http://www.calvetreport.com/ Latest News en-us Copyright 2009 Calvet & Asociates http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=72 Central America is definitely showing strong signs of economic recovery; some even will say that together with South America, these region resisted the economic crisis of 2008 with much better conditions and better results than other economic areas of the world. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=79 LARGE PROPERTIES http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=73 CEPAL, one of five regional commissions established by the United Nations presented the Latin America and Caribbean results for 2010 with record numbers of foreign direct investment (FDI) surpassing the rest of the world in percentage growth. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=74 During this last two years, Medical Tourism has taken a very strong lead in Central America because of a sharp increase in medical services and insurance costs in the United States, the main market for patients for the world medical tourism industry, and because the incredible violence erupted in northern Mexico, that use to be a traditional medical tourism destination for north Americans. These two conditions have encouraged authorities and private investors to think seriously in the medical tourism business in countries like El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Costa Rica and Panama are already positioned in this market, especially Costa Rica. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=75 Following the favorable winds that are refreshing Central America, Calvet & Associates is also presenting improved results for 2011. As reported by Raul F. Calvet, C&A has finished the studies for a new high end boutique hotel in Little Corn Island in Nicaragua and is preparing an analysis report for property inside CapCana, Dominican Republic’s prime destination. The company is also working in the preparation of a major development project in Honduras and continues to work with Nezua at Chacocente (Nicaragua) that promises to become the most important mix use development and environmental conservation project in the region. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=76 The Monthly Economic Activity Indicator published by the Central Bank registered an average 7.4% growth during the last months, compared to a negative -1.9% the year before. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=78 After some years of instability and economic crisis generated by political conflicts, Honduras is showing incredible signs of resilience and commitment from their citizens and their Government, together with Congress and the business sector. They are all working together to create a new Honduras with incredible business opportunities motivated by modern laws and agile procedures and above all by a real desire to contribute with progress showed by almost all sectors of the economy. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=59 As Jeff Higley (Editor-in Chief of Hotel and Motel Management Magazine) said in his "Twitter" page on June 2, the IREFAC (Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council) guys are the pulse of the industry. But, as he also noted, "...the IREFAC panel says the only way to get a phone call from your lender these days is to not make a payment. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=58 Projects in Central America and in Nicaragua will need to present returns above 25% to compete with less risk and equal or better yield opportunities in the U.S. market due to all the distress sales available, foreclosures and REOs (repossessed bank properties) offering ROI’s (return on investment) above 63% annualized returns. http://www.calvetreport.com/news.php?in=60 It is right after lunch in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, July 7th, and some of the key players in the hospitality industry have been summoned by Jim Burba, President of Burba Hotel Network, for the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) 2009 Summer Update conference at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Their mission is to assess the present issues facing the hotel investment community and analyze the possible outlook for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Co-hosting the event is the powerful American Hotel & Lodging Association. Calvet & Associates participated in the conference, thanks to the new Global Webcast interactive service. The following points are the most important conclusions from this conference: