Goldman Sachs is being charged with fraud by the SEC (Security and Exchange Commission).

CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, has reported a 3.5 billion profit outperforming competitors and remaining on top after weathering the financial crises.

Lloyd Blankfein adds that he is enlisting the aid of former White House Counsel, Gregory Craig to help deal with the ins and outs of the Washington machine during this investigation.

Further Britain’s F.A.S. (Financial Services Authority) their financial regulator, has opened a formal investigation into allegations that the Wall Street investment bank has defrauded investors.

Goldman Sachs profit has doubled to 3.5 billion and out of this they are paying billions in bonuses after receiving tax payer funds. 5.5 billion in salaries and bonuses have been paid which is down from 50% to 43% according to Blankfein.

The charge is that Goldman Sachs was selling sub-prime mortgage related investments in 2007 that were secretly designed to lose value.

The F.S.A. will be working closely with the SEC during the investigation into the Goldman Sachs fraud case.

The SEC has accused Goldman Sachs of structuring and marketing a financial product without letting its clients know that Paulson & Co., a prominent hedge fund, had helped the bank assemble the investment while at the same time placing bets it would lose value. The bank received 15 million from Paulson &Co. for its services.

A poll says that, although Americans do not want anymore government regulation, the one area they do want regulation is in financial institutions (more…)

One of the many benefits of Retirement in Lake Chapala is the opportunity to play year round golf because of our amazing climate.

Yesterday 12 of us decided to play three foursomes of best ball at the Chula Vista Country Club in San Antonio Tlacayapan on the carretera in Chula Vista.

I used to be a member of this wonderful executive golf course and was delighted to be playing there again.

It is a beautifully kept course with a very nice club house where breakfast and lunch is served along with all kinds of liquid refreshment. There are several holes with breathtaking views of Lake Chapala.

I had not played golf in almost two years and was a little nervous about how I would fare but I worried needlessly as I put the ball on the green off the tee on the first hole, a par three, of course. I had only done this twice before prior to the green being raised and, I must admit, it got our foursome off to a very good start. The beauty of best ball is there is virtually no pressure as there are four members of the team to make a decent shot.

Our team was 2 over after the first nine but with an eagle putt and two birdies on the back nine we had a total score after 18 of -4 giving us the win.

Then we all enjoyed a delightful lunch on the terrace of the club house and had a lovely time catching up with all our friends.

We are planning to do this again at the Chapala Country Club in San Nicholas on the other side of Chapala and then later on at Atlas which is the second longest golf course in Mexico and is on the way to Guadalajara.

My father was a scratch golfer who once played with Gene Saracen in the Canadian Open and he taught me a lot about the game of golf. The first time I stood over a (more…)

Things certainly have improved in the almost 16 years we have lived in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Now we have most things we need right here lakeside and it is no longer necessary to go to Guadalajara for items we are looking to purchase.

For example recently I was in the market for a new queen sized mattress.

There is the furniture store in Chapala that sells mattresses and this used to be our only choice.

Now, however, we have several options right here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Naturally, I was going to comparison shop for the best mattress at the best price.

First I went to Barbara’s Bazaar on Independencia and also Carlos’Bazaar on the street groing up from St.Andres Church. Sometimes one can get lucky but this was not one of those (more…)

We hear a lot about how the Canadian Real Estate market is booming but how the Real Estate market in the US, although recovering slowly, is still not where it once was.

I am happy to report that the Ajijic Real Estate market continues to flourish. We did have a dip after the market fell globally in late 2008 but are now rebounding nicely and would be retirees are still flocking to Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

We still have arguably the best climate in the world, an affordable cost of living, a slower gentler pace and an infrastructure that satisfies even the most discerning of people.

One can come to Ajijic, Lake Chapala and enjoy a vibrant retirement or, thanks to the internet, continue to work if one so chooses.

We have many styles of properties at a price range to suit you from condos to elegant (more…)

Yesterday was the first round of the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

Over 20 million people tuned in to watch Tiger Woods tee off and if they were looking for fire works after the scandal that has dogged the world’s number one golfer they were disappointed.

Tiger probably selected The Masters (one of golf’s four major tournaments) for the civility of the Augusta National Golf Club where the tradition of golf is most highly respected.

Tiger, I am sure, was most pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the reception from the fans, his peers and the golf association leaders.

His reception on the first tee was even louder and more positive than usual and clearly everyone involved with the game of golf was delighted to have Tiger back on the tour.

He also shot his best first round at The Masters ever signing a score care with 2 eagles, 2 birdies and 2 bogies for a total first round score of 4 under 2 shots off the (more…)

This is good news for golfers of all levels of expertise.

We used to have a driving range and restaurant for light lunches on the libramiento but, unfortunately, it gave way to the building of houses.

At Chula Vista Country Club in Chula Vista there is a net into which one can wallop their balls and The Chapala Country Club in Vista del Lago, San Nicholas has a driving range of sorts along side the first tee.

Now, however, there is a new driving range and golf school opening in San Antonio very close to Chula Vista, Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

There are many wonderful golf courses in Guadalajara and the two above-mentioned ones lakeside and, of course, avid golfers always enjoy driving to Barre de Navidad for the world class golf course on Isla de Navidad. One can stay at the fabulous Grand Bay Hotel and have a wonderful golf and hotel experience.

You can Google golf clubs in Guadalajara and find several web sites detailing the golf clubs and all their specifications, prices, availabilities etc.

Now golfers of all handicaps will be able to enjoy a proper driving range right here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

This is important as many snow birds do not have the advantage of golfing 12 months as we do and they are perhaps a little rusty on arrival. Having a (more…)

Roberto’s is located on the Chapala – Jocotepec carretera at the west end of Ajijic just before Villa Nova on the north side. Their phone # is 766-1463 They are open Tuesday through Sunday..

This is a very interesting restaurant in a beautiful garden setting with many choices on the menu that would be considered comfort food.

Roberto’s have a daily lunch special for 85.00 pesos which includes soup or salad.

Today’s Specials were:

Mexican Fish Filet, Grilled Corn Beef Cheese Sandwich, Cranberry Chicken Breast, Pad Thai Salad, Roast Turkey with all the trimmings, Lamb Arrechera Fajitas, Mango Chicken, Deep Fried Panko Shrimp or Scallops, Grilled Boneless Pork Chops and Snapper al Mojo de Ajo (garlic butter). The soup was poblano pepper and the salad had a light and refreshing raspberry vinaigrette.

All lunches are served with their famous Carrot Croquettes and fresh bread and a trilogy of interesting spreads.

Other choices for lunch on the regular menu are:

Cobb Salad, Oriental Chicken Salad, Roberto’s Salad, Mexican Salad, Hot Avocado and Shrimp Salad, Hamburger, Dilled Chicken Salad, B.L.T. Sandwich (more…)

When we first bought our house in Chula Vista in 2000 we needed to upgrade the stove that came with the house as it was very old and had to be lit manually. This did not thrill me as I was not used to gas and still was a little afraid of lighting the oven pilot light.

At that time my husband volunteered to go to Sear in Guadalajara to purchase said stove as we had always trusted them (Sears) in Canada.

Our stove lasted for some time but getting it serviced was always a challenge as everything had to be done in Spanish (I was far from fluent in 2000) and we had to wait sometimes weeks for a service call.

Finally, we took to having local electricians fix our stove for us, when needed, and when we were told it was no longer fixable we decided to buy a new stove locally.

We bought a Whirlpool stove in April of 2009 from Tio Sam which is located on the Libramiento Chapala-Ajijic # 132-9. Their phone # is 766-5664 and their email address is: lozexpo@prodigy.net.mx.

From the beginning we had nothing but problems with this stove. First getting it to fit into the space allotted for a stove in our kitchen was a challenge but we were able to deal with that by removing two side pieces that were of no apparent use according to the installer.

Secondly, the knobs fell off. We had this dealt with too. Service calls from Tio Sam are available Tuesday and Thursdays.

We also had problems with the movable racks in the oven which were designed to make life easier as they came out when you opened the oven door. This was not quite the case, however. We did not know that you were supposed to insert a small pole into a even smaller hole to make the unit secure. I am still haunted by my husbands screams as his freshly baked (more…)

If you are looking for a fun and interesting day trip the Tequila Express could be for you.

The National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism Guadalajara welcomes you to the train tour which organizes and operates the Tequila Express, The Legend.

Culture, recreation, entertainment and much more awaits you on this magical journey.

The Tequila Express, The Legend is a train tour which was founded in 1997 to achieve 3 goals:

To Rescue and revive the passenger train.

To pioneer a new form of tourism.

To keep the three pillars of national identity: mariachi, tequila and rodeo.

The Tequila Express runs every Saturday of the year and makes a single trip per day (9:00 am – 6:30 pm) to visit Hacienda San Jose del Refugio (more…)

Congratulations to Director/Choreographer, CeCe Girling and Backstage Manager, Nicole Sergent for a hugely successful and entertaining 10th Annual Fashion Show to benefit the Red Cross in Chapala and presented by the Crux Rojo International Volunteers.

This year’s theme was A Tribute to the Fashion Capitals of the World and it was, indeed, a great tribute to the entire fashion industry.

I was able to convince my husband to accompany me to this fabulous event as both our daughters were two of the gorgeous models in this year’s show.

He was pleasantly surprised by the fact that many other men were also in attendance.

The show was very well attended and a lovely buffet was served prior to the fashion show itself and one could barely hear oneself think for click of cameras and various other digital recording devices.

What makes this fashion show so special is the choreography and fun that all the models are having as they displayed the beautiful garments from local and Guadalajara designers.

Local designers represented were Tina Jones, Mi Mexico, Alma Gutiterrez Fashion Designs, Opus Boutique, Fiaga Boutique and Heather’s (more…)