We received a press release from Cyprus over the weekend of potentially gigantic proportions for the economy and property investors in the Larnaca area. Russian investors, backed by the Russian government, are proposing to invest €800 million to build a “Disneyland of the Mediterranean” in Larnaca . Originally earmarked for Serbia, the group have since been persuaded to look at Cyprus, mainly due to the weather. Florida and Paris have seen huge benefits as a result of their theme parks and it would be no different in Cyprus. And for investors in The Grove and Palm Spa Resorts, the news is fantastic as the huge complex, if all goes to plan, is only a 20 minute drive. Very exciting!

If you wish to read more about it, yesterday we translated the Greek newspaper article into English. It can be found at my new blog. Click here

New Blog

We have lots of websites and blogs across the group, but none directly controlled by me. We have some exceptionally talented people in the company who just get on with publishing articles and websites. I have been toying with the idea of having my own blog for some time and as this is a new year, I took action and got it off the ground. I intend to have a mix of key business and investment topics and sometimes the odd personal story. The news feeds on the blog are excellent and cover everything from Property, Stockmarkets, Commodities, FOREX, Entrepreneurship and Personal Finance. If you have an iGoogle browser or something similar you can subscribe to feed in the top right hand corner of the blog and be continuously updated as blogs are published. I intend to publish on a daily basis.

Have a look for yourself by clicking here

The Credit Crunch, Paranoia and Mental Health

I was discussing with a few friends over the weekend the real-life case of someone known to us who has all the classic symptoms, behaviours and traits of what we call a credit crunch induced paranoia.

Identified by John Farrell in "Paranoia and Modernity: Cervantes to Rousseau" (Cornell University Press, 2007) the symptoms are:

• grandiosity,
• suspicion,
• unfounded hostility,
• delusions of persecution and
• conspiracy

I am putting together an article for a national newspaper on how the credit crunch and subsequent recession have affected some people’s state of mind, producing irrational behaviour and decision-making.  If you feel you have any experiences or suggestions I would be delighted to hear from you. Please e-mail me direct at dominic@investincyprus.com

Best Wishes

Dominic Farrell