Donald Hank writes:
Today's paper (Panamá América) says the Banco Nacional de Panamá (BNP) has
restored service to its ATM machines. The branches will remain closed for the
Phase II update but will reopen tomorrow.
The fact that the ATMs are now in service seems to deflate (at least for
now) the panic report of last week which hinted at a banking crisis. In fact, if
what I was told on the street is true, then today, Monday, is payday as well as
the day social security checks arrive, and that means most of the public
did not have to suffer undue hardship over this update. (Keep in mind that
Panama has no socialist welfare system per se--which, incidentally, is the
main reason Panama has such a vibrant economy with low unemployment and
excellent growth).
It is odd that HSBC also was updating its system on the same dates, and I
will not say the two events are unrelated. But at least in Panama, things seem
to be getting back to normal.
I will keep you posted on any new developments.
Don Hank
What
always amazes me is hearing comments from people who say that Barack
Obama can really "give a good speech." It's clear that they like his
style when he has his teleprompter handy or his scripted speech
memorized. But a really good speech can be given off-the-cuff, and Obama
just can't do it.
Touchy, touchy. Despite Team Anthony 
