Long-running negotiations for a free-trade agreement between Canada and Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua restarted last week, with agreement on close to 85% of potentially traded products.

Want to help build a canal and other big infrastructure projects, while living in a beautiful tropical environment? If so, Panama needs you.

The acceptance last week by union workers in Costa Rica's busiest port of a $137 million buyout opens the door for private-sector development of a new container terminal.

Bilateral trade and investment should grow, following the negotiation this week of a free trade agreement.

Honduras is ready to recover, creating opportunities in various sectors, especially textiles and tourism.

Last week’s visit to Panama by an important delegation of Canadian companies underlines opportunities for exporters of a wide variety of goods and services.

Developers may be able to take advantage of $113 million in 2010 public-sector financing for low-cost homes in El Salvador.

We have talked before about opportunities for geothermal energy generation in the region, but the topic is timely, given the inauguration a few weeks ago of the second phase of Nicaragua's San Jacinto plant, a project of United States-based Ram Energy Resources Inc., which will increased the country's installed capacity by up to 36 megawatts.

Investment in Central American apparel production could become increasingly attractive during the next few years. While U.S. distributors and retailers continue to seek low-cost producers, which often means China, continued fast economic growth in China is likely to drive up the value of the yuan. Meanwhile, most Central American countries have currencies closely tied to the U.S. dollar or - in the case of El Salvador and Panama - use the dollar as the national currency. Labor costs in the region remain competitive, and are not likely to rise soon, given sharp recent reduction in remittances from the United States.

Private companies can expect to participate in the development of Nicaraguan ports, following approval of new legislation, expected in the first quarter of 2010.

As political relations between the two countries worsen, Venezuela is reducing its imports from Colombia, which needs to find new markets.

Mexico-based Numeralia last week opened its second Central American franchise.

The People's Republic of China has announced its intention to be the main participant in a $5 billion petroleum refinery, to be built on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.

Visitors to Panama's capital may enjoy seeing the thousands of colorfully-painted school buses, which constitute the city's public transportation system.

The Pellas Development Group, part of Nicaragua's biggest conglomerate, has started advance work on the Guacalito project, located in the southern part of the country's Pacific coast.