USD to KYD Exchange Value: 0.82

USD To GBP: 0.76214

USD To CAD: 1.27998

USD To CNH: 6.3209

Summer or winter, the weather in the Cayman Islands seldom changes, with a year round average temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit and highs of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the Cayman Islands is a wonderful place to go on vacation or live. The coolest season falls between November through to April. The rainfall is comparable to that in Florida with an average monthly rainfall of 4.7 inches. Click here to view the current weather. 

USD to KYD Exchange Value: 0.82

USD To GBP: 0.76214

USD To CAD: 1.27998

USD To CNH: 6.3209

Third cruise quarter is here. 

The third quarter of the year has a similar projection for the number of cruise passengers as for the same period last year, going into what is traditionally a slow cruise period during hurricane season. 

According to the Port Authority's cruise schedule, there is a potential of 311,276 passengers for the period of June, July and August, if ships are full. 

This compares to the projection of 315,033 for the same period last year, which is just 3,757 shy of that figure, or just one per cent less. 

Last year, the third quarter was much slower than the previous year of 2006, following a considerable drop in cruise arrivals. 

The actual number of passengers coming here fell 26 per cent, or nearly 100,000 passengers in that quarter, from 377,931 in 2006 to 278,751 in 2007. 

The difference between the projections (if ships were full) on the schedule and the number of passengers that actually came here in 2006 was 1.23 per cent less than projected. In 2007 there was a bigger gap; 11.52 per cent less than projected. 

The busiest month of the third quarter this year is set to be September, according to the Port Authority's schedule, with an 111,340 passenger potential, if ships are full. 

Interestingly, September of 2007 was the slowest month of the third quarter. 

Read the full article over at cayCompass.com

USD to KYD Exchange Value: 0.82

USD To GBP: 0.76214

USD To CAD: 1.27998

USD To CNH: 6.3209

Drivers passing through Elgin Avenue will be treated to a colourful new view as the fence in front of the new Government building becomes the island's largest work of art. 

Starting this weekend, the Ministry of Planning, in cooperation with the National Gallery, is going forward with a plan to beautify the all-white protective panels that border the construction site of the Government's new home by inviting local artists to lead mural-painting teams. 

According to a running joke on the island, the national bird has changed from the Grand Cayman Parrot to the McField Crane because of the prevalence of work zones around town. Many of these areas are closed off by large blank pieces of plywood that Kiran Denis of the National Gallery believes provides a perfect canvass for Cayman's thriving art scene. 

Read the article over at Cayman Net News

USD to KYD Exchange Value: 0.82

USD To GBP: 0.76214

USD To CAD: 1.27998

USD To CNH: 6.3209

U.S. News & World Report has published an article about purchasing retirement property overseas. Titled "7 Keys to Buying Overseas Retirement Property", the article looks at some practical considerations. 

"While some retirees head straight for America's sun districts-Florida, South Carolina, California, to name a few-others travel clear across the border to launch their post-career lives. And since many overseas retirement hubs combine a reduced cost of living with a delightful tropical climate, it's no wonder they're so appealing. 

Overseas retirement is "more popular all the time," says Ruth Halcomb, who runs the international living website, LiveAbroad.com. "The baby boomers are retiring, and they are the people who went to the Peace Corps and studied abroad." Although buying retirement property overseas can be enchanting, it can also be challenging. Anyone thinking about spending a chunk of change on foreign real estate should be aware of some practical considerations. 

Here are seven tips for retirees considering buying property overseas: 

1. Beware the market trends: While American real estate is experiencing a protracted swoon, some world property markets are moving in the opposite direction. Likewise, the dollar is in the midst of a multiyear slide against foreign currencies. Combined, these trends suggest that selling your U.S. home to buy property overseas today would be unwise, says Michael Englund, the chief economist for Action Economics. "Making that switch now would appear to be classic herd-mentality behavior jumping out of and getting into markets that have already moved sharply in one direction theirs being up, ours being down," Englund says. Financially, it would make more sense to wait perhaps a couple of years for real estate and currency cycles to reverse course. However, Englund cautions, "it's no easier predicting currency markets than it is predicting real estate markets." 

The full article can be found here at U.S. News & World Report.