Plasma Gasification Corp. Converts Waste to Energy

For the past three years, Plasma Gasification Corp., based in Monterrey, Mexico, has been developing a microwave-induced Plasma2Energy cellulose-to-energy system. The Plasma2Energy technology involves converting waste to energy through the biomass gasification process. By working with post-sorted municipal solid waste, the company’s technology has the power to help establish a more sustainable environmental economy...More on MexicoToday.org.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Shines in U.S. Slow Economy

According to studies found by NPD Group, the number of annual restaurant visits by a typical Millennial (person from 18-24 years old) has plummeted from 245 visits five years ago to 192 this year. As the economy in Europe and the U.S. lags, fast food restaurants are focusing on deals and cost-cutting measures again, something that can be challenging with high commodity costs and spikes in the price of some meats like pork. So what's Chipotle's secret? Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has managed to handle the downturn quite well because its tip-less at-the-counter service is more attractive to consumers trying to save money.

NAFTA: U.S. Should Work More with Canada and Mexico

When it comes to Mexico foreign direct investment, many opine that NAFTA should be more widely implemented and it would be beneficial to not only Mexico's manufacturing industry, but for the U.S. economy to increase trade relations between the three countries. From an article written by Robert A. Pastor, a professor at American University and author of "The North American Idea: A Vision of a Continental Future," for the SFGate:

North America's share of the world gross product soared from 29 percent in 1994 to 36 percent in 2001. Since then, it has declined to where it was in 1994. Together, the three governments could recover our past success and spread the increasing benefits to those in our countries that have been left behind. It all starts with a North American idea - a healthy respect for our neighbors and a determination to create a formidable regional community.

Mexico Rises 8 Ranks on 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Report

Mexico beat it's own 2010-2011 ranking of No. 66 in global competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum’s GCI Report. The 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Report states that Mexico has “one of the highest improvements in regional rankings.” Mexico’s global competitiveness ranking rose eight spots from last year; Mexico currently holds No. 58 on this list. In addition to making significant improvements in technology and economic policy, Mexico is also emerging as an ideal market for entrepreneurs.

Foreign Investment in Mexico Stands Strong

As this article mentions, there is a lot of talk about the violence in Mexico, but what most people don't realize is that the border economy is still booming.

Last year Reynosa, a city along the border, added 4,000 jobs to the Mexican auto industry. These plants refuse to let the persistent violence affect their business; foreign investment in Mexico continues to roll in and plans for factory expansions are in motion.

Mexican Soft Drink Company, Coca-Cola FEMSA, to Acquire Tampico

The Mexican soft drink company, Coca-Cola FEMSA, is expected to acquire Tampico, one of the biggest soft drink bottlers in Mexico for 790 million dollars at the end of the third quarter this year. Read more about what's behind the acquisition here.

Mexico Credit: First Airport Bond Created

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB is selling its first bond by a Mexican airport operator as a way to refurbish terminals and refinance debt, tapping into the recent rebound in business travel.

The company, known as OMA, may issue as much as 1.5 billion pesos ($129 million) of debt in the local market as soon as tomorrow to yield 60 basis points above the 28-day interbank lending rate, known as TIIE, or about 5.43 percent, according to Interacciones Casa de Bolsa SA, Scotia Capital and Corp. Actinver SAB. Dollar bonds sold by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, the South American country's biggest airport operator, yield 9.27 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Click here to read the entire story.

Mexico Industrial Output Up in May

Mexico industrial production in May rose more than expected, after three months of declines, just as an expansion in the factory sector rose for the second-largest economy in Latin America.

The national statistics agency said on Tuesday that industrial production grew by 1.1 percent in May from April MXIP=ECI.

On one hand, the manufacturing sector expanded in May for its second-straight month, growing by 1 percent as local factories increased production to meet increased consumer demand north of the border.

Read more about what exports were in most demand and what three manufacturing sectors recorded the highest gains in May.

Cemex Revival of Shelved Offering Sparked by Market Rebound: Mexico Credit

Cemex sold $650 million of its notes due in 2018 on July 6. The company sold the bonds to yield 9.5 percent (462 basis points more than similar bonds sold by Holcim Ltd., the world’s second-biggest cement maker).

In addition, Mexican central bankers will leave the lending rate at a record-low 4.5 percent today. Mexico is the only major Latin American country to keep borrowing costs unchanged in the past year.

Trade Agreement to Improve Economic Area

Up until this week, Mexican trucks were prohibited to travel within 25 miles of the border.
This change, in what was part of the NAFTA agreement signed in 1994, was made with the inception of President Obama, most probably due to security concerns.

“The agreement signed today between the governments of Mexico and the United States to resolve the cross-border long-haul trucking dispute is a major win for U.S. agriculture, American jobs and our nation’s economic prosperity,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote in a release.

Mexico will lower existing tariffs ranging on U.S. goods by 50 percent at the start of the program and the remaining 50 percent will be suspended shortly after Mexican trucks are allowed to cross.

Click here to read more.

Mexico Central Bank Keeps Benchmark Rate Unchanged

The “pace of economic activity appears to have slowed,” while domestic demand has lost some dynamism, the central bank said in the monetary decision statement. “We don’t expect generalized price pressures in the economy,” the bank said.

Banxico, as Mexico’s central bank is known, is saying “the traditional list of domestic risks to inflation is practically clean. The risks could come from international volatility,” Luna said in a telephone interview from Mexico City.

Industrial production grew 1.4 percent in April from a year earlier -- the slowest expansion since the 0.6 percent increase posted in December 2009 -- from 4.4 percent in March, the nation’s statistics agency reported June 13.

Read the full article here.

The World Competitiveness Rankings 2011‬‏

YouTube - ‪The World Competitiveness Rankings 2011‬‏
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Check out this new performance rating with analysis and some surprising news on what countries you should be investing in overseas.

Which do you think are good companies to invest in, in Mexico or abroad? I'd love to read your comments below.

Job Growth in Mexico's Maquila Sector

Although it's reported that 6 maquilas in Mexico have closed, the Mexican Statistics Agency (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, Geografia e Informatica or INEGI) has reported that they've created over 1,000 new jobs in the Ciudad Juarez area, where many of the maquila industry is located.

Source: Maquila Portal

The Boom of the Mexican State

In 2010, contrary to all predictions, the Mexican economy grew by 5.5% — the fastest rate in a decade and well above the usual growth rates.

In the U.S., sociologists are puzzled over the paradox of falling crime rates in an era of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The Mexican paradox appears to be the reverse.

These are a few of the positive data points for Mexico:

1) The Mexican peso grew stronger against the dollar.

2) The Mexican inflation rate was essentially flat.

3) Foreign reserves in Mexico grew to $113 billion.

4) 22 million tourists visited the country.

5) Trade with the U.S. reached all-time highs of almost $400 billion.

6) The maquiladora industries added some 20,000 jobs in Ciudad Juarez.

7) The percentage of the population living below the poverty line declined to 47.4% in 2008 (the last year for which the World Bank has data) from 63.7% a decade earlier.

8) Literacy rates started to surpass the 90th percentile.

9) Life expectancy continues to rise to near-First World levels.

10) Foreign investment in Mexico keeps growing to surpass each previous year's level and is expected to reach high growth rates in the future.


Source: The WSJ online

Bancomer Selects Hypercom for Mobile-Payment System

From the Paypers:

Mexico-based financial institution BBVA Bancomer has selected payment technology company Hypercom to deploy it's 10,000 Optimum M4230 mobile payment systems to its merchant customers.

Hypercom’s services now fulfill the electronic transfer needs of banks and other financial institutions like processors, retailers, merchants, as well as users in the transportation, petroleum, healthcare, prepaid and self-service.

What do you think is the future of mobile banking and who will be the leaders of this new business?

News on Bancomer

From Bloomberg:

Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer SA, who may turn over cash to its Spanish parent bank has made investors start to sell-off the lender’s bonds, making them attractive to ING Groep NV and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc.

Yields on the Mexico City-based bank’s $1 billion of bonds due in 2020 have risen 31 basis points, or 0.31 percentage point, this year to 6.65 percent yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average borrowing costs for Latin American banks dropped 27 basis points during the same period to 5.58 percent, Credit Suisse Group AG indexes show.

Get the full story here.

Greek Cabinet Changes: Sarkozy & Merkel Urge Change

French and German leaders are starting to agree on how to rescue Greece from a European bailout.

The Greek cabinet has been changed by Greece Prime Minister George Papandreou, consequentially giving a boost to the euro and Wall Street.

This change in the Greek cabinet is a result of some of the EU’s stronger core countries push for a resolution to Greece’s fiscal debt crisis.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Prime Minister Angela Merkel showed a united front on the need for a deal in the next few weeks, but offered few details of when and how such a deal will get done – or who will pay for it.

Former Greek defense minister Evangelos Venizelos will take over as finance minister from Giorgos Papakonstantinou, the author of the wildly unpopular, albeit necessary, austerity programs, who is begin reassigned to an environmental post.

Source: Forbes

PayPal and Digital River Expand Online Payment Service Agreement in Mexico and Brazil

Now Mexico and Brazil have greater access to PayPal online payment services in a deal with US e-commerce services developer Digital River. The system now supports local online payment processing in Brazil and Mexico.

Digital River World Payments service provides service options such as checkout page optimization, fraud detection, services to manage currency risk and business intelligence tools, among others. The payment service is available in more than 190 countries and supports over 170 transaction and display currencies.

Click here for the full story.

Have you used this service in Mexico or Brazil? How would you rate the improvement?

Conflict of Interest for IMF Candidate Christine Lagarde?

Related to my last post, I wanted to show this video of Agustin Carstens talking about his IMF candidacy...In previous occasions he has mentioned that he will bring a 'fresh set of eyes' to the IMF presidency, and states that having French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as head of the the IMF is comparable to 'starting a soccer match at 5-0'. Is it fair to have the main borrowers head-up the crediting institution?

Tell me what you think.

Mexico's Industries Invest $34 Billion USD In Foreign and Domestic Markets

Today it was reported that Mexican industrialists will invest US$34 billion in both domestic and foreign markets this year. Members of the Mexican Council of Businessmen (Consejo Mexicano de Hombres de Negocios or CMHN) informed President Felipe Calderon about this in a meeting held last Thursday.

“The sum to be invested in Mexico amounts to US$20.5 billion, while US$13.5 billion will be invested abroad, adding to US$34 billion”, Claudio X. Gonzalez, President, Kimberly Clark de Mexico, informed.

Source: Maquila Portal