CHICAGO - PRNewswire - Claire's Stores Inc., one of the world's leading specialty retailers of fashionable jewelry and accessories for teens, tweens, and kids, announced the recent opening of the first Claire's stores in both Venezuela and Panama. The Venezuelan store opened on October 12th and is located in the Sambil Paraguna Mall in Punto Fijo. The Panamanian store opened on October 27th and is located in the Metro Mall in the city of Panama. Both Claire's stores are the first of their kind in each country. Claire's Stores Inc. has partnered with Grupo David Enterprises headquartered in Panama as the single franchisee across 16 countries in Latin America. Over time, Claire's Stores Inc. and Grupo David Enterprises expect these countries to present a minimum 100 stores market opportunity.

Claire's Stores Inc. CEO Jim Fielding stated, "The two recent store openings in Venezuela and Panama expand our global reach to 36 countries. We look forward to opening additional stores while entering more markets with our partners at Grupo David." (Press Release)

Editor's Comment: It is possible for foreign companies to do retail sales in Panama, as long as you partner with a local Panamanian company.

The IRS Announcement 2012-42, dated 24 Oct 12, defers the implementation timelines for withholding agents and foreign financial institutions to complete due diligence requirements of the HIRE Act. The financial institutions will have until 1 Jan 2017 to start withholding taxes from US taxpayers’ investment gains and until 1 Jan 2014 to put in place the reporting requirements mandated under the HIRE Act provisions.

This is a direct response to the many issues raised by tax professionals and foreign bankers who have challenged the various provisions of the law.

I recently published an article titled “FATCA: Reality vs Rumor’ for the inaugural issue of the University of Louisville Panamá “Latitude” magazine which is available online through the Quality Leadership University webpage. What follows is a summary of some of the main points of that article.

The HIRE Act passed by the US Congress and signed into law Jan 2010 included an entire new chapter of the Internal Revenue Code, Chapter 4 – Taxes to Enforce Reporting on Certain Foreign Accounts.

Those IRC sections 1471 through 1474 have created much uncertainty and angst among not only US citizens who live and work outside the USA and dual nationals who hold US Green Cards or US passports, but the foreign financial institutions with which they interact and conduct business or have personal bank accounts. (more)

WASHINGTON, United States - The Trade Promotion Agreement between the United States and Panama will take effect on October 31, announced officials from both countries, who exchanged this Monday, October 22, official notes in the city of Washington, D. C. the last requirement to start the trading agreement.

The announcement comes just weeks after Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, sanctioned new laws on October 5 covering copyright, patents and dispute resolution necessary for the Free Trade Agreement.

"Under this comprehensive agreement, Panama will eliminate tariffs and other barriers to U.S. exports, which will promote economic growth and expand trade" said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

"Today is a very special day and we congratulate both teams for the work they have ready done for this agreement," said Minister of Commerce and Industry of Panama, Ricardo Quijano, who conducted the exchange of official notes with Kirk at the headquarters of the USTR in Washington, D. C.

The Free Trade Agreement, ratified by Congress in Washington in October 2011, along with those for Colombia and South Korea, initially was to take effect on October 1, but had to be postponed because of the delay in the passage of laws in Panama.

The agreement, originally negotiated in 2007, allows entry to Panama, with gradually reduced tariffs, agricultural products such as rice, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes or sugar cane, which has caused concern for domestic producers. (Prensa)

The Pacific Financial Inc. brokerage firm, dedicated to the management of foreign investment, is subject to a process of reorganization, effective October 16, as revealed by a resolution issued by the Superintendency of Securities. The Superintendent has appointed the attorney Maruquel Gisela Pabón Ramírez to reorganize the brokerage firm for a period of 30 days, after which a report must be filed in order to preserve the solvency of the institution.

The reorganization has its antecedents in a formal investigation by the Superintendency of Securities, after an unidentified investor in Pacific Financial submit a complaint to the regulator "on the management of his investment account."

In addition to this, in March the Superintendent ordered a special investigation into the brokerage firm regarding the possible "massive and public offering of shares that are not registered."

In October, the general managers of the Stock Exchange and the Latinclear Central Securities , Roberto Brenes and Ivan Diaz, respectively, sent to the Superintendent a communication indicating there was a difference between the "cash balance recorded in the accounts of [its] customers [...] with bank balances [...] for approximately seven million dollars."

Also in October, the Superintendent ordered an administrative investigation into the brokerage firm because it had found they had "fixed term accounts that had not been revealed" in financial statements.

At the end of 2011, Financial Pacific was the fourth largest brokerage firm in Panama, according to their investment portfolio, having a total of $135.2 million dollars under their management. The firm had experienced a fall of 14.4% in this amount between 2010 and 2011. Its directors are West Valdés, Iván Clare Arias, Ori Sasson Zbeda and Ana Dora Levy de Zbeda.

We (La Prensa) tried to contact the office managers, but at press time had not received a response. (Prensa)

BERLIN (Reuters) - Panama would like to introduce the euro as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar, President Ricardo Martinelli told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday during a visit to Europe. "In Panama the currency in free circulation is the American dollar and I told the chancellor we are looking for ways for the euro to become another currency of legal circulation and to be accepted in the Panamanian market," President Ricardo Martinelli told a joint news conference with Merkel in Berlin.

Martinelli provided no details about the switch but he expressed "full confidence" in the German and European economies and said he expected the euro zone debt crisis would soon pass.

Seventeen of the European Union's 27 member states are in the euro zone but euros are also in circulation in a number of non-EU countries, including Kosovo and Montenegro in the Balkans as well as tiny Monaco and Andorra, and in overseas territories.

Panama's dollarized economy - almost 10,000 kilometers from mainland Europe - is one of the fastest growing in Latin America, expanding 10.6 percent last year with help from heavy infrastructure spending including the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Financial markets' fears of a possible meltdown of the common currency have eased since the European Central Bank said it was ready to buy unlimited quantities of sovereign debt to reduce borrowing costs of vulnerable countries such as Spain.

But Merkel, head of the currency bloc's largest economy, has said Europe needs to persevere with tough austerity measures and move towards closer banking, fiscal and political union in order to secure the euro's future.

On Monday the National Assembly approved the biggest government budget in the country’s history, more than $16.3 billion for 2013.

Members of the political opposition criticized the figure, saying it would create unmanageable debt for the country. Lawmakers approved the budget by a vote of 39 to 12.

Officials said the 2013 budget will help balance expenditures, income and Panama’s debt, and is based on two-digit growth projections, due mainly to large infrastructure projects whose costs are expected to top $15 billion in the next five years. “The country is experiencing significant economic growth that permits the government to collect more [taxes] and have a bigger budget,” Panama’s Economy Minister Frank De Lima said.

The budget earmarks almost $8 billion for education, health, jobs, housing and other social services, plus $2 billion for general services, more than $1.7 billion for servicing the public debt and $1.2 billion for infrastructure projects.

However, members of the political opposition say the country’s biggest budget ever is a political move to win 2014 elections. Panama’s 2012 budget topped $14.5 billion, an 11 percent increase over 2011. (ticotimes.net)

BERLIN (Reuters) - Panama would like to introduce the euro as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar, President Ricardo Martinelli told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday during a visit to Europe.

"In Panama the currency in free circulation is the American dollar and I told the chancellor we are looking for ways for the euro to become another currency of legal circulation and to be accepted in the Panamanian market," President Ricardo Martinelli told a joint news conference with Merkel in Berlin.

Martinelli provided no details about the switch but he expressed "full confidence" in the German and European economies and said he expected the euro zone debt crisis would soon pass.

Seventeen of the European Union's 27 member states are in the euro zone but euros are also in circulation in a number of non-EU countries, including Kosovo and Montenegro in the Balkans as well as tiny Monaco and Andorra, and in overseas territories.

Panama's dollarised economy - almost 10,000 kilometres from mainland Europe - is one of the fastest growing in Latin America, expanding 10.6 percent last year with help from heavy infrastructure spending including the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Financial markets' fears of a possible meltdown of the common currency have eased since the European Central Bank said it was ready to buy unlimited quantities of sovereign debt to reduce borrowing costs of vulnerable countries such as Spain.

But Merkel, head of the currency bloc's largest economy, has said Europe needs to persevere with tough austerity measures and move towards closer banking, fiscal and political union in order to secure the euro's future.

Editor's Comment: Someone needs to tell the Germans that Martinelli has a tendency to just say crazy shit - especially when he's shooting from the hip and speaking off the cuff, without any adult supervision. In reality there's no real intention of switching from the US dollar to the Euro as the primary currency in Panama. Because, that would be nuts. Crazy, bat shit loco nuts. Just ignore this sort of stuff. It happens all the time. You'll get used to it. Headline today, forgotten tomorrow.

Panama City (Reuters) - Panama's annual consumer price inflation rate slowed slightly in September, decelerating to 5.4 percent from 6.1 percent in August, the government statistics agency said on Friday. Consumer prices in the Central American country rose by 0.1 percent in September from August, the agency added. Compared to the same period last year, food and beverage costs rose 7.9 percent and transportation prices increased 4.5 percent. Furniture and household equipment were also up by 5.2 percent. But prices in September were slightly offset by a decline in the price of vegetables and home phone services, the agency said. Panama's rapid economic growth has kept inflation hovering at about 6 percent, though it has slowed in recent months after clocking in at 6.3 percent in March, the seventh consecutive month above 6 percent.

The Ministry of Government (MINGOB) on Friday held a tender for $101 million to provide food to inmates and prison guards of Panama and Colon for the next seven years. The tender has been criticized by the company currently providing the service - Alimentos Practicos SA - because according to the terms of the contract, the company selected must have experience cooking food for prison inmates, which excludes local companies.

Furthermore, in the bid specifications, which has been postponed three times, there are terms and expressions commonly used in Colombia (as "agua de panela" or "arepa"), and the main consortium competing for the contract comes from Colombia.

Alimentos Practicos SA filed a complaint last week, claiming that the statement violates the principles of free competition and participation, but the appeal was rejected.

"This statement is not exclusive," was the reaction of the Government Minister Jorge Fabrega, adding that "if it were a local company, I would associate with one who has experience."

With regard to the words of the statement that are not commonly used in Panama MINGOB officials explained that they copied the terms of the statement from the Internet. (Prensa)

Farmers in the province of Los Santos are concerned, because they have 140 quintals of corn they have been unable to sell. Valentin Dominguez, a producer, expressed his concern and he even complained that local businesses are selling imported corn, which has toxins and bacteria, which could be dangerous to health. Dominguez explained that this corn is special for feeding poultry, pigs and cattle, that even it should be prepared so as to not affect the digestive system of animals. He added that the use of this corn (by humans) is prohibited by law. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: So some "juega vivo" apparently purchased a whole load of relatively cheap imported corn that is normally used to feed pigs, chickens, and cattle - and they are selling it for human consumption. Great. Obviously these local Panamanian corn farmers are concerned about the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, so this might be part of an information campaign against imported corn in general, as they fight to defend their share of the local market.