Latin American Stocks Rise on European Optimism for Greece

Latin American stocks rose yesterday after European leaders rallied to prevent a Greek default and stem the debt crisis in the euro zone. Volume in Mexico and Brazil remained in line with recent sessions and did not suggest that investors were flocking back to the region's stocks. "The message they wanted to portray is that Greece is and will remain part of the euro zone. They made it sound to me, as a pretty strong commitment from all sides," said Alberto Bernal, head of analysis at Bulltick Capital Markets in Miami.

Siemens Mexico: Over a century of accomplishments doing business in Mexico

Siemens Mesoamerica CEO Louise Goeser spoke with Mexico Today about why she considers Mexico to be the best place to invest. In this interview, Goeser unveils little-known realities about doing business in Mexico, including Mexico’s status as the world’s most open economy.

Update: Mexico and Brazil Talks of Free Trade Agreement

“Brazil currently has trade negotiations under way that date far back with many different countries,” Espinosa said in an interview in Bloomberg’s Mexico City offices yesterday. “This makes us think that it’s a country in which there isn’t much flexibility for a negotiation.” Mexican President Felipe Calderon and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vowed in 2010 to start talks on a free-trade pact between the two countries. This potential free trade agreement would help Mexico diversify trade away from the U.S., which buys 80 percent of its exports, but it seems like it may be deterred by Brazil’s efforts to boost protection for it's manufacturers being hurt by a rally in its currency and increased competition from China. Espinosa said that while “it’s difficult” to determine if Calderon will be able to sign a trade agreement with Brazil before his term ends in November 2012, the government is putting forth its best effort.

Mexico's New Anti-Venom: A Pharmaceutical Win From Mexico to the U.S. Market

Did you know that Scorpion stings can cause blurred vision, slurred speech, nauseas and even death? An anti-venom being produced in Mexico was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a scorpion sting treatment. The first drug of its kind approved by FDA, the accomplishment is a result of 12 years of research and development. Scorpion stings are seen most prominently in Arizona, Southern Nevada, and New Mexico, as well as in Mexico and Morrocco.

"Born in Italy, Made in Mexico, Sold in China"

Fiat, now owned by Chrysler, has been anticipating the official launch of the standard 500 model in the Chinese market. In order to prepare for this, the automaker unveiled the Fiat 500 First Edition at Shanghai, a special version limited to 100 units. The plant where this model is produced is located in Toluca, Mexico and was created at the cost of 550 million USD. Capable of producing 120,000 vehicles a year, half of the production of the small city car will be sent to the U.S. while the other half will be sent to Brazil and China. The special Fiat 500 First Edition model displays several custom graphics on its sides, created by Chinese designers to represent the link between Italy and China. Sales in China are due to begin this September 2011.

GE Technology to Provide More Power for Northern Mexico

GE has recently announced that at the Latin America Engineering, Procurement & Construction Summit in Mexico City (EPC) that it will provide two Frame 7FA Gas turbines and provide long-term services for the Norte II Combined-Cycle Power Plant. As part of an independent power project (IPP) scheduled to enter commercial operation in May 2013, the power plant, located in Chihuahua, Mexico, will increase the region’s supply of reliable power and lower-emissions output.

Mexico Expected to Remain Latin America's Top Borrower

Mexico is seeking to step up overseas borrowing in 2012 after raising $3 billion this year from international offerings, more than any other country in Latin America. Borrowing is bringing a large amount of investment into Latin America’s second-biggest economy.

After raising $3 billion this year from international offerings -- more than any other country in Latin America -- Mexico is looking to keep steady, and improve, its overseas borrowing in 2012. According to the budget proposal presented on Sept. 8, Mexico's government is asking Congress for authorization to boost net external debt by $7 billion in 2012, up from the $5 billion increase it was granted for this year. But how does this compare to other emerging economies such as Brazil or Colombia?

It's reported that while these countries are making debt sales abroad to eschew gains in their currencies, in the mean time Mexico has been tapping into global markets to lock in record-low borrowing costs in the U.S.

Mexico has sold $15 billion of bonds outside its local market since 2009, up from $7 billion in the previous three years, while Brazil cut its sales 12 percent over that period to $6.9 billion. A lack of “high-quality sovereign debt” issues from developing nations will help fuel demand for more Mexican bonds, said Jeremy Brewin, who helps manage about $3.5 billion in emerging-market debt with Aviva Investors in London. “The appetite for external sovereign debt is quite robust so for Mexico to issue an extra $7 billion, I don’t think that’ll be a challenge,” he said.

Procter and Gamble Treats America's Economy like the Philippines

As this article states, for generations Procter & Gamble Co.’s growth strategy was focused on developing household staples for the vast American middle class. Lately P&G executives have seen that many of its former middle-market shoppers are trading down to lower-priced goods -- this gap is contributing to making products geared towards the middle classes more and more expensive. P&G, which estimates it has at least one product in 98% of American households, was forced to change the way it develops and sells its goods. For example, for the first time in 38 years, the company launched a new dish soap in the U.S. at a bargain price. “Companies have thought that if you’re in the middle, you’re safe,” says Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig. “But that’s not where the consumer is any more — the consumer hourglass is more pronounced now than ever.” “We now have a Gini index similar to the Philippines and Mexico—you’d never have imagined that,” says Phyllis Jackson, P&G’s vice president of consumer market knowledge for North America. “I don’t think we’ve typically thought about America as a country with big income gaps to this extent.”

Juarez Produces 100,000 Blackberries Everyday

Ubaldo Benevente Bermudez, Economy Deputy Secretary for the North of Mexico, informed after a visit to the company's facilities in Ciudad Juaréz, Mexico that around 100,000 smartphones of the Blackberry brand are being assembled every day for the Wistron corporation. Wistron, which also manufactures all Sony Bravia flat screens sold in the Americas, is considering the possibility to increase their labor force from 3,500 to 7,500 people. Benavente Bermudez also stated that brands such as Sony Bravia and Blackberry made their decision to manufacture their goods in Ciudad Juaréz due to the the quality of the labor force. Click here to read more.

World Economic Forum 2012 to Take Place In Mexico

Beautiful coastal beach town, Puerto Vallarta, will be the host of the 2012 World Economic Forum on Latin America this April 16-18, 2012. The forum will take place to address Latin American’s global economy and the upcoming presidential elections. Marisol Argueta de Barillas, Senior Director, Head of Latin America for the World Economic Forum stated that, "Latin American countries continue to be an attractive destination for investment and the region demonstrates strong finances, continued economic growth, and social development.”

FedEx Freight: Three New Locations in Mexico

FedEx Freight, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp announced yesterday that they will be serving three new markets in southeast Mexico, with the opening of three new service centers in Veracruz, Toluca, and Puebla, Mexico. The president and CEO of FedEx Freight, William J. Logue stated, “FedEx Freight is committed to being the premier LTL service provider in North America. We are pleased to offer greater choice, and the reliability for which FedEx is known, to these markets in Mexico.” In addition to the new service centers, opened last August 1, the company has reduced shipment times by an average of 50 percent for individuals shipping in southeast Mexico.

Mexico Investment: Mexico Investment Summit 2012

Just a reminder that the Mexico Investment Summit 2012, which I blogged about a few months ago is going to be held this January 31- February 2 in Mexico City, Mexico.
From the website:
The Mexico Investment Summit is a conference that brings together senior decision makers from the entire investment and development community. "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." -Jeffrey M. Jones, Venture Partner, Alta Growth Capital, President, JMax Asociados SC

Corn Ranked No. 1 Commodity by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley today ranked corn at the top of their commodity bets list. As part of their recommendations for investors, their report entitled The path forward for corn: higher placed corn ahead of other commodities such as aluminium, copper and gold. "Tight U.S. supply will require continued demand rationing to keep the stocks-to-use ratio above 5%," the bank said. "Prices need to continue moving higher to accomplish this rationing." In its report, the bank has issued forecasts of corn futures to average $7.25 a bushel in the next year, an estimate higher than the USDA’s recent forecast due to the number of acres that will make it to harvest. "All told, this increase in production could allow for an incremental 157.5m bushels in Latin American exports, partially offsetting the needed rationing in U.S. exports. However, U.S. prices need to move higher to increase the attractiveness of exports from other origins," said Morgan Stanley in their report.

Mexico's 2012 Budget Seeks to Raise Spending

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, whose nonrenewable 6 yr. term will end in November 2012, submitted to Congress this Thursday his 2012 budget proposal. This new proposal shows that the government is looking for a smaller deficit with more spending compared with the 2011 budget. The spending plan, which will only exclude investment in state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, calls for a deficit of 36.7 billion pesos ($2.94 billion), equivalent to 0.2% of gross domestic product, compared with a deficit of 0.5% for this year. Oil income is expected to rise 5.8% from projections for 2011, while non-oil income is seen growing by 1.7% next year. Including Pemex investment, the deficit is expected to be 2.2% of GDP, an improvement from the 2.5 percent number for this year. The federal government would maintain Mexico investment levels in Pemex at 2% of GDP. Calderón explained that the new budget includes continued support for small and medium businesses, as well as investment to build, repair or upgrade 1,280 kilometers of roads and highways, he said.

Mexican Stocks Rise As Investors See U.S. Jobs Aid Ahead

Via MarketWatch: Mexican stocks climbed Wednesday after news that President Obama may distribute financial aid in order to augment employment figures in the U.S. This is excellent news for those interested in investing in Mexico, since the U.S. is currently the top export market for Mexico (80% of its exports arrive to the U.S.). Latin America’s second-largest economy saw it's IPC level advance 2.2% to 35,179.59. Among the best stock performers were electronics retailer Grupo Elektra and cement maker Cemex, up 8.1% and 5.6%, respectively.

World Economic Forum Report on Global Competitiveness

The World Economic Forum Report is out with all of the numbers on Mexico's competitiveness from a multitude of aspects, including this year's innovative analysis of how the sustainability of a country is predicted to affect it's productivity and competitiveness in the future.

Mexico Moves Ahead in Competitiveness

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mexico is making strong progress in global competitiveness with an article reporting today that "Mexico moved up eight places in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report with big gains in the evaluation of financial and goods markets." Although the data points to weakened public policies, the index shows Mexico's economic progress, quickly becoming one of the preferred countries for foreign direct investment.

Steel Technologies Investing $75 million in New Facility in Mexico

In recent weeks, Steel Technologies, LLC has received approval from Mexico to build a 300,000 square feet, $75 million steel processing facility in Nuevo León, Mexico. The new steel facility will increase North American production, with a processing capacity of over 800,000 tons. In a press release, Michael J. Carroll, the president and CEO of Steel Technologies, said that “the addition of this world-class operation will accelerate our growth and complement our strong network of steel-processing facilities within the country.” The Louisville based company is owned by Nucor Corp and Mitsui & Co and will start construction on the new site immediately.

Mexico's economic growth - one of the many reasons Google does business in Mexico

Google Country Director John Farrell speaks with Mexico Today about why Google finds Mexico such an attractive country for investment. Not only is the Mexican economy growing at a rapid pace, but right now Mexico is the 11th economy in the world. In regard to other global investment options, Mr. Farrell says, "these other countries have received so much hype that they're overvalued." Read the article on Mexico Today to see why Google is so adamant about Mexico being the best place to invest.

Mexico Investment: SunPower Corp. Plans to Build Factory in Mexico

The American solar power company, SunPower Corporation, is taking advantage of the low interest rates in Mexico (and year-around sun) with plans to build a manufacturing plant in Mexicali, Mexico. SunPower Corporation announced on August 5 its plans to own and operate a solar panel manufacturing plant in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The Industrial Development Commission of Mexicali assisted SunPower in choosing the facility location where SunPower has finally decided to build its 320,000 square feet facility. Solar power is becoming more prevalent throughout North America, with opportunities for investment in the energy market ever-expanding.