There is - or should be - a market for a jet taxi service in the region. An article published this week in El Periódico of Guatemala, observes that a ticket to New York is cheaper than one to Managua.

The first Starbucks in Central America is scheduled to open at the end of 2010, via a franchise agreement between Corporación de Franquicias Americanas (CFA) of El Salvador and the United States-based chain of coffee houses.

Nine companies are in the bidding to choose the financial manager of Metrobus, Panama City's new urban transportation system. 

Preliminary analysis is underway, to determine whether or not it's feasible to run an energy pipeline through the Darien Gap, which divides Colombia and Panama.

Importers should look again at products and services from Central American exporters, who are getting better at satisfying global demand. In the first quarter of 2010, the region`s exports grew by $2 billion, compared to the same period a year earlier. 

Early warning signs point to a port in Monkey Point, on Nicaragua's southern Caribbean coast, involving an investment of $500 million by two South Korean companies, Dongmyeong Engineering and Ox Investments. 

Moody's rating agency this week awarded Panama investment grade for its sovereign borrowing. Standard & Poors did likewise on May 25, following the first such move, by Fitch Inc. last February.

If the Deal devotes a lot of space to Panamanian business news, it's because the country makes a lot of it.

Regional producers may be able to follow the example of Honduras, whose exports to the United States of fresh farmed fish, mainly tilapia, and fresh farmed seafood, mainly shrimp, increased 13% in 2009, compared to the previous year. With the exception of El Salvador, all Central American countries have two coasts, on which they can farm seafood. In addition, most of the region's countries either use the U.S. dollar or have currencies which during the past year stayed at par, or which devalued against the dollar.

The software giant has agreed to train 40,000 panamanian teachers in how to use computers and the Internet, so that they can increasingly use them as classroom tools. Details of the arrangement are still undefined, but the concept in principle is important. Central American public-school education is generally deficient in imparting computer skills.

Spanish energy giant Unión Fenosa has submitted offers to Guatemala's mining and energy ministry, for the development of four major hydro-electric projects, with total capacity of more than 300 MW, equivalent to one quarter of the country's current demand.

Health reform in the United States (assuming it goes ahead as planned), should boost medical visits by Americans to the region. Under the program, close to 40 million uninsured Americans will get coverage, starting in 2014.

The consortium building the expanded Panama Canal needs 7,000 skilled workers, according to last week's announcement by the group.

Fitch Ratings this week conferred investment-grade status on Panamanian debt, which means Panama can borrow money more cheaply than countries, with lower status.

Central America is making a major effort to attract European visitors this year, starting with the participation this month of all of the region's countries in the 44th Berlin International Tourism Fair. Each country emphasizes its own tourism program, and has its own promotion budget.

• Canada and the G4
• Jobs, jobs, jobs
• Costa Rican Port
• Costa Rica and China
• Honduras. Period.
• Selling Stuff to Panama
• Salvadoran Low-cost Housing