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Latin America is increasingly being considered an up-and-coming retirement hotspot for expats, with Mexico, Panama and Ecuador in particular all rated highly in recent polls

Favourable weather, low property prices and pensioner perks are a draw for Brits with a sense of adventure. While the cost of living has risen in recent years, the economies of the larger Latin countries are increasingly stable, making it more viable to put down long-term roots in a warmer climate.

In International Livings 2012 Global Retirement Index, Ecuador, Panama and Mexico occupied the top three slots in a report that rated 19 international expat hotspots. Ecuador was top choice in the cost of living category and was dubbed the "world's best retirement haven". The magazine team estimated that a couple watching their spending can live well on $800-$1,500 (about 510-956) a month, while property prices remain low.

Eight categories were assessed to come up with the retirement report: property prices, special retirement benefits, cost of living, ease of integration, entertainment and amenities, health care, retirement infrastructure and climate.

The Ecuadorian government guarantees senior citizens access to free health care and medication and exemption from notary and registration fees. For expats considering a move, embracing the laid-back culture is a must, says Gary Phillips, 65, who moved to Cotacachi in Ecuador in 2006 and runs the expat site Pro-Ecuador.com. "Ecuadorians say maana but maana doesn't mean 'tomorrow', it just means 'not today'," Mr Phillips told Reuters.

The International Living team also point out that many South American (Frankfurt: A0MLL6 - news) locations have discounts you can access as a retiree, in particular in Brazil, Chile (Berlin: G4R.BE - news) and Panama. Panama has an organised programme of discounts and perks called the pensionado , open to all foreigners. Expats simply apply for a visa that gives them discounts on everything from theatre tickets to public transport to eating out and medical services.

Mexico ranked third in this year's index but occupied the top spot in 2008. The country ranks highly in terms of property prices and entertainment and arts, with many retirement communities ideal for expats.

A Expat Forum poll earlier this year, sponsored by Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) Wealth International , asked Brits about their motivation for moving to Mexico. More than a quarter, 27 per cent, of respondents said that they moved there to retire. The cost of living was the main draw for 24 per cent of expats polled, while a further nine per cent quoted quality of living as their reason for moving to Mexico.

But expats who have already made the move say the cost of living is on the rise and the region may not represent good value for money for long.

Bob Sheth from the Expat Forum said: "Expat living costs in Mexico seemed to have increased by at least 10 per cent over the last quarter, according to members who are discussing the topic at Expatforum.com. The reason for the sharp hike seems to be the peso losing value against the US dollar. Expats in Mexico are reliant on US imports, resulting in some alarming increases in the cost of living."

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Growing financial incentives to retire in Latin America

January 20 verdict has the effect of legitimising routing of transactions through tax havens

The Supreme Court will take up on Tuesday the Union of India's petition seeking review of its January 20 judgment that the Income Tax Department did not have the jurisdiction to levy Rs. 11,000 crore as tax on the overseas deal between Vodafone International Holdings and Hutchison Group.

The hearing, by a Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar, assumes importance in view of the proposed retrospective amendment to the Income Tax Act announced by the Finance Minister in the Union budget. For, any such amendment is likely to have an impact on Vodafone.

In its review petition, the Finance Ministry, through its Secretary and the Assistant Director of Income Tax, said the judgment suffered from an error apparent on the face of the record and the court had failed to consider the case submitted by them at least on 15 aspects. The finding that the offshore transaction, which gave the Vodafone holding company a 67 per cent stake in Hutch-Essar, was a bona fide, structured FDI [foreign direct investment] in India was a patent error.

The case did not involve any inflow of monies into India as would be clear from the characterisation of the transaction as an offshore deal and the incontrovertible fact that no investment or inflow into the country took place, the petition said. The FDI policy was in no way under challenge or scrutiny in that case and could not have been so as the FDI and interpretation of taxation statutes operated in two different realms. Justifying the imposition of capital gains tax, the petition said it was imposed on account of relinquishment of an asset and this was done by way of a specific amendment in the law which could be traced to a Bombay High Court decision.

Pointing out that the court had relied on the Direct Tax Code Bills of 2009 and 2010 while allowing the appeals in favour of Vodafone, the Centre said there was no judicial precedent to count on pending legislation to interpret the existing legislation. Further, these codes were not even presented as Bills in Parliament but were only under public discussion.

The judgment would undermine the existing legislative and regulatory framework that required approvals from competent authorities in India even for transactions routed outside the country through tax havens, the petition said. Such monies held in tax havens had the effect of compromising the state's ability to manage its affairs in consonance with what was required from a constitutional perspective. The January 20 judgment had the effect of legitimising the routing of transactions through tax havens and preventing the Income Tax department from looking at the substance of the transaction, it said.

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SC to hear today Centre's crucial review plea in Vodafone case

TOM PULLAR-STRECKER

The Government should be chasing down internet fraudsters overseas, as they do with drug runners, not just relying on consumer education, according to an Australian expert.

Government estimates suggest Kiwis may lose close to $450million a year to internet scams, though the figures are hard to be sure of, and may be inflated.

Kicking off Fraud Awareness Week yesterday, Commerce Minister Craig Foss said the Consumer Affairs Ministry had "always believed education was the key" to combating scams, partly because many were run from overseas.

But Alistair MacGibbon, director of Canberra University's Centre for Internet Safety, told a conference organised by the ministry and Trade Me in Wellington that while education was critical, it was "a really hard slog".

"I believe that along with consumer education there are systemic issues that governments around the world need to deal with," he said.

"Being overseas shouldn't be stopping investigations. If anyone has ever investigated complex drug matters they will know that they go offshore. New Zealand and Australia and other countries have been pretty good at posting police to drug hotspots overseas.

"That is exactly what needs to be done when it comes to internet-based crime."

Ministry spokesman Alistair Stewart believed most scams went unreported but acknowledged its claim that Kiwis were losing $448m to scams annually was based on extrapolating international data and "may be inflated".

There have been suspicions security software companies have overstated the scale of losses to generate more demand for their products.

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Government urged to hunt offshore scammers

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission is widening its regulatory sweep to include "shadow" banking, heralding new controls over the sprawling and largely unchartered 46 trillion euro ($61 trillion) sector blamed for helping trigger the financial crisis.

The EU's executive launched a consultation with industry on Monday with a view to writing rules to control shadow banking, a term describing activity resembling banks' basic borrow-and-lend model, but often taking place beyond the watch of regulators.

It opens up a new front in the regulatory drive of Brussels, which some analysts believe has been slow to tackle the causes of a financial crisis that struck Europe roughly five years ago.

"What we do not want is for financial activities and entities to circumvent existing and foreseen rules, allowing new sources of risk to accumulate in the financial sector," said Michel Barnier, the EU official in charge of regulatory reform.

"That is why we need to better understand what shadow banking actually is and does, and what regulation and supervision may be appropriate."

Political leaders are aware of the potential problem that shadow banking presents and the Group of 20 top global economies have asked their task force, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), to come up with plans to regulate the sector.

That will give a lead to the European authorities in finalizing their plans.

The chairman of Britain's Financial Services Authority, Adair Turner, has called for radical plans to regulate shadow banking, saying last week that the system may be too complex for regulators to understand.

Hedge funds and private equity are often cited as examples of shadow banking. But the term can also take in investment funds and even cash-rich firms that lend government bonds to banks, and which in turn use them as security when taking credit from the European Central Bank.

Shadow banking can also refer to offshore vehicles such as those that banks used before the crisis for leverage, as well as money-market funds taking deposits from companies.

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EU considers new controls for shadow banking

NEW CASTLE, Pa., March 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real Estate Contacts, Incorporated (OTCBB:REAC.OB - News) is proud to announce that its shares are now publicly quoted under the stock symbol REAC. RealEstateContacts.com provides a service that enables real estate professionals to capture, cultivate, and convert leads which cater to prospective home buyers and sellers. The Company's business is conducted solely within the internet and the online video arena, which includes our real estate search engine, social community and video real estate network. We match buyers, sellers, brokers and professionals anywhere in the world through our portal website. RealEstateContacts.com is a partner for real estate professionals to market their listings and promote their services. Our goal as a real estate portal is to send consumers to the listing broker or agents website where they can find out more information about the property and the listing agent.

Robert De Angelas President and CEO, of Real Estate Contacts comments, "Real Estate Contacts is very excited to begin trading and looks forward to the future with the company's revolutionary technology that could potentially be a game changer in several different industries."

About Real Estate Contacts Inc.

Real Estate Contacts, Inc. conducts an online real estate advertising and marketing real estate portal including a real estate video listings network that offers real estate professionals the opportunity to reach consumers interested in buying or selling property in their respective geographic area through the internet and video. With our current real estate search portal http://www.realestatecontacts.com and our national real estate video listings channel http://www.realestatevideochannels.com we will operate the most definitive online real estate search portal and real estate video channel in cities across the United States. e Contacts, Incorporated

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements covered within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply and demand conditions, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expectations regarding future events or revenues depend upon our ability to develop and supply products, which we may not produce today and that may need to meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in pervasive markets.

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Real Estate Contacts Inc. Receives Approval to Trade Under Stock Symbol REAC