The Business Confidence Index rose to 4.94 (in a scale of 1 to 10), a 35% increase when compared to the previous quarter.
It is still far from the 7.69 points recorded on the first quarter of 2008.
“This index seems to be in line with the Consumer Confidence Index, recently reported by the Chamber of Commerce. It was 95 in July 2009, 109 on November 2009, and is now at 131”.
For the second quarter of 2010, Guatemalan employers are optimistic, and those in Panama and Costa Rica are very optimistic.
GUATEMALA
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today, reveals a favorable hiring environment for the second quarter of 2010, with employers anticipating opportunities for Guatemalan jobseekers to remain similar to those reported in the first quarter of the year.
According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, nearly 40 per cent of CEOs plan to increase workforce in 2010.
With their worst fears of prolonged recession behind them, CEOs' confidence for future growth has bounced back from the gloomy prospects of a year ago, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers 13th Annual Global CEO Survey.
This rising confidence has translated into a planned boost in recruitment, with nearly 40 per cent of CEOs expecting to increase their headcount this year. Contrasting with 25 per cent of CEOs planning job cuts over the next year, down from nearly half who decreased headcount in the past 12 months.
Martinelli and Funes lead in Latin America with 91% and 88% approval ratings. In Central America, they are followed by Colom with 46%, Arias 44% and Ortega with 38%.
Mauricio Funes from El Salvador and Ricardo Martinelli from Panama share, together with Brazilian President Lula Da Silva, the privilege of being in the group of "Outstanding Evaluation", composed of those heads of state with approval ratings above 75%.
The World Database of Happiness places Costa Rica as the happiest country among 148 nations.
But some analysts cast doubts over such result, by analyzing how this index, and other happiness measurements, are constructed.
To justify their skepticism, Nytimes.com blog Freakonomics analyzes the data and variables contained in the polls which lead to these indexes, which ask the population how satisfied they are with their life.
2010 is looking better than 2009, but it is necessary to keep an eye on cash flow, and insist on containing expenses.
An article by Édgar Delgado Montoya, based on a survey conducted among 40 Costa Rican analysts, gives suggestions for the new year, and can be extrapolated to the rest of Central America.
The projection in which analysts agreed the most is that developed nations will grow at a very moderated pace, and the same will happen with domestic economic growth, so local and external sales will grow very little.
Laura Chinchilla, from the ruling government party, is the clear favorite to win the upcoming presidential elections in Costa Rica.
According to a CID-Gallup poll, Chinchilla, from the "Liberación Nacional" Party (PLN), would earn 45% of the votes, making her the outright winner in the presidential elections of February 2010.
If the most voted candidate failed to get more than 40% of the casted votes, the presidency would be decided in a second round (ballotage), between the two most-voted candidates.
A Deloitte survey on November-March travel plans suggests optimism and moderation by U.S. travelers.
Deloitte’s survey of 2,000 consumers in the United States revealed that almost half (45 percent) will take a vacation or leisure trip that involves staying overnight in a lodging facility, such as a hotel, motel or a timeshare, from the beginning of Thanksgiving week through March of next year. Additionally, the survey showed:
Of all companies, 20% plans to hire staff during 2010, according to a Manpower survey.
"The region of Puntarenas and Limon is the most optimistic, with a net trend of +26%, while the most pessimistic one is Heredia", reported Nacion.com.
The survey was conducted in 35 countries, and placed Costa Rica 5th as the country with better employment expectations, highlighting communications and transportation as the industries which expect to hire most personnel in 2010.
Most Costa Ricans would prefer a leader with more traits of a CEO than those of a statesman.
Costa Ricans want their next president to be capable in business and administration, skillful in striking deals, in addition to having knowledge of economics. They want him to focus on the country's inner issues rather than its external ones.
These results are part of a survey conducted by the statistics school of the University of Costa Rica for business publication El Financiero, explains Mario Bermúdez in Elfinancierocr.com.
Cautious signals of improvement are detected in Guatemala and Costa Rica regarding hiring for the fourth quarter of 2009.
Manpower's Hiring Expectations survey found that in Guatemala, three out of four employers won't change their payrolls in the last three months of 2009, and they will try to retain the workers they have. Accordingly, the Trend shows a mildly optimistic market when compared to expectations for previous quarter.
The presidents of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, and Panama, Ricardo Martinelly, have 86% popularity.
According to the regional survey by Cid-Gallup, which interviewed 1.200 people, Oscar Arias from Costa Rica is in the third place, with a 70% popularity.
He is followed by Alvaro Colom, from Guatemala, with 55%; Leonel Fernández, from Dominican Republic with 47%; deposed Honduran president Manuel Zelaya with 46% and Daniel Ortega, Nicaraguan president, with 42%.
A study aims to determine the number of small traditional fishermen in Central America.
The research will be conducted in both litorals, Pacific and Caribbean, from Belize to Costa Rica.
Mario González Recinos is the president of the Regional Unit for Fisheries and Aquaculture. He told newspaper Prensa Libre: "We are looking for socioeconomic data, to implement support policies for the sector".