William Bonner, author of The New Empire of Debt: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Financial Bubble, tells Daily Reckoning readers why they should diversify out of their home countries and shares a personal anecdote from Recoleta to restore your faith in humanity…or at least in city park workers in Buenos Aires. (Full article) Bonner says “the go-go finance-based economies of the Anglo-Saxon world have peaked out,” so investors should be looking at Latin America. He feels Argentina “will be spared the big problems” of the most recent global crisis, and investors should expect higher returns vs. the U.S. over the next 20 years. The second half of Bonner’s piece uses a friend’s travel anecdote to counter some lingering stereotypes about Buenos Aires. A random purse-snatching in Recoleta has a happy ending when the woman receives the following, painstakingly-translated e-mail from a City of Buenos Aires Public Spaces worker: “Hi good afternoon, my name is Emiliano, is that i work doing maintenance of parks and squares in the area of Palermo, and in one of the trash bins encontre a series of documentation to its name and among other things i could detect this mail…i leave my mobile Phone in order to combine a meeting so that you can restore their belongings, but more, i dismissal of you carefully.” Such a tale leaves you wondering just where would we be without good Samaritans, Google Translate and Santo Emiliano?

The 116th Argentine Open Polo Championship runs now through December 5th in Buenos Aires.
While November always means the Breeder’s Cup for horse racing fanatics stateside, Buenos Aires holds its own this time of year with a variety of events for equine enthusiasts. The Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo is the focal point of many of these events including the Argentine Derby which was contested on Saturday. (YouTube video) According to Clarín, the Hipódromo is gleaming again after a recent $50 million renovation including a full Paddock remodel and the installation of several high-definition TVs. The Argentine Open Polo Championship, the country’s oldest and most prestigious polo tournament, also kicked off this weekend in Palermo with matches running every weekend through December 5. Movistar is the title sponsor of the Campeonato which enters its 116th year; more information can be found on the official website. Another event on the immediate BA horse horizon is Tribuna Real, a four-day celebration of polo complete with fashion shows, cocktail parties and tango performances. Tribuna Real will be held at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, and online reservations for specific events can be found on the Tribuna website. All events with links and Google maps can be found on the InvestBA event calendar.

The Motorola Milestone runs on Google's Android OS and debuts next month in Argentina.
The smartphone wars here in Buenos Aires are about to heat up thanks to the soon-to-be-released Motorola Milestone. While the iPhone and Blackberry have long dominated the smartphone space, the Milestone is a slick, Android-powered device loaded with Google goodies like Gmail, Latitude and Google Maps. According to Clarín, Argentina is one of only four countries chosen for the Milestone launch; the other three being the U.S., Italy and Germany. And unlike the U.S. version (being marketed as the DROID), the Argentine Milestone will have a multi-function touchscreen in addition to the standard features like a 3.7″ screen, a 5MP camera and Google’s Android operating system. While all major Argentine carriers will sell the Milestone eventually, the pre-launch campaign belongs to Personal. The company plans to offer the Milestone initially for $999 with a $99 monthly plan that includes 200 minutes, 200 SMS and 200MB of information. Interested buyers can reserve their Milestone here on the Personal site; the company anticipates device delivery and activation the first week of December…just in time to start your Google-enabled-mobile-power-shopping for las fiestas navideñas.







