against 30 people who faced jail terms of up to seven years over a protest at an Arctic offshore oil platform in September, allowing the 26 foreigners among them, from 17 countries, to go home. “We have good news,” Greenpeace Russia said on Twitter. “The Duma has voted to grant amnesty to the Greenpeace activists.” The arrest of the men and women, dubbed the Arctic 30, also drew Western criticism and was widely seen as a signal that Putin will not tolerate efforts to stop Russia's development of the resource-rich region where nations are vying for clout. A lawyer for Ms. Tolokonnikova and Ms. Alyokhina, whose prison terms end in March, said she hoped they would walk free within days. “It's a very narrow amnesty. I'm very glad it applies to my clients,” lawyer Irina Khrunova said by telephone. The amnesty will take effect when it is published in the official government gazette, which is expected on Thursday. The Arctic 30 were arrested after Russian coast guards boarded the Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise following a Sept. 18 protest in which some of the activists tried to scale Russia's first offshore oil platform in the Arctic. They were charged with hooliganism, jailed in stark conditions for two months and have been unable to leave Russia since their release on bail. “I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place,” Greenpeace quoted Arctic Sunrise's U.S. captain Peter Willcox as saying. “We sailed north to bear witness to a profound environmental threat but our ship was stormed by masked men wielding knives and guns. We were never the criminals here.” A Greenpeace lawyer said it was unclear whether the foreigners, who do not have visas, could leave Russia by Jan. 1. Putin, accused by his critics of curbing democracy during 14 years in power and stifling dissent in his third presidential term, said last month the amnesty should underscore the humanism of our state. It would release many elderly and young people, women with young children and people with disabilities. But members of Putin's own human rights council estimate it will free fewer than 1,500 convicts. Almost all Russian trials end in convictions and the prison population is nearly 700,000. Critics also say it could lead to the release of some police, soldiers and government bureaucrats charged with crimes, but will leave in jail people accused of violence against police, including protesters at an anti-Putin rally last year. Bitcoin takes a big tumble after Chinese crackdown By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The meteoric rise of the controversial virtual currency Bitcoin appears to be over, at least for now. China, where wild speculation had sent the price of Bitcoin skyrocketing, announced today that it was no longer accepting yuan deposits for the cybercurrency. The announcement sent the price of Bitcoins tumbling after the midday announcement, sinking as low as 2,503 yuan ($412) by early evening after starting the day at 3,755 yuan ($618). Less than a month ago, the currency sold for as high as $1,250. BTC, the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, made the announcement on its Weibo account, saying "due to the reasons that everyone knows, BTC China has to temporarily stop its yuan account recharging functions." BTC said Bitcoin holders can still top up their accounts using Bitcoins and withdraw yuan. "We essentially got notice from our third-party provider today that they will discontinue accepting payments for us and new deposits," said Bobby Lee, chief executive of BTC China, according to the South China Morning Post. "We're still operating a Bitcoin exchange in China legally, and we're still allowing people to deposit and withdraw Bitcoin . . . ." The clampdown comes in the wake of fears among Chinese officials that the cybercurrency, which is anonymous and operates independently of any bank or government, could become a viable alternative to the yuan, which is not freely convertible. Bitcoin potentially could have offered an untraceable and anonymous way for Chinese to move their money offshore. Senate approves agreement for two-year budget deal By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. Senate has voted 64 to 36 to approve a two-year federal budget that eases automatic spending cuts and averts the threat of another government shutdown. The measure received bipartisan support, which is a rarity in an otherwise politically fractured body. It now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature. The budget gives Washington a two-year reprieve from the fiscal wars that halted federal operations for 16 days in October. Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat, was elated. “What a refreshing development in this town, where so many times we just fall flat on our face,” said Durbin. The budget deal passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives last week. It proves that Congress can function, says Sen. Angus King, an independent. “We can, in fact, talk to each other. We can, in fact, compromise. We can, in fact, make financial and fiscal arrangements around here that make sense, that are rational, that prioritize, and we can do our jobs,” he said. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, a Democrat, crafted the deal with her Republican House counterpart. Ms. Murray said the accord softens automatic spending cuts while collecting additional revenues for a net reduction of the federal deficit. “The bipartisan Budget Act puts jobs and economic growth first by rolling back those automatic and harmful cuts to education, medical research, infrastructure investments and defense jobs for the next two years,” said Ms. Murray. Three dozen senators, all Republicans, voted against the bill, including fiscal hardliner Tom Coburn. “It is a compromise for the politicians. It is not a compromise for the American people because what it really does is increase spending and increase taxes.” Coburn and other Republicans were disappointed that the budget fails to address America’s long-term fiscal imbalances, while Democrats complained that it does not extend federal compensation for the unemployed. Even as senators prepared to vote on the budget bill, the chamber was not free of partisan attacks. Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican, blasted Obama’s health care law. “We have seen the president’s health care law is nothing more than a collection of deceptions, delays and disappointments,” said Barrasso. Despite the budget deal, fiscal drama could return to the Capitol in February, when the government once again will reach its borrowing limit. |
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| A.M. Costa
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American wins art
lottery to obtain Picasso work By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A million-dollar drawing by Pablo Picasso was snapped up on Wednesday by a 25-year-old American art lover at an online charity raffle for a mere 100 euros ($140). Jeffrey Gonano said he had been looking for a picture to hang on his living room wall when he read a news article about “L'Homme au Gibus” (“Man with Opera Hat”), raffled by Sotheby's in Paris. “I was looking for art, and I thought I might as well,” the project manager at a fire sprinkler firm said by telephone. Despite the enormous value of his new acquisition, Gonano vowed not to sell the artwork, at least for the time being. His winning ticket 747815, picked by a computer system Wednesday, was one of 50,000 put up for sale online at 100 euros each to raise funds for an association working to preserve the ancient city of Tire, in modern day Lebanon. Organizers said that buyers from France and Germany to Iran and Kyrgyzstan had taken part, with a particularly large number of Americans. The small drawing dates from 1914, during the artist's Cubist phase, and was purchased by the Association to Save Tire from a New York gallery with the help of a large bank loan. Organizers say they paid slightly less for the work than the $1 million estimate given by Sotheby's experts. The sale was given the green light by Picasso's grandson Olivier Picasso who said his grandfather would have been thrilled that his work was being put to good use. “My grandfather was a pioneer in everything, in his love life, in his artwork, so tonight I'm sure he would have helped the cause,” he said. For the moment the work's new owner said he still could not believe his luck. “I'm still in shock. I've never won anything like this before... Obviously,” he said. Two major financial firms face action on bum mortgages By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to file civil fraud charges against Citigroup, Inc., and Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit over their sale of flawed mortgage securities ahead of the financial crisis, according to people familiar with the probes. Civil investigators have compiled evidence that allegedly shows that investors lost tens of billions of dollars after purchasing securities Citigroup had marketed as safe even though the bank had reason to believe otherwise, one person said. An investigation into the mortgage securities marketed by Merrill Lynch, which Bank of America agreed to acquire at the height of the crisis in 2008, is also close to completion, two other people said. Probes against Royal Bank of Scotland and Credit Suisse are also underway and progressing, according to another two people familiar with those cases. Representatives for all four banks declined to comment. The U.S. banking industry, which faces a range of mortgage-related lawsuits, has contended that many of the alleged investor losses can be attributed to the financial crisis and that they should not be held liable for marketing a variety of mortgage securities that ultimately soured. The Justice Department has not determined the exact timing of upcoming lawsuits, the sources said, although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this month that the department planned to bring more mortgage-related cases in early 2014, while declining to name which companies were targeted. The probes could also lead to settlements instead of lawsuits. |
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| From Page 7: Pavas specialty foods firm wins big U.S. prize By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Andrés Dominguez Dillon from Florida and Iván Sosa Lazarenko from Costa Rica have taken the grand prize of $50,000, as well as a packet of business support services valued at over $100,000 for their company Natural Sins Ltda. The Pavas-based firm produces and sells baked fruit snacks. They were so honored after presenting their product in a contest set up by the U.S. Department of State. The contest is called the La Idea Business Pitch Competition. Also sponsoring is the U.S. Agency for International Development. The State Department said there were 883 entries from 16 countries. The 16 finalists gave their presentations in Miami, Florida. The competition is directed at Latin America. Natural Sin is expected to use the money to gain access for its products in major supermarkets in the United States. The Pavas firm markets fruits and vegetables that have been dehydrated. The products include pineapple, mango, lemon, oranges, kiwi, coconut, apple pears, ayote, beets and carrots, said the U.S. Embassy here in a release. |
