Positive Effects of North American Free Trade Agreement on Mexican Economy

Regarding NAFTA and the positive effects it's had on the Mexican economy, the founder of Soluciones Estratégicas and former Minister of Trade and Industry for Mexico, Dr. Herminio Blanco spoke recently in a conference at The University of Texas at El Paso.

“Never did we expect during the negotiations the success that NAFTA has had," they went on to state how, “Mexico has been able to attract $160 billion. Never would we have thought that possible.” 

NAFTA has created the ability to import and export goods between the three countries in a positive and effective way while helping spur jobs through this economic process. For more news on doing business in Mexico, go to MexicoToday.org/economy.

U.S. Stocks Decline Following Latest Greek Debt News

Via Bloomberg.com: U.S. stocks declined, following a five-week advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid concern about Europe’s debt crisis as Greek leaders wrestled with spending cuts to get aid and avert a default. Some, like Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx Group, think that market volatility will remain high for at least another 5,000 days (minus 90).

Mexico Investment Summit Starts this January 31

The Mexico Investment Summit is an annual conference that brings together senior decision makers from the entire investment and development community. At the summit, only the top pension funds, family offices, fund of funds, fund managers, development banks, developers and government officials attend the 3 action-packed, content rich days.

According to Jeffrey M. Jones, Venture Partner at Alta Growth Capital, "The Mexico Investment Summit focuses on a country that many consider to be the world's best combination of logistically based geography and phenomenal natural resources, a discussion important not only for its positive internal impacts, but for it's strategic effects on North American and world competitiveness."

Check out more details on the Mexico Investment Summit here.

Interactive Map: The Economy Where You Live

Via NPR.org: 
The fallout from the recession has cut deeply into the housing security, employment and income of many Americans. But some parts of the country are clearly faring better than others. Here, three interactive maps show foreclosure and jobless rates as well as household income by county.

Mexico More Encouraging Towards Technological Innovation than U.S. and U.K.

According to "The Evolving Workforce" survey conducted by Dell and Intel, Mexico, China and other developing economies are shifting to server virtualization faster than the United States and the United Kingdom.

"The virtualization rates are lowest where there are the highest legacy systems," said Bryan Jones, director of European marketing at Dell. He continued, saying that developing countries find it easier to be innovative by creating new systems, because there are no legacy systems in place. There is also more hesitance to change, according to a survey, 83 percent of Mexicans and 76 percent of Brazilians believe that it’s good when "technology and the Internet to allow [them] to do business in different ways," compared with 43 percent of U.K. workers and 46 percent of U.S. workers.

Major International Automobile Companies Keep Investing in Mexico

During the last 5 years, foreign investment in the Mexican automotive sector has totaled more than 10 billion dollars, with investment by major international companies. 


Three American manufacturers, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, the leading German carmaker Volkswagen, and major Japanese companies such as Nissan, Honda, Mazda and Toyota operate assembly plants in Mexico, and together produce 40 car models in the country. 


Out of the top 100 auto parts companies in the world 84 have set up manufacturing operations in Mexico. The country’s auto plants have received international awards and recognition for their high levels of productivity and quality.

Mexico Sees 16% Rise in Insured Crop Land

Mexico's agriculture ministry will make efforts to assist producers in acquiring insurance against natural disasters for 9.4 million hectares (23.2 million acres) of crops in 2012, representing a 16 percent increase in insured land from last year.

Corn and beans are among the crops most likely to benefit from the increase in insurance coverage, according to the ministry's Public Information Office, due to their vulnerability to freezing and drought.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to its highest level since July, amid signs that manufacturing output is increasing in Australia and America.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) added more than 4.3 percent as financial shares had the second-biggest gain among S&P 500 industries. Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) advanced at least 3.7 percent, pacing increases among the largest U.S. companies. Chevron Corp. (CVX) climbed 3.7 percent as the price of oil rose. Cisco Systems Inc. surged 3.4 percent after JPMorgan recommended investors buy the shares.

“The U.S. market has been cheering because of the fact the U.S. economy has been performing better,” Kevin Shacknofsky, who helps manage about $5 billion for Alpine Mutual Funds in New York, said in a telephone interview. “In line with everything else today, the manufacturing data is better than expected.”

Mexico, Brazil to Sell Sovereign Debt this 2012

Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s largest economies, are taking advantage of near record-low borrowing costs and are planning the year’s first emerging-market sovereign debt sales.


Mexico seeks to issue $2 billion worth of 10-year bonds overseas. Mexico may sell the notes at a spread of about 175 basis points (a 1.75 percent gain) while Brazil may pay 150 basis points more than similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries. 

How Gold Performed in 2011

Via Investopedia.com:

For centuries, gold has been a coveted precious metal that has been at the center of the commodities market. Today, the precious metal is sought after for both use in jewelry and for investment purposes, as well its industrial applications in certain electronic and medical devices. Check out this article on why people are turning back to investing in gold and how this investment can fit in to your personal investment portfolio.

Nissan to Expand Production in Mexico

Nissan Mexicana is making the adaptations required to expand vehicles production capacity in their Aguascalientes plant. According to some suppliers, the assembler is planning to open an additional production line with capacity for 150,000 vehicles per year, which in two shifts could assemble up to 300,000 units in addition to those currently being manufactured in the plant.

Nissan Mexicana is also negotiating with the local government and business chambers to increase the speed of the cargo train for a faster transportation of components. “Investment is required to make it faster, because through that route we move many materials”, Armando Avila, Manufacturing Vice-president with Nissan Mexicana, explained.

Mexico's Aerospace Industry Establishes Closer Ties to France

Governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez departed to France together with the Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Public Works and some businessmen to foster aerospace industry. This was informed by Alberto Chretin, State Minister of the Economy, who informed that the group will hold meetings in France with Zodiac and Safran, companies in the aerospace field already installed in Chihuahua, as well as other companies in the area. In their trip they will also receive the competitiveness study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which will provide Chihuahua with a showcase of the opportunities found here told by experts.

ASUR Announces 8.3% Increase in Passenger Traffic in 2011

Via Sacramentobee.com: Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: ASR; BMV: ASUR) (ASUR), today announced that total passenger traffic for November 2011 increased by 8.3% when compared to November 2010. All figures in this announcement reflect comparisons between November 1 through November 30, 2010 and 2011. Transit and general aviation passengers are excluded. Read more and get the full data here.

Emerging Stocks Advance as Central Banks Reduce Dollar Funding Costs

Via Bloomberg.com:

Emerging-market stocks have advanced as the Federal Reserve and five other central banks cut the cost of emergency dollar funding for European banks to help alleviate the region’s debt crisis. Cemex SAB (CEMEXCPO), the largest cement maker in the Americas, led stocks higher on the IPC in Mexico City, climbing for a third day and gaining 6.6 percent to 6.32 pesos.

The Fed's Top Bailout Earnings

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Bob Ivry reports on how bankers failed to mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. He speaks with Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack."

Consumer Confidence Experiences Largest Boost since 2003

Via Bloomberg.com: U.S. consumer confidence climbed in November by the most in more than eight years as Americans grew more upbeat about employment and income prospects. The Conference Board’s index increased to 56 from a revised 40.9 reading in October, the biggest monthly gain since April 2003, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. The gauge, at a four-month high, exceeded the most-optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Mexico's Peso Rallies Thanks to U.S. Thanksgiving Sales

Via Bloomberg.com:
Mexico’s peso jumped the most in three weeks as record U.S. Thanksgiving retail sales boosted optimism for exports from Latin America’s second-biggest economy. The peso rose 1.5 percent to 14.0258 per U.S. dollar at the close in Mexico City, for the biggest advance since Nov. 3. Retail sales totaled $52.4 billion during the U.S. holiday weekend and the average shopper spent $398.62, up from $365.34 a year earlier, the Washington-based National Retail Federation said yesterday, citing a survey conducted by BIGresearch. Additionally, Mexican exports increased by $1.27 billion in October from September to $30 billion, according to preliminary data from the national statistics agency. The U.S. is the destination for 80 percent of Mexico’s exports.

'Black Friday' Defines Maquila Industry's Production Rates

Via MaquilaPortal.com: Employment in maquiladora industry greatly depends on consumers’ behavior throughout the United States tomorrow, “Black Friday”, when Holidays shopping starts, said Jose Luis Armendariz Bailon, Chairman of Maquiladoras Association, Asociacion de Maquiladoras Asociacion Civil (AMAC) Mr. Armendariz reminded that consumers’ behavior in the so-called “Black Friday”, one day after Thanksgiving, offers a hint of the status of US economy. Based on such behavior, he added, corporations set their strategies for the next year and start planning production. Depending on production, Armendariz Bailon pointed-out, labor force growth is estimated, so companies will start planning depending on what happens this Friday.

What is a Stock?

Check out this explanation of what stock is from Mint.com. There are some fun facts in the chart so don't miss it!

Central Banks, Including Mexico's, to Reduce Benchmark Interest Rates

Via Bloomberg.com: Central banks across five continents are undertaking the broadest reduction in borrowing costs since 2009 to avert a global economic slump stemming from Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil. The U.S., the U.K. and nine other nations, along with the European Central Bank, have bolstered monetary stimulus in the past three months. Six more countries, including Mexico and Sweden, probably will cut benchmark interest rates by the end of March, JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasts.