Earlier this week, French engineers were forced to abandon their work in Panama after receiving news their privately owned company ran out of money. For the past eight years, France has been trying to construct a canal that would link the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, due planning errors made by the company's president, workers are not financially capable to continue with the construction.
A total of 1,174 million francs ($214 million) have been spent towards the building of this canal. However, this money did not come from France's government, but from French private investors who wanted a share in the profits. In 1879, a private company was formed not only to raise money needed for the canal, but also to construct it. …