Colombia in the News / February 3, 2010

• How Best To Boost U.S. Exports / The Washington Post
  President Obama has smartly suggested that a new export strategy could support 2 million very good American jobs, more than created by his stimulus initiative. The United States already sells about $1.5 trillion worth of goods and services annually to the rest of the world, which creates about 10 million high-paying jobs. Every $1 billion of additional exports will produce about 7,000 very good jobs. (...more)

• Free Trade Fans See Glimmer Of Hope In Address / Politico
  President Barack Obama thrilled the business community last week when he declared in his State of the Union address that “we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea and Panama and Colombia.” (... more)

• Colombia: Positive Business Outlook / Latin Business Chronicle
  Despite continued delays in U.S. congressional approval of the long-awaited U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement and uncertainty about whether President Alvaro Uribe will – and can – run for re-election in May, foreign multinationals remain upbeat about Colombia’s business outlook. A Latin Business Chronicle survey of seven foreign firms that do business in Colombia reveals strong optimism, with few seeing the political uncertainty as a challenge. Rather, issues like Colombia’s still-lagging infrastructure is widely seen as the key challenge facing foreign companies. (...more)

• Colombia's Capital Finds New Sense of Optimism. / NY Times
  Once a byword for kidnappings, bombs and chaos, Bogotá has become one of South America’s most attractive cities for foreigners to live and invest in. The Colombian capital has a buoyant real estate market, thanks in part to a burgeoning economy and improved security. Also, the lessons learned from a local property crash 10 years ago has helped the country avoid the worst of the global downturn.(…more)