This helps to minimize the problems which currently plague the U.S. Ecoonmy.

Costa Rican depends less on the United States for exporting its products than before . This is due to sales to of the increase in sales to European, Central American, Asian and Caribbean countries.

In 2007, Costa Rica exported a total of $9,000 million in products, 35% to the U.S.A., 21% to Asia, 21% to Central America and the Caribbean, 15% to Europe and the 8% to other countries.

Further the real estate market is less leveraged that its U.S. counterpart. It is much harder to qualify for a loan that it was before. The country has buyers not just from the U.S. but from Europe, South America and other countries.

New York, August 12, 2008 — Moody’s Investors Service has revised the outlook on Costa Rica’s key ratings to positive from stable in recognition of the significant improvement in the country’s fiscal and debt positions and the likelihood of such improvement continuing in the medium term despite ongoing global turbulence.

The outlook change affects Costa Rica’s Ba1 foreign and local currency government bond ratings. The outlook on the Baa3 foreign currency country bond ceiling and on the Ba2 foreign currency bank deposit ceiling was also revised to positive from stable.

“Costa Rica’s remarkable fiscal performance over the past few years has been driven by significant expenditure restraint and an improvement in revenues, reflecting not only the business cycle but also a concerted effort to enhance collection,” said Moody’s Vice President — Senior Analyst Alessandra Alecci. “As a result, the fiscal and debt positions have improved to such a degree that it would take a major crisis to reverse the virtuous debt dynamics seen in recent years.” Costa Rica’s fiscal and debt indicators have begun to converge towards the investment-grade level.

She said that the most surprising aspect of the government’s fiscal performance is the control of expenditures. Despite campaign promises and pent-up demand for infrastructure and social expenditures, outlays have actually contracted significantly in recent years, in part due to lower interest payments but also due to a more targeted effort to address social needs. The degree of autonomy of the Finance Ministry from political influence has been particularly impressive, she added, which is a testimony to the maturity of Costa Rica’s institutions.

“The decision to change the outlook to positive comes at a delicate time for Costa Rica, whose key macroeconomic variables are being affected by the global slowdown and credit crunch,” said Alecci. “We focus our ratings on the fundamentals rather than the business cycle.”

She said that the strength of the fiscal anchor and the fact that the majority of Costa Rica’s public debt is in local currency and mostly held by public entities mitigates the risk associated with a potential, albeit unlikely, disorderly exit from the current exchange rate regime”.

“Notwithstanding recent strong pressures on the balance of payments and the volatility in the exchange rate market, the external position and the economy as a whole is equipped to deal with this type of shock,” said the analyst. “Foreign exchange reserves remain at historical highs relative to imports and to the money base, giving the authorities ammunition to handle the current difficult transition towards a free-floating exchange rate regime as well as the widening of the current account deficit.”

Costa Rica has been the recipient of unprecedented high levels of foreign direct investment in recent years, which have more than fully financed its current account deficit, despite the delay in joining Central American Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA. Given the resilience and diversification of its economic base, there is, thus far, little evidence of a sharp drop in non-debt creating external financing that would lead to a meaningful deterioration of Costa Rica’s external debt indicators.

“We will carefully monitor how Costa Rica navigates through these challenging times,” said Alecci. “In particular, we will observe the performance of the fiscal accounts and whether financial dollarization, one of the key rating constraints, will significantly increase.” A severe problem with the exchange rate regime would have important implications for the banking system which is close to 50% dollarized, she underscored.

Millicom International Cellular S.A. has agreed to purchase Amnet for $510 million. Amnet is Costa Rica’s leading cable provider and a major provider of high-speed Internet. The company has 350,000 corporate and residential accounts in Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador. The transaction in with months.

Millicom has 8.8 million subscribers, mostly under the Tigo brand in Central America. The firm is the leading supplier of mobile services in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq and reported $1.2 billion in income in 2007.

As you can see the big players continue to pour investment money into Costa Rica

For the last 27 years I have lived in Cost Rica and have come to realize the benefits it has over other so-called expatriate havens. Over the years I have had the chance to observe a small number of North Americans who moved here and eventually relocated to the Philippines or Thailand. This led to me to look at why said group of people chose to leave to relocate in the far east and what the latter had to offer that Costa Rica does not.

Ninety-five percent of the people who made the move were single men. Most of them had either one or two of the following factors in common: They never were able to establish a permanent relationship with a Costa Rican woman or they failed in their attempts to go into business or make money here. I can cite dozens of examples where these factors come into play. Another reason for moving is that most of these men wanted to go to a place which was more affordable. However, the bottom line is that really “get what you pay for.”

Now let’s look at what the Thailand and the Philippines have to offer. They are beautiful countries and indeed are more affordable in some ways than Costa Rica. The private medical care is excellent, especially in Thailand. Foreigners can find companionship for a lot less than in Costa Rica. I know a couple of guys who live in Thailand because there are more golf courses and the cost of a round of golf is cheaper. Both of them are millionaires and can really afford to live and golf anyplace in the world. I guess in their old age they are watching their pennies.

The downside of Thailand is that in their summer the temperature, except in the mountains, is over 100 degrees with high humidity. Costa Rica has year-round spring-like weather. Typhoons and tidal waves have been known to raise havoc in the far east. We don’t have either in Costa Rica, just an occasional tremor.

Thailand has a military government and radical groups which have perpetrated a few bombings. The Philippines has Muslims in some parts of the country which have perpetrated terrorist acts and has been subject to periodic military coups. Asia is also a lot closer to the hotbeds of Islamic terrorism and its burgeoning and pervasive influence in that part of the world. On the other hand, Costa Rica has a democratic government and NO army or terrorism.

Furthermore, the abject poverty in both the Philippines and Thailand is far greater than the poverty than Costa Rica. In Asia many foreign men take advantage of this by exploiting the locals sexually or exploiting the cheap labor. The women tend to be more submissive because of economic needs. I know Americans who brag what great wives the women make. I am sure economic necessity is responsible for their wives being so great. Americans represent a meal ticket out of poverty. Foreigners who have failed in relationships in the U.S., Canada and Europe can virtually have a slave for a very low cost in Asia. Sadly, even sexual predators can have a field day there. It would make me sick to go into detail about the stories I have heard. By the way, sexually transmitted are also rampant in both countries.

Location is another thing to consider when deciding between the far east and Costa Rica. Costa Rica is ONLY two and a half hours form the U.S. If you have an emergency, you just hop on a airplane to Miami. The same can’t be said for the far east. Most people I know who visit there say the long flight to get their really take a lot out of them. It usually takes a few days to get feel normal after jet lag.

Other factors like better satellite TV, access to American products, an easier language to learn and a more similar culture contribute to Costa Rica’s allure.

It short, it isn’t by accident that Costa Rica has more American retirees per capita that any other country outside of the United States. Costa Rica isn’t for everyone but the quality of live is excellent. The fact that the life expectancy of most Costa Ricans is equal to or higher than the U.S., says it all.