NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., which makes fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, said Monday it bought two Costa Rica fruit companies and an affiliated sales and marketing business for a total of $403 million.

The company said the businesses, which include banana producer Desarollo Agroindustrial de Frutales S.A. and gold pineapple provider Frutas de Exportacion S.A., are collectively known as "Caribana."

Costa Rica - Costa Developers faces Florida racketeering count

An American man linked to a development company that owns projects on the Pacific coast has been arrested in Florida on four charges of racketeering and money laundering.

The man, Jeffrey Martin Goldberg, was confirmed to be one of the owners of Costa Developers by a representative of the company's San José office Thursday.

Costa Rica Real Estate - Lehman Bros. to Offer Mortgages to Expats

U.S. citizens will be the first clients in bank’s foray into C.R.

Making history on the local real estate front, Lehman Brothers Bank has agreed to finance mortgages for foreigners hoping to call Costa Rica their new home.
Lehman is the first foreign bank to provide home financing to non-residents. The Delaware-based institution struck a deal with Stewart Title, which has an office in San José, to facilitate the process on local soil.
“As we look to expand our mortgage lending opportunities outside of the United States, they (Stewart Title) were a natural fit,” said Eric Hibbert, managing director of Lehman's resort home lending group, based in New York.
However, the bank does not mean for the deal to be exclusive.

Costa Rica Ranks 7th on the list of most attractive investments in Latin America

Costa Rica positioned it self as the 7th best place for investment amongst all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated studies made by the economic commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL).
The $1,889 million achieved by Costa Rica last year, was only surpassed by Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru according to the report.

The study highlighted the relative importance of all the investment achieved by the Central American countries , if related with the internal gross product (IGP)